When working on complex molecular systems, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of details in your viewport. Wouldn’t it be great to focus only on what truly matters, hiding distractions without losing data integrity? The visibility control tools in SAMSON are precisely what you need to streamline your workflow.
Why Control Visibility?
Visibility management enables you to hide specific groups of structural nodes—atoms, chains, residues, molecules, or visual models—so you can focus on the aspects crucial for your current analysis. This boosts clarity, enhances visual storytelling, and saves time during presentations or collaborations.
Simple Steps to Control Visibility
SAMSON’s interface makes it intuitive to control the visibility of individual nodes or entire hierarchical groups. Here are some practical tips:
- To hide a specific node, simply uncheck its corresponding box in the Document view. If you hide a parent node, all its descendants will also become invisible.
- When you need to hide multiple structures simultaneously, leverage the Document view‘s context toolbar. For example, select the elements you wish to hide, and then use the toolbar’s Visibility section to toggle their display.
- Need to invert visibility quickly? SAMSON allows you to invert selections, enabling practical manipulation of which nodes remain visible.
For example, in the image below, chain B has been hidden using these tools:
Advanced Visibility Customization
Sometimes, you may want to selectively make parts of hidden structures visible. This flexibility is particularly useful when performing focused inspections. Even if a parent node is hidden, you can choose to make its descendants visible by individually checking their boxes in the Document view.
Additionally, visibility changes can be executed programmatically. If you’re familiar with Python scripting, you can create custom scripts to manage visibility dynamically, making this approach ideal for advanced users handling highly intricate models.
Combining Visibility with Rendering Effects
An excellent visibility setup in SAMSON works harmoniously with rendering effects, enabling tailored presentations or publications. Combine visibility control with ambient occlusion, shadow settings, or fog effects to amplify your system’s visual clarity.
Below, you can see an example of using visibility control in combination with vivid rendering:
Learn More
Visibility control is just one of many tools in SAMSON that make handling complex molecular systems easier. To dive deeper into the possibilities, visit the official SAMSON documentation page on visibility and visualization tools.
Want to try it out yourself? SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON here.