When modeling complex molecular systems, it’s easy to take one step too many — a misplaced atom, an unintended bond, or even unintentionally overriding valuable data while trying to perfect your structure or simulation setup. The challenge? Rebuilding what you lost isn’t always straightforward, especially if you can’t remember every change.
Thankfully, SAMSON has a feature that addresses this common modeling hiccup: document-specific history with powerful Undo and Redo capabilities.
The Pain: Complex Edits and Irreversible Mistakes
In molecular modeling platforms, there’s often no single-path workflow. You explore alternatives, test changes, remove atoms, assess conformations — and along the way, mistakes happen. With many steps building upon previous ones, undoing a late-stage error can be daunting or even impossible without a smart history mechanism. SAMSON solves this with its per-document history system.
Understanding SAMSON’s History View
Each document in SAMSON keeps its own list of undoable actions. That means you can track and revisit editing steps independently for each molecular design or project file.
To access this, open the History view from the menu (Interface > History) or use the shortcut:
- Windows/Linux: Ctrl+3
- Mac: Cmd+3
The History view visualizes your editing trail — like a checklist of operations applied to the current document. Each action appears as an item you can click to revert your document to a specific state.
Undo, Redo — And Why It Matters
Of course, SAMSON also supports standard command-based undoing:
- Undo: Ctrl+Z (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Z (Mac)
- Redo: Ctrl+Y (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Y (Mac)
This is especially practical during structure building or when you’re iterating between visual representations and calculations. With a working undo stack, you can confidently take risks — experiment with complex rearrangements, test alternate bond patterns, or rush through setup changes knowing you can step back if needed.
Visual Debugging
Each state in the history isn’t just a line of text. Actions are temporal anchors. Clicking on them allows you to instantly restore the document to that specific condition, making it easy to compare how various setups affect visual, energetic, or geometric outcomes.
Some Actions Can’t Be Undone
Keep in mind, however, that not all operations are undoable (e.g., certain script executions, interface-level settings, or irreversible deletions). If a non-undoable action occurs between two undoable ones, the chain might break. When using undo often during critical stages, this is something to be aware of. It’s best to experiment with less critical actions first, then branch towards more delicate operations.
Final Thoughts
SAMSON’s history and undo/redo tools are straightforward, but they solve one of the major pain points in molecular modeling: confidence during exploratory work. Whether you’re editing protein-ligand systems or building novel nanostructures, having the ability to rewind gives you more freedom to model creatively — without fear of irreversible steps.
To learn more, visit the official documentation page: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/history/.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.