When working with large molecular systems, inspecting and modifying structural data is a common but tedious task. Whether you’re trying to validate atom positions, change atom types, or understand the local structure of a residue, jumping through menus or rewriting coordinate files manually can slow your work dramatically.
This is where SAMSON’s Inspector comes in. It provides a fast, visual, and intuitive way to inspect and edit properties of any selected atoms, bonds, residues, or other node types in your molecular model. If you’ve ever found yourself juggling multiple tools just to tweak an atom’s coordinates or confirm a residue’s ID, the Inspector can simplify your workflow significantly.
Why this matters
Modeling workflows often involve repetitive edits of structural data: adjusting atom positions after a simulation, correcting element types, reviewing bond orders, and more. These tasks can become time-consuming and error-prone if not handled with the right tools. With SAMSON’s Inspector, you can directly interact with attributes of selected objects in just a few clicks. No need to hunt through dialog boxes or manually parse PDB files.
What can you access with the Inspector?
Once you select a node (for example, an atom), the Inspector immediately displays all its associated attributes, logically organized by node type and attribute group. This includes position, element type, charge, and more. Here’s an example with one selected atom:
You’ll notice that some values are modifiable – such as an atom’s element type – while others like atomic weight are read-only because they depend on other attributes.
Editing multiple nodes simultaneously
Things get even more practical when selecting groups of atoms. Let’s say you want to adjust the position of multiple atoms while preserving their relative arrangement. With the group selected, simply adjust the position field in the Inspector. If the Relative box is checked, all selected atoms will move together, preserving geometry:
Unchecking Relative instead sets all selected atoms to exactly the same position.
Bonus: Filter to focus
The Inspector includes a convenient filter box to narrow down visible attributes. For example, if you’re only interested in positions, type position into the filter and all other fields will be hidden:
Then, you can precisely change coordinate values and see the effect in real time:
Helpful reset functionality
If you’ve modified an attribute but want to revert to its default value, just double-click its label (when the cursor changes). Not all attributes are resettable, but this handy visual cue helps keep your edits clean:
Conclusion
Whether you’re performing quick structural adjustments, checking attribute values, or fine-tuning groups of atoms, the Inspector in SAMSON gives you the speed and control you need – with minimal clicks and maximal visibility.
Explore more options and learn how to make the most out of the Inspector in the official documentation here: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/inspecting/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.