Molecular modeling often involves juggling multiple windows, constant tool switching, and keeping track of complex structural changes. If you’ve ever found yourself lost in a sea of panels, trying to remember where that one useful widget went—this blog post is for you.
SAMSON’s interface can seem overwhelming at first glance, but it’s designed to be deeply customizable. With a little tuning, you can rearrange the SAMSON interface to work with you, not against you.
Why Customize?
Whether you’re visualizing large biomolecules, scripting with Python, inspecting atomic properties, or animating interactions, you need quick, reliable access to the tools you use most. Rearranging interface elements isn’t just about making things look nice—it’s about improving efficiency and focusing your attention where it matters.
The Building Blocks of SAMSON
SAMSON’s interface consists of modular parts:
- Document View: Navigate the molecular structure hierarchy.
- History: Undo, redo, and review past actions with clarity.
- Inspector: Access and modify molecular node parameters.
- Asset Browser: Quickly find atoms, fragments, and molecules.
- Animator: Create and manage presentations effortlessly.
All of these views can be repositioned through drag and drop. Just click and hold the title bar of any widget and drag it to where you want it—dock it with others or leave it floating.
Pinning and Docking for Persistent Control
Want a panel to always stay on top? Look for the 📌 pin icon on an app window—it keeps things visible across different view configurations. Need more space in your viewport? Dock sections away until needed. You’re in control.
Switching Workspaces
On the top-left corner of the menu, you’ll notice Workspace options. Workspaces let you switch between different interface setups, letting you instantly shift from modeling to animation, or from visualization to scripting, depending on what you’re working on.
Have Favorites? Make Them Visible
Who doesn’t love quick access? In SAMSON, you can add any command, app, or editor to your favorites. These appear in a dedicated section at the top of the ribbon menu and in the viewport’s editor menu:
Easily toggle items into or out of favorites using the ⭐ icon in the “Find everything” search bar.
Keyboard Shortcuts to Remember
If you’re a power user, customize your workflow with a few handy shortcuts. For example:
- Ctrl + 1 / Cmd + 1: Show Document View
- Ctrl + 2 / Cmd + 2: Show Inspector
- Ctrl + 3 / Cmd + 3: History View
- …all the way to Ctrl/Cmd + 9 for opening the Code Editor
Together with interface customization, these shortcuts help you build a fluid, task-focused environment tailored to your molecular design style.
Customize Once, Use Always
Good news: once you’ve adapted your interface, SAMSON remembers. Your personalized layout is saved and will be restored the next time you launch the application. That’s one more thing taken care of, so you can dive straight back into your project.
To learn more, visit the official SAMSON documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.