Selecting Cameras with Precision in SAMSON’s Node Specification Language

In complex molecular modeling projects, scenes often contain a variety of cameras—top views, side views, custom perspectives for presentations, or analytical views for simulations. Managing these cameras efficiently can become challenging as projects grow in size.

The Node Specification Language (NSL) in SAMSON, the integrative molecular design platform, offers a structured way to query and manipulate specific nodes, including cameras. In this post, we’ll explore how to select and manage camera nodes with precision using the camera attribute space—an underused but powerful feature of NSL.

Why Camera Selection Matters 🎯

Camera nodes impact how you view and present molecular structures. Whether you are scripting a visual workflow, filtering elements for rendering, exporting visualizations, or conducting view-sensitive simulations, being able to target specific cameras quickly improves usability and performance.

Introduction to the `camera` Attribute Space

To filter camera nodes using NSL, you use the attribute space camera with short name ca. For example, ca.n "Top View" matches any camera named “Top View”.

This attribute space provides access to a few specific attributes inherited from the more general node space:

name (n): Matches name strings. Allows wildcards (e.g., ca.n "View*").
selected: Indicates if the node is currently selected. No short form in the camera attribute space.
selectionFlag (sf): A low-level selection marker used programmatically.

Useful Query Examples

Select all camera nodes:

ca

Select camera nodes named exactly “Perspective”:

ca.n "Perspective"

1	ca.n "Perspective"

Select cameras with names starting with “L”:

ca.n "L*"

ca.n "L*"

Select cameras that are currently selected in the interface:

ca.selected

1	ca.selected

Exclude selected camera nodes:

not ca.selected

1	not ca.selected

Select cameras that have not been marked with the selection flag:

ca.sf false

1	ca.sf false

Tips for Using These Queries Effectively

Use ca.n with wildcards during animation setup or rendering pipelines to target specific camera views.
Combine ca.selected or not ca.selected with other filters if your workflow depends on manual selections.
Rely on sf when scripting operations that involve background selection processing or programmable flags.

Conclusion

Although basic, the camera attribute space in SAMSON’s NSL can save time and make your workflows more accurate when managing multiple viewports. As your projects scale, mastering these small querying capabilities adds up to more efficient model handling across simulations, presentations, and publications.

To learn more, refer to the official documentation page: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/nsl/camera/

SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.