For molecular modelers working with animation nodes in SAMSON, keeping track of visibility, selection, and naming attributes can be challenging. Animation attributes in SAMSON’s Node Specification Language (NSL) provide a structured and efficient way to manage these properties. Whether you’re creating precise visualizations or controlling node behavior programmatically, understanding these attributes will help streamline your workflow.
What are Animation Attributes?
Animation attributes belong to the animation attribute space (short name: an). These attributes are especially relevant for nodes defined as animations in SAMSON, providing a comprehensive system to organize and manipulate animation-centric nodes effectively.
The attributes associated with animation nodes include:
- hidden (
h): Determines the visibility of a node. Possible values:trueorfalse. Example usage:an.h(hidden),not an.h(visible). - name (
n): A string representing the name of the node. Useful for labeling or filtering nodes by name. Example:an.n "A",an.n "L*". - selected: Indicates if a node is selected (
trueorfalse). Unlike other attributes, this one does not have a short name. Example:an.selected,not an.selected. - selectionFlag (
sf): Designed to mark nodes with a selection flag, offering additional layer of control for selection purposes. Example:an.sf false,an.sf. - visibilityFlag (
vf): Works similarly to the hidden attribute but provides finer control over visibility states. Example:an.vf false,an.vf. - visible (
v): Indicates if a node is visible. Example:an.v,not an.v.
Streamlining Your Workflow
For molecular modelers, being able to programmatically manage these attributes can save a great deal of time. You can quickly define whether nodes are visible, define naming conventions for your work, or flag specific animation nodes for different sections of your project.
For example, if you wish to toggle the visibility of only those animation nodes labeled with a certain prefix, the attribute an.n can be leveraged to locate nodes efficiently. Similarly, using an.h to hide certain nodes while emphasizing others can declutter scenes and highlight important elements.
Moreover, the presence of selection-related attributes like selected and selectionFlag ensures better control over subsets of nodes that might need tweaking during molecular design sessions.
Examples of Usage
Below are a couple of simple examples that show the practical application of animation attributes:
- If you want all nodes with the name starting with “L” and ensure they are not visible, you might write:
an.n "L*" and not an.v. - If you want to select all animation nodes that are visible, you can try:
an.v and not an.selected(to find visible but unselected nodes).
Where to Start?
If this is your first time exploring animation attributes in SAMSON, you’ll find the structured approach intuitive and convenient. From visualization to property adjustments, mastering these attributes will enhance both your productivity and precision in molecular animations.
For a complete understanding of animation attributes, their short names, and inherited properties, you can visit the detailed documentation page at this link. The page provides in-depth explanations and additional examples to help you build fluency in managing animation nodes.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.