You have a molecular structure framed just right: a close-up for inspecting a region, perhaps, or a full view that shows how the pieces fit together. Then you navigate elsewhere, and the view you wanted is gone. Recreating a useful angle can interrupt the work—and make it harder to compare the same structure from one view to another.
In SAMSON, cameras are part of a document. A document has at least one camera, and you can add more than one. That makes cameras useful not only for navigating, but also for keeping several views available in the same molecular document.
Keep different views in the same document
A practical way to organize a modeling session is to reserve cameras for distinct viewing needs. For example, one camera could provide a broad view of the document, while another is used for a close-up or a different orientation. These are simply suggested ways to use the feature: the key point is that you can switch between saved cameras instead of repeatedly adjusting a single view.
To add a camera, choose Visualization > Camera. The new camera starts at a default position. You can then move it to the view you need. To switch cameras, double-click the camera in the Document view, or right-click it and choose Set as active camera.
Only one camera is active at a time, so switching cameras changes which view you are working through. This can be especially helpful when a task alternates between local inspection and understanding the overall arrangement. Rather than trying to preserve every useful angle in your memory, keep the views in the document and select the one you need.
Use the camera menu for quick corrections
If a view is no longer framed usefully, the camera’s context menu offers several relevant actions. Right-click a camera in the Document view to center it on the current selection or on the whole document, set it as active, or move it. You can also enable camera inertia or orthographic projection. Orthographic projection can be useful when viewing crystals, as noted in the documentation.
Centering on the selection is a useful starting point when you want to focus on a particular part of a structure; centering on the document gives you a way back to a view of the whole scene. These actions are available from the camera’s context menu, so you do not have to treat every framing adjustment as a full restart.
Inspect properties when you need more control
For more detailed adjustments, select a camera and open the Inspector. The Inspector lets you view and modify camera properties, including position, projection, and inertia. This is useful when the quick context-menu actions are not enough and you want to examine the camera settings directly.
Make camera choices part of your document workflow
Cameras are saved and loaded with a SAMSON document in .sam and .samx formats. That means a document can include the views you have prepared, rather than relying only on a single active angle. If you are preparing a document for later work or review, consider setting up the views you expect to revisit before saving.
For everyday navigation, the camera is the view into the document: you can point it at a location, zoom, translate, and rotate. For the controls used to move around, see Moving around. If you use multiple cameras, a simple habit helps: switch to the view that matches the task, use centering when the framing needs a reset, and return to the Inspector when you need to adjust camera properties.
For details on adding, switching, and configuring cameras, see the SAMSON camera documentation.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON.