Molecular modeling often involves a lot of tweaking and fine adjustments to structures, whether you’re moving atoms, aligning molecules, or experimenting with dihedral angles. But these tasks can become cumbersome without the right tools. SAMSON’s Move Editors offer a solution by providing precise controls to reposition and reorient your molecular models efficiently.
What Are Move Editors?
Move editors in SAMSON are specialized tools designed to help you translate and rotate molecular selections within the modeling viewport. All three available move editors—Displacer, Local Move Editor, and Global Move Editor—are tailored to offer flexibility for different scenarios. From simple adjustments to intricate coordination between local and global axes, these editors can save a lot of time and effort.
Getting Started with the Local Move Editor
The Local Move Editor, accessible via the shortcut M, allows you to translate and rotate selected molecular structures based on their principal axes. Here’s how to make the most of this powerful tool:
- Translation Widgets: Use the central cross-shaped widget to move your selection within the camera plane. Or, drag the arrow-shaped side widgets to translate along the principal axes of your selection.
- Rotation Widgets: Use the curved arrow-side widgets to rotate around these principal axes. Need free rotation? The trackball widget enables you to rotate objects in any direction effortlessly.
Colors help you stay oriented while using Local Move Editor:
- Light blue: local X-axis
- Darker blue: local Z-axis
- Mid blue: local Y-axis
By right-clicking on any widget, you can specify rotation or translation parameters, giving you precise control. This is especially useful for editing dihedral angles, as demonstrated in this example:
Speeding Up with Snapping
If you want alignment and placement to be even quicker, you can enable snapping. With snapping activated, translations and rotations will follow pre-defined intervals (e.g., 0.5 Å for translation or 10° for rotation). Adjust snapping preferences via the quick access menu in the viewport’s top-left corner or under Interface > Preferences > Editors > Snapping.
Here’s an example of atomic translation with snapping enabled:
Why Choose Move Editors?
The move editors are particularly powerful for molecular modelers looking to:
- Quickly realign fragments after structural modifications.
- Create precise adjustments during simulations without disrupting atomic conformations.
- Simplify workflows that involve dihedral angle changes or molecule alignment to specific axes.
For example, rotating fragments around specific principal axes or freely with the trackball can make a world of difference when working on complex assemblies!
Learn Even More
SAMSON’s powerful tools, including its move editors, offer molecular modelers the precision and flexibility they need to work effectively. To learn more about the move editors and other exciting features, visit the official documentation page.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON here.