Molecular modelers often face a familiar challenge: mastering complex software interfaces while juggling project deadlines. Whether you’re working on protein-ligand interactions, materials science, or nanoscale systems, the learning curve can steal valuable time from your research.
This is where a surprisingly helpful feature in SAMSON comes in—the Interactive Tutorials.
SAMSON is a molecular design platform tailored for researchers and developers working at the atomic scale. While its capabilities are broad and flexible, new users often find themselves asking: Where do I start? That’s exactly what the Interactive Tutorials aim to solve: they provide structured, guided walkthroughs within the SAMSON interface, showing you how things work precisely where they happen. No need to switch to YouTube or browse outdated forums. Everything happens in the same workspace you’re modeling in.
How to Access Tutorials
Launching the tutorials is simple. Once you’ve opened SAMSON, just navigate to:
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Help > Tutorials |
There, you’ll find a selection of tutorials covering essential workflows. Choose one and click Start tutorial. A step-by-step window guides you through the process, with clear instructions appearing directly inside the workspace. The interface dims what’s unimportant, and highlights what’s next—reducing any chance of clicking the wrong button.
Why This Matters
Many software platforms offer manuals and static guides, but few embed learning directly into the workflow. By integrating instruction into the interface itself, SAMSON helps users learn by doing. This interactive style is especially helpful for learners who benefit from seeing how features behave in real-time, in context, not just in screenshots.
One particularly appreciated aspect is that these tutorials are always available. If you need to revisit a topic—say, importing molecules or starting a simulation—just re-launch the relevant tutorial. You don’t have to remember or bookmark anything.
Stopping and Restarting
Finishing (or pausing) a tutorial is just as easy. Just close the tip window from the top-right corner of the interface. You can then resume or restart the tutorial at any time from the Help > Tutorials menu.
And if you’re exploring more advanced features, like creating or using SAMSON Extensions, there’s a separate set of tutorials just for that. You can find these in the SAMSON Extensions Tutorials section.
More Than Just a Quick Start
The Interactive Tutorials are helpful not only for new users but also for experienced users looking to refresh or extend their knowledge. In a platform as feature-rich as SAMSON, it’s easy for even advanced users to miss something. These tutorials make sure you’re getting the most out of your tools without requiring deep dives into long documentation files.
To learn more about how the tutorials work and view the list of currently available walkthroughs, check out the documentation on the Interactive Tutorials page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.