Anyone who has ever worked on molecular modeling—whether you’re designing new drugs, simulating biomolecular systems, or analyzing protein-ligand interactions—knows that mastering a powerful platform like SAMSON can be a time investment. Even when surrounded by documentation and videos, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you’re unsure where to start, or when you return after a break and need to refresh a few concepts.
This is where interactive tutorials in SAMSON can make a real difference. Designed to be accessible directly from inside the SAMSON interface, these tutorials provide structured, hands-on learning experiences that walk you step-by-step through key actions. Whether you’re a new user or an advanced researcher exploring a new feature, these tutorials offer bite-sized guidance without leaving your workspace.
Why It Helps
The typical pain point for many molecular modelers isn’t the lack of available features—it’s knowing how to use them efficiently. That’s especially true for integrative platforms like SAMSON, which provide a wide array of modeling, editing, simulation, and visualization tools. It’s easy to feel lost in menus or forget how a specific tool works.
The tutorials, accessible via the menu Help > Tutorials, offer a straightforward way to navigate this complexity. Each tutorial launches directly in the platform and overlays instructions within the SAMSON interface itself. This interactivity means you’re not just reading about actions—you’re performing them, right then and there.
How to Launch a Tutorial
Inside SAMSON, simply go to Help > Tutorials. You’ll see a list of tutorials designed to help you get comfortable with the most important features of the platform. Select a tutorial, click Start tutorial, and SAMSON will guide you interactively through the process.
You can exit a tutorial at any moment by closing the tip window in the top-right corner of the Viewport. And when you’re ready to revisit a topic, just restart the tutorial from the same Help menu.
When Should You Use Tutorials?
- 🚀 When you’re just getting started with SAMSON and want a tour of the basics.
- 📌 When you’ve installed new SAMSON Extensions and need help figuring out how to use them.
- 🔄 When you’re returning to SAMSON after a break and need a quick refresher.
- 🧪 When you want to explore new workflows in a low-risk, guided way.
The tutorials are concise, focused, and built right into the workspace. You don’t have to pause what you’re doing to go hunting for documentation or videos. Everything you need is just a few clicks away.
In addition to the standard set of tutorials, don’t forget to explore the SAMSON Extensions Tutorials, especially if you’re installing tools for specific applications in drug design, materials science, or structural biology.
Learn more about interactive tutorials in the SAMSON documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.