Whether you’re preparing a structure for simulation, sharing results with colleagues, or archiving your research, exporting molecular content is a routine — yet sometimes frustrating — part of computational modeling. Choosing the right format among PDB, XYZ, CIF, and others, or realizing at the last minute that your tool doesn’t support the format you need, can bring work to a standstill.
If you’ve ever been stuck trying to export structures or visualizations from a molecular modeling platform, SAMSON offers a practical approach to alleviate this pain: a flexible exporter system backed by an extendable library of export formats.
What are SAMSON Exporters?
In SAMSON, exporters are dedicated tools that allow you to save various types of content — such as atoms, molecules, and visual scenes — to files in different standard formats. These may include popular formats like .pdb, .xyz, and more specialized ones, depending on your workflow.
By default, SAMSON includes a selection of exporters suitable for most modeling needs. But here’s where it gets interesting: if the format you want isn’t available, you’re not stuck. You can access additional exporters directly from SAMSON Connect, the platform’s extension ecosystem.
Real World Scenario: Why Exporters Matter
Let’s say you’ve built a complex biomolecular system in SAMSON and want to run molecular dynamics in a tool that accepts only .gro files. If that exporter isn’t enabled by default, you can search for it on SAMSON Connect. Still not there? You can contact the team or even develop your own exporter using the Extension Generator.
Extending the Export Capabilities
Thanks to its modular architecture, SAMSON makes it possible to develop and integrate new exporters via custom extensions. The development process is documented for users with programming experience, and the SDK helps streamline the process.
If you’d like to build your own exporter, the resources at the Documentation Center explain how the exporter system works and how you can tailor it to your needs.
Looking for a Specific Format?
Before diving into development or support tickets, check the list of supported formats to see what’s currently available. The page is regularly updated as new exporters are added by the community or the SAMSON development team.
Still not finding what you need? You can simply reach out and suggest an exporter. Collaborative feedback has been critical in expanding format support in SAMSON.
In Summary
- SAMSON comes with default exporters to save structural and visual data.
- You can add more exporters from SAMSON Connect.
- You can develop your own exporters using the Extension Generator and SAMSON SDK.
- You can suggest missing exporters to the SAMSON team.
If exporting molecular data is a recurring bottleneck in your workflow, this flexible system in SAMSON might save you hours of frustration — or at least a few headaches.
Want to learn more? Visit the documentation page on Exporters in SAMSON.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON here.