Designing and manipulating molecular models often requires different types of interactions: creating new structures, selecting parts of a system, or applying transformations. A common hurdle for molecular modelers is smoothly switching between these editing actions without having to dig through cluttered menus or remember a long series of commands.
SAMSON, the integrative molecular design platform, provides a streamlined solution to this challenge through a simple but powerful concept: editors.
What is an Editor in SAMSON?
In SAMSON, an editor is a tool that handles your interactions with the molecular model — mouse clicks, drags, key presses, etc. Depending on which editor is active, SAMSON interprets your actions differently. For example:
- A nanotube generator editor lets you create a new nanotube structure in a few clicks.
- A rectangle selection editor helps you select atoms or molecules by drawing a selection box.
- A transformation editor allows you to rotate or translate structures as rigid bodies.
Editors are especially useful when performing complex modeling workflows that require you to frequently change modes, like going from structure creation to selection, and then to spatial transformation.
Accessing Editors
There are three main ways to activate an editor in SAMSON:
- Viewport Sidebar: On the left side of the viewport, you’ll see a vertical menu. This is where the available editors are listed. Click an icon to activate the editor.
- Quick Access in Viewport Corner: In the top-left corner of the viewport, SAMSON displays quick access commands related to the currently active editor. This lets you fine-tune the editor’s behavior without navigating through multiple menus.
- Find Everything Search: Use the Find everything search bar at the top of the interface to quickly locate any editor by name. Type something like “selection” or “nanotube” to find what you need.
Good to Know
- Only one editor can be active at a time. This guarantees that user inputs are processed by just one tool, avoiding unexpected behaviors.
- By default, SAMSON comes with a set of commonly used editors pre-installed.
- You can download additional editors from SAMSON Connect, many of which are tailored for specific domains like materials science or drug design.
Why It Matters
This editor-based system not only keeps your workflow clean and minimal but also improves precision. Instead of using a single tool overloaded with options, SAMSON gives you dedicated editors optimized for each task. You’ll spend less time adjusting settings and more time analyzing and designing.
Want to Build Your Own?
Advanced users and developers can create custom editors tailored to their needs. Check out the Extension Generator and the comprehensive Documentation Center for more on how to build powerful new editors that integrate directly into SAMSON.
To learn more about how editors work in SAMSON, visit the full documentation page at https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/editors/.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.