Long hours spent designing, exploring, and visualizing molecular structures often mean long hours in front of a screen. If you’ve ever felt eye strain while working late into the evening in SAMSON, there’s a simple tweak that could make a noticeable difference: enabling dark mode.
Dark mode isn’t just a trendy UI option—it’s a practical one. It reduces glare, enhances focus, and saves battery life on OLED screens. In visualization platforms like SAMSON where detailed molecular exploration and editor tools are central, a darker interface can improve both comfort and usability, especially in low-light environments.
Where to Find It
You can change the interface theme in SAMSON by opening the Preferences panel. To access it, use the menu path:
- Interface > Preferences
Or use the shortcut:
- Ctrl + K on Windows and Linux
- Cmd + , on macOS
Once inside the Preferences panel, navigate to:
Interface > Dark Mode
There you’ll see a toggle that lets you switch between light and dark themes. The interface transitions immediately, making it easy to preview the change before committing.
Why It Matters
Although it may seem like a cosmetic change, dark mode plays a useful role in minimizing visual fatigue. Most molecular modelers perform tasks that demand careful inspection of fine graphical details—characteristics like atom positioning, bond angles, and complex spatial conformations. A darker interface reduces high-contrast edges around those visuals. That makes it easier to linger over structures and annotations without tiring out your eyes.
Moreover, many users combine molecular modeling efforts with coding, scripting, or data analysis. If you’re switching often between SAMSON and other applications that already use dark UI themes (e.g., terminal windows, code editors), enabling dark mode in SAMSON helps maintain visual continuity across your workspace.
Who Should Use It?
- Those who work in dimly lit rooms or at night.
- Users with sensitive eyes or who experience screen fatigue.
- People who use SAMSON alongside dark-themed development environments or data tools.
One click and you might not want to go back.
To learn more about the full range of customization options in SAMSON, including interface tweaks and rendering enhancements, visit the official Preferences documentation page here.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Download it at www.samson-connect.net.