A molecular modeling task can stall for reasons that have little to do with the model itself. Perhaps SAMSON will not install or update, an extension raises a problem, or you know a feature name but cannot find its detailed documentation. When every issue sends you browsing through the whole guide, getting back to the work takes longer than it should.
A useful first step is to classify the question before searching. Is it a recurring question, a problem you can describe by its symptoms, or a request for the reference information for a particular feature? These three situations call for different starting points.
Three kinds of questions, three useful starting points
For a quick answer, start with the FAQ. It is the recommended place to look for recurring questions about accounts, installation, updates, and extensions. If you are unsure whether your question is common, this is a sensible first stop: you may find an answer without needing to work through a broader troubleshooting path.
For a problem you can describe by what is happening, go to Troubleshooting. This is the better route when you are diagnosing an issue and need a practical fix path. For example, if SAMSON behaves unexpectedly or an operation does not work as you expected, focus on the observed symptom rather than guessing which feature reference might explain it.
For detailed information about a known feature area, use References. This is the appropriate destination when you already know which feature or part of SAMSON you are looking for and want its reference material. A reference page is not necessarily the quickest way to resolve an unclear problem; it is most useful when you have a specific subject in mind.
A quick decision process
- Write down the question in one sentence. “Where can I find information about this feature?” is different from “Why is this operation failing?”
- If it is a common account, installation, update, or extension question, check the FAQ.
- If you are trying to fix a symptom, use Troubleshooting. Start from what you observe, rather than browsing feature descriptions at random.
- If you know the feature area and need its detailed information, use References.
This simple distinction helps prevent a common documentation detour: searching a reference page for a quick answer, or reading a FAQ when the real need is a symptom-based diagnosis. You can also skip steps that do not match your situation. If the issue is clearly a troubleshooting case, you do not need to begin with the FAQ. If you only need a feature reference, you can go straight to References.
When the question points beyond help pages
Sometimes the next step is not another answer to the immediate problem, but a different part of the user guide. If you are still getting oriented or need installation and first-use guidance, continue to Start here. For SAMSON Connect, permissions, groups, or shared documents and jobs, visit Share and collaborate. For scripting, extensions, and developer-facing workflows, go to Automate and extend.
The goal is not to read more documentation than necessary. It is to choose the page that matches the kind of question you have, so you can spend less time searching and return sooner to your modeling work.
For the full overview, learn more in Reference and help.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON.