When a molecular modeling task suddenly feels awkward, the problem may not be the molecule—it may be the active editor. You might be trying to select atoms while a transform tool is active, or looking for a specialized tool in the wrong place. In SAMSON, only one editor is active at a time, so knowing how to find and switch editors can make a session easier to navigate.
Think of an editor as the tool that interprets your input
Editors respond to interactions such as mouse and keyboard events. That makes the active editor important: it determines what your interaction is intended to do. Depending on the task, an editor might generate a nanotube, deform a molecular structure while preserving local rigidity, select a region, or transform an object as a rigid body.
This is a useful distinction when a familiar gesture produces an unexpected result. Before repeating the action, check which editor is active. A selection tool and a transform tool can both involve clicking or dragging in the viewport, but they serve different purposes.
Three ways to get to the editor you need
- Browse the editor menu. Editors are available from the menu on the left side of the viewport. This is a straightforward way to explore the available tools when you know the kind of task you want to perform but not the editor’s name.
- Use Find everything. Search from the box at the top of SAMSON when you know—or can describe—the editor you are looking for. This can be more direct than browsing a menu.
- Check the active editor’s quick access commands. These appear in the top-left corner of the viewport. They provide a convenient place to look for commands associated with the editor you have selected.
These routes are useful at different moments: browse to discover, search to locate, and use quick access when you are already working with an editor.
A small reset for confusing interactions
If an interaction does something other than what you expected, pause before changing the molecular structure or repeating the gesture. Use this quick sequence:
- Identify the task: are you navigating the view, selecting, moving, or creating something?
- Check the active editor. Remember that only one editor is active at a time.
- If it is not the right one, find the intended editor in the left-side menu or with Find everything.
- Look at the quick access commands in the viewport’s top-left corner for commands associated with the active editor.
This simple check helps separate two common sources of confusion: using a tool meant for a different task, and not knowing where that tool is located.
Editors and extensions: related, but not interchangeable terms
An editor is a tool that responds to your interaction in SAMSON. Editors also belong to an extension family: SAMSON provides editors by default, and additional editors can be added from SAMSON Connect. So, when you need a tool, look for the editor; when you want to add more tools, look to extensions. If you are developing your own, the documentation points to the extension-generation resources.
Choose the right reference for the job
Not every editor-related task belongs on the same page. For viewport navigation and view or selection editors, see Moving around. For transform tasks such as moving, alignment, and distribution, see Moving objects. For the editor overview and related references, visit the SAMSON Editors documentation.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON.