Molecular modelers often face the challenge of learning complex software tools while juggling their research or design work. Opening a new platform, exploring menus, and testing features can become time-consuming when the goal was just to visualize a molecule or analyze a result. This learning curve can feel steep, especially when documentation is lengthy or hard to navigate.
If you’ve ever wished that software could guide you more intuitively, showing you what buttons to click and why, then SAMSON’s interactive tutorials were designed with you in mind. These integrated, step-by-step guides are available directly within SAMSON and teach you how to use key features with real-time actions—no need to flip between a manual and the software.
What are SAMSON’s interactive tutorials?
Interactive tutorials in SAMSON combine instructions with hands-on practice, showing you exactly how to perform common modeling and simulation tasks. Unlike video tutorials or static web pages, these tutorials appear right inside the SAMSON interface, guiding you through each action without leaving the software environment. This minimizes context-switching and helps speed up the learning process.
To try the tutorials:
- Launch SAMSON
- Go to Help > Tutorials
- Select a tutorial from the list
- Click Start tutorial
Once started, SAMSON provides on-screen tips, visual cues, and guidance right in the interface. You’ll be clicking, selecting, and viewing the correct items without needing to guess which menu or parameter is correct.
Why use them?
Whether you’re a beginner learning the basics or an experienced user exploring new functionalities, interactive tutorials reduce the time you spend learning and help you become productive more quickly. Here are a few benefits:
- No context-switching: Learn while you build—without opening your browser or a separate documentation window.
- Task-focused: Each tutorial is built around a specific task, such as analyzing a structure or running a simulation.
- Restart anytime: If you want to go through a tutorial again, just return to Help > Tutorials and start over.
- Exit effortlessly: To end a tutorial, simply close the tip window shown in the Viewport.
Bonus for extension users
If you’re using SAMSON Extensions, such as tools for specific simulations or structural analysis, additional tutorials are available too. These can be found under the SAMSON Extensions Tutorials section. They work just like the built-in ones—step-by-step guidance within the software itself.
To learn more, visit the Interactive Tutorials documentation page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.