In molecular modeling and simulations, it’s often essential not only to compute how particles move but also to clearly visualize the trajectory they follow. Whether you’re simulating protein-ligand interactions, assembling complex systems, or simply preparing a presentation, being able to record and review atomic movements over time offers invaluable insight.
This is where the Record path animation in SAMSON comes in. It allows you to trace atom positions over the course of a dynamic animation, offering an intuitive view of how your system evolves. Let’s explore how to use it effectively.
What does it solve?
Imagine you’ve just set up a simulation of a ligand docking into a protein binding site. You’ve run animations to dock the ligand, but now your presentation needs to show the motion clearly. It’s not enough to play the animation—you need to visually emphasize the path taken. The Record path animation lets you do just that: it overlays the trajectory as a visual path.
How to Add the Record Path Animation
Start by opening the Animation panel in SAMSON’s Animator. Double-click on the Record path effect to insert it into your animation timeline. A keyframe will appear—this indicates the point where SAMSON starts recording positions. You can move this keyframe to adjust when the recording begins.
One small but important detail: the Animator reads animations from top to bottom, so be sure to place the Record path track after the effects you want to capture—such as movements, docking, or assembly actions.
How to Know It’s Working
When you play your presentation, the Record path animation uses colored segments to indicate whether atomic positions have been successfully recorded:
- Green segment: positions recorded
- Red segment: positions not recorded or became invalid
This provides a clear and immediate diagnostic to ensure your path recording is capturing the desired frames.
Performance Tips
Recording paths can be demanding computationally, especially for long or complex animations. For smoother editing, you can temporarily disable the path recording. This can be done either via the Inspector panel or by right-clicking on the Record path animation in the Animator and selecting Enable recording to toggle it off or on.
When disabled, the track’s controllers become darkened—helping you avoid confusion later on.
Exporting the Path
Once you’ve played your animation and the Record path track is fully green, you’re ready to export the visual trajectory:
- Click Create path in the Inspector of the Record path animation.
- Or right-click on the animation in the Animator and choose Create path.
This adds a Path node in your document, giving you a persistent visual trail of the atom’s movement. It’s an excellent tool for presentations and for better understanding complex molecular mechanisms.
Ready to try it?
To explore this feature in more detail, including how it complements other animations like Simulate or Dock, visit the documentation page below.
Learn more about the Record path animation in SAMSON.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Download SAMSON from https://www.samson-connect.net.