Molecular modelers often rely on multiple specialized tools during structure preparation, simulation setup, or analysis stages. If you’re using SAMSON, you’ve probably noticed that the platform includes a feature-rich environment where ‘editors’ allow direct manipulation of molecular models in the viewport—whether it’s building nanotubes, selecting atoms, or applying rigid-body transformations.
But here’s a detail that might catch you off guard: only one editor can be active at any given time. This design choice might seem limiting at first glance. After all, in software where multitasking is common, why limit active editing functionality to a single tool?
A Short Dive into SAMSON Editors
In SAMSON, an editor is essentially a specialized tool that responds to user interaction events, such as mouse clicks or keyboard shortcuts. Editors can serve many roles—for example:
- Generating and customizing nanotubes
- Manipulating geometries while preserving structural constraints
- Selecting atoms or fragments via custom shapes like rectangles
- Applying specific transformations to molecular assemblies
You can find the list of available editors in the left-hand menu of the viewport. Additional editors are just a search away through the ‘Find everything’ bar, or they can be installed from SAMSON Connect.
Why Only One Editor at a Time?
There’s a practical reason for limiting interaction to a single editor at a time: it eliminates input ambiguity. Editors are designed to handle interactive events directly—when you click, drag, or press a key, the active editor decides how to interpret that input. If multiple editors were active, coordination between them would become difficult, potentially leading to conflicting behaviors or unintended consequences in your model.
For example, imagine simultaneously using a nanotube generator editor and a selection rectangle tool. Both might respond to drag events, but expect to handle those events in completely different ways. Rather than make users juggle priorities or suffer input clashes, SAMSON lets you swap editors instantly—offering clarity and modularity instead of complexity.
This design keeps your modeling environment focused. You always know exactly what tool is interpreting your input, and switching editors is quick and seamless.
Best Practices for Editor Workflow
- Before starting an operation, check which editor is currently active in the top-left corner of the viewport interface. The active editor’s name and command shortcuts are displayed there.
- If you’re unsure where a specific editor is, use the ‘Find everything’ bar at the top of SAMSON. Simply type in the function you need (e.g., “rigid transform”) and the editor will pop up if installed.
- Switch editors frequently depending on task: select with one tool, manipulate geometries with another, and continue building models without clutter or confusion.
This structure might take some getting used to if you’re coming from environments where all tools are always available. But in practice, the one-editor-at-a-time model tends to speed up workflows and reduce errors, especially in larger or more complex molecular systems.
Ready to Explore?
If you’ve never used editors in SAMSON before, start with the default ones and explore the menus in the viewport. You’ll quickly find that switching editing modes becomes second nature—just like changing tools in a graphics application.
Learn more about editors in SAMSON on the official documentation page: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/editors/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.