This is Part IV of What’s new in SAMSON 2023 R1, the release notes for SAMSON 2023 R1.
💡 Interface redesign, and so much more!
SAMSON 2023 R1 features a major redesign of the interface to offer a more streamlined experience, with numerous quality-of-life improvements.
Context toolbar
Now, when selecting nodes in SAMSON, a new context toolbar gives you direct access to the frequently used commands.
The toolbar makes it possible to rapidly access SAMSON AI, operate on the selection (zoom on it, select parents, descendants and connected components), as well as apply labels, materials and visualizations, and access the Inspector.
Editors
Editors (to select, build, move, twist, erase, label, measure, etc.) are now all conveniently located in the top-left part of the viewport:
A Simpler Menu
The main menu has been completely redesigned and simplified. It is now more hierarchical and makes it easier to locate important commands. And of course SAMSON AI knows it by heart and gives you direct access to commands.
Selections
We added more types of nodes and structures in the Node Specification Language (NSL). Now, to select, for example, a receptor using NSL simply type: “node.category receptor” or “n.c rec” for short.
The following node categories are available: receptor, ligand, lipid, water, ion, monatomicIon, polyatomicIon, glycan, hydrogensWithBonds. You can find them in the selection filter and in the Find window.
We added new selection commands and added new modifiers to selection commands to provide you with more possibilities. Try holding Shift (select among visible nodes only), Alt (select among hidden nodes only), or Ctrl (add to the current selection) when clicking on a selection command in the Select menu – see tooltips of commands for more information.
Improved Visual Presets
We made it easier to edit and create Visual Presets – which make it possible to apply complex, custom visualizations of your systems in a few clicks.
Render Presets
SAMSON 2023 R1 now makes it possible to save rendering settings (for ambient occlusion, shadows, blur, background, etc.) as Render Presets stored directly in SAMSON documents!
Render presets can be accessed and modified using the Inspector. You can have multiple render presets per document and transfer them between documents. Simply double-click on a render preset to apply it. This has huge implications for shareability and reproducibility of images!
To try rendering presets, go to Visualization > Presets.
For developers
The SAMSON C++ API has been upgraded to expose the new functionalities of this release and let developers create extensions that they can distribute on SAMSON Connect. Please see the changelog in the Developers Guide.
Of course, you can now also use the SAMSON Python API and directly ship your Python apps as part of SAMSON documents.
Next
Go to Part V about the New Pricing Structure, which gives you even more insane value than before.