Eric,
Yes, my ultimate goal is more complicated than the examples that I gave.  I would like to find all the Lys residues in the structure that are less than 8 Å apart from each other.  After several hours of frustration with the Selector Construction Panel, I decided to try a simpler question in order to test whether I was using the Workbench correctly and to test whether any information was being saved.  

I may not have understood your reply correctly.  Here is what I tried just now.  I selected all atoms NZ (@NZ).  THEN I invoked the Selector Construction Panel.  (In my previous experiments, the Construction Panel had been invoked before I made the selection in the main window.)  Then I proceeded as before, in the Selector Construction Panel: Workbench, Load from current.  The Status panel shows workbench content:  Existing Selection.  Then Workbench, Save, as All NZ atoms, for example.  However, as before, when I go back to the main window, Select, Clear Selection and then Select All NZ atoms, there is nothing selected.

Virginia




On 10/25/07 7:56 PM, "Eric Pettersen" <pett@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:

Hi Virginia,
Perhaps you could describe what your ultimate goal here is -- there may be an easier way to achieve it than by constructing a custom selector.
But in regards to your problem, for the purposes of selector construction the "Existing Selection" isn't what is selected at that instant -- it's what's selected at the time the selector is invoked from Chimera's Select menu.  This allows you to build selectors that intersect the peptide backbone with the current selection for example.
If you want to make a selector that simply holds what's currently selected, use the Name Selection... entry in Chimera's Select menu.  That creates a selector under Named Selections in the Select menu, and will also be remembered in saved sessions.

--Eric
 

                        Eric Pettersen


                        UCSF Computer Graphics Lab


                        pett@cgl.ucsfedu


                        http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu

 

On Oct 25, 2007, at 2:22 PM, Virginia Pett wrote:

Hello,
 There is a difficulty with the Selector Construction Panel.  I make a selection in the main window, such as chain A or atom @NZ.  The Inspect Selection panel shows that I have made a selection.  Then in the Selector Construction Panel: Workbench, Load from current.  The Status panel shows workbench content:  Existing Selection.  Then Workbench, Save, as chain A, for example.  However, when I go back to the main window, Select, Clear Selection and then Select, chain A, there is nothing selected.
 
 I downloaded the latest version of Chimera for Mac OS X a few days ago (chimera-1.2422-osx_x11.dmg).  I’m running it on a PowerBook G4 with Mac OS X (10.4.10).
 Virginia
 _____________________________________________________                                                    
 
 Virginia B. Pett
 Professor of Chemistry
 Department of Chemistry, The College of Wooster
 943 College Mall, Wooster, OH 44691
 Telephone:  330-263-2114
 Fax:  330-263-2386
 
 
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_____________________________________________________                                                    

Virginia B. Pett
Professor of Chemistry
Department of Chemistry, The College of Wooster
943 College Mall, Wooster, OH 44691
Telephone:  330-263-2114
Fax:  330-263-2386