Elaine's suggestions for using the command line are the easiest way to do what you want.  However, if for some reason you prefer to use the menus, you can use the Select menu to change the "selection mode" to "append".  This will allow you to build up selections since selecting new items won't deselect previous items.  You can then do operations (like color) on the aggregate selection rather than having to do them separately.  You can also save selections you've built up by using "Name Selection..." in the Select menu.  If you save a session, named selections will be remembered in the session.

--Eric


                        Eric Pettersen

                        UCSF Computer Graphics Lab

                        pett@cgl.ucsf.edu

                        http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu


On Nov 1, 2005, at 9:13 AM, Elaine Meng wrote:


On Oct 28, 2005, at 9:50 AM, Eric Gillitzer wrote:

I work a lot with symmetrical, multi subunit structures and in  
order to select say residue 45 in every subunit, I must one at a  
time go in and in the sequence finder select the residue in each  
chain and then color it.  Is there a way to select all of the same  
number residues (say number 45, might be an alanine) in the  
structure displayed and color only those.  If you select alanine,  
it will select every single alanine in the structure.  Chimera  
seems to be a really powerful program, but I am pulling my hair out  
trying to get it to do something productive in a timely fashion.   
thanks, eric.


Hi Eric,
It depends how the residues and chains are defined in the PDB file,  
but often it will be the same residue number but in different  
chains.  In that case, it is fairly simple to select using a  
command.  For example, in PDB 1e9i there are chains A-D, each  
comprising essentially the same sequence. To select residue 45 in all  
four chains:

command: select :45.a-d
or
command: select :45.*

Or, to select residue 45 in just chains A and D:

command: select :45.a,45.d

(To show the command line, choose Favorites... Command Line from the  
menu).
I hope this helps,
Elaine
-----
Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D.                          meng@cgl.ucsf.edu
UCSF Computer Graphics Lab and Babbitt Lab
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
University of California, San Francisco
                      http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/home/meng/index.html




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