January 2025 - ChimeraX-users - RBVI Mailing Lists

Show side chain, main chain, and cartoon at the same time
by Zhang, Miao 27 Feb '25

27 Feb '25

Dear colleagues I am new to ChimeraX. I am trying to figure out how to show side chain, main chain, and cartoon at the same time in a protein structure. Like the one below made in other software. Could you please help? [cid:image001.png@01D9D154.CE3D4440] Best, - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Miao Zhang Ph.D. Associate Professor Chapman University School of Pharmacy 9401 Jeronimo Rd, Suite 297W Irvine, CA 92618 Phone: 714-516-5478 http://www.chapman.edu/our-faculty/miao-zhang

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Surface dust command in the .cxc script
by 李泽 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

Hi all: I'm trying to use the .cxc script to run the software, I found that the "surface dust" command has never been executed in it. Have anyone met the same problem? Any suggestions. Thank you all. Best, Ze

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assistance on bundle writting
by Nguyen, Catherine 14 Feb '25

14 Feb '25

Hello, I was hoping to get your help. I am trying to write a bundle and I am struggling to figure out how I can add psuedo-bonds using python as I want to connect two amino acids by the CA. Would you be able to help me find a way to do this? I hope to hear from you soon, Best wishes, Catherine

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Get color code of a custom color
by Ahmad Khalifa 11 Feb '25

11 Feb '25

I created a custom color that I want to use in a different session. is there a way to do that besides trying to match colors by eye? Regards.

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Double and Triple Bond Stick Style
by Smith, Chase 05 Feb '25

05 Feb '25

Dear ChimeraX, I was just wondering why there is no way to represent a double or triple bond in either the ligands or the protein amino acids when viewing as a Stick or Ball-and-Stick representation? I sometimes use Chimera or ChimeraX to make visuals for my lectures, and the students often have difficulty in understanding due to the absence of the multiple bonds. I would love to have the ability to represent the double or triple bonds with multiple lines between the atoms. Thank you, Chase Smith ... ChaseSmith, PhD Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry School of Pharmacy MCPHS University 19 Foster Street | WorcesterMA01608 T 508.373.5717F 508.890.5618C 978.855.7203 chase.smith(a)mcphs.edu www.mcphs.edu MCPHS University Confidentiality Note: This e-mail, and any attachment to it, is intended to be confidential and might be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the use of the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that reading, copying, disseminating or distributing this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately return it to the sender and delete it from your system. Thank you.

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Grid mode and multiple viewports
by Roden Deng Luo 03 Feb '25

03 Feb '25

Hi, I find there is a `tile` command. After I enter the tile mode, the zoom is global. I guess `tile` is implemented by transforming the active models in the global scene explicitly. I wonder if there is a way to have the zoom independent for each model, similar to the grid mode in PyMol. A further question, more from a developer's perspective, is whether having multiple 3D rendering viewports in ChimeraX is possible. I imagine each viewport can have its own active models in the scene and its own camera. Different cameras and other operations might be synced upon users' request. This video (https://youtu.be/7KZ1P-nPav8?si=Z1hiBBuRiWop2WFC) demos the feature (in an old version of Houdini). Thanks, Roden -- This message and its contents, including attachments are intended solely for the original recipient. If you are not the intended recipient or have received this message in error, please notify me immediately and delete this message from your computer system. Any unauthorized use or distribution is prohibited. Please consider the environment before printing this email.

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Question about Surface Volume Overlap Calculation
by John Watters 31 Jan '25

31 Jan '25

Hello, I was wondering if anyone had any tips/tricks/useful functions for quantifying the volume of the overlap between two surfaces in ChimeraX? I am looking specifically to make a metric to compare steric clashes of molecules in different orientations. Thank you for any help you can provide! Best, John

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Add help for reusable ChimeraX script that takes command line arguments?
by Vorländer,Matthias Kopano 30 Jan '25

30 Jan '25

Hi, It’s me again 😉 I wondered how I can add a help page to a re-usable ChimeraX script that is run via runscript. I saved the following script in my ChimeraX presets: #Required arguments: first is the uniprot ID, second is the model ID that will be used for mapping! alphafold fetch $1 #get the missense data open $1 fromDatabase alpha_missense format amiss #associate missense data to structure mutationscores structure $2 #label each residue with matric mutationscores label #1 amiss height 3 #define a new score called avg by avergaing over all substitution scores mutationscores define avg fromScore amiss setAttribute true combine mean #color by avg missense score color byattribute r:avg $2 target csab palette palette bluered range full #scale cartoon by acg missense score cartoon byattribute r:avg #!$2 and then defined an alias in my startup commands so I don’t need to type the full path alias map_missense runscript /Users/matthias.vorlaender/Documents/ChimeraX_presets/map_missense.cxc $1 $2 Is there a way to display the expected user inputs when the script is called without arguments? Cheers, Matthias

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Feasibility of selecting chain ID via uniprot ID?
by Vorländer,Matthias Kopano 30 Jan '25

30 Jan '25

Hi again : ) When comparing structures from different sources (such as different PDB depositions, or an Alphafold structure), it is always tedious to figure out which chain belongs to which protein (especially for large structures like spliceosomes) for consistent coloring or alignment. I wondered if it would be technically feasible to use the uniport ID to match a specific chain directly, since the association between chain ID and uniport ID should be present at least in structures from curated databases such as the PDB and Alphafold. So the ambition would be to be able to use ‘color IF4A3_HUMAN red’ directly, without having to look chain IDs. An added bonus would be to be able to skip the species identifier, in case you have models containing IF4A3_MOUSE and IF4A3_HUMAN, and match both with IF4A3 …. Would be curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks a lot, and best wishes, Matthias

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Encode: saving a movie on a Windows laptop, and colouring residues in the multiple sequence
by Anne-Frances Miller 30 Jan '25

30 Jan '25

Dear ChimeraX My class is having a blast with this! I have assigned the class to make a movie, based on the morph and encode commands. On Macs, your instructions are flawless. However I have students using Windows10 and Windows 11. For these, could you please provide an example movie encode command including path and good choice of format please? Also, when I open a multiple sequence alignment in ChimeraX, is there a way to apply Taylor or other colouring to the MSA? This used to be possible in Chimera's MAV. Thank you, Anne-Frances Novel Meritorious Research (and teaching) —•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•— A.-F. Miller, Ph. D. (she/elle/sie) Distinguished Prof. of Arts and Sciences Professor of Chemistry University of Kentucky https://uky.zoom.us/j/3250841836 https://millerlablive.wordpress.com/ Visiting Fellow, Einstein Foundation of Berlin

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