- ChimeraX-users - RBVI Mailing Lists

Possible to plot attribute value over sequence?
by Vorländer,Matthias Kopano 29 Jan '25

29 Jan '25

Dear ChimeraX team, I wondered if it is possible to generate a line or scatter plot of an attribute value (B factor, Alphafold pLDDT scores, or AlphafoldMissense score…) over the residue number? For example something like this (taken from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0089116) : [cid:image001.png@01DB7242.B1C3F8A0] Specifically, for the AlphafoldMissense data, such a plot would be more informative then the default histogram that is displayed when fetching the scores when looking for functional hotspots in your POI. Many thanks, MAtthias

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Chai discovery data
by Reza Salavati, Prof. 29 Jan '25

29 Jan '25

Hello, I have downloaded the Chai discovery data in .npy and .json file formats. How can I open these files in Chimera X? Thank you Reza

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ChimeraX installation on Debian Trixie? (Unsatisfied dependencies)
by Francisco Murphy Pérez 29 Jan '25

29 Jan '25

``` root@debian# apt install ./ucsf-chimerax_1.9ubuntu24.04_amd64.deb Note, selecting 'ucsf-chimerax' instead of './ucsf-chimerax_1.9ubuntu24.04_amd64.deb' Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable distribution that some required packages have not yet been created or been moved out of Incoming. The following information may help to resolve the situation: Unsatisfied dependencies: ucsf-chimerax : Depends: libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0 but it is not installable root@debian# apt install ./libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-0_2.42.12+dfsg-1+b1_amd64.deb Note, selecting 'libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-0' instead of './libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-0_2.42.12+dfsg-1+b1_amd64.deb' libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-0 is already the newest version (2.42.12+dfsg-1+b1). libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-0 set to manually installed. Summary: Upgrading: 0, Installing: 0, Removing: 0, Not Upgrading: 0 ``` From here https://github.com/RBVI/ChimeraX/blob/develop/mkubuntu.py (line 308) looks like "libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0": "2.40.0+dfsg", is missing a dash?

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Re: [Chimera-users] How to subgroup the chains of oligomer pdb
by Elaine Meng 28 Jan '25

28 Jan '25

Hello, If you are asking about ChimeraX, it is better to use the address chimerax-users(a)cgl.ucsf.edu <mailto:chimerax-users@cgl.ucsf.edu> CC'd here, instead of the older Chimera address. I don't know if this is exactly what you want but you can give a name to any set of atoms. For example, open your-oligomer.pdb name frozen mygroup1 #1/A-F name frozen mygroup2 #1/G-L select mygroup1 color mygroup2 orange See ChimeraX "name" command (your name can be something else, like gp20 instead of mygroup1): <https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/commands/name.html> Or, a totally different thing you could do is split the model into two different models, for example, open your-oligomer.pdb split atoms #1/A-F atoms #1/G-L That would make your model #1 into two separate models #1.1 and #1.2 with the specified sets of atoms. See ChimeraX "split" command <https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/commands/split.html> You can also change names of models (what is shown in the Models list) using the "rename" command: <https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/commands/rename.html> I hope this helps, Elaine ----- Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D. UCSF Chimera(X) team Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry University of California, San Francisco > On Jan 24, 2025, at 8:14 PM, sktewary via Chimera-users <chimera-users(a)cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote: > > Friends > > I would like to learn how to subgroup the chains of a oligomer pdb. suppose i have a pdb with chain A to L, in which A,B,C,D,E,F belongs to gp20 and G,H,I,J,K,L belongs to gp20. My question is how to add the descriptions to these groups chains so that when the viewer look the pdb file when he selects the gp20 all the chains to this group are selected A-F. > > Please give your feedback if chimerax can do it, how to do it?

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Limit blast search to species
by Vorländer,Matthias Kopano 28 Jan '25

28 Jan '25

Dear ChimeraX team, I wondered if it is possible to limit a BLAST search to only a single species when querying a selected database. This would facilitate identifying homologs in your favorite model organism, rather than picking up the most closely related homolog overall (i.e when using the alphafold database). Many thanks, Matthias

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Clustal alignment
by Rosaleen Calvert 28 Jan '25

28 Jan '25

Hi. Apparently alignment is newly available in Chimerax 1.9. I cannot find how to do this in Tools: sequence or Tools: structure analysis. From Rosy Calvert

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movie crossfade
by Enrico Martinez 27 Jan '25

27 Jan '25

Dear ChimeraX users! I am recording a short animation demonstrating my docking ensemble # start recording movie record ## play DOCKING movie from end to begining coordset #1 96,1,-1 wait 96 Would it be possible to add a smooth transition between each frame (docking pose) using the movie crossfade command ? If so, how should this command be placed in the script ? Many thanks in advance ! Enrico

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Fwd: ChimeraX installation on Debian Trixie? (Unsatisfied dependencies)
by Eric Pettersen 27 Jan '25

27 Jan '25

Greg, I’m guessing this is yours… —Eric > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Eric Pettersen <pett(a)cgl.ucsf.edu> > Subject: Fwd: [chimerax-users] ChimeraX installation on Debian Trixie? (Unsatisfied dependencies) > Date: January 23, 2025 at 3:45:29 PM PST > To: chimerax-programmers(a)cgl.ucsf.edu > Cc: Elaine Meng <meng(a)cgl.ucsf.edu> > > Anybody? > >> Begin forwarded message: >> >> From: Francisco Murphy Pérez via ChimeraX-users <chimerax-users(a)cgl.ucsf.edu> >> Subject: [chimerax-users] ChimeraX installation on Debian Trixie? (Unsatisfied dependencies) >> Date: January 19, 2025 at 1:22:00 PM PST >> To: ChimeraX Users Help <chimerax-users(a)cgl.ucsf.edu> >> Reply-To: Francisco Murphy Pérez <francisco.murphy(a)ibt.unam.mx> >> >> ``` >> root@debian# apt install ./ucsf-chimerax_1.9ubuntu24.04_amd64.deb >> Note, selecting 'ucsf-chimerax' instead of './ucsf-chimerax_1.9ubuntu24.04_amd64.deb' >> Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have >> requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable >> distribution that some required packages have not yet been created >> or been moved out of Incoming. >> The following information may help to resolve the situation: >> >> Unsatisfied dependencies: >> ucsf-chimerax : Depends: libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0 but it is not installable >> >> root@debian# apt install ./libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-0_2.42.12+dfsg-1+b1_amd64.deb >> Note, selecting 'libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-0' instead of './libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-0_2.42.12+dfsg-1+b1_amd64.deb' >> libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-0 is already the newest version (2.42.12+dfsg-1+b1). >> libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-0 set to manually installed. >> Summary: >> Upgrading: 0, Installing: 0, Removing: 0, Not Upgrading: 0 >> ``` >> >> From here https://github.com/RBVI/ChimeraX/blob/develop/mkubuntu.py (line 308) looks like "libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0": "2.40.0+dfsg", is missing a dash? >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> ChimeraX-users mailing list -- chimerax-users(a)cgl.ucsf.edu >> To unsubscribe send an email to chimerax-users-leave(a)cgl.ucsf.edu >> Archives: https://mail.cgl.ucsf.edu/mailman/archives/list/chimerax-users@cgl.ucsf.edu/ >

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ChimeraX question - Diana Mayorga
by Diana Carolina Mayorga Gonzalez 27 Jan '25

27 Jan '25

Hi, Hope you are well. I would like to know if I can do these transparent bubbles in ChimeraX showing the atoms stick as well. If it is possible, could you help me with a small tutorial, please? [cid:add7b0b3-f091-48a9-bc44-329473b06f2e] Thank you so much in advance, Diana Carolina Mayorga G PhD Student Yannick Doyon Lab Research Center - Université Laval Department of Reproduction, mother and youth health (RSME) Québec, Canada

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Re: movie with model label/name
by Elaine Meng 26 Jan '25

26 Jan '25

Dear Saif, To ask questions in the future, we recommand that you please use the mailing list for the appropriate program (chimera-users(a)cgl.ucsf.edu <mailto:chimera-users@cgl.ucsf.edu> for Chimera, chimerax-users(a)cgl.ucsf.edu <mailto:chimerax-users@cgl.ucsf.edu> for ChimeraX). If you mail me individually your question may not get answered. I will answer for ChimeraX since that is our preferred program now -- Chimera is no longer developed. In general, this topic is covered in the ChimeraX "making movies" page: <https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/movies.html> You can do all of this with a command script using several commands. There is a "morph" (atomic) or "morph maps" (density maps) command to do the morphing. You would probably change the display (colors, styles, etc.) to how you want it for your movie and then save a session. Then, to work on making a movie you would create a command script that applies to the session. The reason to save a session is so you can avoid redoing the same setup calculations, coloring, etc. every time you run the script. You can do all that stuff first and then save a session. Usually working on the script takes several days, so you would just restore your session and then continue working on the script. The script would contain what you actually want to show in the movie. You can play back an atomic morph with "coordset" and show/hide labels with "2dlabel" and you can do all kinds of other stuff as well, like zoom and rotate. You may also want to save positions in your session file (see "view" command) and then during the movie script, restore those different positions. When the movie script contains what you want to show in your movie, which is usually a long interative process after you play it back several times and keep changing the commands, then you would add the movie-recording commands (see "movie" command) to start recording at the beginning and save the movie file at the end. There are examples in our "making movies" page and links therein to the help for the commands mentioned above as well as movie-making tutorials. I hope this helps, Elaine ----- Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D. UCSF Chimera(X) team Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry University of California, San Francisco > On Jan 26, 2025, at 5:53 AM, Md Saiful Islam - MRC LMB <sislam(a)mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk> wrote: > > Dear Elaine > Just wondering, is there any script to make movies to show the conformational changes between multiple models with the labeling of each of the models shown. > For example, I want to make a movie to show a morph between three cryoEM models where I want to label the three models while morphing from model 1 to model 2 and from model 2 to model 3. > > Accept my apologies if you already shared this before. > > Many thanks for your help. > > Kind Regards > Saif

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Confirming coordinate axis
by Abhinaba Das 24 Jan '25

24 Jan '25

Dear ChimeraX-users, I'm writing to ask if there is a way to view the x,y,and z axis live while model building. I've a helical map generated in CryoSPARC which has a D1 symmetry. I could generate the asymmetric unit (ASU) for the corresponding C1 reconstruction but having issues applying D1 symmetry. The approach I've taken is to make a diheral copy of the C1 ASU (turn y 180 center <mapId> coordinateSystem <mapId> model <modelid>; followed by combine command). This should generate the dihedral ASU, and if the helical symmetry is applied should generate the symmetric copies (?). But seems not to be working.. I've assumed that the dyad axis is along the y-axis (cryosparc says for its output map). Just wondering if the axes are aligned.. Thanks, Abhi

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openmmforcefields
by Lewandowski, Jozef 24 Jan '25

24 Jan '25

Hi, I really like that openmm is implemented in ChimeraX. Is it possible somehow to implement/include openmmforcefields (https://github.com/openmm/openmmforcefields)? Specifically, I often use custom residues and would love to, e.g. parametrise them using GAFF, to do some small local minimisation in ChimeraX. Or is there any way of passing force fields for ligands parametrised with GAFF to ChimeraX? Thanks, Józef

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Surface Color
by Hansen, Bryan (NIH/NIAID) [E] 24 Jan '25

24 Jan '25

Hi, I'm having issues with coloring a surface by volume. When I compare the two volumes I don't get the larger volume completely colored and even when I set 'Color outside volume' to match the same color as the 0 value which in this case is the blue it still renders grey. Can you help me with which step I'm messing up? Thanks. Bryan Hansen Computational Biologist / Electron Microscopist NIH/NIAID/RTB/RML/EMU Rocky Mountain Laboratories 903 S. 4th St Hamilton, MT 59840 406.363.9202 *********************************************************** The information in this e-mail and any of its attachments is confidential and may contain sensitive information.It should not be used by anyone who is not the original intended recipient. If you have received this e-mail in error, please inform the sender and delete it from your mailbox or any other storage devices. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shall not accept liability for any statements made that are sender's own and not expressly made on behalf of the NIAID by one of its representatives. ***********************************************************

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Assigning a custom net charge for a ligand using dockprep
by Jade Shi 24 Jan '25

24 Jan '25

Hi, I am trying to use dockprep to prepare PDB files with ligand molecules for subsequent modeling and analysis. I am currently using the "dockprep" command with no additional arguments. However, I find that occasionally when calculating partial charges using antechamber/AM1-BCC, ChimeraX assigns an incorrect total charge to the ligand resulting in an incorrect charge distribution. Is there a way to specify this manually, i.e. the equivalent of supplying the -nc flag when using antechamber directly? Thanks a lot! Jade

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Draw and build secondary structures interactively
by Roden Deng Luo 22 Jan '25

22 Jan '25

Hi, I know there is a tool and command "build". But it is not that interactive. I wonder if there is a feature in ChimeraX (or any other tools) that can allow the user to draw in 3D space (or 2D) lines and then specify some segments as alpha-helices and some other segments as beta-sheets. I imagine the generated structure can be a backbone populated with G (glycine). 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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"forEach" command to open multiple pdb from multiple directories and save images there ?
by Vincent CHAPTAL 21 Jan '25

21 Jan '25

Hi, I would like to open multiple alphafold results that are stored in several folders, make an image, and save the image in those orignial folders. I'm using the forEach command to open all the results and run the script to create an image, and it works very well: open script.cxc forEach /PATH*/ranked_*.pdb script.cxc: open reference-structure.pdb match #1 to #2 color #*/B green color #*/C red color #*/D blue view matrix camera 0.87509,0.019021,-0.48356,-124.35,0.48393,-0.035333,0.87439,694.49,-0.00044561,-0.99919,-0.040123,163.41 I'm only stuck at the saving process where I'd like to save an image ranked_*.png matching the original name and folder location: save /PATH*/$file.png doesn't work because the /PATH*/ is not recognized as an existing directory. save /$PATH*/$file.png gives the same error. If I remove the /PATH/ it saves all the images on top of each other and it defeats the purpose. Could you let me know how to save in the folder where the .pdb was read from? Thank you Vincent -- Vincent Chaptal, PhD Director of GdR APPICOM Drug Resistance and Membrane Proteins Lab MMSB -UMR5086 7 passage du Vercors 69007 LYON FRANCE +33 4 37 65 29 01 http://www.appicom.cnrs.fr http://mmsb.cnrs.fr/en/

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UCSF ChimeraX - Using the software for teaching
by Fernandes, Clive 17 Jan '25

17 Jan '25

Dear Team, Hope the new year is treating you well. I'm Clive Fernandes, working within the Technology Procurement Team at Imperial College London. A member of the teaching staff has contacted me to inquire whether they can use ChimeraX for teaching purposes. This would involve installing the software in a few small lab/teaching rooms. Could you please confirm if this use is permissible and does not violate the terms and conditions? Thank you. Best wishes, Clive Fernandes Software Asset Management Lead Information & Communication Technologies Level 4, Sherfield Building Imperial College London South Kensington London, SW7 2AZ Connect on LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/in/clive-fernandes-/>

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Regarding the issue of residue display
by 张馨丹四川大学生物治疗国家重点实验室 16 Jan '25

16 Jan '25

There are gaps between adjacent residues sticks and cartoons. How should this problem be solved? Looking forward to your reply. Thank you!

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No command line or the right-side tap in ChimeraX1.9
by Chloe Chin 16 Jan '25

16 Jan '25

Hi, I'm an undergraduate student who just started to use ChimeraX! Unfortunately, I found that ChimeraX1.9 did not show any command line or the tap that should be shown in the right-side (where we can see the log). However, it appears when I use ChimeraX 1.10. Can anyone let me know what might be wrong? Also, will there be any problem if I just use ChimeraX 1.10 (or the daily build, because I downloaded the daily exe and it became 1.10)? My laptop is window 11 by the way. I'd appreciate it a lot if I could get an answer for my questions... I'll be waiting for the reply :) Best, Chloe

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Different dihedral angle results between Chimera and ChimeraX
by Alexander Hung Lee 16 Jan '25

16 Jan '25

Hello, I was looking to calculate the dihedral angle, and ChimeraX was giving me a value that I didn't agree with. I ran the same command with the older Chimera, and it's more in line with what I expected I was looking at the dihedral angle for N-acetyl in sialic acid. ChimeraX gave me 6.9 degrees while Chimera gave me -179.95 degrees. Is there something wrong that I'm doing? It's from the same pdb file. [cid:d7d74402-46c4-4f1e-8ee1-2d78698cb88f] Regards, Alex

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Question about the tool Find Cavities
by svle＠tiscali.it 16 Jan '25

16 Jan '25

Hi, the tool Find Cavities returns as information about each detected cavity the number of points describing the what has been found. It is possible to obtain the coordinate of that points so to calculate the "center" of a found cavity of interest? Thanks. Saverio

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pb with alphafold error plot when we used dimer
by Jean-François Bureau 15 Jan '25

15 Jan '25

Hi, When I stimulate dimer using alphafold3, it is not possible to load the error plot since Chimerax is waiting to have the data of the first protein and find that of both. Best JF Bureau

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Re: From the Correct email now: ChimeraX corrections for the getting started tutorial.
by Elaine Meng 13 Jan '25

13 Jan '25

Hi Anne-Francis, For ChimeraX, we don't have an exact parallel to the "getting started" tutorial for Chimera. However, the one I usually recommend as an intro to general molecular modeling (such as for a class) is Protein-Ligand Binding sites <https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/tutorials/binding-sites.html> You can also look down through the tutorials index to see if there are any more specific ones that might interest you. <https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/tutorials.html> The ChimeraX "quick start" sections can be followed sequentially as they are written, but I understand it is not really the same kind of narrative as most tutorials. You may also be interested to try the "click to execute" approach where you don't even have to type the commands (although perhaps it does not provide as much reinforcement for the students to learn them). Regards, Elaine ----- Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D. UCSF Chimera(X) team Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry University of California, San Francisco > On Jan 12, 2025, at 7:01 PM, Anne-Frances Miller <afmill3r2(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Oh shoot! > You are right, > > I see how that happened though, for the ChimeraX https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/tutorials.html > I don't see any getting started guide that leads people though all the basics from start to finish with commands being introduced. > > Have you got such a thing yet? This class cannot use the quick start guide, they need a full work flow. > > This one gets close: https://dasher.wustl.edu/bio5357/software/chimerax/tutorial.pdf > > THANK YOU for answering on a Sunday!! > Anne-Frances > >

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abbreviation for transparentbackground please
by Anne-Frances Miller 12 Jan '25

12 Jan '25

Dear Sir or Madam, Re. ChimeraX 1.7: the image save option ’transparent background true’ is very long, and typo-prone. Is there an abbreviation or short form please? Thank you - • - • - • - • - • - • - • - • - A.-F. Miller, Ph. D. (she/elle/sie) University Research Professor Professor of Chemistry University of Kentucky https://www.uky.edu/~afm/ Visiting Fellow, Einstein Foundation of Berlin

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Problem upgrading to the latest version 1.9
by svle＠tiscali.it 09 Jan '25

09 Jan '25

Hi, surely for my errors in uninstalling the previous version , I'm receiving the following: $ sudo apt remove --purge ucsf-chimerax Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree... Done Reading state information... Done The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required: libgdk-pixbuf-xlib-2.0-0 libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0 libosmesa6 libxcb-cursor0 Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove them. The following packages will be REMOVED: ucsf-chimerax* 0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 to remove and 0 not upgraded. After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] (Reading database ... 524167 files and directories currently installed.) Removing ucsf-chimerax (1.9ubuntu24.04) ... Deregister desktop menu and associated mime types /var/lib/dpkg/info/ucsf-chimerax.prerm: 4: chimerax: not found dpkg: error processing package ucsf-chimerax (--remove): installed ucsf-chimerax package pre-removal script subprocess returned error exit status 127 dpkg: too many errors, stopping Errors were encountered while processing: ucsf-chimerax Processing was halted because there were too many errors. E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1) $ dpkg --get-selections | grep ucsf ucsf-chimerax install $ chimerax chimerax: command not found Any suggestions to recover? Thanks. Saverio

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