- ChimeraX-users - RBVI Mailing Lists

Mesh lighting off?
by Oliver Clarke 02 Jun '17

02 Jun '17

Hi, Is there any way at present to turn mesh lighting off in ChimeraX? Cheers Oli

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Inconsistencies in text entry behavior
by Oliver Clarke 02 Jun '17

02 Jun '17

Hi, The ChimeraX command line, similar to Chimera, is active no matter where the mouse cursor is positioned. So I can have a residue selected, and start typing a command directly - so far so good. However, in Chimera, once I start typing, I can then page through the command history, using the up arrow or shift-up to filter by substring. In ChimeraX, this doesn’t work - the command line receives text input, but in order to then page through the history, I need to actively click on the command line entry bar to activate it - it would be good if this behavior was altered to that of regular chimera. Apologies for the vague description, hope that made sense! Cheers Oli

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XYZ format
by Mike Goodstadt 01 Jun '17

01 Jun '17

Hi! Many thanks for the great work on this new version. Does ChimeraX support XYZ files? Chimera did but I get an “unrecognized filetype” error in ChimeraX. Best regards, Mike Goodstadt mikegoodstadt(a)gmail.com skype: mikegoodstadt +34 653 756 614

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Global toggle for volume/model display?
by Oliver Clarke 01 Jun '17

01 Jun '17

Hi, In old chimera, often I will have a few maps loaded, but only one or two specific ones displayed (and similarly for models). Frequently, I want to turn off the display of model information, in order to just see the desired map(s) or vice-versa, and then return to the original display, but there is no convenient way of doing this - I have to go to the volume viewer or model panel and check or uncheck the desired models. Would it be possible to add global toggles for the display of model/map information for this purpose, perhaps implemented as toolbar buttons? Cheers Oli

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Re: [chimerax-users] Suggestion - add shortcuts for Ca trace, Ca+sidechains
by Tom Goddard 30 May '17

30 May '17

It seems that ChimeraX does not display CA traces — it shows just the atoms with no bonds between them. I see that CA-only structures do draw dashed lines between the CA atoms. I’ll have to ask Eric Pettersen on Tuesday what the plan is for depicting CA traces — apparently the mechanism that creates the pseudobonds between CA atoms automatically as is done in Chimera is not in ChimeraX. Tom > On May 26, 2017, at 10:03 AM, Oliver Clarke wrote: > > Sounds great!! > > Alternative - have a C-alpha trace button and show/hide side-chain/base button? > > That way if you do all atoms, you could quickly hide/show side chains, or if you’re displaying C-alpha trace and you want to quickly pop on side chains you can do so also? (Could also add this as a custom button of course) > > Cheers > Oli >> On May 26, 2017, at 1:00 PM, Tom Goddard wrote: >> >> Yes a C-alpha trace toolbar button would be nice — I’ll add that. The random atom color toolbar button is just for laughs — I’ll retire that one when I add C-alpha trace. The C-alpha trace plus side-chain doesn’t seem too different from full backbone + side chain in visual complexity, and backbone + sidechain already has a toolbar button (show all atoms). I’m thinking maybe that would be a toolbar button you could add as a customization. I plan to add a command soon where you can add new toolbar buttons (you specify and image file for icon and the command to execute using a command e.g. "toolbar add “CA trace” icon iconfile.png command "show selAtoms & @CA” shortcut ca” and it would be remembered in a preference file. Another useful one would be your thick backbone and thin side-chain sticks. >> >> Tom >> >> >>> On May 26, 2017, at 7:35 AM, Oliver Clarke wrote: >>> >>> Hi, >>> >>> Frequently when looking at models in medium resolution maps (~4-5 Å), it is valuable to view the C-alpha trace when assessing model map fit (or making figures to show such). >>> >>> At slightly higher resolution, where side chains are obvious but backbone torsions cannot be modeled based on the map alone, representing the C-alpha trace with sidechains displayed is often desirable (examples of both attached). >>> >>> It looks like there is space in the upper toolbar for additional buttons - perhaps adding a button for a Calpha trace representation (equivalent would be P for nuclei acids) and one for a Calpha+sidechain/base representation may be worth considering? (I’m also not convinced of the value of the random atom colors representation as a shortcut, but maybe there is a use case I’m missing?) >>> >>> Cheers >>> Oli >>> <Screenshot 2017-05-26 10.34.38.png><Screenshot 2017-05-26 10.34.25.png> >>> <Screenshot 2017-05-26 10.23.18.png> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> ChimeraX-users mailing list >>> ChimeraX-users(a)cgl.ucsf.edu >>> Manage subscription: >>> http://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/mailman/listinfo/chimerax-users >> > >

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button for next/previous volume?
by Oliver Clarke 30 May '17

30 May '17

Hi, I frequently encounter the issue in “old” chimera where I have a bunch of different maps and I want to switch between them one by one, to better perceive differences or look at them in concert with another model. This is kind of tedious using the volume viewer, especially when many volumes are loaded concurrently Would it be possible to add next/previous volume buttons as shortcuts for this? I would envision this as follows: If multiple volumes are currently displayed, display the one with the lowest #ID and undisplay the rest. If a single volume is displayed, hide it and display the one with the next or previous ID (in a circular fashion, such that the next from the highest ID is the first ID. I have similar shortcuts in Coot which I use all the time and find very helpful for this purpose. Cheers Oli

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Scale bar?
by Oliver Clarke 30 May '17

30 May '17

Hi, it would be nice (when using orthographic projection) to have the option of a dynamically updating scale bar integrated into the main display. This would be helpful when analyzing structures and also when making figures. Cheers Oli

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Suggestion - add shortcuts for Ca trace, Ca+sidechains
by Oliver Clarke 26 May '17

26 May '17

Hi, Frequently when looking at models in medium resolution maps (~4-5 Å), it is valuable to view the C-alpha trace when assessing model map fit (or making figures to show such). At slightly higher resolution, where side chains are obvious but backbone torsions cannot be modeled based on the map alone, representing the C-alpha trace with sidechains displayed is often desirable (examples of both attached). It looks like there is space in the upper toolbar for additional buttons - perhaps adding a button for a Calpha trace representation (equivalent would be P for nuclei acids) and one for a Calpha+sidechain/base representation may be worth considering? (I’m also not convinced of the value of the random atom colors representation as a shortcut, but maybe there is a use case I’m missing?) Cheers Oli

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UI suggestion - modifier key for map selection/interaction
by Oliver Clarke 25 May '17

25 May '17

Hi, Often I want to select or hover over (to reveal tooltip info) atoms located under a transparent surface or mesh. It is much less common to want to select a volume with ctrl-click in my experience. Would it be possible to add a modifier (e.g. Shift or alt/option) for volume selection, and otherwise default to selection of/interaction with the atomic model(s)? I feel like since ChimeraX deals mostly with these two data types, often in combination, having a clear way to distinguish interaction with them would be useful - it adds one extra step to be able to see atoms under a mesh, go to the volume viewer and turn of the required volume or volumes before selecting/identifying them - what do you think? Cheers Oli

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Export silhouettes as SVG?
by Oliver Clarke 24 May '17

24 May '17

Hi, Probably low on the priority list, but I wonder if it would be possible in the future to add an option to export silhouettes (if present) in a vector format such as SVG? This would be incredibly useful when attempting to make realistic schematic figures, and creating scalable assets that can be reused in multiple figures, e.g. generic amino acids, lipids, surface representations of particular proteins, etc. Cheers Oli

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