Hi Anne-Frances,
This works fine in my tests. Did you make sure the file format is correct (contains tabs)?
<https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/formats/defattr.html>
See attached, assigns attribute "blah" to residues /A:1, /A:2, /A:3
You can also save an attribute file with some existing residue attribute to get an example of the proper format, e.g.
save phi.defattr attr r:phi
<https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/commands/save.html#attributes>
I hope this helps,
Elaine
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Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D.
UCSF Chimera(X) team
Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
University of California, San Francisco
<blah.defattr>On Feb 27, 2026, at 5:18 AM, Anne-Frances Miller via ChimeraX-users <chimerax-users@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
Dear All,
I can make .defattr files that work well for render-by-attribute, if I specify residues only as :arg or :206 (examples).
However if I want to specify a particular residue in a particular chain (e.g. /A:206), I can load a .defattr file with no error, but the attribute is not found by the render-by-attribute or select-by-attribute capabilities.
(I did not attempt the retired :206.A notation. Maybe I should ?)
Has anyone gotten chain-specific resIDs to work in a .defattr file please?
Thank you
•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•
A.-F. Miller, Ph. D. (she/elle/sie)
Gill Eminent Professor
Distinguished Prof. of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Chemistry
University of Kentucky
https://uky.zoom.us/j/3250841836
https://millerlablive.wordpress.com/