Hi Tom,
Thanks for the suggestions! As usual you have good ideas, and as usual I don't completely understand them! :)
Did you know one of the very nice features of ChimeraX for moving by hand an atomic model into a map is that if you press the shift key while doing a mouse rotation it switches to translation, and pressing shift in the translation mouse mode does a rotation? So by just pressing and releasing the shift key as you move the model around you can both translate and rotate. I do know this, and agree it is convenient. I do find trackpad gestures in Chimera more ergonomic still, because once the appropriate sets of molecules are activated/deactivated, one doesn’t have to press down on the trackpad, click on any particular molecule, or press a modifier key - it is just a matter of switching between lightly swiping with two fingers (rotation) and three fingers (translation) (plus ctrl-right-click-drag for z-translation). This doesn’t matter so much to functionality I guess, but I find it strains my hands less when doing it a lot.
The secondary reason (perhaps more important) why I would like the capacity to lock (/deactivate) atomic models/maps is that it adds more flexibility and precision. Consider the following situation: 1. I have a group of five (aligned) structures I want to fit to a single map (and I do not want to move the map, as I want to save the structures with respect to the map for opening in other software). In Chimera, I would deactivate the map, rotate/translate all models at once to approximately fit, then reactivate the map and fit all the models using fitmap. In ChimeraX, I would have to move the models one by one, and take care not to accidentally drag the map around (as the control of which model I move depends on what I click on in the window - this is particularly an issue if the model is partially obscured by the map). Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, but having the option of locking/deactivating models/maps would definitely offer more flexibility I think. I’m not sure I exactly explained it, but I hope that makes it a tad clearer? Cheers and thanks for your patience as always, Oli
On Sep 8, 2023, at 7:30 AM, Oliver Clarke via ChimeraX-users <chimerax-users@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
One of the other advantages of this (locking a model) is that it also allows for repositioning of other models in the z direction - z translation of models in ChimeraX is (I think?) not possible, and in Chimera z translation was very convenient, allowing quick repositioning of a model into a map with a couple of quick motions
On Sep 8, 2023, at 9:52 AM, Oliver Clarke <olibclarke@gmail.com> wrote:
Alternatively, a unique keyboard modifier (e.g. Shift-Ctrl) that if applied to all gestures allowed trackpad rotation/translation of the selected model would also accomplish the same thing, but not sure if this is possible...
On Sep 8, 2023, at 9:48 AM, Oliver Clarke <olibclarke@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi,
I know that in ChimeraX the preferred way to manipulate models with respect to one another is using the mouse modes.
This works, but is still (in my experience) less precise/ergonomic than deactivating selected models in Chimera and freely manipulating the remaining active models using the trackpad/mouse.
Is there any possibility in the future (or present) of adding the capacity to “lock" selected models to rotation/translation, to allow free manipulation of the remainder?
Cheers Oli
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