Hi, There is probably an easy way to do this but I could not find it in the GUI. Is there a way to edit labels placed with the right mouse? Currently they only give the residue type and number, there doesn't seem to be a way to edit or configure them in the same way as one can do using the global per-residue labels in Actions>Labels. If it doesn't exist, perhaps a right mouse mode "Edit label" would be useful to complement Label and Move Label? This would be helpful when making a quick movie to show density quality, and would allow one to easily add custom labels without needing to use the CLI. Cheers Oli
Hi Oli, The "Label" mouse mode creates 3D labels on atomic residues. The GUI way to change their content is with the menu -- you can change the content of 3D labels of just the selected atoms/residues (not necessarily global) with menu: Actions... Label, and/or of specified atoms/residues with the "label" command. <https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/commands/label.html> The "move label" mouse mode moves not only the 3D labels that are associated with specific atoms and residues, but also 2D labels that are in the XY plane and not associated with atoms. You would need a 2D label if you are just labeling density that is not specifically at the location of some atomic structure, but 2D labels don't move along with the scene -- you just create them at the end after positioning the view that will be in your figure or movie. However, the "2D Labels" GUI is one of the main still-missing features in ChimeraX relative to Chimera, sorry. <https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/progress.html> The content of 2D labels is set with the "2dlabels" command. <https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/commands/2dlabels.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 Jun 10, 2025, at 9:09 AM, Oliver Clarke via ChimeraX-users <chimerax-users@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
Hi,
There is probably an easy way to do this but I could not find it in the GUI.
<PastedGraphic-1.png>
Is there a way to edit labels placed with the right mouse? Currently they only give the residue type and number, there doesn't seem to be a way to edit or configure them in the same way as one can do using the global per-residue labels in Actions>Labels.
If it doesn't exist, perhaps a right mouse mode "Edit label" would be useful to complement Label and Move Label?
This would be helpful when making a quick movie to show density quality, and would allow one to easily add custom labels without needing to use the CLI.
Cheers Oli
That is very helpful thanks Elaine!! I’m sorry, I should have realized that Actions would apply to a selection 🤦🏻♂️… appreciate your patience as always! Cheers Oli
On Jun 10, 2025, at 12:43 PM, Elaine Meng <meng@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
Hi Oli, The "Label" mouse mode creates 3D labels on atomic residues. The GUI way to change their content is with the menu -- you can change the content of 3D labels of just the selected atoms/residues (not necessarily global) with menu: Actions... Label, and/or of specified atoms/residues with the "label" command. <https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/commands/label.html>
The "move label" mouse mode moves not only the 3D labels that are associated with specific atoms and residues, but also 2D labels that are in the XY plane and not associated with atoms. You would need a 2D label if you are just labeling density that is not specifically at the location of some atomic structure, but 2D labels don't move along with the scene -- you just create them at the end after positioning the view that will be in your figure or movie. However, the "2D Labels" GUI is one of the main still-missing features in ChimeraX relative to Chimera, sorry. <https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/progress.html>
The content of 2D labels is set with the "2dlabels" command. <https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/commands/2dlabels.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 Jun 10, 2025, at 9:09 AM, Oliver Clarke via ChimeraX-users <chimerax-users@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
Hi,
There is probably an easy way to do this but I could not find it in the GUI.
<PastedGraphic-1.png>
Is there a way to edit labels placed with the right mouse? Currently they only give the residue type and number, there doesn't seem to be a way to edit or configure them in the same way as one can do using the global per-residue labels in Actions>Labels.
If it doesn't exist, perhaps a right mouse mode "Edit label" would be useful to complement Label and Move Label?
This would be helpful when making a quick movie to show density quality, and would allow one to easily add custom labels without needing to use the CLI.
Cheers Oli
participants (2)
-
Elaine Meng -
Oliver Clarke