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Getting Started
Loading
a Molecule
The first step is to load a molecule. Choose the File-> Open
Molecule... option (Figure 2). in the Main Menu. In order to see a 3D
structure, open a file with an appropriate format (.pdb, .mol2, .sdf etc.).
Figure 2 - Open Molecule
The names of all loaded structures are indicated in the Names Panel.
Changing
the View
You should have a scroll wheel mouse or a three-button mouse to work
with Quantum.You can rotate, move and zoom in on the 3D structures using the
mouse as shown (Figure 3). If you have a scroll wheel, you can push down on the
wheel to use it as a middle button. By scrolling the mouse wheel, you can
change the brightness of the picture.
Figure 3 - Mouse Control
Virtual trackball rotation works as if there is an invisible ball in the
center of the screen (Figure 4). When you click and drag on the screen, it is
as if you put your finger on the sphere and rotated it in approximately the
same manner.
Figure4 - Virtual Trackball
Rotations
Exploring
Different Drawing Styles
Quantum can display your molecule using a wide variety of drawing
styles. After loading a molecule, it will appear as Lines (the default). As an
example, let us change it to Cartoon (Figure 5).
Figure 5 -Drawing Style
To change the drawing stile, choose the H option in the Viewer
Menu (Figure 6) (a). Select Hide-> lines (b). Then choose the S
option in the Viewer Menu (c). Select Show-> Cartoon (d).
Figure 6 - Hide and Show
Drawing Styles
Exploring
Different Actions, Labeling and Coloring Methods
You can have a mixture of different actions, labels and color by using
the A, L and C items in the Viewer Menu, respectively (Figure 7).
Figure 7 - Actions,
Labels and Color
You can choose another approach for formatting structures: right-click
on the structure in the viewer, and a menu window will appear. Select Molecule...
. Then you can produce an action, change the drawing style
and set labels and/or color.