[chimerax-users] ChimeraX VR question or suggestions

[Tom Goddard]

Hi Alejandro,

  Thanks for your VR suggestions!

  When you say segment or select different segments do you mean atomic models or are you talking about electron microscopy maps?  I guess you mean selecting parts of an atomic model.  Using the VR hand controller with a button assigned to the "select" mode you can point at an atom or ribbon residue and select it.  If you hold the button down and then move your hand upward when selecting it will extend the selection to select the whole residue, whole helix, beta strand, or turn, whole chain.  With a mouse you can select multiple parts by holding the shift key, but we don't have an equivalent for that in VR.  Can you tell me what you were trying to select so I can think about how it could be done with the VR hand controller.

  I agree that it would be nice if pointing the VR controller at an atom could show the chain id, residue number, and atom name in a popup.  Since you can't currently type commands in VR it would not be so useful for commands, but it is could to be able to figure out which residues you are looking at.  I have not added a virtual VR keyboard because it is excruciatingly slow to type commands by poking with VR controllers.  There are a lot of challenges to make the VR user interface work well.  It makes you appreciate how powerful the mouse and keyboard are when you are reduced to using hand controllers with a few buttons.

	Tom


> On Dec 13, 2021, at 8:44 AM, Elaine Meng via ChimeraX-users <chimerax-users at cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
> 
>> 
>> From: Alejandro Villalta Cásares <alejandrovillaltac at gmail.com <mailto:alejandrovillaltac at gmail.com>>
>> Subject: ChimeraX VR question or suggestions
>> Date: December 13, 2021 at 4:36:03 AM PST
>> To: chimerax at cgl.ucsf.edu <mailto:chimerax at cgl.ucsf.edu>
>> 
>> Dear ChimeraX staff,
>> 
>> I tested the ChimeraX VR mode today. I was very happy on how it looks and how easy it was to move and see some parts of the structure compared to the flat screen version. Nevertheless, the function that I think it will very useful the VR is to segment and select different segments to save them later. That I couldn't manage to do it after some time I managed to be able to select one region but no more than one at time. It should be nice to add the ability to select multiple regions or at least as in the flat screen that it tells you the name of the models that you are pointing, like that we could pass through command lines. Also it should be nice that a keyboard appears on the headset in order to type on the command lines, but it is true that is a minor point, if it can be written directly on the PC.
>> 
>> Thank you very much for this amazing function,
>> 
>> I hope that this constructive mail could help you to improve it more.
>> 
>> Sincerely yours,
>> 
>> Alejandro Villalta
>> 
> 
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