Overview

Start

To start QChromosome 4D Studio double click the program icon or run it from terminal. Any number of .qcs scene files provided as command line parameters will be opened in separate sessions.

The user interface

This section gives an overview of user interface as it appears after launching QChromosome 4D Studio.

1

Main menu

The main menu contains almost all functionalities of QChromosome 4D Studio.

2

Main toolbar

The most useful tools are displayed on main toolbar, so you can easily access them without searching through menus.

3

Command group

4

Object manager

Object Manager contains all objects present on scene, grouped hierarchically. If you want to edit an object, you can select it in the manager. Its name will be highlighted and all its settings will be displayed in Attribute Manager.

5

Editor's viewport

6

Attribute manager

Attribute Manager displays all settings of selected objects and allows user to edit them.

7

Data entry control

8

Animation toolbar

Imported file can contain a trajectory represented by a number of consecutive models. Animation toolbar allows user to easily navigate through them and manage recorded keyframes.

9

Data chart

Several applications can process a trajectory to output some numerical data describing its molecular dynamics. In QChromosome 4D Studio you can display them as a chart synchronized with viewport.

Main elements of user interface are various managers. Unlike other system windows, they can be docked into the main window or set floating. On each of them you can operate independently, but all changes are immediately applied to other managers accordingly. For example, moving the camera automatically updates its coordinates in Attribute Manager. All features are grouped in tabs to save display space.

A quick tutorial

Lauching an application automatically starts a new project. To import .pdb and .xvg files select File | Import... If the import is successful, a new layer item appears in Object Manager. If imported file contains a trajectory, you can read more frames by selecting Animate | Play forwards. Frames are parsed on the fly and hence animation does not overuse operating memory.

To render current frame with POV-Ray, select Render | Render to Picture Viewer. To render an animation consisting of all cached frames, go to Render | Render settings... and in tab Output set Frame range to All frames. Then select Render | Render to Picture Viewer just as before.

To close an application use a native window control or select File | Quit.

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