Command: struts

Usage:
struts  atom-spec [ length  maxlen ] [ loop  maxlooplen ] [ fattenRibbon  true | false ]  other-options

Usage:
(~struts | struts delete )  atom-spec [ resetRibbon  true | false ]

The struts command adds pseudobonds to a molecular structure to strengthen it for 3D printing. See also: cartoon, nucleotides, graphics quality, save, the ChimeraX struts highlight, the Chimera 3D Model Gallery, the NIH 3D website, and the NIHPresets bundle from the ChimeraX Toolshed

A non-blank atom-spec is required to create new struts (it is rarely a good idea to use all atoms). Pairs of atoms within the maximum strut length of each other (maxlen, default 7.0 Å) are considered in order of increasing distance. A strut is added if the shortest through-bond distance between the two atoms, including any existing struts, is greater than the maximum “loop” length (default 30.0 Å). By default, ribbons (cartoons) are also thickened to make them more robust (details...).

Protein example:

struts @ca color blue

struts @C5' length 15 loop 80 radius 1

The ~struts or struts delete command:

• removes struts connected to the specified atoms, or all struts if the atom-spec is blank
• if resetRibbon is true (default), reverts ribbon thickening from struts (details...)

[back to top: struts]

Options

length  maxlen
In effect, maxlen is the maximum length of a strut (default 7.0 Å). Pairs of atoms in atom-spec within maxlen of each other are considered in order of increasing distance. A strut is added if the shortest through-bond distance between the two atoms, including any existing struts, is greater than that specified with the loop option.

loop  maxlooplen
A strut is added between a candidate pair of atoms when the shortest through-bond path between them is longer than maxlooplen (default 30.0 Å). Path calculations include the currently displayed bonds and pseudobonds (hydrogen bonds, existing struts, etc.).

fattenRibbon  true | false
Whether to change the dimensions of any displayed ribbon (cartoon) to:

• width 3.0 Å for protein helix and strand
• thickness 1.5 Å for protein
• width 5.0 Å for nucleic acid
• thickness 3.0 Å for nucleic acid

These settings can also be changed with cartoon style and related presets. Using ~struts or struts delete with resetRibbon (default true) restores the cartoon defaults of width 2.0 Å and thickness 0.4 Å.

radius  strut-radius
The struts will be shown as sticks of radius strut-radius (default 0.6 Å).

color  color-spec
Color for the struts (default #b2b2b2 ).

name  name
Name for the strut pseudobond model.

modelId  N
Add the strut pseudobonds as model number N (an integer, optionally preceded by #). The default is the lowest unused number.

replace  true | false
Whether to replace struts previously calculated for the same set of atoms rather than creating a new model. Regardless of this setting, struts previously determined for a different set of atoms will not be replaced.