[Chimera-users] tiling multiple chain structures

[Elaine Meng]

Hi Joe,
If there aren’t too many sets of models (say not more than 4-6) what I usually do to offset them for figures is not to use “tile” but instead:

(1) superimpose or center all sets so they are in the desired rotational orientation. You can use the “S” checkboxes in the Model Panel to hide/show if it’s too much to view all at once.  If they are all related structures, you could superimpose them, or at least their related subunits, with matchmaker.

(2) simply use the “move” command to translate sets of models in X and Y until they are where you want them.  E.g. to move models 4,6,7 horizontally to the left 20 angstroms,

move x -20 models #4,6,7

<http://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimera/docs/UsersGuide/midas/move.html>

(3) because of perspective, as you translate things away from center they may appear to be a in a slightly different orientation, so it may be useful to turn off perspective (command: set projection orthographic)

<http://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimera/docs/UsersGuide/midas/set.html#projection>

(4) saving positions is helpful in case you mess something up… i.e. after the first step above, use “savepos” so you could “reset” to that in the event of moving mistakes.

I hope this helps,
Elaine
-----
Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D.                       
UCSF Chimera(X) team
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
University of California, San Francisco

> On Apr 19, 2018, at 6:46 AM, Healey, Joe <J.R.J.Healey at warwick.ac.uk> wrote:
> 
> Hi chimera team,
> Sorry for pestering you again so soon!
> 
> Very quick question though. If I have a couple of structures on screen which are made up of multiple PDBs, is there any way to tile them, but as groups?
> 
> e.g. if I have one complex A-B-C, and another X-Y-Z, that I group into Group1 and Group2, I'd like to tile group1 and group2 next to each other.
> 
> The tile command, as far as I can tell, is only capable of tiling A B C X Y Z as seperate models though (unless I went through the process of saving them all as a single PDB first).
> 
> Is there any way to do this without the hassle of saving and reloading?
> 
> Many thanks!
> Joe