Silhouette artifacts on MacBookPro16,2

[benjamin.buchmuller@…]

The following bug report has been submitted:
Platform:        macOS-10.16-x86_64-i386-64bit
ChimeraX Version: 1.2.5 (2021-05-24 04:13:57 UTC)
Description
(Describe the actions that caused this problem to occur here)

Dear developer team,

Thanks for making ChimeraX such a great tool to visualize molecular strucutres.

Unfortunately, it seems that with the upgrade to macOS Big Sur the surfaces are no longer properly rendered when exporting images. There are "spots" on it (file attached). Previously this worked neatly. I already tried to change the rendering parameters of the surface itself, with only little succes. Any suggestions to fix this?

Cheers


Benjamin

Log:
UCSF ChimeraX version: 1.2.5 (2021-05-24)  
© 2016-2021 Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.  
How to cite UCSF ChimeraX  

> open "/Users/benjamin/Documents/university/1712-2103-PhD/thesis-
> PhD/_sync/02_figures/_imgs_structures/200501
> ChimeraX_other_TF/transcription_factor_alignment.cxs" format session

opened ChimeraX session  

> save img.png




OpenGL version: 4.1 INTEL-16.4.5
OpenGL renderer: Intel(R) Iris(TM) Plus Graphics OpenGL Engine
OpenGL vendor: Intel Inc.Hardware:

    Hardware Overview:

      Model Name: MacBook Pro
      Model Identifier: MacBookPro16,2
      Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Core i5
      Processor Speed: 2 GHz
      Number of Processors: 1
      Total Number of Cores: 4
      L2 Cache (per Core): 512 KB
      L3 Cache: 6 MB
      Hyper-Threading Technology: Enabled
      Memory: 16 GB
      System Firmware Version: 1554.120.19.0.0 (iBridge: 18.16.14663.0.0,0)

Software:

    System Software Overview:

      System Version: macOS 11.4 (20F71)
      Kernel Version: Darwin 20.5.0
      Time since boot: 2 days 10 minutes

Graphics/Displays:

    Intel Iris Plus Graphics:

      Chipset Model: Intel Iris Plus Graphics
      Type: GPU
      Bus: Built-In
      VRAM (Dynamic, Max): 1536 MB
      Vendor: Intel
      Device ID: 0x8a53
      Revision ID: 0x0007
      Metal Family: Supported, Metal GPUFamily macOS 2
      Displays:
        Color LCD:
          Display Type: Built-In Retina LCD
          Resolution: 2560 x 1600 Retina
          Framebuffer Depth: 30-Bit Color (ARGB2101010)
          Main Display: Yes
          Mirror: Off
          Online: Yes
          Automatically Adjust Brightness: Yes
          Connection Type: Internal

Locale: (None, 'UTF-8')
PyQt5 5.15.2, Qt 5.15.2
Installed Packages:
    alabaster: 0.7.12
    appdirs: 1.4.4
    appnope: 0.1.2
    Babel: 2.9.1
    backcall: 0.2.0
    blockdiag: 2.0.1
    certifi: 2020.12.5
    cftime: 1.5.0
    chardet: 3.0.4
    ChimeraX-AddCharge: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-AddH: 2.1.6
    ChimeraX-AlignmentAlgorithms: 2.0
    ChimeraX-AlignmentHdrs: 3.2
    ChimeraX-AlignmentMatrices: 2.0
    ChimeraX-Alignments: 2.1
    ChimeraX-AmberInfo: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Arrays: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Atomic: 1.13.2
    ChimeraX-AtomicLibrary: 3.1.3
    ChimeraX-AtomSearch: 2.0
    ChimeraX-AtomSearchLibrary: 1.0
    ChimeraX-AxesPlanes: 2.0
    ChimeraX-BasicActions: 1.1
    ChimeraX-BILD: 1.0
    ChimeraX-BlastProtein: 1.1
    ChimeraX-BondRot: 2.0
    ChimeraX-BugReporter: 1.0
    ChimeraX-BuildStructure: 2.5.2
    ChimeraX-Bumps: 1.0
    ChimeraX-BundleBuilder: 1.1
    ChimeraX-ButtonPanel: 1.0
    ChimeraX-CageBuilder: 1.0
    ChimeraX-CellPack: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Centroids: 1.1
    ChimeraX-ChemGroup: 2.0
    ChimeraX-Clashes: 2.1
    ChimeraX-ColorActions: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ColorGlobe: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ColorKey: 1.2.1
    ChimeraX-CommandLine: 1.1.4
    ChimeraX-ConnectStructure: 2.0
    ChimeraX-Contacts: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Core: 1.2.5
    ChimeraX-CoreFormats: 1.0
    ChimeraX-coulombic: 1.1.1
    ChimeraX-Crosslinks: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Crystal: 1.0
    ChimeraX-CrystalContacts: 1.0
    ChimeraX-DataFormats: 1.1
    ChimeraX-Dicom: 1.0
    ChimeraX-DistMonitor: 1.1.3
    ChimeraX-DistUI: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Dssp: 2.0
    ChimeraX-EMDB-SFF: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ExperimentalCommands: 1.0
    ChimeraX-FileHistory: 1.0
    ChimeraX-FunctionKey: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Geometry: 1.1
    ChimeraX-gltf: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Graphics: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Hbonds: 2.1
    ChimeraX-Help: 1.1
    ChimeraX-HKCage: 1.3
    ChimeraX-IHM: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ImageFormats: 1.1
    ChimeraX-IMOD: 1.0
    ChimeraX-IO: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Label: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ListInfo: 1.1.1
    ChimeraX-Log: 1.1.2
    ChimeraX-LookingGlass: 1.1
    ChimeraX-Maestro: 1.8.1
    ChimeraX-Map: 1.0.2
    ChimeraX-MapData: 2.0
    ChimeraX-MapEraser: 1.0
    ChimeraX-MapFilter: 2.0
    ChimeraX-MapFit: 2.0
    ChimeraX-MapSeries: 2.0
    ChimeraX-Markers: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Mask: 1.0
    ChimeraX-MatchMaker: 1.2.1
    ChimeraX-MDcrds: 2.2
    ChimeraX-MedicalToolbar: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Meeting: 1.0
    ChimeraX-MLP: 1.1
    ChimeraX-mmCIF: 2.3
    ChimeraX-MMTF: 2.1
    ChimeraX-Modeller: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-ModelPanel: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-ModelSeries: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Mol2: 2.0
    ChimeraX-Morph: 1.0
    ChimeraX-MouseModes: 1.1
    ChimeraX-Movie: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Neuron: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Nucleotides: 2.0.1
    ChimeraX-OpenCommand: 1.5
    ChimeraX-PDB: 2.4.1
    ChimeraX-PDBBio: 1.0
    ChimeraX-PDBLibrary: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-PDBMatrices: 1.0
    ChimeraX-PickBlobs: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Positions: 1.0
    ChimeraX-PresetMgr: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-PubChem: 2.0.1
    ChimeraX-ReadPbonds: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Registration: 1.1
    ChimeraX-RemoteControl: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ResidueFit: 1.0
    ChimeraX-RestServer: 1.1
    ChimeraX-RNALayout: 1.0
    ChimeraX-RotamerLibMgr: 2.0
    ChimeraX-RotamerLibsDunbrack: 2.0
    ChimeraX-RotamerLibsDynameomics: 2.0
    ChimeraX-RotamerLibsRichardson: 2.0
    ChimeraX-SaveCommand: 1.4
    ChimeraX-SchemeMgr: 1.0
    ChimeraX-SDF: 2.0
    ChimeraX-Segger: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Segment: 1.0
    ChimeraX-SeqView: 2.3
    ChimeraX-Shape: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Shell: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Shortcuts: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ShowAttr: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ShowSequences: 1.0
    ChimeraX-SideView: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Smiles: 2.0.1
    ChimeraX-SmoothLines: 1.0
    ChimeraX-SpaceNavigator: 1.0
    ChimeraX-StdCommands: 1.3.1
    ChimeraX-STL: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Storm: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Struts: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Surface: 1.0
    ChimeraX-SwapAA: 2.0
    ChimeraX-SwapRes: 2.1
    ChimeraX-TapeMeasure: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Test: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Toolbar: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-ToolshedUtils: 1.2
    ChimeraX-Tug: 1.0
    ChimeraX-UI: 1.7.6
    ChimeraX-uniprot: 2.1
    ChimeraX-UnitCell: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ViewDockX: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Vive: 1.1
    ChimeraX-VolumeMenu: 1.0
    ChimeraX-VTK: 1.0
    ChimeraX-WavefrontOBJ: 1.0
    ChimeraX-WebCam: 1.0
    ChimeraX-WebServices: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Zone: 1.0
    colorama: 0.4.3
    comtypes: 1.1.7
    cxservices: 1.0
    cycler: 0.10.0
    Cython: 0.29.21
    decorator: 5.0.9
    distlib: 0.3.1
    docutils: 0.16
    filelock: 3.0.12
    funcparserlib: 0.3.6
    grako: 3.16.5
    h5py: 2.10.0
    html2text: 2020.1.16
    idna: 2.10
    ihm: 0.17
    imagecodecs: 2020.5.30
    imagesize: 1.2.0
    ipykernel: 5.3.4
    ipython: 7.18.1
    ipython-genutils: 0.2.0
    jedi: 0.17.2
    Jinja2: 2.11.2
    jupyter-client: 6.1.7
    jupyter-core: 4.7.1
    kiwisolver: 1.3.1
    line-profiler: 2.1.2
    lxml: 4.6.2
    lz4: 3.1.0
    MarkupSafe: 2.0.1
    matplotlib: 3.3.2
    matplotlib-inline: 0.1.2
    msgpack: 1.0.0
    netCDF4: 1.5.4
    networkx: 2.5
    numexpr: 2.7.3
    numpy: 1.19.2
    numpydoc: 1.1.0
    openvr: 1.14.1501
    packaging: 20.9
    ParmEd: 3.2.0
    parso: 0.7.1
    pexpect: 4.8.0
    pickleshare: 0.7.5
    Pillow: 7.2.0
    pip: 21.0.1
    pkginfo: 1.5.0.1
    prompt-toolkit: 3.0.18
    psutil: 5.7.2
    ptyprocess: 0.7.0
    pycollada: 0.7.1
    pydicom: 2.0.0
    Pygments: 2.7.1
    PyOpenGL: 3.1.5
    PyOpenGL-accelerate: 3.1.5
    pyparsing: 2.4.7
    PyQt5-commercial: 5.15.2
    PyQt5-sip: 12.8.1
    PyQtWebEngine-commercial: 5.15.2
    python-dateutil: 2.8.1
    pytz: 2021.1
    pyzmq: 22.0.3
    qtconsole: 4.7.7
    QtPy: 1.9.0
    RandomWords: 0.3.0
    requests: 2.24.0
    scipy: 1.5.2
    setuptools: 50.3.2
    sfftk-rw: 0.6.7.dev1
    six: 1.15.0
    snowballstemmer: 2.1.0
    sortedcontainers: 2.2.2
    Sphinx: 3.2.1
    sphinxcontrib-applehelp: 1.0.2
    sphinxcontrib-blockdiag: 2.0.0
    sphinxcontrib-devhelp: 1.0.2
    sphinxcontrib-htmlhelp: 2.0.0
    sphinxcontrib-jsmath: 1.0.1
    sphinxcontrib-qthelp: 1.0.3
    sphinxcontrib-serializinghtml: 1.1.5
    suds-jurko: 0.6
    tables: 3.6.1
    tifffile: 2020.9.3
    tinyarray: 1.2.3
    tornado: 6.1
    traitlets: 5.0.5
    urllib3: 1.25.11
    wcwidth: 0.2.5
    webcolors: 1.11.1
    wheel: 0.36.0
    wheel-filename: 1.3.0
File attachment: img.png

img.png​

[benjamin.buchmuller@…]

Added by email2trac

[Tom Goddard]

The wrong silhouette edges you see are cause by an Apple graphics driver bug only seen on your exact model MacBookPro16,2. It has been reported 3 times before (#4628, ​https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/trac/ChimeraX/ticket/4628). I tested on 3 different Mac computers and none have this problem. Only Apple can fix it. It is possible I could find some trick to work around it, but I don't have this exact model of MacBook Pro so that is not an option.

So the only two choices are to turn off silhouettes or use a different computer. Hopefully Apple will fix this in an newer version of macOS, but I would not count on it. They don't care at all about the cross-platform (Windows, Linux, Mac) OpenGL graphics standard. Since the switched to their proprietary Metal graphics about 4 years ago and deprecated use of OpenGL.

If you are making figures one approach is to save a ChimeraX session on this laptop ("save figure1.cxs") then copy that to another computer where the silhouettes work for saving the needed image.