Copying and pasting scripts

Jmol scripts are groups of Jmol commands that, when executed in Jmol, produce a desired molecular scene. Sometimes it is useful to obtain a script from one place, and run it in Jmol somewhere else. For example, certain molecular scenes are generated much more easily in FirstGlance in Jmol than elsewhere (e.g. showing contacts to a ligand). Such a scene can be reproduced in Proteopedia.Org by generating the state script in FirstGlance, and executing it in Proteopedia's molecular Scene Authoring Tools (see instructions).

Java presents some technical obstacles to copying and pasting scripts. Below are described known workarounds.

Applet

We'll assume you have obtained a molecular scene in a web page, in the Jmol applet, and that you wish to regenerate this scene in a Jmol applet elsewhere. The goal is to display the state script for the desired molecular scene, copy and paste the state script into the Jmol console, and run the state script. The details depend on the computer being used.

Apple Mac OS X

The following methods have been tested in Leopard OS 10.5.8 (Java 1.5.0_30) and Lion OS 10.7 (Java 1.6.0_26).

Summary

Block the state script in the Java Console, then drag and drop it into the Jmol Script Console.

Obtaining the State Script

The state script cannot be obtained from the Jmol Script Console, but it can be copied or dragged from the Java Console. So first you need to open the Java Console. Run Java Preferences (in Applications:Utilities). Under the Advanced tab, check Java Console: Hide Console.

Now close and restart your browser. Display a web page containing the Jmol applet. You should find a Java icon in your menu bar (at the top of the screen): a black coffee cup with steam rising. Click on it, and then on Open Java Console. The Java icon will not appear in your menu bar unless the Console is enabled in Java Preferences (see previous paragraph).

The state script is generated from the Jmol Script Console, so now you need to open the Jmol Script Console. Click on the word Jmol at the lower right of Jmol, to open Jmol's menu. If Console is not on the menu, click Main Menu. Now click Console.

Display the desired molecular scene, with both the Java and Jmol Consoles open. Click the "Clear" button in the Java Console. Enter the command show state in the bottom box of the Jmol Console. This will display a long state script in both Consoles.

Block the state script in the Java Console, starting with the line # Jmol state ... (omit lines before that one!), and ending with the line _setState;. You cannot paste the state script into the destination Jmol Script Console -- you must drag and drop it there. It is possible to drag directly from the Java Console but you need to have the recipient Jmol Script Console ready. So, to facilitate the drag-and-drop operation, we recommend that you copy the state script (Cmd-C) from the Java Console, and then paste it into a plain text document file for safekeeping. Plain text editors are TextEdit (bundled with your Mac OS X system, in Applications), or the free TextWrangler from BareBonesSoftware.Com.

Executing the State Script

To execute (run) the state script, you first need to open the Jmol Script Console (see above) in the web page where you want to generate the desired molecular scene.

In all cases, you need to drag the blocked state script, and drop it into the bottom box (command/script entry box) of the Jmol Script Console that belongs to the target applet. You cannot paste it!

In simple cases (where the source scene and target scene are on the same server) you may be able to run the state script unmodified.

Proteopedia: Special steps are needed to run the state script in the Scene Authoring Tool of Proteopedia, which will enable you to save the scene in a green link in Proteopedia. Detailed instructions are provided in Copying FirstGlance Scenes into Proteopedia.

MS Windows

The following methods have been tested in Windows XP with Java 1.6.0_26.

Summary

Block the state script in the Jmol Script Console, and drag/drop it into a temporary text file, or into the Jmol Script Console belonging to the target Jmol applet.

Obtaining the State Script

Display the desired molecular scene in the Jmol applet in a web page.

Open the Jmol Script Console: click on the word Jmol at the lower right in Jmol. This should open Jmol's Menu. If the word Console does not appear on the Menu, click Main Menu. Now click on Console.

In the Jmol Script Console, click the button at the bottom Clear Output. Now type show state in the bottom box, and press Enter.

Click in the top box of the Jmol Script Console, and Ctrl-A to block the entire state script.

If the target Jmol applet's Jmol Script Console is available, you can now drag the blocked state script into the bottom box. (It is sometimes possible to copy (Ctrl-C) the state script and paste it (Ctrl-V) into the bottom box of the target Jmol Script Console, but this may not always work.)

To avoid frustration, we recommend that you save the state script in a plain text file. Drag the blocked state script into a plain text editor, or paste it, and save it in a plain text file for safekeeping. Later, you can open this file and either copy or drag the blocked script into the target Jmol Script Console.

Application

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Contributors

EricMartz, AngelHerraez