UCSF ChimeraX Advantages

ChimeraX provides several advantages relative to Chimera, and the list will continue to grow. A small sample is given below. See also: feature highlights, example images

• High-performance manipulation and rendering of large numbers of atoms


• Fast mmCIF reader


• Fast and robust solvent-excluded surfaces with clean patch boundaries; default encloses each chain separately


• Interactive ambient occlusion lighting modes


• Curved-cylinder “tube” helices integrated with cartoon style


• Toolbars with icons to change display styles, lighting modes, or mouse-button assignments with a single click


• All-in-one window in which tool interfaces are panels that can be shown, hidden, and repositioned


• Tool panels may incorporate interactive 2D plots and diagrams, and HTML with links and images


• Built-in HTML browser with simple mechanism to execute ChimeraX commands by clicking links (handy for demonstrations)


• Toolshed (web repository) of ChimeraX tool bundles for easy installation and updates, with dependencies handled correctly


• Virtual reality camera mode (Oculus Rift, HTC Vive systems)