Axpymol

AxPyMOL

DESCRIPTION

This is the (long awaited) PyMOL ActiveX control (AxPyMOL) which can be used in Powerpoint.

Installing AxPyMOL

You can download AxPyMOL here under "Free AxPyMOL Build".

1. Once the Microsoft Installer (.msi) file has been downloaded, locate the file and double click to open the installer
2. Click "Next" at the welcome screen
3. "Accept" the license agreement and click "Next"
4. Select an installation (a complete installation is recommended)
5. Click "Install" to install AxPyMOL (you may need administrator permission to complete this task)
6. The installation will take several minutes to complete...
7. Click "Finish" when installation is complete

MS Office 2007 Usage

Once AxPyMOL has been installed, it should be available for use in Powerpoint. To use the this ActiveX control:

1. Open a new or existing Powerpoint presentation
2. In Powerpoint, add a new slide (shortcut key Ctrl+m)
3. Click on the "Developer" tab in the ribbon (this is the menu area next to "Home", "Insert", "Design", etc)
   1. If you don't see the "Developer" tab then:
      1. Click on the "Office Button" at the top left-hand corner of Powerpoint (situated to the left of the "Home" tab)
      2. In the drop-down menu, click on "Powerpoint Options" (situated in the bottom right of the drop-down menu)
      3. In the pop-up window, choose the "Popular" tab on the left and check "Show Developer tab in the ribbon"
      4. Click "Ok" and you should now see a new "Developer" tab in the ribbon
4. In the "Developer" menu, click on "More Controls" (this is an icon that looks like a hammer and wrench)
5. In the pop-up menu, scroll down and select AxPyMOL Control and click "Ok"
6. Your cursor will change into a cross-hair which means that you can drag out the size of your PyMOL window
7. Drag out a large box and you will see instructions on how to use AxPyMOL
8. Now, to select a file/session to be opened in AxPyMOL you MUST be in slideshow mode:
   1. Press "F5" on your keyboard
   2. Right click on the AxPyMOL instructions and browse for your input file
   3. AxPyMOL should then load your structure and you should be able to use PyMOL directly in Powerpoint
9. That's it! Once you save this Powerpoint it should remember the input file but you will likely have to change your security levels.

MS Office 2003 Usage

Warning: This has NOT been tested as I do not have access to MS Office 2003

1. Open a new or existing Powerpoint presentation
2. In Powerpoint, add a new slide (shortcut key Ctrl+m)
3. On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Control Toolbox.
4. In the Control Toolbox, click on "More Controls" (this is an icon that looks like a hammer and wrench)
5. In the pop-up menu, scroll down and select AxPyMOL Control and click "Ok"
6. Your cursor will change into a cross-hair which means that you can drag out the size of your PyMOL window
7. Drag out a large box and you will see instructions on how to use AxPyMOL
8. Now, to select a file/session to be opened in AxPyMOL you MUST be in slideshow mode:
   1. Press "F5" on your keyboard
   2. Right click on the AxPyMOL instructions and browse for your input file
   3. AxPyMOL should then load your structure and you should be able to use PyMOL directly in Powerpoint
9. That's it! Once you save this Powerpoint it should remember the input file but you will likely have to change your security levels.

Notes

• When running the powerpoint presentation after saving, it may take a few seconds for AxPyMOL to load the structure again but, in theory, it should remember the location of the input file (assuming that you didn't move the location of the input!)
• It is strongly suggested that you utilize PyMOL's "Save Session" options and "scene" functions to optimize your experience in Powerpoint
  • Instead of opening .pdb files, consider opening .pse files in AxPyMOL instead
  • Use the scene function to control different looks (and scenes can be stored in .pse files too!)

Bugs

• After installing AxPyMOL it seems to somehow disrupt the video card driver (found on a brand new laptop only 1.5 months old)
  • Symptoms
    • The display becomes garbled and the display completely freezes