Preface


Who should read this book

QUANTA Generating and Displaying Molecules is designed primarily for first-time users. You can read it to understand how to create, import, and edit molecules within QUANTA.

If you are an experienced user, read this book to review information on functionality and procedures for executing building and editing tasks of QUANTA or to update yourself on changes since previous versions of QUANTA.


What this book contains

This book contains information for building, importing, editing, and manipulating 2D and 3D molecules. Performing these functions, using a variety of sketchers and builders, is described in Chapters 1, 2, 4, and 5.

Chapter 3 describes CHARMm, the calculation engine of QUANTA, and the processes for performing molecular energy and minimization calculations using CHARMm. Chapter 10 describes how to connect to other external applications for additional calculations and functions.

Chapters 6 and 7 describe ways to use graphical objects and various molecular representations to display and study structures.

Chapter 8 describes importing and exporting files to and from non-QUANTA programs. It includes the steps you take to make sure that any imported molecule is accurately represented within QUANTA.

Chapter 9 describes connecting to specific external calculation applications.

Information provided in progressive chapters is based on the assumption that you are familiar with basic software operations and with material in previous chapters.

Since this book is designed primarily for new users, neither the descriptions nor the tutorial exercises comprehensively document all aspects of using QUANTA.

The book is written assuming that you are familiar with:

Assumptions also are made that you have a home directory where you can create subdirectories and a licensed copy of QUANTA installed on your workstation.


How to use the QUANTA introductory documentation set

This book is part of a documentation set that introduces QUANTA. The set consists of:

Although each book is self-contained, information within the set flows in a logical sequence. You must be familiar with basic operations to successfully complete building and editing tasks. Molecule preparation in the building and editing phase must precede simulation and analysis.

Within each book, exercises are step-by-step procedures that may be linked across chapters. Datafiles may be modified or reused by several exercises.

Because of the sequential nature of the documentation set and of the exercises in each book, you will get the most coherent and complete view of the software if you go through the books in sequential order.


Documentation set roadmap

The table below lists key topics and where to find information about them in the introductory set of QUANTA books. Book names are abbreviated:

For information about
Look at

Understanding program layout and design

Ops Chapter 1

Using operating principles and procedures

Ops Chapter 2

Manipulating molecules and displays

Ops Chapter 2, Gen Chapters 6 And 7

Building structures

Gen Chapters 1,2,4, and 5

Editing structures

Gen Chapters 1, 2 And 8, SSA Chapter 4

Applying constraints for CHARMm calculations

SSA Chapter 2

Importing and exporting files

Gen Chapter 8

Executing calculations using CHARMm or external programs

Gen Chapters 2, 3, 4, 6, And 9, SSA Chapter 1

Handling data - visual displays, tables, graphs

Ops Chapter 2, Gen Chapters 6 and 7 SSA Chapters 8 and 9

Performing experimental simulations

Gen Chapter 3, SSA Chapters 1, 3-5, 7

Analyzing data

SSA Chapter 6


Related documentation

In addition to the introductory books, other books in the QUANTA documentation set include:

Other QUANTA-related documentation is included with specific software application packages. This documentation includes:


Restarting QUANTA

This book assumes you have already run QUANTA. If you have not, refer to Setting the QUANTA Environment and Starting QUANTA on pages 4-6 in the book QUANTA Basic Operations.

For this and subsequent startups, enter the command:

> cd ~/subdirectory

Then enter the command:

> quanta

QUANTA opens displaying the structure you worked on most recently in this directory. The Molecule Management table displays the structure's name and status.


Conventions

Typographical conventions used in this book are:
This
Looks like this

Examples of file contents, information in the textport or on the message line

Fixed-width

Menu and palette names and choices

Bold

Place-holders that you replace with another word

Italic


© 2006 Accelrys Software Inc.