VMD Mobile

Requirements:

• VMD 1.9.1 or later
• An Android device running Android 2.2 or later, capable of installing third party Apps..
• Wi-Fi. Ideally you will be connected to the same 'subnet' as the VMD server computer that you are wanting to control. If the two are far-removed, network-wise, from each other, your experience may be less than perfect.

Installation:

• Make sure that your Android device is configured to allow third party applications. From the home screen, go to Settings | Applications and make sure that "Unknown sources" is checked/enabled to allow the installation of non-Market applications.
• Download and install the application. TODO.
• Before running the application, make sure that you have Wi-Fi turned on and that you are properly connected to a network.

Running and using the App:

On the VMD desktop/laptop computer:

• Run VMD 1.9.1 (or later).
• There is a command, mobile, that you use to mobile-enable VMD. If you just type 'mobile' into the console you will be presented with usage instructions:

  vmd > mobile
  mobile usage:
  mobile mode <mode>
     modes: off, move, animate, tracker, user
  mobile port <incoming network port number>
  

  Mode descriptions include: off: configure VMD to not accept incoming connections. move: The android device will allow you to rotate, translate, and scale your molecular view. animate: The android device will act as a 'scrub' to move through a trajectory. tracker: The android device will act as tracker. user: Can be used, in conjunction with a user script, to do whatever you can imagine and write the code for.

  By default, VMD will listen on port 3141. If you need to change this, you can do so.

• Run the application.
• When you run VMD Mobile for the very first time, you will need to configure a couple of things: Go to Menu | Settings and configure the Server with the fully-qualified domain name of the machine running VMD (it can be a numeric IP address, or a domain name). Change the Port if needed, and set Nickname to a descriptive 16 character (or less) name for your device. The Nickname will show up in the VMD session when it connects and disconnects.

If you have the VMD server configured in:
move mode:

• Pressing a finger on the Android screen and then moving from that spot will cause the molecular system to start rotating in that direction. The farther you move from the initial spot, the faster the rotation.
• Pinch to zoom in and out.
• If you apply two fingers to the screen and drag both fingers in a direction, you will translate the system.
• If you apply two fingers to the screen and rotate both of them clockwise or counterclockwise, the system will similarly rotate (can be combined with pinch to zoom).

translate mode:

If you apply a finger to the Android screen and scrub/move to the right, you will increase the trajectory frame you are viewing. Scrubbing/moving to the left will decrease the trajectory frame you are viewing.

Menu options:

• Stop/Start Sending Touchpad - A toggle that will allow you to send or stop sending information about pressing the touchpad. The App starts in a mode of sending.
• Reset VMD View - The equivalent of pressing the equals ('=') key from within VMD. If you somehow manage to 'lose' the molecule, this is handy.
• Settings - Configure server machine name, port, and Nickname that you want displayed to the VMD server.