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Tool: Minimize Structure

Minimize Structure energy-minimizes an atomic structure. It is also implemented as the minimize command. The atoms are assigned types and associated force field parameters as described for Add Charges, and then the minimization is carried out using the OpenMM LocalEnergyMinimizer with the LangevinIntegrator. See also: Build Structure, tug, mouse modes tug and minimize

Minimize Structure automatically runs dockprep to perform several tasks to prepare the structure, including:

To skip running dockprep or to use specific options of that command, use minimize instead of the graphical interface.

Minimize Structure can be opened from the Structure Editing section of the Tools menu and manipulated like other panels (more...).

Only a single atomic model can be specified; to combine multiple atomic models into one beforehand, see combine.

OK initiates the process and dismisses the dialog, whereas Cancel simply dismisses the dialog. Help opens this page in the Help Viewer. The settings last used are remembered across sessions as user preferences.


UCSF Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics / October 2025