To rotate, place the pointer anywhere on the Main Screen, hold down the mouse button and move the mouse. This is called dragging the pointer (as opposed to moving the pointer without holding down the mouse button). Dragging up and down rotates the model around a horizontal (x) axis through its center. Dragging left and right rotates around the vertical (y) axis. Hold down shift and command keys while dragging left and right to rotate the model around the z-axis, which is perpendicular to the screen.
To move the model around on the screen (called "translation"), hold down option and drag. The model moves across the screen, following your mouse motion. To translate or to rotate about the z-axis, you don't even have to hold down the mouse button
To zoom, hold down shift and drag the pointer down the screen to bring the model closer, or up to move it farther away.
These mouse motions allow you to move the model around and orient it so that you can see its features clearly. Such motions are a fundamental part of any molecular modeling program. Take time to play with the the model by rotation, translation, and zooming. You can always return to the original orientation like this:
RasMol > reset < return >
You will often need to rotate, translate, or zoom the model in order
to carry out the instructions that follow. Movement helps you to see
the molecule better, especially to distinguish near from
far.
You may conveniently take a break from this tutorial at the end of this or any later section. To resume your work at the beginning of any section, start the desktop copy of RasMol and open 3b5c.pdb. Arrange the windows as in section 1.