Running DSSR on macOS

[lillytishkoff]

DSSR Download Issue

 received a license approval to download DSSR- Basic and when I downloaded, I received an error. The software is still not working (see screenshot). Please advise how I can fix.

[xiangjun]

Thanks for your interest in using DSSR. Your screenshot provides information that explains why you're having problems using DSSR.

You're on a macOS, and you have double-clicked the x3dna-dssr executable to run it. I can reproduce your case by installing x3dna-dssr under the ~/Downloads folder and double-clicking it. The error message is quite informative, by showing that x3dna-dssr is run, and immediately exit. Running x3dna-dssr without any options gives the following message:

missing required option: must specify -i=PDBFile/mmCIF

type: 'x3dna-dssr -h (or --help)' for further help
      'x3dna-dssr --citation' for preferred citation(s)

Time used: 00:00:00:00

That means DSSR is already successfully installed on your macOS. It is just that DSSR is a command-line (CLI) program, and you need a terminal window to run it. There are many online tutorials on how to get started using terminal on macOS. Here is one: Absolute BEGINNER Guide to the Mac OS Terminal. Once you are familiar with the terminal, running DSSR should be straightforward, as detailed in the User Manual.

The DSSR executable (x3dna-dssr for macOS and Linux, and x3dna-dssr.exe for Windows) is self-contained and does not rely on any third-party libraries. There is no need for any setup or configurations: type x3dna-dssr -h to verify your installation. Note that DSSR is a command-line program: you need a terminal window to run it.

If you're GUI-driven and do not want to use CLI at all, then you may find the following two resources helpful:

• DSSR-enabled Innovative Schematics of 3D Nucleic Acid Structures with PyMOL
• Web 3DNA 2.0 for the analysis, visualization, and modeling of 3D nucleic acid structures

Best regards,

Xiang-Jun

[xiangjun]

As a follow up, please note that:

The CTV distributes DSSR Basic and Pro versions in zip format for macOS, Linux, and Windows. Each zip file contains a DSSR binary executable as well as the associated user manual.

Assuming basic command-line knowledge, users should be able to follow the instructions in the manual and reproduce reported results.