Frequently Asked Questions about SWISS-MODEL

  1. Is there a fee associated with Swiss-Model?

    No, SWISS-MODEL is free, as well as all the molecular visualisation software referenced under the Server.

  2. I do not get any response back from the Server, why is that? You may have provided a wrong Email address, and that happens approx. twice a day. Please check it.

  3. Is the SWISS-MODEL unavailable during some periods of the day?

    No, but Mailers may have to wait for some hubs to respond. We also experienced some "crashes" due to various reasons. If you receive no response for one day or more Please resubmit your request.

  4. My template file is not in ExPDB, why?

    There are two explenations for this:

    1. The file name was not properly given: The PDB entry code must be followed by its chain ID. Example the 'H' chain in the entry 2MCP is 2MCPH and the 'L' chain is 2MCPL.
      The check utility can help you find them.
    2. The file is not in the reformated database. PDB entries with less than 30 residues or containing only CA coordinates are excluded from ExPDB.

  5. Can I model multi-chain proteins such as Immunoglobulins?

    Yes. You can use SwissPDB-viewer to generate a modelling project for an oligomeric protein. See "Modelling of oligomeric proteins" in the HELP section.

  6. How many preselected templates can I choose?

    Up to 5 preselected templates can be choosen. Please check that they are in the ExPDB database. Alternatively you may upload your own template structures. (Make sure, these files meet the requirements for the ExPDB file format.)

  7. Do I need to optimise my model with the OPTIMISE mode?

    This mode is useful only if you are not satisfied with the automated sequence alignment generated by SWISS-MODEL or wish to test alternate alignments. The Swiss-PdbViewer allows you to generate OPTIMISE mode requests

Torsten Schwede , Manuel C. Peitsch & Nicolas Guex.