get_area calculates the surface area in square Angstroms of the selection given. Note that the accessibility is assessed in the context of the object(s) that the selection is part of. So, to get the surface areas of e.g. a component of a complex, you should make a new object containing a copy of just that component and calculate its area.
The "get_area selection" command will return the effective surface area of the dots that you would see from "show dots, selection". This is a discrete approximation -- not an exact calculation.
Attention: Atoms with the "ignore" flag may lead to unexpected results. Clear the "ignore" flag first or exclude those atoms from the calculation.
Fixed in PyMOL 2.5, ignored atoms are now excluded. Previously, their entire sphere surface was added to the surface area.
Usage
get_area [ selection [, state [, load_b ]]]
== Arguments ..→
