Inspecting Structures

Pan, zoom, rotate, restyle, and inspect molecules or reactions without leaving the current document.

Canvas interaction

The center canvas is the live depiction surface. Use familiar touch gestures to inspect geometry and presentation without altering the underlying chemistry data.

• Pan and zoom to inspect crowded labels or stereochemistry.
• Rotate when you need a cleaner reading angle for the current audience or task.

Style controls

Open View in the document toolbar to change depiction styles or toggle Overview. Reaction-specific controls stay disabled until the current document supports them. The 2D/3D, zoom, and rotation controls remain on the canvas.

• Show or hide carbons.
• Toggle element colors and bond coloring.
• Show aromatic circles.
• For reactions, show atom-map colors and map numbers when present.
• Switch highlight styles to match the review task.

2D and 3D molecule views

Use the 2D/3D control on the molecule canvas. Whole reactions stay in 2D. A 3D view is a visualization, not evidence that a conformation has been experimentally measured or energy-minimized.

• Ball shows balls and sticks, Stick emphasizes bonds, and CPK shows space-filling spheres. The paint-palette control changes atom colors; the CPK color palette and CPK representation are separate choices.
• Drag with one finger to turn the 3D model. Drag with two fingers to move it across the canvas, pinch to zoom, and twist two fingers to roll. In 2D, dragging moves the drawing.
• Auto-Rotation pauses while you manipulate the model and resumes when you finish the gesture. Turn it off to keep an orientation still. X, Y, and Z controls, Reset, and Snapshot are in the canvas HUD.
• Tap the canvas to reveal faded controls. Use the pin beside Reset to keep the molecule or reaction HUD visible. Pinned uses a filled pin; Unpinned uses a crossed-out pin and restores fading after inactivity. Each new canvas starts unpinned.
• Snapshot captures the current 3D view as PNG. SVG and PDF depiction sharing use the 2D chemistry drawing, so use Snapshot when you need the rotated 3D model.
• Jmol and CPK use conventional element colors. Okabe-Ito, ColorBrewer, CARTO, and Matplotlib palettes offer alternatives; changing color never changes atom identity.

Overview details

The Overview Sidebar focuses on identifiers and calculated molecule data for the current selection. If a reaction is open, selecting a participant updates the detail context.

• Use the overview when you need formula, masses, identifiers, or a quick participant summary. Unavailable means a value could not be calculated; it does not mean zero.
• Hide the sidebar temporarily if the canvas needs more space.