When you do this, the text will automatically format itself with the proper subscripts (in this case ‘C6H12O6’ becomes ‘C 6H 12O 6’). You can also write some chemical formula (eg ‘C6H12O6’). Using the Text annotator, you can label structures, describe reaction conditions, and do any other number of things that can be shown in linear text. These tools include the Text Annotator, the arrow tool, the Flip Structure tools, and the Copy/Paste Structure tools. Once you have drawn your structures, there are a variety of other tools you can use to help annotate your structures and construct a cohesive representation of a chemical reaction. See information on how to import and export MOL files below.

In addition to the above tools, you can save entire molecular structures to your local hard drive and re-load them to the Chemical Sketcher Widget canvas later using the Save MOL file and Load MOL file tools. A number of structures are already available to you and are organized into separate chemical categories. Using the Templates Database, you can add entire named structures quickly to the canvas. You can then add more fused rings if you wish, or use other structure editing tools to modify the rings as needed. Using the Cyclic Builder, you can quickly add cyclopentane, cyclohexane, and benzene rings right onto the canvas. Using the Carbon Chain tool, you can quickly construct a hydrocarbon chain with as many carbons as you can fit in the canvas. These are the Carbon Chain tool, the Cyclic Builder, and the Molecular Templates. You can quickly build more complex structures by using additional tools available in the canvas. You can also add radicals and lone pairs using this tool. You can modify the charge as positive or negative by opening the drop down menu to the right of the charge icon. To modify the charge on any atom, use the Charge tool, as shown here.

The bonds themselves can be modified with the bond line tool, shown here. You can also draw bonds between atoms with this tool.

You can select from any element on the periodic table, as shown below. To change the element selected, open the drop down by clicking the arrow on the right. Any atom of any element can be placed on the canvas with this tool. You can draw a structure atom by atom using the Point-Drawing tool. You can use it to draw bond-line representations of molecules and molecular reactions.

Chem doodle