Prepare a figure
Set the drawing style
Section titled “Set the drawing style”New documents use JACS / ACS. The style selector in the status bar switches directly between JACS / ACS, Nature, RSC, Angewandte, and SYNLETT / SYNTHESIS. These presets follow publisher instructions or official stationery; the editor links to each publisher. Direct selection updates matching text/strokes and scales the geometry in one Undo step. Settings and publisher sources.
Choose Manage styles… to edit fonts, label size, bond length and stroke settings with a live sample preview. The fixed footer has Import, Export, and Save icons. Save applies the draft; returning to Properties leaves it unapplied. Export offers a native .reshiki-style file or ChemDraw .cds. Import accepts those files plus document settings from .cdx and .cdxml; template artwork and page layout are not imported. Scale layout with bond length is off by default in this editor; enable it when existing geometry should resize.
Dimension units remembers pt, mm, or cm for bond length, line width, bold width, label margin, and hash spacing. Bare numbers use the displayed unit; add a suffix to override it (0.5 cm and 5mm are equivalent). Use a decimal point, without grouping separators. Label size stays in points and bond spacing stays a percentage. Switching units preserves exact stored sizes and does not edit the drawing or add Undo history. Enter validates the current draft field; Save applies the whole draft. Incomplete or invalid dimensions must be corrected before changing units or saving. A pending draft in another tab retains its original units while an entry is incomplete. The preference persists after cancelling the draft or restarting; other tools retain their labeled units.
Choose canvas colors
Section titled “Choose canvas colors”Compare and download every theme palette and element color →
The theme selector next to it offers Publication, Presentation, Pastel, Jmol, VESTA, and your saved themes. The sun/moon button changes the canvas between white and black paper, independently of journal dimensions. Publication labels elements in neutral ink; the other themes color them. Every theme has a palette of eight hues in a Strong row for bonds, text and strokes and a Tint row for fills and ring interiors; choose them from the color button in the style bar. View → Interface → Match canvas / Light / Dark changes only the surrounding interface.
Choose Manage themes… to preview, import, export, edit or delete custom themes. Built-ins are protected. New theme… lets you choose a reference palette and adjust lightness and color intensity separately for both modes. The periodic tables and molecule previews update live; use the preview icons for labels, solid tiles, interface tiles or ring-fill examples. B toggles bold preview symbols. Import opens a draft for review, Save stores and applies it, and Export writes both palettes without applying them. Theme file format and contribution guide.
Styles and themes are separate files. A theme can use RGB or OKLCH colors and includes both light and dark palettes. Saved drawings embed their custom theme, so editing the library does not change previous figures.
To highlight part of a structure, select its atoms or bonds, then choose Color → Apply to → Highlights and a Tint color. The color stays behind the atom labels and bonds after deselection. Use the crossed-out Clear highlights swatch to remove it. Moving, copying and Undo preserve the highlights; ordinary ink colors remain separately editable. Coloring a contracted label keeps existing internal highlight colors and colors its unhighlighted members.
File exports and printing include the visible canvas colors and background. Clipboard images and editable ChemDraw copies use a transparent background while retaining the visible ink, ring fills and highlights. White ink copied from a dark canvas needs a suitably dark destination. Older files remain readable. Files saved by a newer build may not open in an older one; see file compatibility. Style, color and contrast details.
Add artwork
Section titled “Add artwork”| Add | Where |
|---|---|
| Rectangle, ellipse, brackets | Click to reuse the chosen style; hold or click the corner triangle for presets |
| Line, curve | Tools palette |
| Pen path (straight and curved segments) | Tools palette → Pen path |
| Chemical symbol or orbital | Hold the toolbar button or click its corner triangle |
| A picture | Import → Choose file…, or drop the file on the drawing |
Rectangle presets include rounded, dashed, filled, and square shapes. Ellipses include outline, dashed, filled, and circle presets. Brackets include square brackets, parentheses, and braces, with both sides or either side alone.
With an orbital tool, Snap to atoms in the context row places the orbital’s node on the nearest atom, and the drag preview names that atom. Hold Option/Alt to place the orbital freely.
With a chemical symbol, click an atom to attach a charge, radical or lone pair. Drag from the atom, or later drag the mark’s handle in Position atom marks, to move it around the atom in 15° steps just outside the label, skipping steps that would touch a bond; a dashed orbit and dots show the positions. Hold Option/Alt or Shift to place it freely. Lone pairs always turn across the line from the atom and turn with the molecule when it is rotated or flipped; charges stay upright.
Select an object to see its controls in Properties. Molecular properties shows the calculation scope and formula at the top when atoms are selected. Expand Atom details, Transform, or Grouping & frames when needed. A selection opens at most one section by itself; sections you open stay open. Drawing style remains available below the selection controls.
Select artwork to change its style in Properties. Pictures can be resized, rotated, replaced, or sent behind the drawing. Group a picture and caption to move them together.
Draw a pen path
Section titled “Draw a pen path”- Choose Pen path in the tools palette and drag the first segment.
- Click to add a straight segment, or drag to add a curved one.
- Click the first node to close the path, or choose Finish. New path starts a separate object.
Each segment is one Undo step; Escape cancels the segment you are drawing.
To reshape a path, select it and choose Edit curve points in Properties. Drag a round node to move it, or a square control to change one direction. Choose a node under Selected node; Next segment switches the following segment between Straight and Curved. Insert after and Delete node add and remove nodes. Close path or Open path closes or opens the path, and Continue drawing extends an open path. Choose Done in the context row to finish.
Align objects
Section titled “Align objects”Select two or more molecules, arrows, or groups. Right-click the selection and choose Align middles to put them on the same horizontal centerline. Align & distribute… offers the other edges, centers, and spacing options, as do the Align and Distribute menus at the right end of the context row. Molecules and groups move together, preserving their internal layout. Undo restores the previous positions.
Right-click an atom, bond, arrow, or selected object for editing commands and its relevant properties. Commands with a keyboard shortcut show it at the right of the menu. Right-click within an existing selection to keep all its objects selected. Escape or a click outside closes the menu. Use the middle mouse button to pan.
At a bond crossing, select the bond’s middle and choose Properties → Crossings & direction → In front / Behind to control the gap.
Set the page
Section titled “Set the page”Open View → Page setup… or Export → Pages & printing → Page setup…. Choose paper, orientation, margins, and Columns / Rows, then Apply page setup.
Use Fit page to work on one page or Fit all pages to see the document. View also contains rulers, grid, smart guides, and crosshair controls. The grid dots sit on multiples of the bond length.
For publications, see the optional acknowledgment wording.