CrystalMaker Online Help

CrystalMaker Guide: Manipulation

Manipulating the structure

The toolbar contains numerous tools which allow you to manipulate either the entire structure, or selected atoms within it.

Global tools let you:-

rotate

move (left, right, up, down)

scale (zoom out/in)

walk forwards/backwards (for perspective plots)

You can select atoms in the structure using the following tools:-

arrow tool: select individual atoms, bonds, polyhedra, vectors - or shift-click for multiple selections.

rectangle tool: drag the rectangular selection around the group of atoms you wish to select

lasso tool: draw around the group of atoms you wish to select

polygon tool: define an angular selection region around the points you wish to select. To end the selection, click on the first point.

Selected atoms can be manipulated independently of the rest of the structure, e.g., by using the rotate selection tool , or the arrow tool . In addition, the Selection menu lets you show/hide/delete/duplicate selected atoms.

New - for molecular crystals: if you want to isolate a single molecule from the rest of the crystal structure, select one atom in that molecule then choose the Selection > Hide Other Molecules command. All molecules not containing selected atoms will then be hidden. (As with the Transform > Hide Molecular Fragments command, this command is only effective for molecular crystals.)

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