CrystalMaker is a program for generating, displaying, and manipulating all kinds of crystal and molecular structures, in stunning photo-realistic colour. CrystalMaker is a very powerful crystallographic tool—but is designed to be used by everyone, not just professional crystallographers!
CrystalMaker lets you visualise complex structures using many different model types. CrystalMaker will automatically find and generate polyhedra—based on your choice of bonds. You can easily rotate the model, zoom in or out, apply perspective and depth-fading to emphasise the 3D view. You can also carve out chunks of the structure, measure bond lengths and angles on-screen, and perform interactive bond searches.
As a bonus, CrystalMaker 3.1 CD-ROM Edition ships with our acclaimed CrystalDiffract software, allowing you to simulate x-ray/neutron diffraction patterns for any crystal - just by selecting a menu command in CrystalMaker! (You can also download CrystalDiffract from our web site.)
If you wish to understand crystal structures in an intuitive and elegant way, then CrystalMaker is for you!
2. Installation Instructions
This demonstration version comes in three flavours:-
"FAT" (Universal "fat binary" version: PowerPC-native; also runs on regular Macs)
"PPC" (PowerPC only)
"020" (Version for regular Macs; will run, under (slow) emulation, on PowerPC Macs)
(Note for users with regular Macs: The full commercial CrystalMaker package includes a version optimized for math-coprocessors (FPU) - which runs 2-3 times faster than the non-FPU version included with this demo).
• Launch the demo by double-clicking a crystal document, or dragging a document icon onto the CrystalMaker icon — or simply double clicking the CrystalMaker icon.
• Problems launching the program?
— If you "unstuff" the program into an open folder, you may get a blank document icon, instead of the CrystalMaker program icon (a picture of a crystal above an "M"). Simply close the folder, then open it again - all should now work.
— If you double-click the application program, and get an error message "The document … could not be opened because the application that created it could not be found", then you need to rebuild your desktop. Restart your Macintosh, holding down the COMMAND and OPTION keys. Click the OK button when the rebuild desktop dialog appears, then try launching the program again.
If the program crashes after launching, there may be a conflict with other programs running, or with control panels/extensions loaded. Try restarting your Macintosh with the SHIFT key held down (this turns the extensions off), then launch CrystalMaker_DEMO again.
3. Using CrystalMaker Demo
Once you've opened a Crystal file, you can rotate the crystal, resize it, view it in different ways, and edit the atoms and symmetry. Here are some of the main features of CrystalMaker:-
Changing the Model Type
- You can switch between: ball & stick, spacefilling, wireframe, stick or polyhedral representations of the crystal, by using the Model menu.
- You can change the way models look on-screen by editing the appearance of atoms and bonds using the Model Options dialog, and switching between the various options pages.
- CrystalMaker allows you great flexibility in the plotting of polyhedra, and you can assign different polyhedral styles to different sites. Polyhedra can have vertex atoms, can be plotted as solid, shaded, or hollow shapes, or you can even mix "ball-and-stick" representations with polyhedral representations - all using the Polyhedra options page of the Model Options dialog (Model > Model Options)
Altering the Plotting Mode. CrystalMaker lets you operate in one of three different modes:-
- in Photo-Colour mode, models are photo-realistically rendered. Crystals are printed as bitmaps (but you can print at the maximum resolution of your printer), so this option consumes the most memory, although it generally looks best on screen. This mode also allows you to use depth cueing - to simulate effects of atmospheric haze, so that the most distant parts of your crystal "fade-out" into the background.
- Photo-Grey mode is similar to photo-colour mode, except that colours are replaced by the corresponding shades of grey. This mode is useful for previewing the output from greyscale printers.
- in Black & White modes, atoms, bonds and polyhedra may be represented by stylized elements. This mode is best for preparing diagrams for publication, or for handouts.
Use the Rendering menu to switch between different plot modes, and use the Reflectance, Depth Fading Control, Illumination Direction and Perspective commands to customize the appearance of your plot.
Rotating The Crystal:
For Mouse-driven, interactive rotation: click in the graphics window and hold the mouse button down. The cursor changes from an open hand, to a closed hand. Now drag across the screen… The screen behaves as a "virtual trackball":
- to rotate the crystal about the screen X axis (which runs from left to right), drag the mouse vertically up (or down) the screen.
- to rotate the crystal about the screen Y axis (which runs from bottom to top), drag the mouse horizontally across the screen;
- to rotate about the screen Z axis (out of the screen), hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard, and drag the mouse in a clockwise, or counter-clockwise sense around the edge of the graphics window.
Using the Rotator Panel: Select the Windows > Rotator command to display the Rotator window. Click one of the arrow buttons to rotate the crystal in the direction you want. You can change the magnitude of the rotation by selecting a new angle from the angles palette (indicated by the ">" button). Note: you can also use the numeric keypad, to rotate your structure through the increments specified in the Rotator panel.
Auto-Rotation: Either select the Auto Rotation command from the View menu, or click the Auto… button in the Rotator panel. You can specify the angular rotation steps about each of the screen axes, and then click OK to start auto-rotating. To stop auto-rotation, click and hold down the mouse button in the graphics window—or hold down the COMMAND key and type a full stop (".").
Changing the Plot Range
To change the range of atoms displayed, select Set Range… from the View menu, and type in a range of fractional coordinates for the x, y, and z axes.
Getting Information About The Crystal.
- The "Info" window lists atoms by element and site, showing their radii, coordination numbers, and colours. You can change colours of crystal sites by clicking the appropriate colour bars; you can also show or hide atoms by element, or by site, by clicking on the atom or element icons.
- Atoms are grouped by chemical element, into "folders". You can open/close these groups by clicking the arrows on the left-hand side. To open/close all folder icons, hold the option key down as you click an arrow.
To annotate the crystal plot, use the Info Window, locate the site or element you wish to annotate, and click on the site symbol (or element symbol); a luggage tab is drawn around the text, and the structure is replotted.
Customizing Your Plot
You can use the Model Options dialog to change the way in which your model is displayed.
Using The ToolBar.
The toolbar (the vertical panel to the left of the graphics window on startup) contains a number of tools that let you manipulate and edit your crystal. Descriptions about the tools are provided by BALLOON HELP. Turn on balloon help from the Help menu (the "?" menu in System 7), click in the toolbar to activate it, and then point at the tool you're interested in.
Getting Help
• Use Balloon Help for more information about individual menu commands.
• For online help, select the "CrystalMaker Help" command from the Help menu (the "?" menu for System 7.x). If you have MacOS8.5, then the Apple Help Viewer application will be launched. Otherwise you will be prompted for the location of an HTML viewer application (e.g., a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator). Once configured, you can browser extensive help pages.
4. Added Features of the Full Version
Compared to your demonstration copy, the full, commercial version of CrystalMaker has a multitude of useful features:-
Flexible data input/output: - will import Cambridge Crystallographic Database FDAT files, Brookhaven Protein Data Bank (PDB) files, CCL, CIF, Daresbury Laboratory CSSR, Inorganic Crystal Structures Database (ICSD), SHELX, STRUPLO, MacMolecule 1.x, Chem3D cartesian, and CrystalMaker text files. Easy to create your own text data files for display in CrystalMaker - or edit standard database file output. CrystalMaker can export data to coordinates files, bond & angle data files, CrystalMaker (structural) text, MacMolecule 1.x, Chem3D cartesian, PDB, and CIF files
You can also import/export tables of element colours & radii. This makes it easy to switch between working with (say) organic crystals, and inorganic, mineral structures.
Printing: Use the Print Preview dialog to specify how you wish your crystal to be printed; add a title, frame, and specify the print resolution.
Export Graphics: copy to the clipboard in vector format (easy to edit in graphics programs), or as high-quality pixel maps. Export graphics as PICT files - either as vector-based QuickDraw pictures, or pixel maps. You can specify resolution in pixels-per-inch for the destination file or clipboard, in order to ensure maximum quality.
QuickTime Video: record CROSS-PLATFORM QuickTime movies as you work! Ideal for preparing animations for classroom/demonstration use.
QuickTime VR: create self-contained, 3D rotating crystals as CROSS-PLATFORM QuickTime VR object movies - all at the click of a button: CrystalMaker does the rest!
Optimized for maximum speed on your Mac! - Shipped with versions optimized for 3 different processors: 020 (runs on all Macs with the mc68020 processor, or later), FPU version (2-3 times faster than the 020 version; requires a Math Coprocessor), native PowerPC version (at least 10 times faster than the 020 version!)
Preferences File: customize your copy of CrystalMaker by saving your favourite settings in a preferences file. At any time, you can switch between your current settings, the default ("factory") settings, or your saved preferences.
De Luxe Printed & Bound User's Guide. Beautifully-produced, lavishly-illustrated 240-page manual. Includes a step-by-step tutorial, detailed description of the program's features, examples, menu reference, and handy tips on getting the most out of this program.
Free Technical Support (to registered users) - and special deals on future upgrades.
...Plus CrystalMaker 3.1 is available as a de luxe CD-ROM Edition featuring:-
• Crystal Structures Library: over 300 fully-annotated crystal files - just double-click and display.The library includes inorganic, organic, technological and mineral phases. There are over 200 minerals, including most of the minerals detailed in Deer Howie & Zussman's "Rock Forming Minerals" student edition! Ideal for teaching and for research!
• CrystalDiffract Software: our integrated powder diffraction software which runs as a helper application with CrystalMaker. View and edit a crystal in CrystalMaker, select a menu command, and see its diffraction pattern right away!
• Electronic Version of User's Guide: stored in Adobe Acrobat format (Reader software included) for fast on-line browsing
Japanese Customers can order CrystalMaker in Japan, from:-
DigitalWare Co., Ltd.
NetScience Division
Shinjuku I-Land Tower 31F
6-5-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo, 163-1366 Japan
Tel.: +81-3-5381-7580
Fax.: +81-3-5381-7321
E-mail: info@dware.co.jp
CrystalMaker 3.1 Pricing Details
Our prices include shipping worldwide! We give generous multi-user, and academic discounts. To qualify for academic discounts, customers must be from a degree-granting organisation, or a recognized not-for-profit educational organization.
Single User version includes:-
- program versions for regular, math-coprocessor (FPU), and PowerPC MacOS computers.
- crystal structures library, with over 220 annotated structures files on disc
- examples files
- de luxe printed & bound 240-page illustrated User's Guide
- installation & licensing instructions
- de luxe CD-ROM Edition at no extra cost (please indicate if you would prefer to receive the program on floppy discs. We are unable to include the multimedia extras or online help files on floppy disc.)
10-User version: as for single-user, PLUS
- 1 EXTRA copy of User's Guide;
- 10-user licence
20-User version: as for single-user, PLUS
- 3 EXTRA copies of User's Guide;
- 20-user licence.
CRYSTALMAKER VERSION 3.1 PRICES
(GBP = British Pounds Sterling; USD = U.S. Dollars)
Single User Academic Price: GBP 199 (USD 350) • Standard Price: GBP 299 (USD 499)
1. Prices include AIRMAIL SHIPPING WORLDWIDE. (We do not give any discounts if customers prefer to use their own courier service.)
2. Prices do not include VAT.
European customers: please remember to include your VAT number on your order, otherwise we are obliged to charge VAT at the U.K. rate of 17.5%
3. CrystalMaker Software accepts payment by: GB Pound Sterling or U.S. Dollar cheque; International Bank Transfer; Credit Card (VISA/Mastercard/JCB cards) - billing amount must be in pounds sterling (GBP).
