MarvinSketch Help

How to draw

Carbon atoms connected by single bonds can be drawn when the Bond button is down and its icon shows a single bond.
To select another bond type, hold the mouse button down on the icon until a menu pops up.
To change a single bond to double (triple), select single bond mode, then click on the bond once (twice).
To change an atom, press an atom button such as B, N, O, F, etc. and then click on the atom.
To increase or decrease a charge, select + or - and click on the atom.
Red underline means valence error.

Undo and Redo

Operations can be reverted with Undo and Redo.

How to delete

To delete the selection, press Erase.
To delete atoms or bonds one by one,
1. be sure there is no selection,
2. press Erase,
3. click on the atoms/bonds
To delete everything in a rectangle,
1. press Erase,
2. press and hold down the mouse button while selecting the rectangle
3. release the button
To delete a nonrectangular area,
1. press Erase,
2. click on the mouse button and move the mouse pointer around the fragment
3. click again

Selecting

Press the Select button.
To select an atom, bond or group, click on it.
To select a fragment, double click on an atom or bond of it.
Lasso selection: Click on the mouse button and move the mouse pointer around the fragment. Click again when you are ready.
Rectangle selection: Hold the mouse button down while selecting.
To increase or decrease selection, press Shift while clicking on an atom, bond or group.
To unselect all the atoms, click on the sketchboard somewhere outside the structure.

The More window

Press More to bring up a window with a periodic table, query atoms, the SMARTS/Alias textfield and a menu of abbreviated group,
To choose a SMARTS query atom or property not found in the left button bar,
1. write its SMARTS string into the textfield,
2. press SMARTS.
To define a set of fragments as R-group 5,
1. select the fragments,
2. press R5.
To choose an attachment point on R-group 5,
1. press R5,
2. click on the atom.
To select an abbreviated group, use the Groups menu.

Graphics objects and text boxes

To insert a (poly)line, rectangle or text box, choose it from the Insert menu, point with the mouse to the desired position, then click or drag. After putting a text box, you can immediately use the keyboard to type a text.
To change the contents of a text box, choose Select mode, click on the box, then use the keyboard.
To resize or change the shape of an object, drag one of its points.

Moving and Rotating

To move an atom, drag it with the mouse in Select mode.
To move the selection,
1. move the mouse pointer towards the center until a blue rectangle appears,
2. drag the selection by pressing and holding down the mouse button.
To rotate the selection,
1. move the mouse pointer towards the "edge" until a blue gear appears,
2. drag the selection by pressing and holding down the mouse button.

Drag & Drop

Selections can be moved also between different Marvin windows
Molecule files from the file manager or the desktop can be dragged and dropped in Marvin

Notes:
1. D&D only works in the Swing version, in Java 1.2 or later.
2. D&D does not work in the JMSketch applet running in a browser window, because drop events are received by the browser in that case.

Hydrogen labels

In the View menu, choose Hydrogens to change the way implicit H labels are shown.

If you do not see View and Edit menus, put the sketcher into a separate window by pressing the top left button (an arrow pointing up).

Use the Edit menu to

copy or paste,
clean in 2D or 3D,
aromatize or dearomatize,
add or remove Hydrogen atoms,
flip horizontally or vertically,
specify the chiral flag
set R-group query conditions
(R-logic),
view or edit the Source
(Molfile, SMILES string, etc.)

Template structures

Templates can be rotated into the desired position before the structure is picked up.
1. Select a template while holding the mouse button down.
2. Move the mouse pointer.
3. Release the mouse button when you find the desired position.
Joining a structure with a template (click here for pictures).
- Simplest case
  1. Select the template.
  2. Move it near the structure. Attaching points are signed by circles.
  3. Click.
- You can rotate the template if there is only one main attaching point.
  1. Select the template.
  2. Move it near the structure. The main attaching point(s) are the big circle(s).
  3. If there is only one main attaching point, press and hold the mouse button.
  4. Rotate the template into the desired position by moving the mouse.
To choose from another template set:
- in MarvinSketch/Swing: select from the Insert/Templates menu
- in MarvinSketch/AWT: press the < button right to the template bar

Reactions

To select reactants and products,
1. press the arrow button,
2. draw an arrow from reactant to product.

To map atoms,
1. press the arrow button,
2. draw an arrow from an atom in the reactant to the same atom in the product.

Keyboard shortcuts

All the elements. For example: N is Nitrogen, C-L is Chlorine.
Query atom types: * (any atom), Q (heteroatom), R-groups: R-1, ..., R-3-2
Atom maps for reactions: M-1, M-2, ..., M-+ (next unused mapping number), M-0 (unmap)
Bond types: 1, 2, 3, 4 (aromatic), 1-2 (single or double), 1-4 (single or aromatic), 2-4 (double or aromatic), 0 (any)
Charges: -, +
Stereochemical groups: A-B-S (ABSOLUTE), O-R-1, O-R-2, ..., O-R-1-0, ... (OR n), A-N-D-1, A-N-D-2, ..., A-N-D-1-0, ..., &-1, &-2, ..., &-1-0, ... (AND n)
Abbreviated groups: P-H = Phenyl, A-L-A = Alanyl, etc.
To complete a longer name, press Enter or End after typing the first few characters.
Templates: 1-1, 2-2, ... 9-9
More window (Periodic Table): Ctrl-M
Undo: Ctrl-Z, Alt-Backspace, Redo: Ctrl-Y
Clipboard. Copy: Ctrl-C, Copy as Smiles: Ctrl-L, Cut: Ctrl-X, Paste: Ctrl-V, Select all: Ctrl-A
File operations (if available). Open: Ctrl-O, Save: Ctrl-S, Print: Ctrl-P
To define a set of fragments as R-group 5,
1. select the fragments,
2. type R-5.
To choose an attachment point on R-group 5,
1. type R-5,
2. click on the atom.

Right click on an atom, bond or group for a pop-up menu to

set ion charge
set radical value
set atomic weight (for isotopes)
set atom map
set R-group label

set bond type
set bond query attributes:
- cis/trans stereo care box
(double bond stereo information is ignored if Stereo search is unchecked)
- topology: ring or chain
align horizontally or vertically

contract group
expand group
ungroup