Themes (Ball-and-Stick) plugin

Short answer: Click Color & style in the toolbar and set Look to Ball and stick. Themes is installed by default.

Last updated 11 Oct 2026 · By the MolDraw team at LabCanvas

MolDraw Color and style panel with Look set to Ball and stick, rendering chloramphenicol as coloured spheres and sticks — Chloramphenicol in the Ball and stick theme. Cl is green, O red, N blue and C grey.

Color & style button in the toolbar.
Look menu: choose Default or Ball and stick.

What it does#

Themes change only how structures are drawn, not the chemistry. You can apply the look to the selection or, with Apply to all, to every design. Label and ring-fill colours, opacity and atom/bond overrides in the same panel still work, and exports (PNG/SVG) keep the theme.

Who it is for#

Teachers and students making visually clear figures, and anyone who wants a 3D-style image without opening the 3D viewer.

How to use it#

Draw or load a structure.
Click Color & style (callout 1).
Set Look to Ball and stick (callout 2).
Toggle Apply to all to restyle all open designs.
Export with Download , PNG or SVG.

Tips#

For a true rotatable 3D model use the 3D molecular model viewer.
Explore ready-made 3D pages in the molecule library.
Switch back to Default for journal-style skeletal structures.

Questions and answers

Is the ball-and-stick theme 3D?

No, it is a 2D drawing style with shaded spheres. Use the 3D viewer for rotatable models.

Does it need an account?

No. Themes is installed by default.

Which colours are used?

Standard CPK colours: C grey, H white, O red, N blue, S yellow, Cl green, Br dark red.