Learn MolDraw

Short hands-on lessons. Watch a quick animation, then try it in the real editor. The page checks your drawing and gives hints.

Chapters

1. 1
   How to draw a benzene ring and phenolDraw a benzene ring, then add an OH group to make phenol. The editor checks your work.
2. 2
   How to draw double, triple and wedge bondsPick a bond type in the left rail and drag between atoms. Press 1, 2 or 3 for single, double or triple bonds.
   Soon
3. 3
   How to add atoms, elements and formal chargesPick an element in the atom palette and click an atom. Use the plus and minus tools for charges.
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4. 4
   How to draw lone pairs and radicalsPick the lone pair tool and click an atom. Drag the dots to a free side.
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5. 5
   How to draw rings, chairs and fused ringsPick a ring in the ring bar and click the canvas. Click a ring bond to fuse a second ring.
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6. 6
   How to use R groups and labels like Ph and COOHPick the atom label tool, click an atom and type a label such as Ph, COOH or R1.
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7. 7
   How to draw stereochemistry with wedge and hash bondsDraw wedge and hash bonds from the stereo center outward. Show R and S labels from the Chemistry menu.
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8. 8
   How to draw a reaction scheme with arrowsDraw the reactant and product, add a reaction arrow, and type reagents above it.
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9. 9
   How to draw curved arrow mechanismsDraw curved arrows from a lone pair or bond to the atom that receives the electrons.
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10. 10
    How to turn a name or SMILES into a structureType a name in the search box or paste a SMILES string. MolDraw draws the structure for you.
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11. 11
    How to find the formula, weight and IUPAC nameSelect your molecule and click Info. The panel shows the name, formula and weight.
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12. 12
    How to view a molecule in 3DOpen the 3D panel and drag to rotate the model. Use 3D Clean Up to pose your drawing.
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13. 13
    How to export a structure for a paper or slidesClick Download and pick SVG or PDF for papers, or PNG for slides.
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14. 14
    How to change atom colours and colour a structureSelect atoms or bonds, then pick a colour in the style panel. Use element colours to colour heteroatoms.
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15. 15
    How to change font size and atom label styleOpen the style panel and set the font, label size and weight. All atom labels and text update at once.
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16. 16
    How to set bond length, line width and bond styleUse the style panel to set line width, bond length and the gap in double bonds.
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17. 17
    How to use themes and ball and stick styleInstall the Themes plugin and pick a style, such as ball and stick, for your 2D drawing.
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18. 18
    How to align, arrange and space out structuresSelect several structures, then use the align and distribute tools to line them up neatly.
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19. 19
    How to make publication quality structure figuresUse a journal style preset, then export as SVG or PDF at full size for your paper.
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20. 20
    How to predict an NMR spectrum from a structureInstall the NMR Analyser plugin, draw your molecule, and open the NMR tab.
    Soon

How it works

Each chapter has a short animation and an exercise. Open 1. Watch demo first. Then open 2. Try in editor and draw in the full MolDraw editor. Each step ticks by itself when your drawing is right. Your progress saves in this browser.