search site  |  contact us  HOME PRODUCTS DOWNLOADS SALES SUPPORT NEWS CrystalMaker 5 The Power to Visualize Finally it is here. After two years' of solid development, which included completely rewriting the source code, taking advantage of the latest "C" compilers, CrystalMaker 5 has been released. The new program incorporates numerous features designed to make your work easier and more rewarding - many of them suggested by existing users. Let's take a look at some of the changes... Multiple Windows One of the most requested new features was the ability to display multiple structures in different windows. Normally this would require very large amounts of additional memory, but CrystalMaker 5 is able to manage multiple windows with virtually no additional memory: unused structures are simply cached to disc, and reloaded as needed. Menu commands let you tile or stack your multiple windows, and you can even synchronize their scales, model types and sizes. With multiple windows you can work with more structures, without worrying about memory overheads. Multiple Views You can "bookmark" particular views of a structure, or stages of your work, for quick reference. You can also use the Views feature to work with multiple structures in the same window - rather like using a web browser. Holding down the shift key as you select the Open command, loads a new structure into your window, and saves the present "view" of the previous structure in the Views pane of the Overview window, allowing you to quickly compare structures, without taking up too much screen space. Multiple Undo Levels Whilst many users had requested an undo command, we went a step further - 99 steps, to be precise. CrystalMaker 5 provides 99 undo levels per window, each undo level having its own graphical preview so you can easily review your "history" and go back to earlier stages. This should encourage exploration and experimentation with manipulation and the design of new structures or defects. The Overview Window keeps track of custom views, recently-opened files, diagnostic output and - as shown here - your "history", with up to 99 undo levels. Site Occupancies Users of CrystalDiffract were keen to be able to edit and save site occupancies in CrystalMaker. Whereas most programs limit you to one atom per site definition, CrystalMaker 5 lets you add up to three atoms per crystallographic site - each with a fractional occupancy. This makes the depiction of disordered structures (e.g., Al/Si site disorder in minerals) much more intuitive. Site occupancies can be imported from CIF files, or from CrystalMaker text files, and they are saved in the new-format CrystalMaker 5 binary files. The new CrystalDiffract 3.1 (free upgrade available) reads site occupancies from version 5 binary files. Disordered sites are now possible. The revised Edit Crystal dialog lets you enter multiple occupants per site - each with its own fractional occupancy. More Atoms and Bonds Earlier versions of CrystalMaker were limited to a maximum of 9000 atoms, with no more than 600 atoms in the asymmetric unit. CrystalMaker 5 blows these limits away, with up to 20 000 atoms in either the asymmetric unit, or the entire structure. All atoms can now be edited for molecules (previously, the molecule editor could only cope with 600 or fewer atoms). The maximum number of bonds per atom has also been increased, from 12 to 16, to give you more flexibility. Furthermore, bonding specifications have been made more comprehensive: you can now define both maximum and minimum distance limits for any bond specification. This might make it possible to plot specific "tracer" distances, which go beyond normally-defined bond limits. With up to 20000 atoms in the structure or in your unit cell, you can display the results of complex computer simulations, such as this one for SF6 Improved Symmetry Handling CrystalMaker's symmetry handling has been radically improved, with extended support for unconventional spacegroup settings, and automatic support for Rhombohedral spacegroups. CrystalMaker now recognizes both the short and full international spacegroup notations - the full notation helps resolve ambiguity when dealing with non-conventional spacegroup settings. The revised Spacegroups Assistant displays detailed and formatted information about the spacegroups that you select from popup menus. Local Atom and Bond Styles Earlier versions of CrystalMaker allowed only a single, global atom style. This was either a photo-rendered sphere, or one of a small number of stylized, black-and-white representations. CrystalMaker 5 provides 18 different atom styles, including "two-tone" photo-rendered spheres, a rendered "beachball" design, translucent spheres - plus new and improved stylized representations which, for the first time, can be displayed in colour. The new designs include a dash-rimmed hollow circle, which is ideal for representing vacancies in a structure. The new atom styles include simple, colour designs, ideal for use in technical publications or lecture handouts. Not only can you apply different atom styles to different crystallographic sites, you can also select individual atoms and apply custom styles. This idea has also been adopted for bonds: if you select a pair of atoms, the bond between them can be coloured or given an individual style. Atom, bond and polyhedral styles can easily be selected from popup menus in the revamped Model Options dialog. Individual atoms and bonds can be displayed with distinctive styles. Other Changes CrystalMaker 5 has been totally rewritten, with numerous subtle enhancements and bug fixes. The program is also smaller, and faster to use. Speed Improvements Particular attention has been paid to accelerating particular "bottlenecks" that would otherwise diminish performance in the MacOS X "Classic" environment. These bottlenecks included file input/output, which has been speeded up by a factor of 100. Bond searching has also been accelerated, and is now up to 3 times faster than CrystalMaker 4. Background Pictures In addition to plain or gradient-fill backgrounds, you can now display your favourite pictures as backgrounds. CrystalMaker can import a whole range of graphics file formats (including JPEG, GIF, PICT, etc.) to produce vibrant structural pictures. Background pictures add a whole new dimension to your work. Smaller File Sizes CrystalMaker binary files are saved in a new, more compact file format, CMD5 (CMM5 for molecules). These files save approximately 30% disc space and can be read around 20% faster than CrystalMaker 2-4 binary files. The amount of disc space required for file previews has also been reduced - by around 50%. MacOS X Classic Support Earlier versions of CrystalMaker did not work well in the MacOS X Classic environment, due to a problem with AppleScript support. CrystalMaker 5 has been specially developed with MacOS X in mind, and tested in the "Classic" environment. We remain fully-committed to a native, "Carbon" version, but this will have to wait until a final, stable development version of MacOS X is available - and we are fully satisfied with all aspects of CrystalMaker's native performance. In the meantime, CrystalMaker 5 works seamlessly and effectively in the "Classic" environment, and the same program will also run on all previous operating systems back to System 7.1. Miscellaneous Improvements The List Bonds dialog now permits bond search output in the form of a histogram, displayed in the Output pane of the Overview Window. You can keep track of CrystalMaker's memory usage using a revised, floating "About CrystalMaker" window; this can be collapsed to display just a memory bar. The Place Molecule command has been improved, with better handling of custom atom definitions in the placed molecule. The number of placed atoms is now limited only by CrystalMaker's maximum atom limit (20000). The toolbar rotation controls have been improved: a single click on a rotation pad arrow now rotates the structure through a single increment, instead of causing continuous rotation. Auto-rotation can be activated by option-clicking the appropriate rotation pad arrow. Scaling is smoother, and can be accelerated by holding down the shift key whilst pressing the toolbar's zoom in or zoom out buttons. Setting your plot range is now fully-interactive, thanks to the live-update feature of the new, floating plot range dialog. Work with multiple structures in the same window, thanks to the Views option. Bond specifications can now include minimum, as well as maximum bond distances. Local bond searches are automatically performed as you define your bonds, giving immediate feedback as to the nature of local coordination environments (shown here in blue). Further Information For further information about CrystalMaker, please try the following links:- Program description Pricing and Online Sales © 2008 CrystalMaker Software Limited. All rights reserved worldwide.