User guide

Sharing information
Many of the system commands you commonly use to transfer content from one place to another can also be used in
ChemBioDraw:
copy/paste
import and export content files
When you use the clipboard, the object you are copying can be edited.
The clipboard
You can use the clipboard to transfer part or all information within an active document window between applications
on the same computer or on a network. Use the standard copy-and-paste or cut-and-paste tools to transfer information
to any application that supports these tools. The information is transferred as a drawing object. Double-click the object
to edit it in ChemBioDraw 13.0.
You can also use the Copy As tool to translate a selected structure to a SMILES, SLN, or InChI™ string.
If the Clipboard contains structures and you paste into another ChemBioDraw 13.0 document, the pasted information
is scaled to the settings in the new document. For more information, see "Autoscaling" on page 237.
Text line notation
Use text line notation
1
to expand a line of text into the structure that it represents. Several software packages use
SMILES strings to enter and store chemical structure information.
If you select a reaction and use the Copy As SMILES command, a SMIRKS string is copied to the clipboard. If you
use the Paste Special SMILES command when a SMIRKS string is on the clipboard, a reaction is pasted into your
document.
Creating SMILES strings
To create the SMILES string for a structure:
1. Select the structure.
2. Go to Edit>Copy As>SMILES.
The SMILES string is transferred to the Clipboard.
To display the SMILES string, paste the string in a document window.
When the SMILES string is on the Clipboard, you can transfer it to another application that can interpret SMILES
strings.
If you copy more than one structure from ChemBioDraw 13.0 to the Clipboard, the SMILES string are separated by a
period.
1
A SMILES string is a line of text that represents the structure of a molecule. A SMIRKS string describes chemical reac-
tions in text.
ChemBioDraw 13.0
Chapter 12: Sharing information 235 of 401