Does anyone know how to use BKChem ?

[Milton Beychok]

I am trying to learn how to use a software for drawing chemical structures. It is called BKChem. Does anyone know how to use  that software? If so, can you direct me to a good tutorial somewhere?

Milt Beychok

[David E. Volk]

I have been using WinChemDraw, which is a free software program that is very easy to use.  My only problem with it is that it crashes occassionally, so save your work.  The program is basically like ChemDraw and so is easy to use.

[Peter Schmitt]

I never had to type structure formulas, but LaTeX has packages intended for chemistry.
(A side effect: The typography would match the mathematical formulas.)

[Daniel Mietchen]

I never had to type structure formulas, but LaTeX has packages intended for chemistry.
(A side effect: The typography would match the mathematical formulas.)

Another side effect: Those formulas would become editable and could thus be adapted from page to page by anyone, irrespective of the software they have on their computer.

[Peter Schmitt]

I never had to type structure formulas, but LaTeX has packages intended for chemistry.
(A side effect: The typography would match the mathematical formulas.)

Another side effect: Those formulas would become editable and could thus be adapted from page to page by anyone, irrespective of the software they have on their computer.

Well, unfortunately I do not know if TeX on the wiki understands these packages,
or if one would have to import the typeset formulas (as pictures).
However, of course one could always do it directly, but then it would be more complicated to type.

[Paul Wormer]

There is the free package PStricks, basically a set of LaTeX macros to generate PostScript drawings. There is also a way to convert PostScript to png (I'm using the latter for  my CZ drawings that I always create first in PostScript).

However, this brings me to the question: are user-defined macros possible in Wiki-TeX? During my working-life I've written hundreds of TeX macros, but I gave up using them after retirement,  when I started to write for WP, for I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that the Wiki software does not allow macros.

[Peter Schmitt]

However, this brings me to the question: are user-defined macros possible in Wiki-TeX? During my working-life I've written hundreds of TeX macros, but I gave up using them after retirement,  when I started to write for WP, for I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that the Wiki software does not allow macros.

Unfortunately not. Neither \newcommand nor \def or \let are recognized by the parser.
But perhaps it is possible to install an extension?

(I tried to use templates together with math, but without success. But there might be a way?)

WP seems to use pictures for chemistry structures.
Instead of a postscript file, pdftex can be used to generate a pdf-file (which also can be converted).
Using TeX to generate the pictures would allow to store the code with the pictures (for later modifications).

(An ambitious idea: Could TeX be used to generate the "print version" of the pages?
Pages with formulas would look much better, and "normal" pages would look better.)

[Howard C. Berkowitz]

However, this brings me to the question: are user-defined macros possible in Wiki-TeX? During my working-life I've written hundreds of TeX macros, but I gave up using them after retirement,  when I started to write for WP, for I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that the Wiki software does not allow macros.

Unfortunately not. Neither \newcommand nor \def or \let are recognized by the parser.
But perhaps it is possible to install an extension?

(I tried to use templates together with math, but without success. But there might be a way?)

WP seems to use pictures for chemistry structures.
Instead of a postscript file, pdftex can be used to generate a pdf-file (which also can be converted).
Using TeX to generate the pictures would allow to store the code with the pictures (for later modifications).

(An ambitious idea: Could TeX be used to generate the "print version" of the pages?
Pages with formulas would look much better, and "normal" pages would look better.)

Clearly a research problem, but has anyone introduced IUPAC structures to semantic or other networks? Are there systems where one could browse for a glycine or a pantose?

[Daniel Mietchen]

Clearly a research problem, but has anyone introduced IUPAC structures to semantic or other networks? Are there systems where one could browse for a glycine or a pantose?

Something that comes close, perhaps, is a Google Wave robot which turns code snippets like chem[ChemicalName{;weight {m}g}] into chemical structures.