Representing paint molecules with JChemPaint
Molecule Editor
Drawings of molecules can be made with a graphics program like Inkscape. But structural formulas turn out even better if you use the JChemPaint professional molecule editor.
Every now and then, students need a tool for chemistry classes that makes it easy to put chemical structural formulas on digital paper. This not only makes it easier to work on homework but also helps to document experiments by drawing the chemical reactions. The free molecule editor JChemPaint [1] supports the (budding) chemist here.
The LGPL Java program is only available from the package sources of a few distributions. Arch Linux maintains the program in the Arch User Repository, but JChemPaint can easily be downloaded from the homepage and run at the command line (Listing 1). The settings let you change the language and appearance of the application, among other things. To do this, select Edit | Settings and switch to the Other settings tab.
Drawing Molecules
There are two different ways to create drawings in JChemPaint. To represent a chemical compound as a structural formula, you would start with a central atom such as carbon. Alternatively, you can start from the edge of the structural formula. For carbonic acid, for example, first draw the functional group (a small collection of atoms that determines how a molecule works), that is, carboxylic acid R-C=O-OH. Click on the C icon in the lower toolbar and then on the drawing board to transfer the carbon atom to the drawing area.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.
-
Ubuntu 25.04 Coming Soon
Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin) has been given an April release date with many notable updates.
-
Gnome Developers Consider Dropping RPM Support
In a move that might shock a lot of users, the Gnome development team has proposed the idea of going straight up Flatpak.
-
openSUSE Tumbleweed Ditches AppArmor for SELinux
If you're an openSUSE Tumbleweed user, you can expect a major change to the distribution.
-
Plasma 6.3 Now Available
Plasma desktop v6.3 has a couple of pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve.
-
LibreOffice 25.2 Has Arrived
If you've been hoping for a release that offers more UI customizations, you're in for a treat.
-
TuxCare Has a Big AlmaLinux 9 Announcement in Store
TuxCare announced it has successfully completed a Security Technical Implementation Guide for AlmaLinux OS 9.
-
First Release Candidate for Linux Kernel 6.14 Now Available
Linus Torvalds has officially released the first release candidate for kernel 6.14 and it includes over 500,000 lines of modified code, making for a small release.