Chem4WordJul 31, 2023
We are shortly to be releasing version 3.3 of #Chem4Word see a sneak preview here
https://www.chem4word.co.uk/category/news/
News Archives - Chemistry Add-In for Microsoft Word

Chemistry Add-In for Microsoft Word
Clyde DaviesJan 3, 2023
So, our first NY resolution for #Chem4Word is to support multiple structure and reaction libraries. It's all very well making a free, first-class cheminformatics tool available. But we need more 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩.
Think back to the VHS/Betamax war. The latter was the better format, but the former won out because it had so much more content going for it.
Show threadClyde DaviesDec 26, 2022

So, we wrote our own editor, ACME (Advanced CML-based Molecule Editor). ACME is written completely in C#, and uses #WPF for its graphics.
This ties the editor to the Windows Desktop, but #Chem4Word is - at the moment - a Windows only application, so that restriction is moot.

Which kinda brings me to my next point: we've added yet another chemical editor to the zoo. Ideally, there should be at most two editors: one for web hosting, and another cross-platform editor for the desktop.

Show threadClyde DaviesDec 26, 2022
#Chem4Word then changed sponsors when the OuterCurve Foundation ceased. We found a new sponsor in the .NET Foundation.
But it was made plain that the licensing situation wasn't tenable in the long term.
We had to find another editor that was more compatible.
This wasn't easy.
Wikipedia lists 19 chemical editors. Virtually all the OSS ones are GPL. And none are written in C# or on the .NET Platform.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecule_editor
Molecule editor - Wikipedia

Show threadClyde DaviesDec 26, 2022
So we realised that users should create as well as consume content - if #Chem4Word itself was to grow and thrive.
We need a proper chemical editor. We settled on using the excellent ChemDoodle for Web sketcher produced by iChemLabs. They helped us to integrate this tool into Chem4Word.
This brought its own challenges. ChemDoodle is a JavaScript component and needed to be hosted. It was also #GPL, while #Chem4Word is #Apache licensed.
A lot of careful ring-fencing went on.
Clyde DaviesDec 26, 2022
When we took over #Chem4Word, it didn't have a comprehensive editor. This might surprise anyone used to chemical software. But the original view was that you'd download structures as much as possible.
#Chem4Word began life as a research project, testing out two propositions:
* was #CML viable for representing chemical structures?
* could a big faceless 'corporation' embrace open-source?
'Yes' to both of those. But those answers aside, it became popular among students and educators generally.
Show threadClyde DaviesDec 22, 2022
@rapodaca @macinchem @BeilsteinInst #CML suffers from the same problem: the schema is gigantic, so those few CML tools address only part of it. #Chem4Word just scratches the surface.
However, it still doesn't explain why ChemDraw felt the need to devise their own XML-based format. Why not add custom attributes and tags to CML strictly where necessary, like we did?
Show threadClyde DaviesDec 22, 2022
@rapodaca @BeilsteinInst Try downloading #Chem4Word, drawing a reaction and then viewing the CML. You'll see what I'm getting at.
Clyde DaviesNov 30, 2022

#Chem4Word 2022 (Release1) is now available, with full reaction handling!

Download it FREE from https://github.com/Chem4Word/Version3-2/releases/

#opensci #chemistry #cheminformatics #FOSS

Releases · Chem4Word/Version3-2

Version 2022 (3.2) of Chem4Word - A Chemistry Add-In for Microsoft Word - Chem4Word/Version3-2

GitHub
Clyde DaviesNov 29, 2022
When we first took on #Chem4Word, it didn't really have a means of creating chemistry from scratch. You could download structures from public databases. You could use the OPSIN service to build them from a name you typed in.
But you couldn't draw them