How to draw bonds and chains

Draw bonds one at a time

1. Press D for the Bond tool. The row above the toolbar shows the bond styles, with single picked.

   

2. Click an empty spot on the canvas. A single bond appears, with a carbon at each end.

3. Click an atom to grow a new bond from it. Athanor picks a zigzag angle for you, so a few clicks along the end atom make a tidy chain.

4. Point at any atom and press a letter to change its element, such as O for oxygen or N for nitrogen. See How to change an atom to another element.

Draw a whole chain

1. With the Bond tool on, press G (or choose chain in the row above the toolbar).

2. Drag on the canvas. A zigzag chain follows the pointer, and a count beside it shows how many carbons it has so far.

   

3. Hold Shift while you drag to lock the chain's direction.

4. Let go to place it. One Ctrl+Z removes the whole chain.

Fix mistakes

Ctrl+Z undoes the last step and Ctrl+Shift+Z redoes it. The Erase tool (E) removes what you click. A structure that breaks a chemistry rule, such as a carbon with five bonds, is flagged in the issues badge at the bottom left of the canvas, never silently changed.