Athanor by arbastro
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How to draw wedge and hash bonds

With the Bond tool, press U for wedge, H for hash or Y for wavy, then click a bond to change it or click empty canvas to draw a new one. The narrow end sits on the stereocenter. View › Show stereochemistry labels each center R or S.

A stereocenter is an atom with four different groups around it. On paper, a wedge bond points out of the page toward you and a hash bond points into the page, away from you. Together they show which way round the groups sit.

U for a wedge, then H for a hash, and the label changing from R to S.

Steps

  1. Draw the structure, for example butan-2-ol: a four-carbon chain with OH on the second carbon.

  2. Choose View › Show stereochemistry in the Main menu, so each stereocenter shows its R or S label.

  3. With the Bond tool on (D), press U for wedge.

  4. Click the bond from the stereocenter to the OH. It becomes a wedge, with its narrow end on the stereocenter, and the label appears.

    Butan-2-ol with a wedge bond to OH and the center labeled R.Butan-2-ol with a wedge bond to OH and the center labeled R.

  5. Press H for hash and click the same bond. The OH now points away from you, and the label flips.

    The same bond as a hash, now labeled S.The same bond as a hash, now labeled S.

Without changing tools

Point at a bond and press a key:

Key Bond
W Wedge
H Hash
B Bold
D Dashed
Y Wavy
F Swap the bond's ends, so the narrow end moves to the other atom

The other stereo and special bonds

The row above the toolbar, with the Bond tool on, also has these. Point at each for a description.

  • Wavy (Y): the configuration at that center is not specified.
  • Bold (B): a bond nearer the reader in a perspective drawing, with no stereo meaning of its own.
  • Dashed: a partial bond, such as a hydrogen bond.
  • Hollow wedge, dative and aromatic bonds.

Note

A stereocenter drawn without a wedge or hash is flagged as a warning in the issues badge, for example "C's configuration is not drawn". That is a reminder, not an error: some structures are meant to leave it open.

Keyboard shortcutsKeyboard shortcutsPress ? in a document for the Controls cheat sheet, or Ctrl+K and search for a command to see its shortcut. Every shortcut can be changed in Settings › Shortcuts. On a Mac, Ctrl is Cmd.Switching from ChemDrawWhat works differently from ChemDrawAthanor saves as you work, flags valence and stereo problems instead of silently changing your structure, shows actions for the selection in a bar beside it, and finds commands by ChemDraw's names in Search everything.

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Last updated Nov 12, 2026