Athanor by arbastro
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How to turn a structure in space with the Perspective tool

Choose Select › Perspective, or press K in the Select menu, and drag on a structure. It turns in space; Shift keeps to one axis, Ctrl turns in 15 degree steps and Alt turns it in the page. Wedges are redrawn for the new view, so R and S never change. Double-click puts it back.

On a Mac, Ctrl is Cmd.

Steps

  1. Press V for Select, then choose Perspective on the Select bar (or press K).

    The Select bar with Click, Perspective (chosen) and Lasso.The Select bar with Click, Perspective (chosen) and Lasso.

  2. Drag on the structure. Dragging sideways turns it about the vertical axis; dragging up or down turns it about the horizontal one.

  3. Let go. One drag is one step: Ctrl+Z undoes it.

    L-alanine with its (S) label, before turning.L-alanine with its (S) label, before turning.

    The same L-alanine turned in space with the Perspective tool. The hashed bond is redrawn and the label still reads (S).The same L-alanine turned in space with the Perspective tool. The hashed bond is redrawn and the label still reads (S).

While you drag

Hold Does
Shift Keeps the turn to one axis, the one your drag started along
Ctrl Turns in 15 degree steps
Alt Turns the structure in the plane of the page instead
Esc Cancels the drag and puts it back

Double-click the structure to return it to how it was drawn.

Stereochemistry is kept

Athanor reads your drawing as a 3D object, with each wedge coming toward you and each hash going away, and turns that. Afterward it redraws the wedges and hashes for the new view. A rotation never changes handedness, so every R stays R and every S stays S, even seen edge-on. Turn on View › Show stereochemistry to watch the labels while you turn. Centers you left undefined stay undefined.

If you let go with the structure edge-on, where it would be hard to read, it turns back to a readable angle. Hold Ctrl while letting go to keep the edge-on view.

Tip

To lay a single ring back for a Haworth-style drawing, Tilt into perspective is quicker. For a full 3D model you can spin freely, use the 3D view.

Atoms, bonds and ringsHow to tilt a ring into perspectiveSelect the ring and choose Object › Chemistry › Tilt into perspective. Flatten to face-on, in the same menu, returns it to the flat drawing.Atoms, bonds and ringsHow to show R and S, E and Z labelsTurn on View › Show stereochemistry. Each stereocenter gets R or S and each stereo double bond E or Z, worked out from the CIP priority rules and updated as you draw.3D and orbitalsHow to view a structure in 3DSelect the structure and choose View › 3D view or press Shift+D. Drag to turn, shift-drag to pan, scroll to zoom. The 2D button in the top bar goes back.

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Last updated Nov 12, 2026