A molecule editor is a computer program for creating and modifying representations of chemical structures.
Molecule editors can manipulate chemical structure representations in either two- or three-dimensions. Two-Dimensional editors generate output used as illustrations or for querying chemical databases. Three-dimensional molecule editors are used to build molecular models, usually as part of molecular modelling software packages.
Database molecular editors such as Leatherface,[1] RECAP[2] and Molecule Slicer[3] allow large numbers of molecules to be modified automatically according to rules such as 'deprotonate carboxylic acids' or 'break exocyclic bonds' that can be specified by the user.
Molecule editors typically support reading and writing at least one file format or line notation. Examples of each include Molfile and SMILES, respectively.
Files generated by molecule editors can be displayed by molecular graphics tools.
Online editors
ChemDoodle Web Components HTML5 chemistry web components including viewers, animations, interactive components and editors by iChemLabs. Pure Javascript code using Canvas and WebGL graphics. Free and open source under the GPL v3.0 license.
ChemWriter by Metamolecular. Written in pure JavaScript. Runs on Internet Explorer 6-9 and modern standards-compliant browsers. Touch interface supported on iPad.
jsMolEditor, the world's first molecule structure editor in Javascript. Runs in most web browsers, no plugin or virtual machine is required. Free and open source under the LGPL v3.0 license.
Ketcher Written in pure Javascript, using SVG/VML via Raphaël.js. Supports all major desktop browsers. Open source initiative of GGA Software Services.
Marvin molecule editor and viewer: proprietary software from ChemAxon. Supports all major formats and structure/query features. This Java implementation also includes unlimited structure based predictions for a range of properties (pKa, logD, name<>structure, etc.).
Molinspiration WebME molecule editor: proprietary software, based on Ajax technology which does not require Java.
PubChem online molecule editor, supports SMILES, SMARTS and InChI as well as all common chemical file formats.
Molecular Editor and Image Sharer Molecular editor based on JChemPaint. Allows to store generated images on the server.
OLN JSDraw by Scilligence Completely built on Javascript, running on all platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iPad, iPhone, Android tablets and phones.
