Basic instructions

Prerequisites

Chemix 2.0 requires a web browser with Flash plugin 10. Some people have complained that when running the application, it just flickers and is unusable - outdated Flash plugin is the sole reason - just grab the latest version and restart the browser.

Mouse and keyboard

When using Chemix 2.x, one hand should be on the keyboard, the other on the mouse. Chemix, being a Flash application, only uses the left mouse click. Keyboard keys used are Shift, Alt and Ctrl and their various combinations. It will take some time for you to get used to all the combinations and what they do, but you can always click the small "?" just next to the bin in case you forget.

Workspace

Your workspace consists of two toolbars, which you can drag (by clicking the title bar) and scroll up (by clicking the little triangle in the title bar). In the bottom right corner is the bin, where you can drag items to be deleted. Next to it is a "?" button, which shows you a handy summary of the shortcuts.

Working with Chemix

Adding and deleting items

Items are added through the Apparatus panel. Simply select the category and click on the item you want to add. Hover your mouse over an item displays a tooltip with the name of that apparatus. Items get added in the center of the work space. To delete an item, drag it to the bin and release. You can delete multiple items by making a selection and dragging that into the bin.

Selection and dragging

Selected items appear green. You can select an item by clicking it, without moving your mouse. Add an item to the current selection by holding Shift. Shift+Click a selected item to deselect it. Dragging any item in a selection will drag the whole selection. Click on the workspace to deselect. Click on the workspace and drag to produce a selection box.

Rotation

To rotate, select one or more items and then move your mouse away from them. Alt+click anywhere on the workspace and drag in a circle around the selection (you can release Alt once you enter rotation mode). Hold down Shift to snap the rotation to 22.5 degree multiples.

Change appearance

Many items have multiple appearance (e.g. the beaker has several sizes), explore them by Alt+Clicking on an item.

Liquids

Container items can contain simple filled areas that represents liquids. Ctrl+Click on an item to set the liquid height (do not drag, just click). Ctrl+Alt+Click on the liquid will change it's colour. It is possible to turn a container upside down and the liquid would still be present - this is not a bug, it can be useful in certain setups

Zooming and Panning

For large setups or detailed positioning, it would be handy to zoom and pan the workspace. To pan (shift all items at once), Shift+Click anywhere on the workspace and drag. To zoom, Ctrl+click and drag away from center to zoom in, towards center to zoom out. Zooming automatically locks to 0.3x and 3x scale, so apply this technique many times to achieve higher zooms. Press reset zoom to return to original scale.

Saving your work

Unfortunately, you cannot save your setup for later editing, but you can save it as an image, with the toolbars and bin removed. Ctrl+click to zoom to level of detail you'd like and then hit "Save to image". Please be patient as the process is slow and Chemix can take 2-10 seconds to respond again.

Further links