Here is a short instruction on how to get Chime plug-in working on your computer. First make sure that your computer meets the minimum requirements and that you have the appropriate combination of operating system and browser.

Computer Requirements	Windows	Macintosh
Hardware	Pentium class 64 MB or more recommended VGA display minimum, 800x600 or better recommended	PowerPC required 32MB or more recommended2 640x480 display or better recommended
Software1	Windows 95/98, NT 4.0, 2000, ME, XP Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 or later or Netscape Navigator 4.75 or Netscape Communicator 6.2x or Mozilla 1.0 Chime requires a special installation with Netscape 6 and Mozilla browsers	Mac OS 8.6 or later Netscape Communicator 4.75 Chime does not work at all with Internet Explorer, or with the newest Netscape3 on Macs

Download the program, install it and then test your setup looking at the pictures below.  To see what you can do with Chime check the explanation of  the "menus" below.  Have fun!

If you have a computer that does not support Chime, but still would like to explore the molecules that are presented on our web site, you may download a program RasMol (for instructions on how to use it click here) that does almost the same thing, except it works outside of the browser, directly on your computer. The program is free. The structures displayed in Chime (on a computer that displays it) can be saved to a disk and then displayed by RasMol.

This is how the picture in the middle should look like	Here is the test CHIME structure	This is how the picture in the middle should not look like.
		or
If the picture in the middle looks like the one above, and if it could be manipulated without crashing your browser or your computer, you are set.  If you experience problems, check the Problems section below.	To obtain the menu: with the mouse pointer above the picture press the mouse (Mac) or the right mouse button (PC).  The menu is explained below.  Moving the mouse pointer over the structure with the mouse (Mac), or with the left mouse button pressed down (PC) should rotate the structure.	It means Chime is not installed, or is not working properly. Assuming that your computer meets the requirements (see above), the best strategy is to remove any preinstalled versions of Chime, and start from scratch. Check under Installation first, and then, if problems persist, check the Problems section.

Installation:

1. Read about the browser-Chime compatibility issues and installation notes first.
2. Install the the selected browser(s) first.
3. Download Chime from MDL that is appropriate for your computer/browser. You may also get the ISIS chemical-structure drawing program (recommended). They are free, but you will need to register.
4. Remove/uninstall old versions of Chime (if you have any). Exit all other programs.
5. Installation proceeds automatically when you click on the icon of the downloaded file. Make sure that in your installation you let Chime to locate the browsers. Chime for Netscape or Mozilla (FireFox) must be installed manually.

Problems:

1. Do not run different browsers at the same  Occasional clashes are possible.
2. On the Macintosh in the Navigator, the following message appears: "Sorry, no element tables are available." Your web browser might be configured to use another plug-in for the file type you are trying to access. To determine if this is the problem:

A. Open the Preferences dialog in your browser.
B. Select the Navigator category and click Applications.
C. Scroll down the list on the right, and check if the description of the file you are trying to access is associated with Chime.

If another plug-in is registered for that type, you will need to either remove the conflicting plug-in from the Netscape plug-ins folder and restart Netscape, give up on Chime or use a product that eliminates conflicts among plug-ins. You can find some of these products on the Internet.

4. On the PC, Internet Explorer crashes when loading pages that contain multiple Chime structures.  On the PC, one or more of the following errors occur when using Internet Explorer:

Chime fatal error!
An error occurred inside the plug-in
Renderer Error: Unable to allocate frame buffer
Chime could not allocate enough memory
Fatal Error - Chime could not allocate enough memory to display molecule in 3D

To help correct the problem, turn off the Internet Explorer "Launch browser windows in a separate process" setting as follows:

A. In Internet Explorer, select Internet Options on the Tools menu.
B. Click the Advanced tab.
C. Uncheck the item "Launch browser windows in a separate process".
D. Click the OK button.
E.  Exit Internet Explorer, then restart the browser, or even better the computer.

Basic Menu:

The plug-in structures can be manipulated with the mouse. All actions are taken with the mouse pointer above the structure by moving the mouse while pressing the indicated mouse button and key:

Result	Windows	Macintosh	Comments
Menu appears	Right	Hold Down	The menu offers many option for representing and exploring molecules. These are explained in the next section. Do not be afraid to try.  Not all options are always available. They depend on the information provided by us in the structure file.
Rotation  (X,Y)	Left	Unmodified	The structure is rotated. The rotation around two axes is possible.
Translation (X,Y)	Ctrl-Right	Command	Moving the molecule within the plug-in box is possible.
Rotation (Z)	Shift-Right	Shift-Command	Rotation around one axis is executed.
Zoom	Shift-Left	Shift	The structure may be made bigger (zoom-in) or smaller (zoom-out) within the plug-in box.

Menu Options:

Pressing the right mouse button (PC) or holding down the mouse (Mac) produces a very extensive menu of choices on how to view and manipulate the structure. Only the options of particular interest to us are listed and are briefly explained in the table below.  Not all option are always available (it depends on what we put into the plug-in file) and on rare occasions we may remove the menu altogether for simplicity. Don not be afraid to try on your own different menu options. If you get "lost" just reload the page.

Main	1o sub-level	:	Comments
File	Save molecule as	:	you may save the molecule to your disk and play with it off-line within your browser; the starting parameters for the plug in are lost
Edit	Copy	:	for incorporation of plug-ins (with structures and scripts) into web pages
	Copy Chime Script
	Paste
	Clear
	Transfer to ISIS	:	if you have ISIS installed on your computer you may transfer any 2D and 3D structures into it for editing and printing; the resulting structures are 2D
	Transfer to Sculpt	:	:
2D Rendering	:	:	converts a 3D structure into its 2D "instant" equivalent (i.e. a projection).
Animations	:	:	:
Rotations	:	:	a toggle switch; turns on or off the rotation of the molecule
Display	Wireframe	:	different visualization modes (models) for molecules; try them all
	Sticks
	Balls & Sticks
	Spacefill
	Backbone	:	different visualization modes for proteins; try them all but only with proteins
	Ribbons
	Strands
	Cartoons
Options	:	:	:
Color	:	:	:
Sculpt Mode	:	:	:
Select	:	:	:
	Mouse click actions	:	:
		distance	clicking on any two atoms gives you distance between them that is displayed on the status line at the bottom of your browser
		angle	clicking on any three atoms gives you angle between them that is displayed on the status line at the bottom of your browser
		torsion	clicking on any four atoms gives you torsional angle between them that is displayed on the status line at the bottom of your browser
		:	:
	:	:	:
	Display List	Create Molecular Surface	creates surface containing ca. 90% of electron density, similar to the van der Waals surface. That surface can be colored with electric potential values using additional menu options "Color -> Electrostatic Potential -> Rasmol color scheme"
Mouse	:	:	mouse help-screen similar to one in the table above
About	:	:	info about Chime and how to find them on the web