• Any page that uses the ChemDraw Plugin locks up and freezes my computer.

    Most likely you have installed Windows XP, SP2, which now has extra security that may cause this problem. Set up CambridgeSoft as a trusted source in Internet Explorer. From the Tools menu in IE, choose Internet Options, click on the Security tab, then the Trusted Sources option and set up any cambridgesoft.com sites you intend to access. Quit IE, launch IE and retest.

  • ChemNMR options do not appear in the Structure menu.

    First, make sure that you are launching ChemDraw Ultra, and not a Pro, Std, or Net version of ChemDraw. You can determine this by launching ChemDraw, going to the Help menu and choosing the About option.

     

    If you are launching the Ultra version, you may need to reset your Preferences. Go to the File menu (ChemDraw menu for MacOS X users) and choose Preferences. Click on the Directories tab and confirm that the path at the top of the "ChemDraw Items Location Search Priority" list is the one pointing to the correct ChemDraw Items folder. For example, in ChemDraw 9, the default path should be: C:\Program Files\CambridgeSoft\ChemOffice2005\ChemDraw\ChemDraw Items

     

    In ChemDraw 8, there is no Directories tab. The ChemDraw Items path is defined in the Open/Save tab. Click on the Open/Save tab and reset the ChemDraw Items folder location by using the Browse button (even if the location looks correct).

  • How come I can't double-click a ChemDraw structure to edit it on my Mac?

    Unfortunately, users with ChemDraw 12.0.2 & 12.0.3 cannot double-click structures to edit them in Office 2011 (with the 14.0.1 update).

     

    The only way to edit structures that have been placed within an Office 2011 document is to perform a CMD+C / CMD+V operation to bring the structure back into ChemDraw, where it can then be edited.

  • How do I activate BioDraw (PathWorks)?

    When you first launch the program, you will see a licensing and registration dialog box.

     

    Copy and paste the "Host Name" and the "Machine ID" from this registration dialog box into an email addressed to pathworks@cambridgesoft.com We will reply with your license key that you will paste into the license key field and then click on the Start PathWorks button.

  • How do I activate my software?

    CambridgeSoft Activation Screenshot
     
    Once you fill in your name and a valid serial number, the “Activate Later”, “Activate over the Internet” and “Activate by Phone/Fax/Email” buttons will go from grayed out to active.  If for some reason, you choose not to Activate now, you can choose the Activate Later button and the installation will continue.  However, each time you launch one of the programs installed, you will see this prompt, which means entering your name and serial number each time.
     
    If you are connected to the Internet, and have no firewalls running, you can choose the “Activate over Internet” button.  If you have any problems with Activate over Internet, use the Activate by Phone/Fax/Email instead.
     
    Clicking on Activate by Phone/Fax/Email will cause a web page to appear that looks like:
     
    CambridgeSoft Product Registration Screenshot
     
    Please note that if you have Windows XP SP2 installed, the buttons on this page will not work until you click on the new Internet Explorer Information bar and choose “Allow Blocked Content”:
    CambridgeSoft Product Registration Screenshot 2
     
    Activate Online is really the same as the “Activate over Internet” button on the previous screen.  You can try it again, but most likely you will need to use either the “Activate by Email” or “Activate by Phone/Fax” button.  If you are connected to the Internet, but are having problems using the “Online” option, use the “Activate by Email” button. Clicking the “Email” button will open up a web page that directs you to email the contents of the page to activate@cambridgesoft.com after filling in any blank fields:
     
    CambridgeSoft Product Activation Register Screenshot
     
    Please be sure to include all of the information in the page above from “Serial Number” down to “Email Address” in the email you send to the “activate” address.  Your information will be processed, and a return email will be sent to you that includes your Activation Code.
     
    The form is very similar for the “Phone/Fax” option:
     
    CambridgeSoft Product Activation by Phone Fax Screenshot
     
    Fill in the information requested on this form.  Print out the form, and then either call the number listed on this page or fax it to the fax listed.  Once the information is processed, and email will be sent to the address you provided with your Activation Code.  Once you receive your Activation Code, you will go back to the first screen and type your Activation code in the space provided and then click on the “Activate” button just underneath the field where you typed the Activation code.  Once activated, the installation will continue.

  • How many activations do I get?

    You can activate the software 3 times for each license. After that, you will need to contact Hearne and provide a good reason for requesting more activations. Once we receive your request, we will examine your activation history, and your reason for more activations and decide if you are eligible for an increase in activations. As long as you are adhering to the license agreement, increasing your activations should not be an issue.

  • I am being prompted for codes, but the registration code I have does not fit in the space provided or I get a message stating that the codes are not correct.

    First, you should only be prompted for codes during the installation of the software, not when launching. If you are being prompted for codes when launching, then there was a problem with the installation. Try uninstalling and reinstalling our software. Make sure you install and launch with sufficient access privileges.

     

    If the reg code does not fit or you get an error that they do not match during the installation, then most likely you are using codes not appopriate for the installer. Check to make sure that the cd-rom label matches the the description and version for the codes you have. The sticker the codes came on should indicate the product and version.

  • I am having problems transferring a Word or PowerPoint document containing embedded ChemDraw structures between Mac and PC.

    1. If you are trying to transfer a Word or PP 98 or greater Mac document containing ChemDraw structures to Word or PP for Windows, you will need to save the Word or PP document as a Word or PP 5.1 document, and then transfer to Word or PP for Windows. Microsoft broke something in Office 98, and has not fixed this problem as of yet. Another option is to transfer the ChemDraw and Word or PP documents over separately, and then reassemble on Windows. This problem is not present in versions before MS Office 98 Mac.

     

    2. If you are transferring a Mac Word or PP document to Word or PP for Windows, make sure the Mac document was saved in the Word or PP 5.1 format and that you are using Word or PP 6.0c or greater on Windows. Once you have transferred the Word or PP document to the PC properly, you will also be able to copy the structure out of Word or PP and paste into the latest ChemDraw Windows. At this point you can make changes to the structure, and copy and paste back into Word or PP. By doing this, you will have updated the ChemDraw structure to a Windows graphic. After updating the graphic to a Windows graphic, you can then simply double click on the graphic in the Word or PP Windows document to edit it with the latest version of ChemDraw.

     

    3. Please note that Windows Word or PP documents containing embedded ChemDraw structures will not transfer properly to the Mac. Word and PP Mac cannot translate the Windows graphic properly, so you end up with either low resolution images for structures or with Office X, you get structures with no atom labels. In either case, the graphic cannot be edited by ChemDraw on the Mac. This is out of our control. Until Microsoft addresses this issue, your only option is to transfer the Word document and ChemDraw structures over to the Mac in separate documents (i.e. a Word doc and a ChemDraw doc), and then reassemble the Word document on the Mac.

     

    There has been a report from a user of an alternative workaround. Translate the Windows Word or PP document with MacLinkPlus into Word or PP 5 format (MacLinkPlus 13: Version 11 in Classic was used). It should then open in Word or PP X with the atom labels intact.

     

    Another option for PowerPoint users is to open the PowerPoint Windows document in Apple's KeyNote program for the Mac. KeyNote does not have any problems with ChemDraw structures when opening a PowerPoint Windows document.

  • I get an Automation error after I add the ChemDraw for Excel Add-In.

    First, remove any of our Add-Ins from Excel. Quit Excel and launch Excel to confirm that the Automation error is gone. Make sure that after removing our Add-Ins, there are no lingering ChemDraw, ChemFinder, or ChemOffice menus or toolbars present in Excel. If there are, remove them. Now add the ChemDraw for Excel Add-In back and retest. If the problem still occurs, remove our Add-Ins again and, uninstall our software using the Add-Remove Programs control panel, then reinstall and retest. If the problem still occurs, there may be a problem with your user account. Try creating a new Windows user account. Login into Windows with the new user account, install our software and retest.

  • I have just installed ChemBio office 2010 and have been trying to use Chemdraw 12.0 in Excel. However despite Chemdrawexcel12 being ticked in the "add ins" I can not access any Chemdraw functionality. Is their any fix for this?

    Have a look at the ‘disabled items’ in Excel. You can find the same by the following way: 

     

    The Name column specifies the name of the assembly, and the Location column specifies the full path of the application manifest. 

     

    1) Launch Excel 2007 / 2010 and click the Microsoft Office Button.

    2) Now click the Excel Options button, it will open the categories pane, click on Add-ins.

    3) In the details pane, locate the add-in in the Disabled Application Add-ins list.

    4) In the Manage box, click Disabled Items (select “Disabled Items” from the drop down list for “Manage” in the Excel Option dialog box), and then click Go.

    5) Select the add-in and click Enable and click the Close button.

     

    [To re-enable an add-in that has been hard disabled by Excel 2003, please try the following. 

    1) Launch Excel 2003

    2) Go to the Help menu and select “About Microsoft Excel”, it will open the “About Microsoft Excel” dialog box.

    3) Click the “Disabled Items” button on the “About Microsoft Excel” dialog box.

    4) Now check the “Disabled Items” dialog box. If you have ChemDraw for Excel addin is listed in that select and click the “Enable” button and retest the problem]

     

    In some systems, a patch from Microsoft is needed to make the Excel add-ins work (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/908002). This patch can be found by navigating to the following location on the CD or in the downloaded installer: Installers\Cambridgesoft\SharedAddIn.

  • I lost my serial number and/or registration code for a product that came on cd-rom/DVD

    Contact Hearne, but please know that there is no guarantee that we will be able to locate your order. Please provide the application, version, and operating system, as well as any names, organizations, PO's and serial numbers you may have so that we can try to search for the order in question.

     

    For 9.0 or higher products, please note that the serial number is normally found in one of a few places:

     

    On a sticker on the box that the software came in. 
    On the packing slip that came with the box. 
    In the email that was sent when you purchased the product (assuming you provided us with your email address).

     

    For 8.0 or lower products, please note that the serial number is normally found in one of a few places:

     

    On a sticker on the side of the box that the software came in. On the ReadMe First card (or product registration card) that came with the software.

     

    If the software is still installed somewhere, the splash screen that appears when you launch the product usually indicates the serial number or on Windows go to the Help menu and choose the About option - the splash screen that appears will provide the serial number - on the Mac choose the About option from the Apple menu while the product is active.

     

    Providing us with the serial number will increase the chances of determining the corresponding registration code. If you cannot find the serial number, please be sure to provide us with as many details as possible about the product and order.

     

    Please note that if you are looking for the serial number AND registration code for software that you received with a chemistry text book that you purchased through a school store, and you did not register your purchase with us, it will not be possible to locate your specific codes. If you don't even have the serial number in this scenario, your best bet is to see if your bookstore will allow you to exchange the book and software for another copy.

  • The Name to Structure feature is grayed out in my copy of ChemDraw.

    First, check to make sure you are using a version of ChemDraw that comes with this feature. You can determine the version of ChemDraw that is launching by going to the Help menu and choosing the About option.

     

    Next, make sure ChemDraw is looking in the right location for the Name to Structure files. Go to the ChemDraw File menu and choose Preferences. Click on the Open/Save tab. Check the path of the ChemDraw Items folder listed in this dialog box to make sure it is pointing to the folder that belongs to the version of ChemDraw you are launching.

     

    Finally, make sure you have a file labelled "NameToStructure.dat" in your ChemDraw Items folder.

  • The Structure to Name feature is grayed out or does not appear in the Structure menu in my copy of ChemDraw.

    First, check to make sure you are using a version of ChemDraw that comes with this feature. You can determine the version of ChemDraw that is launching by going to the Help menu and choosing the About option. Next, make sure ChemDraw is looking in the right location for the Structure to Name files. Go to the ChemDraw File menu and choose Preferences. Click on the Open/Save tab. Check the path of the ChemDraw Items folder listed in this dialog box to make sure it is pointing to the folder that belongs to the version of ChemDraw you are launching. Even if you believe it does, erase the path and reset it to the ChemDraw Items folder in the ChemDraw folder.

  • What is Activation and why do I need to do it?

    Activation is new in our 9.0 products. Similar to the way that Microsoft has implemented Activation in Windows and their Office products, we have implemented Activation in our software to help prevent the illegal use of our software. The benefit to the user is that we will be able to provide you with a higher level of customer support.

  • When I double click on a structure pasted into a Word 6 or above document, the ChemDraw tools do not launch for editing the structure.

    EGO was the protocol used that would allow you to edit structures within the Word 5.x document. Microsoft has dropped support of EGO in Word 6 and above. Word 6 and above support a graphic linking protocol called OLE. We would like to support OLE in a future version of ChemDraw for the Mac, but Microsoft does not appear to support Macintosh OLE development any longer.

     

    Therefore, you will need to copy and paste between ChemDraw Mac and Word 6.x. We also suggest contacting Microsoft about dropping EGO which most other word processors still support.

  • When I flip a structure, the absolute stereochemistry is not preserved.

    ChemDraw is behaving as designed. The flip command is designed to be graphical, so it is flipping the structure. If you want to preserve the stereochemistry, use the "Rotate 180 degrees Horizontal" or "Rotate 180 degrees Vertical" option in the Object menu.

     

    In versions of ChemDraw prior to 9.0, select the structure, hold own the Alt key, then click (and hold) on the Object menu. Now instead of "Flip Horizontal" or "Flip Vertical" it should say "Rotate 180 degrees Horizontal" and "Rotate 180 degrees Vertical".

  • When I launch the software, I get an error that the license has expired.

    You may have installed our trial software at some point, which is set to expire after 2 weeks. Go to the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel. Look for any CambridgeSoft software and uninstall it. After all CambridgeSoft software has been removed, try reinstalling and launching the software you are trying to use.