Release Notes: Chime Version 2.6

(c) Copyright 2001 MDL Information Systems, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
September 2001

This document contains the Release Notes for Chime 2.6 and Chime 2.6 Service Pack 3. Chime 2.6 Service Pack 3 includes:

Chime 2.6 Service Pack 3 applies to both Windows and Macintosh platforms.

This document provides information about the following topics:

  1. INTRODUCTION
    The Chime plug-in displays 2D and 3D molecules directly within a web page and works with both Netscape and Microsoft browsers. The molecules in the web page are "live," meaning they are not just pictures, but chemical structures that can be rotated, reformatted, and saved in various file formats for use in modeling or database software.

    Anyone with a knowledge of HTML can add structures to their research projects, tutorials, newsletters, journals, and presentations published across an intranet or the Internet. If you are familiar with RasMol or CSML scripting, you can create very interactive web pages.

  2. NEW FEATURES IN VERSION 2.6
  3. BUGS FIXED IN VERSION 2.6 - SERVICE PACK 1
  4. BUGS FIXED IN VERSION 2.6 - SERVICE PACK 2
  5. BUGS FIXED IN VERSION 2.6 - SERVICE PACK 3
  6. LICENSING TERMS
    Chime is free for all users subject to the restrictions of the Chime license agreement. This agreement is made available for you to download by going to
    licenses. MDL also provides Network and Distribution licenses.
  7. SUPPORT MATRIX
    Please refer to the support matrix located under
    Hardware and Software Requirements on the Chime site.

    You are strongly encouraged to upgrade to the most recent point release of any web browser Chime supports. For LiveConnect support you should use Netscape Communicator 4.75. LiveConnect is not supported in Internet Explorer.

    MDL does not recommend Internet Explorer 5.* on Windows 95.

    Download the latest 4.7x version of Netscape at http://home.netscape.com.
    Download the latest version of Internet Explorer at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/download/default.asp.

  8. INSTALLER ISSUES
    The Chime Installer by default looks in the Windows Registry for the locations of supported web browsers on your system. Using the Windows Registry is not a foolproof way for locating web browser installations. If using the Windows Registry doesn't work for you, please set the installer to either search your local drive(s) or explicitly specify your web browser location. You can set this option when the installer prompts you to select the method for finding the web browser.

    Microsoft Internet Explorer cannot work with local files unless the proper file types are registered. This is done automatically by the installer unless explicitly disabled by the user. If a desired file type is not registered, please rerun the Chime installer, or configure the MIME types manually:

    • Open Windows Explorer
    • Options (orView>Folder Options if you have Active Desktop enabled)
    • Click the File Types tab to select it
    • Click the New Type button to add a new file type

    The installer will attempt to replace an older version of Chime. The installer cannot replace Chime if the plug-in is currently in use by a web browser. Please exit all web browsers before installing Chime, and make sure there is no Chime structure on display on your Active Desktop if you are using Internet Explorer. The installer will place the following files on your system:

          npchime.dll   (plugins folder)
          npchime.zip   (plugins folder, used for LiveConnect)
                         NOTE: Do not unzip this file
          chime.html   (plugins folder, the readme file for Chime)
          chime26.isu  (plugins folder, used to uninstall Chime)
          sculptapi.dll (Windows System folder, used for Sculpt)
          

  9. GENERAL INTERACTION WITH ISIS/DRAW
    You can transfer MDL mol, rxn, tgf and skc files to ISIS/Draw 2.1.4 and later by either double clicking in the Chime window in 2D mode or by using Chime'sEdit>Transfer to ISIS/Draw menu. Large molecules such as proteins will not transfer to ISIS/Draw, nor will they appear in Chime's 2D display mode.

  10. MAJOR KNOWN PROBLEMS AND LIMITATIONS
    LiveConnect
    Currently, Netscape Communicator and Netscape Navigator are the only LiveConnect capable browsers. Demonstration pages which use LiveConnect to manipulate the Chime plug-in will not work in Internet Explorer. HTML pages that contain an "executeScript" command will produce a plug-in error message in Internet Explorer.

    Internet Explorer on Macintosh
    The Chime plug-in is currently not supported on Internet Explorer on the Mactintosh.

    Printing on Microsoft Internet Explorer
    Chime plug-in fails to print in Internet Explorer 4.0, 5.5, and 5.5sp1.

    Printing on Windows 2000
    Printing does not work on Windows 2000 due to known Microsoft limitations.

    Printing on Netscape Communicator on the Macintosh
    Printing on Netscape Communicator on the Macintosh can be problematic.

    Unix and Linux Support
    The Chime plug-in is only supported on Windows and Macintosh.
    Chime Pro customers have access to the Chime Pro for Java

  11. JCAMP-DX SPECTRAL DISPLAY
    MDL has integrated JCAMP-DX reader and viewer capabilities into Chime using code licensed from the University of West Indies, Mona Jamaica. You can find additional information and documentation on JCAMP-DX at http://jcamp.isas-dortmund.de/ JCAMP Spectra will not print on Netscape or Internet Explorer. This is a limitation with Chime. To print a Chime spectral display, you need to copy the image to an image editing program and print from that program. The steps are: 1. Make sure the spectral image is in the front most window 2. Press the Alt and Print Scrn keys on the keyboard at the same time 3. Open an image editor such as MS Paint 4. Select Paste on the Edit menu 5. Edit the image if necessary 6. Print the image from the image editor program Fourier Transformations are not supported by JCAMP-DX.

    JCAMP is supported only on the Windows platform.

Back to the top!