Atom tools
| Tool | Use |
|---|---|
| Select (V) | Select an atom and inspect its properties. |
| Move (G) | Move a selection; choose an axis or plane, then apply or cancel the move. |
| Add atom (A) | Open the element selection flow and place the intended species. |
| Measure (M) | Select the atoms required by the distance or angle mode. |
| Focus (F) | Center the viewport on the selected atom. |
| Delete / Backspace | Delete the selected atom when the viewport has focus. |
Constrained movement
In Move mode, X, Y, or Z constrains motion to that Cartesian axis. Shift+X, Shift+Y, or Shift+Z uses the perpendicular YZ, XZ, or XY plane. Enter applies the move; Escape cancels it.
Use coordinate fields when you need an exact displacement. Numeric editors allow an intermediate draft such as a minus sign or exponent; commit with Enter or by leaving the field. Escape restores the previous value.
Cell edits and visual appearance
- Cell metric edits change the actual lattice. Inspect whether the resulting geometry represents the strain or model you intend.
- The vacuum action increases separation normal to the a-b plane and preserves Cartesian atomic distances; it is not a general arbitrary-axis slab builder.
- Atom size, bond size, labels, neighbor cutoff, and displayed repeat count affect visualization.
- Undo/redo applies to supported editor actions in the current editing session. Keep explicit structure copies for scientific variants you want to retain permanently.