Introduction to getting Help

ChemSpider is a really powerful tool for finding chemical information; we have lots of different types of information and a rich selection of search tools. We have tried to make the database as intuitive to use as possible, but please bear in mind that sometimes ChemSpider might work in a way that is different to other tools that you might use.

On this help page we will help you navigate your way to a solution. Please browse the Help topics listed below which describes how to find information in ChemSpider. If you have a specific problem you may also find the Frequently Asked Questions page helpful.

We also recommend that you keep an eye out for the symbol, wherever you see this icon – if you click on it you will find some specific help text relating to that part of the page.

Help Topics

Introduction to ChemSpider

• What can I do with ChemSpider?
• Understanding the layout of a ChemSpider record

Searching

• Searching using names or identifiers (Basics)
• Structure searching (Basics)

Registration

• Creating an account and requesting roles

Curation

Coming soon

Deposition

• Reasons to become a Data Source
• Adding literature references
• Uploading spectra
• Structures: Single structure deposition

Integrated Prediction algorithms

Coming soon

Integrating to ChemSpider

Coming soon

Chemical Editors

At this time ChemSpider supports 6 embedded chemical structure editors. Please see the software manufacturer’s websites for up-to-date help resources.

• JDraw
• Elemental
• Ketcher
• ACD/Labs SDA (Structure Drawing Applet)
• JME
• JChemPaint
  • Home page
  • Quick Guide

Getting more help

If none of the above help pages (Or the FAQs) solve your problem/answer your question please contact us by email (chemspider-at-rsc.org) and we will be happy to help.

Don’t forget you can also view our demo videos which can be found on the RSC YouTube account (ChemSpider Videos Playlist)

Glossary

InChI

An InChI (IUPAC International Chemical Identifier) is a string of characters capable of uniquely representing a chemical substance. It is derived from a structural representation of that substance in a way designed to be independent of the way that the structure was drawn therefore ensuring that a compound will always produce the same identifier. InChI is fast becoming adopted by cheminformaticians around the world as a flexible structure exchange format. For further details about InChI please refer to the Unofficial InChI FAQ page or the InChI Trust.

SMILES

SMILES (Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry System) is a line notation for entering and representing chemical structures and reactions. SMILES contains the same information as an extended connection table and is very compact relative to other methods of representing chemical structures. A fuller description may be found in the Wikipedia page for Simplified_molecular-input_line-entry_system. For details regarding SMILES strings please refer to the SMILES Tutorial.