Journal of Applied Crystallography

Volume 40, Part 1 (February 2007)

computer programs

J. Appl. Cryst. (2007). 40, 188-192 [ doi:10.1107/S0021889806051557 ]

DRAWxtl, an open-source computer program to produce crystal structure drawings

L. W. Finger, M. Kroeker and B. H. Toby

Abstract: The computer program DRAWxtl produces crystal structure drawings in the form of an interactive screen representation, as well as VRML files for use on web pages and in classroom teaching, and creates input files for the popular Persistence of Vision Raytracer (POV-Ray) rendering program for publication-quality graphics, including generation of stereo pairs. DRAWxtl output produces the standard kinds of graphical representations: spheres, ellipsoids, bonds and polyhedra of any complexity. In addition, it can draw arrows to represent magnetic moments, show capped cones to indicate the location of lone-pair electrons and display Fourier contours in three dimensions. A unique feature of this program is the ability to plot incommensurately modulated and composite structures. This open-source program can be used with operating systems as diverse as Windows (9X, NT, 2000 and XP), Mac OS X, Linux and most other varieties of Unix.

Keywords: computer programs; crystal structure drawings.