Document and Molecule Metadata
The Metadata Editor stores names and descriptive text alongside your drawing: a title and author for the whole document, a name and formula for one molecule, or names and descriptions for a named selection. Everything you enter is saved in the .mkit file, and some of it is written into SVG exports. (The chemistry data that Molkit computes and embeds in every SVG, such as formulas and identifiers, is a separate topic; see Embedded Chemistry Metadata.)
The editor has three scopes, and it picks one from what you have selected when you open it.
| Scope | When it opens | Header |
|---|---|---|
| Document | Nothing selected, part of a molecule, or more than one molecule | Document Metadata |
| Molecule | Exactly one whole molecule selected: every atom of one connected structure and nothing else | Molecule Metadata |
| Record | A named selection, resonance set, visual set or group, opened from its edit (pencil) icon or the right-click menu | Selection Metadata, Resonance Set Metadata or Visual Set Metadata |
Document metadata
To edit it, clear the selection (click an empty spot on the canvas) and choose File > Document Metadata… The same editor opens from the Edit metadata… link in the SVG export dialog.
The document scope has four fields:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Title | A name for the whole drawing, such as a figure or scheme title. If you leave it empty, exports use a title generated from the formula. |
| Description | Generated automatically if left empty. |
| Author | |
| Notes | Saved in the file and never exported. |
Molecule metadata
Select every atom of one structure, for example by dragging a selection box around a drawn ethanol molecule, and open File > Document Metadata… The header reads Molecule Metadata followed by the molecule’s name.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Name | For example, Ethanol. |
| Common Names | Separate several names with commas or semicolons. |
| Formula | Filled in from the structure, with a lock button. |
| SMILES | Filled in from the structure, with a lock button. |
| Species type | How the structure widget presents the molecule. Auto (the default) derives the type from the structure and shows the derived value beside it. The fixed choices are molecular, element, monatomic-ion, polyatomic-ion and ionic; pick one to override Auto. The choice is written into SVG exports. |
| Description | What the molecule represents in the document. |
| Notes | Saved in the file and never exported. |
Typing in Formula or SMILES locks that field to your value. Click the lock button to switch: locking keeps the current value, and unlocking recomputes the value from the structure and refills the field.
Molecule metadata belongs to that exact set of atoms. If you add or remove atoms in the molecule, the stored metadata can come loose from it and you will need to enter it again.
Named selections, resonance sets and visual sets
A record is a saved selection that you have named, a resonance set or a visual set (see Named Selections and Views and Resonance). Open a record’s metadata in any of these ways:
- Click the pencil icon on its row in the Named Selections panel, or on its box on the canvas.
- Select its members, right-click, and choose Edit Metadata. If the selection has no name yet, the item reads Name Selection…, and choosing it creates the record and opens the editor so you can name it.
The record editor has these sections:
- Names: a Label for the selection, a Common name that exports use as the title (the Other names… list next to it offers alternatives from PubChem), and the systematic IUPAC name. For SF6, for example, the common name is “sulfur hexafluoride”.
- Resonance forms (resonance sets only): the forms in the set, each with a weight, a dominant checkbox and an optional caption.
- Depictions (visual sets only): one row per depiction, with its view, caption and related options.
- Looks like a Visual Set (plain named selections only): appears when the selection holds several labeled depictions of one species. Click Make Visual Set to convert it.
- Description: optional free text.
Click Save to keep your changes or Cancel to discard them.
Where metadata is used
All of these fields are saved in the .mkit file. In an SVG export of the whole canvas, the document title and description become the SVG’s title and desc elements; a selection or region export uses the molecule’s name or formula instead. The author is written into the embedded Molkit metadata. A PDF export carries the document title, author and description you entered in its document properties, the description as the subject. Notes fields are never exported.