Example 8

Xtal can be used to view CIF's downloaded by Netscape via Tcl/Tk filter as a helper application.

When this filter is installed, clicking on the [CIF] URL in the left-hand corner of this Netscape display of a Acta C Contents page, will download the CIF of the shown structure. This process automatically opens up the CIF Filter window shown in the next image.

Clicking on the [Goto] button gives a menu of all of the datablock header names in the CIF, and dragging to any of these names moves the view pointer to the start of the datablock. For example, in the left hand window the data block "re2biphoac4" is highlighted in red.

Clicking on [data_re2biphoac4] invokes a popup menu permitting you to choose the desired viewing software to visualize the structural data stored in the "re2biphoac4" data block.

Selecting the [Xtal +tcl/tk] option brings up the Tcl/Tk XTAL Program Control Window. The adjacent image shows the default Xtal input control lines (top frame) and the output listing (bottom frame) of executed programs. Control lines can be executed individually or together. In this way graphics programs such as PIG and PREVUE can be run and used to display the structural model specified in the downloaded CIF.