Windows Compatibility Issues

Gaussian 03W C.02
Chem3D cannot link with G03W C.02. Gaussian has removed the way Chem3D links to Gaussian (via the GXX-Exec.Dat file). We hope to address this Gaussian change in a future update of Chem3D.

Windows XP SP2
Windows XP Service Pack 2 includes security features that automatically block active content. This means that by default, Internet Explorer blocks ChemDraw and Chem3D ActiveX controls. To activate them, you must choose the option to "Allow Blocked Content" from the "Information bar" appearing under the Address bar notifying you that the security settings have blocked some of the content of the page. See this example picture for details.

IE does not remember this information, so you must repeat the activation each time you access the page.

MS Office 2003
The current version is compatible with MS Office 2003. Versions of our software prior to 9.0 were developed and released well before MS Office 2003. Versions 8.0 or less cannot install our Add-Ins to Microsoft Office 2003. Prior to 9.0, the CombiChem and Purchasing for Excel Add-Ins and our Word Add-Ins were not compatible with MS Office 2003. It is possible to get the 8.0 ChemDraw and ChemSAR for Excel Add-Ins working with MS Office 2003. Please see this tech note for details.

Copying and pasting into MS Office 2003 applications and OLE Editing appear to work when using our 8.0 software.

MS Office XP (2002)
With the release of ChemOffice 2002 (version 7.0), our Word and Excel Add-Ins will now install and work with Microsoft Office XP. Versions prior to the 7.0 release are not compatible with Office XP. ChemOffice Ultra users please note that BioAssay Manager is only compatible with Microsoft Office 2000.

Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2-6.0
Microsoft Internet Explorer Service Pack 2 (5.5 SP2) and above, no longer support the Netscape Plugin architecture. According to Microsoft, future releases of Internet Explorer will also not support old plugins. Therefore ChemDraw 6.x and below and Chem3D 4.x and below Plugins are no longer compatible with IE 5.5 SP2 and above.

The latest ChemDraw Plugin 8.0 is compatible with IE 5.0 and above. The latest Chem3D Net plugin, v6.0.1, which is now available from our support downloads page as well as part of the ChemOffice Plugin, is also compatible.

Netscape for Windows
The latest ChemDraw Plugin (Windows) is compatible with Netscape 6.2.x -7.0.x. The latest ChemOffice Plugin, which installs both the ChemDraw and Chem3D Plugin is compatible with Netscape 6.2.x -7.0.x.

Windows XP
The latest versions of our software install and run under Windows XP. Versions of our software prior to 7.0 are not compatible with Windows XP.

Windows 2000
The latest versions of our software have been tested and work with Windows 2000. Versions of our software prior to 6.0 are not supported under Windows 2000, but we are also not aware of any conflicts with most older versions of our software and Windows 2000. We do know that the following software is not compatible with Windows 2000: ChemDraw 3.1, ChemOffice WebServer, and ChemOffice Ltd 3.1 or lower.

Windows Millennium (Windows Me)
The latest versions of our software no longer support Windows Me. The last version to support Windows Me was version 8.0. We are aware of one problem with an older version of ChemFinder and Windows Me. There is a problem with updating the structure field in ChemFinder 5.1.2 and below. This problem was fixed in version 6, 7, and 8.

MacOS X  (top)

Safari 1.3 was released as part of MacOS 10.3.9. The latest ChemDraw Plugin is compatible with Safari 1.3. Previous versions of Safari are not compatible with the ChemDraw Plugin.

With the release of the 9.0.1 update (now available from the support download page) Mozilla 1.7.5 and FireFox 1.0.x on Mac OS X are now supported.

ChemDraw 8 was developed before MacOS 10.3, so we cannot guarantee complete compatibility with OS 10.3. The only issue we are aware of at this time is that the original 8.0 ChemDraw Plugin will crash Netscape 7.0 and Mozilla. We now have an updated Plugin available that corrects that problem. The updated Plugin can be downloaded from our downloads site.

MacOS 10.2 and 10.2.1 users should update to MacOS 10.2.2. The MacOS 10.2.2 update fixes problems with the Page Setup settings not saving and crashes related to the Page Setup.

Also note that the latest version of ChemDraw will not run under MacOS 10.0.x. The latest versions of our software also run in Classic Mode. A version of CarbonLib GREATER THAN 1.4 is required. Please see:carbonlib.cfm

Netscape for the Macintosh
MacOS X builds of Netscape 7.0 are required for the latest version of the ChemDraw Plugin. Please note that MacOS X builds of Netscape 7.0 will run under MacOS 9.

Netscape 7.1 is based on Mozilla 1.4. Since our current Plugin does not support Mozilla 1.4 under OS X, we don't support Netscape 7.1 under OS X either.

Hardware Compatibility  (top)

We are not aware of any hardware compatibility issues with the latest versions of our software on any platform.

We have verified that our ChemOffice Ultra 4.5 software will run on the SGI WinNT computers.

If you are trying to install an old version of our software that came on floppy disk to an iMac, you will need to upgrade to the latest version of our software. The latest versions of all our software come on cd-rom.

Version Compatibility  (top)

We do not recommend or support the mixing of versions of our software. For example, if you have ChemDraw 6.0 and ChemOffice 5.0, you will have a problem because ChemDraw 6.0 is not compatible with ChemFinder 5.0. If you have ChemOffice, you should upgrade to ChemOffice, even though you may not need all of the features of ChemOffice. We recommend this for comatibility reasons.

You should be able to save a file in some format in the latest version of our software, that an older version of our software can read. In most cases, it will not be the default file type. Please note that the older version may not recognize a newer feature. You should also be able to open documents created in most older versions of our software in their respective later versions. See the respective manuals for specific details.

If you already have CambridgeSoft software installed, and you want to install an e-catalog, such as the Lancaster, Acros Organics, or TCI America, we recommend that you install the e-catalog to an alternate location to prevent software conflicts. Also note that your existing CambridgeSoft software may not be able to open the e-catalog software. It may be that the software installed by the e-catalog is required to view the e-catalog data.

Incompatibilities  (top)

Windows
ChemFinder 5 and Windows Me - upgrade to latest version of ChemFinder.

Some HP PCL 5 and 6 printer drivers and ChemDraw. Use PostScript driver instead or upgrade to the latest version of ChemDraw.

NeoMagic MagicMedia256AV video driver, version 4.11.01.5213-Q2.13.06

ChemOffice WebServer 2000 and FrontPage 2000 - see WebServer FAQ for details.

ChemDraw 3.1 under any version of Windows other than Windows 3.1 or NT 3.5.

Chem3D 3.2 and less under Windows NT 4.0 or newer.

Under Windows 3.x, Helix software's Hurricane v. 2.03, a memory management program, can conflict with Microsoft's Win32s. If Global DOS Management is enabled, it slows down ChemDraw, excessively. If XMS Accelerator is enabled, you may not be able to get CS software to load.

AppMeter Frequently Asked Question  (top)

Problem: AppMeter does not work with ChemDraw.

Solution: At the time this tech note was written AppMeter did not support 32-bit programs. Thus AppMeter could not be used directly with ChemDraw. Please contact Funk Software technical support for further assistance.

MacOS 9 and Chem3D 5.0 and less - Chem3D cannot save in the native Chem3D format under MacOS9. See the Chem3D Save FAQ for solution.

The Apple Navigation system extension can cause problems opening and saving files when opening from Windows disks.?If you remove the extension the problem will not occur. See the Chem3D ReadMe file for full details.

CS Chem3D version 3.1.2 or earlier running on a PowerPC with Modern Memory Manager turned On. Contact info@cambridgesoft.com to order the latest version of Chem3D, which is Power Mac native or Chem3D Plus 3.1 users can download a non-Power Mac native patch (version 3.1.3) here for free.

CS ChemDraw 2.1.3 and LaserWriter 8 printer driver. Update to the latest version of ChemDraw or use an older printer driver version.

CS ChemFinder 1.0 is incompatible with System 7.1. Update to the latest version of ChemFinder.

Chem3D conflicts with Wapp Pro extension

RAMDoubler 1.6 for PPC and ChemDraw 4.5. Some users have reported this conflict although it is not reproducible on all systems. The latest version of RAMDoubler fixes the conflict.

Adobe Acrobat v. 3 driver. If you have this selected in your Chooser, you will need to choose a different printer driver to open ChemDraw. Check with Adobe to see if a more recent driver is available.

Some non-PostScript 600dpi Epson/Canon/Oki printer drivers sold in Japan may not be compatible with ChemDraw. As a temporary solution, set the printing resolution to 300 dpi if supported by the driver.

Chem3D Pro 3.5 (not 3.5.1) and the WorldScript II extension supplied as an update for the Mac OS-8 Language Kit. The WorldScript II extension is used to display two-byte characters, such as Japanese fonts.

Kaleidoscope conflicts with ChemDraw, Chem3D, and ChemFinder.

HP DeskWriter 6.0.3 driver and ChemDraw. This has been fixed with Hewlett Packard's version 9.2.1 (DW 600 series) or 9.3 (DJ 800 series) driver.

Ram Charger control panel causes printing problem. See ChemDraw Mac printing tech note.

Disk Doubler, Auto Doubler, and Stuffit SpaceSaver

ChemFinder 2.0 with RamDoubler on Power Mac's only

ChemDraw, Chem3D, and ChemFinder are incompatible with the QuickTime VM extension. QuickTime VM disables all access to temporary memory. Temporary memory is required by all of our Macintosh products.

QuickDraw GX with Chem3D version 3.1.2 or earlier. Contact info@cambridgesoft.com to order the latest version or Chem3D Plus 3.1 users can download version 3.1.3 here for free.