search site  |  contact us  HOME PRODUCTS DOWNLOADS SALES SUPPORT NEWS CrystalMaker® 7.1 for Mac OS X Universal Binary with Depth Profiling 6 February 2006. CrystalMaker Software Ltd is delighted to announce the immediate availability of CrystalMaker 7.1 for Mac OS X: now available as a Universal Binary, with native performance for both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs. The new version also brings a series of major new features - and is available as a free update to registered CrystalMaker-7 users. Universal Binary The new generation of Macs are using processors made by Intel. These offer performance improvements, as well as lower power consumption for portable devices. However, the Intel architecture is significantly different from that used, until now, on PowerPC-based systems. This is a particular issue for file import or export, since memory access is handled differently (byte ordering is reversed). CrystalMaker 7.1 has been rewritten to run on both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs. The application has been extensively tuned to provide seamless compatibility between the two platforms, enabling the sharing of resources, including binary data files and preferences. The program is distributed as a single "Universal Binary" application, which will run natively on both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs. The application contains code for both architectures - but does not require significantly more disc space. You therefore get the same, easy drag-and-drop installation for either architecture, without having to worry about which version of the program to install. Depth Profiling CrystalMaker allows you to accentuate the three-dimensionality of your structures by fading out more distant atoms (depth fading). A new feature, introduced in version 7.1, is the ability to control the opacity of foreground atoms. You can make these atoms transparent, with more distant atoms gradually becoming visible - whilst the most distant atoms fade into the background again. In this way, you can look "inside" a dense, complicated structure - with the option of profiling different depths in the material. Profiling the faujasite structure. The new Depth Zoom tool can image thin slices through the bulk of an extended crystal lattice. These images - taken just a few Angstroms apart - show cage clusters (left) and a ring structure (right). Applications of depth profiling might include: Visualizing the internal structure of a dense material. Using a special slider control in the Rendering Options window's "Depth" pane, you can progressively "zoom" through different depths of material, profiling the structure that would otherwise be hidden by frontmost atoms. Probing structural variations in a computer simulation model. Typically a very large number of atoms are used for such models, and the interesting data are generally associated with atoms towards the centre of the block. Depth profiling also provides a faster way of working with such structures, since only the visible atoms need to be processed by the program. Visualizing different surface structures for a given orientation. For a given crystal surface orientation, the arrangement of atoms varies, according to the height of the surface. If you set your view direction to be perpendicular to your desired surface plane, then you can rapidly scan through the range of atomic patterns at different depths, using the new "Depth Zoom" slider. Multi-Format High-Resolution Graphics You can export high-resolution graphics in a wide range of graphics formats. In addition to the old PICT format, CrystalMaker versions 7.1 and later now support high-resolution JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, SGI, Photoshop and other formats. Graphics can be exported using the File > Export submenu. Two new items appear on this reorganized menu, letting you export pixel-format graphics files, or vector graphics (vector graphics are saved in the Mac-native PICT format). If you have opted to export pixel graphics, you can then proceed to set the output size and resolution. The output file format can be set using a new save graphics file dialog. CrystalMaker uses QuickTime image compression utilities to provide a wide range of graphics export options. As the system software evolves, yet more image formats may become available. You can now export high-resolution photo-realistic graphics to a wide range of image file formats. Auto Update Checking If you are connected to the internet, you can now check for program updates without leaving CrystalMaker, thanks to a new Check for Update command on the Help menu. There is also the option of automatic update checking, at regular intervals. Other Changes A large number of "under the hood" changes have been made, adopting new system technologies and bringing the program fully up-to-date to ensure that you get the best-possible user experience on new and future Mac systems. Various new features and bug fixes have also been rolled into this release, including: Bond cylinders can now rendered using Quartz graphics, for smooth, high-quality screen display. Faster display and manipulation of red/blue stereo plots. Overview window thumbnail files now require much less disc space. The files are now saved as space-efficient JPEG files, rather than PICT files. The notebook pane is now correctly redrawn after the application has been hidden. Fixed a very-rare issue with the calculation of coordination numbers for sites in structures with very-oblique axes. Various compatibility issues with old-format binary files have now been resolved. The keyboard shortcut for the Rotate Selection command, "O", now toggles between the two rotation modes, "Rotate All" and "Rotate Selection". Improved handling of PDB-format text files. Two-character element symbols are now correctly interpreted. Atoms are now labelled using their unique atom serial numbers, rather than their residue symbols. Further Information: For a general introduction to CrystalMaker please see the CrystalMaker product description. Download a demonstration version of CrystalMaker for Mac OS X. For pricing and ordering information for new licences, please refer to the CrystalMaker Sales page. If you are a registered CrystalMaker 7 user, you can download a free update from the updates page. If you are registered user of an earlier version of CrystalMaker for Mac (versions 1 to 6), and wish to take advantage of our upgrade scheme, please visit the upgrades page. The CrystalMaker 7 user's guide (7.9 MB PDF file) describes new features in more detail. © 2008 CrystalMaker Software Limited. All rights reserved worldwide.