Some structures can be rather complex so that basic structural
motifs are obscured by the excessive number of atoms/bonds represented. For
instance, anybody knows that diamond has six-membered ring of carbon atoms in a
chair conformation which are mutually linked together. However a piece of diamond
crystal looks quite complex, as in the following picture:
To highlight the basic motif go to the
(View--->Z-clipping...) menu. A dialog pops up in which the
user can define the height of both the front and the back clipping planes. In
the example shown below, the front height is 1.8 Angstrom and the back height is
-0.2 Angstrom above and below the structure center of masses. This means that a
virtual slice of 2.0 Angstrom thick is defined and all atoms which are outside
that virtual slice are hidden. Rotating the structure will not rotate the
two clipping planes, so that atoms previously hidden will enter
the displayed area.
The expected diamond structural feature is now clearly visible. To
view again the whole structure go to the
(View--->Z-unclipping) menu.
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