User Guide

Getting Started

Installation

1. Download Synvala_portable.zip from the download page
2. Extract the zip. You should see:

   Synvala_portable/
   ├── synvala.exe       ← main app
   ├── resources/        ← resource files
   └── web-dist/         ← frontend UI

3. Double-click synvala.exe to launch

System Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• WebView2 Runtime (pre-installed on Windows 10/11)
• No other dependencies required

Data Storage

All data is stored locally at %APPDATA%\com.eln.app\:

• eln.db — experiments & chemical database (SQLite)
• notes/ — notebook files (.md, Obsidian-compatible)

Interface Overview

Sidebar

Themes & Languages

Themes: Dark, Beige, Light, Forest, Ocean
Languages:繁體中文, English, 日本語, Deutsch, Français

General Synthesis

Creating an Experiment

1. Click + New Experiment
2. Select General Synthesis
3. An experiment code (e.g. EXP-001) is auto-generated

Reaction Setup Tab

Each column represents a compound (reactant, catalyst, ligand, base, solvent, additive, product).

Adding compounds:

• PubChem search — type a name, pick from results with structure thumbnails
• Draw structure — open Ketcher editor, auto-queries PubChem after drawing
• Database — pick from saved compounds
• Edit — manually set name, MW, density, etc.

Equivalent calculation:

• Set one reactant as Reference
• Enter the reference amount (mol or mass)
• All other reagent masses and volumes auto-calculate

Procedure Tab

Record step-by-step operations with description, time, temperature, and observations.

Results Tab

• Crude / isolated yield
• GC-FID yield estimation (internal standard)
• Selectivity (ee%, dr, er)
• Visual TLC plate recording

Spectra Tab

• NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁹F, ³¹P), IR, MS, HRMS, UV
• Import from MNova
• Interactive JCAMP viewer

Methodology Screening

For multi-condition optimization (catalyst, ligand, solvent, temperature screening).

Workflow

1. Shared Setup tab — set common reactants and products
2. Condition Screening tab — add preset columns (Catalyst, Ligand, Base, Solvent, Temp, Time) or custom columns. Each row = one set of conditions.
3. Expand arrow — view reaction scheme + reagent amounts for that row
4. Detail edit — click row number for full editing (procedure, results, spectra)

Key Features

• CSV import/export
• Multi-row condition comparison
• Best condition marking
• Transposed view mode

Multistep Synthesis

For planning and recording multi-step synthetic routes.

• Starts with Step 1; click + Step to add more
• Products from one step automatically carry over as reactants to the next
• Each step has its own reaction setup, procedure, results, and spectra
• PDF export generates a separate page per step

Substrate Scope

For substrate scope exploration with publication-ready SI text output.

Reaction Conditions Tab

• Shared reactants — set equivalents (auto-applied to new rows)
• Shared reagents — catalyst, ligand, base, solvent
• Conditions — temperature, time, atmosphere

Substrate Overview Tab

• Add substrates with SI compound numbers (3a, 3b, ...)
• Record yield, ee%, and characterization progress per entry
• Drag to reorder rows for SI output
• Expand arrow to view reaction scheme + amounts

Characterization Editor

Click the edit button to enter detailed characterization:

• Physical properties — appearance, mp, optical rotation, Rf
• NMR — ¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁹F, ³¹P with frequency & solvent
• IR — method selection (neat/KBr/film/ATR) + peaks
• HRMS — ionization, ion type, auto-calculated formula, calcd/found
• Selectivity — ee%, dr, er with chiral HPLC details (column, eluent, flow rate, wavelength, retention times)

SI Export

Three export formats:

• Copy — plain text to clipboard
• .txt — text file with Unicode sub/superscripts
• .docx — Word file with proper formatting (superscript, subscript, italic, bold; Times New Roman 12pt, justified)

Chemical Database

General Reagents

• Filter by tag (reactant, catalyst, solvent, product, ligand, base, additive)
• Search, add, edit, delete compounds
• PubChem auto-fill on add; structure drawing auto-parses formula & MW

Scope Compounds

• Grouped by project with thumbnail previews
• Filter by reactant/product + custom tags
• Global tag management (add, rename, delete)
• Structures drawn in substrate scope experiments are auto-collected here

Notebook

Obsidian-compatible Markdown notes with live preview editing.

Templates

• Blank note
• Reaction planning (condition comparison table)
• Literature reading (paper info template)
• Meeting notes (agenda + action items)
• Weekly report
• Compound note

Special Syntax

Features

• Pin notes, table of contents, backlinks
• Print / export PDF
• Daily journal (auto-creates today's note)
• Open notes folder in Obsidian
• Paste images (Ctrl+V, auto base64 embed)
• Quick switcher (Ctrl+P) for notes & experiments

AI Assistant

Built-in AI chat panel with voice input support.

Supported Providers

Features

• Voice input (Chinese and English)
• Save conversations or individual responses as notebook entries
• Model selection (Sonnet 4.6, Opus 4.6, Haiku 4.5 for Claude)

PDF & SI Export

PDF Export

Every experiment type supports PDF export with customizable fields:

• Reaction scheme & structure images
• Compound names, formula, mol, mass, volume
• Conditions, procedure, results, selectivity, TLC
• Spectra data

Mobile Access

Devices on the same network can access experiments via browser. Check Settings for the access URL.

Troubleshooting

Keyboard Shortcuts