CrossFire Chemistry Database

Overview: What Is CrossFire?

The CrossFire search interface provides access to the Beilstein and Gmelin databases.

The Beilstein database (http://www.mdl.com/products/knowledge/crossfire_beilstein/index.jsp) contains information on over 8 million compounds and more than 5 million chemical reactions. It provides comprehensive coverage of reactions, structures, and properties in organic chemistry, references to the literature are also given. For each compound, up to 350 chemical and physical data fields of critically evaluated data are available. Coverage: 1771 - present.

The Gmelin database (http://www.mdl.com/products/knowledge/crossfire_gmelin/index.jsp) contains information on over 1.4 million compounds, including: coordination compounds, alloys, solid solutions, glasses and ceramics, polymers, and minerals. It provides comprehensive coverage of structures and properties in inorganic and organometallic chemistry, references to the literature and information on reactions (over 900,000) are also included. The database contains all the structural, factual, and bibliographic data cited in the Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry. Coverage: 1772 - present.

UC Davis licenses and provides access to the CrossFire databases through a consortium of all UC campuses.

Access: Where Can I Use CrossFire?

CrossFire is available on all public workstations in the Physical Sciences & Engineering Library. UC Davis faculty, staff, and students may install the program on their own computers, see: On-Campus Installation Instructions or Off-Campus Installation Instructions.

Documentation, User Guides, Training Materials

Several useful guides to CrossFire are available on the web:

Help for Beilstein & Gmelin Databases (http://chemistry.library.wisc.edu/beilstein/home.htm) Version 6 (University of Wisconsin)

Includes: Quick Guide, Exporting Records, Fact Searching, Practice Exercises, Reaction Searching, Saving Property Data to a PC, and Structure Searching.

CrossFire Training Exercises (http://www.mimas.ac.uk/crossfire/examples/)PDF (University of Manchester, UK)

Help for Older Versions of CrossFire (http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/chem/ucbeil.html) (University of Chicago)

See "User Guides" section for links to Version 2000, 4.0 and 3.2 help files.

Beilstein & Gmelin User Guide (http://www.lib.umich.edu/science/chem/beilstein/beilsteingmelinv6.html) Version 6 (University of Michigan)

Documentation from the company which produces CrossFire (MDL):

CrossFire Beilstein Data Structure (http://www.mdl.com/products/pdfs/cfbeil-datastr.pdf)PDF (MDL/Beilstein)

ON-Campus Installation Instructions

CrossFire VERSION 7.1 (Windows Only: Vista and XP)

CrossFire may be installed only by UCD faculty, students, and staff.

1. Go to Elsevier's CrossFire Commander site (http://info.crossfirecommander.com/). Click Download CrossFire Software (upper right), review and accept the license agreement, and download the CrossFire 7.1 archive (CrossFireCommander71SR2.zip). It's a zipped file so you'll need to use WinZip or something equivalent to extract the archive into a folder of your choice.
2. Go to the folder where you have extracted the files. Double-click the InstallShell.exe file to start the installation. If you have an older version of CrossFire installed, you will get the option to uninstall it before you install 7.1 (optional). Note: AutoNom is not included with Version 7.1. If you want to continue to use AutoNom, do not overwrite or uninstall your previous version of CrossFire.
3. During installation you will prompted for the following:
   • Article Resolver URL: http://ucelinks.cdlib.org:8888/sfx_local
     (without this URL, CrossFire will not connect to UC-eLinks)
   • Patent Resolver URL: use the default URL given
   During the installation and first launch of CrossFire, you may also be prompted for the following:
   • TCP/IP Address/Hostname: crossfire-acad.elsevier.com
   • License Group Name: ucd
   • User ID/Login: ucd000
     Note: three zeros, not the letter O!!!
   • Password: bcd6fd
   You may not need to enter these if you still have 7.0 installed
4. Note: The default installation of CrossFire uses MDL IsisDraw as the default structure editor, but this program is not included with CrossFire. Change to the CrossFire Structure Editor (which is included) by selecting "Options" then "Structure Editors" from the main toolbar.

CrossFire VERSIONS 6.0 and 7.0 (Windows XP and Mac)

CrossFire may be installed only by UCD faculty, students, and staff.

1. Go to the Instructions for Installing CrossFire Commander FOR UC DAVIS (http://software.chem.ucla.edu/crossfire/Xfire4ucd.html). page and follow the Windows or Macintosh instructions for downloading and installing the latest version of CrossFire client software. You will need the TCP/IP Address/Hostname, License Group Name, User ID, and Password listed below to complete the installation.
2. During installation you will prompted to enter the following:
   • TCP/IP Address/Hostname: crossfire-acad.elsevier.com
   • License Group Name: ucd
   When you start the program, you will be asked for the following:
   • User ID/Login: ucd000
     Note: three zeros, not the letter O!!!
   • Password: bcd6fd
3. Note: The default installation of CrossFire uses MDL IsisDraw as the default structure editor, but this program is not included with CrossFire. Change to the CrossFire Structure Editor (which is included) by selecting "Options" then "Structure Editors" from the main toolbar.

Installation problems?

For assistance or referral, please contact Cory Craig, cjcraig@ucdavis.edu, or (530) 752‑0347.

• UC CrossFire Page (http://software.chem.ucla.edu/crossfire/)
• Installation Instructions for Each Campus (http://software.chem.ucla.edu/crossfire/xfiredownload.html)

OFF-Campus Installation Instructions

To use CrossFire from an off-campus computer:

1. Use the On-Campus Installation Instructions to install the program.
2. You must connect to the internet using the Campus Modem Pool (http://xbase.ucdavis.edu/itexpress/article.cfm?art=299). You cannot use the proxy server or a private Internet service provider to connect to CrossFire from an off-campus computer.

Phone Numbers for the Campus Modem Pool are listed here.

TroubleShooting

If you have installed the program but are connecting to something other than the CrossFire databases, try the following:

1. From the Beilstein Commander Options menu, select Connections.
2. Click on Edit, then click on the Communications tab.
3. From the Port pulldown menu, select TELNET.
4. Click on the Port pulldown menu a second time and select XFIRE.
5. Click OK.
6. From the Beilstein Commander Applications menu, select CrossFire or click the red double arrow button.

Still having trouble? For assistance or referral, please contact Cory Craig, cjcraig@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752‑0347.

How To Change CrossFire Domain Name:

The domain name for CrossFire is changing at the end of September 2008. If you have CrossFire installed, you need to make this change on your computer to retain access to the database. Instructions for making this change are below. You can make this change at anytime, but CrossFire has informed us that the current domain name will not work after 9/30/08.

Instructions vary slightly depending on which version of CrossFire you have installed. To determine which version of Crossfire you have:

1. Open CrossFire.
2. Go to Help (in top tool bar)
3. Select About CrossFire Commander
4. A window will open telling which version you have

VERSION 7.1: How To Change Domain Name

1. Open CrossFire.
2. Go to Options > Connection Settings
3. A "Server Profiles" box will open.
4. Select (highlight) DEFAULT.PRF (if it is not already highlighted)
5. click Edit
6. A pop-up window will appear
7. Change the entry in the "Host" box to: crossfire-acad.elsevier.com
8. Click OK
9. Close the "Server Profiles" box (click on X in upper right)
10. Close & restart CrossFire and you should be all set.

VERSION 7.0: How To Change Domain Name

1. Open CrossFire.
2. Go to Options > Define Server Profiles
3. A "Server Profiles" box will open.
4. Select (highlight) DEFAULT.PRF (if it is not already highlighted)
5. click Edit
6. A pop-up window will appear
7. Change the entry in the "Host" box to: crossfire-acad.elsevier.com
8. Click OK
9. Close the "Server Profiles" box (click on X in upper right)
10. Close & restart CrossFire and you should be all set.

VERSION 6.0: How To Change Domain Name

1. Open CrossFire.
2. Go to Options > Connections
3. A "Server Profiles" box will open.
4. Select (highlight) DEFAULT.PRF (if it is not already highlighted)
5. click Edit
6. A pop-up window will appear
7. Change the entry in the "Host" box to: crossfire-acad.elsevier.com
8. Click OK
9. Close the "Server Profiles" box (click on X in upper right)
10. Close & restart CrossFire and you should be all set.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions regarding this page, please contact Cory Craig - Chemistry Librarian, Physical Sciences & Engineering Library, University of California, Davis. Email: cjcraig@ucdavis.edu, or Telephone: (530) 752‑0347.