CV uses a simple interface that that is easy for even young students to interact with. By rotating the crystal one can get a better understanding of the orientation within the crystals. In addition to the rotation tool, there are tools for measuring the distance and angles between atoms and changing the zoom of the display. In addition to the manual rotation, the user can also input a specific projection to look at. To really understand crystal structures you need experience defining or identifying structures.
Students can examine the structure of predefined crystals or construct new structures.
One must specify the space group, motif and lattice parameters for the structure. Once the information is specified, the program computes operators for the space group and the atom positions within the cell. This dialog is one of the truly unique features of the Crystal Visualizer. Not only can students link specific crystals to the abstract point groups, but the interaction between the two can help them understand both the crystal and the stereographic representation better. The user can interact with the stereogram by clicking on the different symmetry element.