Canonical SMILES format (can) — Open Babel v2.3.0 documentation

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# Canonical SMILES format (can)

A canonical form of the SMILES linear text format

The SMILES format is a linear text format which can describe the connectivity and chirality of a molecule. Canonical SMILES gives a single ‘canonical’ form for any particular molecule.

## Write Options

`a` | Output atomclass like [C:2], if available
`h` | Output explicit hydrogens as such
`i` | Do not include isotopic or chiral markings
`n` | No molecule name
`r` | Radicals lower case eg ethyl is Cc
`t` | Molecule name only

## Comments

See also, the “regular” SMILES format, which results in faster output, since no canonical numbering is performed.

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