Diamond Version 5 - Known Bugs
The list of known bugs
has started to grow after the release of Diamond version 5.0.0.
Bugs found or not yet resolved in current version 5.1.0
Please find in the left column the date when the bug was found or reported ("Bug").
If the bug has been fixed (but a maintenance update not yet published), the date
when it was fixed ("Fixed") is given, too:
| Bugs that have been reported for current version 5.1.0 and will be resolved in an upcoming version 5.1.1: |
| Bug 2025-08-27 |
Selected atom vectors not listed in Properties view
If multiple objects are selected in the structure picture and the Properties view uses the
"Selected objects in structure picture" option, atom vectors are not listed.
(If a single atom vector is selected only, this is correctly mentioned in the "Selected object info".)
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| Bug 2025-08-14 |
Mean bond lengths not stored in Registry
When calling the command Build -> Connectivity you can run the Settings from the Bonds page of the dialog,
where you have a list of element pairs where you can define (add, change, delete) mean bond lengths for (which will be used
to define the bonding spheres). The changes you do are not saved in the Diamond section of the Windows Registry
(although this worked in previous versions).
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| Bug 2025-08-04 |
Wrong style "Principal ellipses only" in Atom Design dialog
In some cases, when at least two atoms or atom-like objects with different styles have been selected and you call the Atom Design dialog to edit their styles, colors, etc., the combobox Style may incorrectly show "Principal ellipses only", although it should be blank (due to non-unique style).
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| Bug 2025-07-29 |
Standard uncertainties of atom coordinates not transformed
Due to a disabled function call - inadvertently removed in an earlier Diamond version - the standard uncertainties of symmetry-equivalent atoms
were not or not correctly transformed, leading to different values, e.g. six distance values for an octahedral coordination showing 4x (wrong) "2.2765(3)"
but 2x (correct) "2.2765(84)" in a cubic structure.
For the same reason the orthogonal coordinates of a selected atom may show wrong standard uncertainties in the Properties view.
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| Bug 2025-07-17 |
File path missing in Recent Pictures Buffer
This happens with Diamond documents that have not been saved as file, e.g. when created with File -> New -> Structure from structure type database
or File -> New -> Type in structure parameters.
(This image and document, rsp., neither appears in Recent file list nor in the Recent pictures list of the Start page.)
When tryoing to open the picture from the Recent Pictures Buffer a message prompt shows that Diamond cannot find/open the file "".
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| Bug 2025-06-26 |
Edit Design Scheme-> Polyhedron Type Designs
The symbols for "Center", "Ligands", and "Coordination" could not be edited. |
| Bug 2025-06-24 |
Slightly deviating distances around highly symmetric atom sites
Diamond repeatedly has the problem with trigonal and hexagonal structures whose CIF files have been exported from the ICSD or PCD
that distances from or to atoms on highly symmetric layers with a 3- or 6-fold rotation or rotation inversion axis are not displayed with identical distances,
but slightly different.
(This leads e.g. to a wrong (lower) coordination number when you view "Distances and angles"
with the checkmark set at "Count" in the distances (and angles) table right beneath the structure picture.) |
| Bug 2025-06-23 |
Selection of atom vectors
If you define two (or more) atom vectors for an atom each, the second (third etc.) atom vector cannot be selected
by clicking with a mouse in regular selection mode and no info tip is shown for that vector.
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| Bug 2024-12-19 |
Effective radii not stored or not stored correctly
• Saving of effective radii in Diamond section of Windows Registry does not work:
When you run Build/Atom Groups in order to change one or more of the effective (atom or ion) radii of the atom groups (atom types),
these radii are in fact not saved in the Diamond section of the Windows Registry although they should when the
checkbox "Update effective radii in Registry" is set in the dialog window.
• When loading a file with mixed sites, e.g. COD-4001571, value ranges are (correctly) given in the input field for effective radii,
e.g. "2.2 .. 2.35" for Rb/Cs. After saving (diamdoc file) and re-opening the file it shows the mean value rather than the value range instead.
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| Bug 2024-10-23 |
Standard uncertainties "(0)"
When standard uncertainties are "too small" for a pre-defined number of digits (precision), it is often simply rounded to the floor "(0)" (zero),
although it should be (at least) "(1)".
Note: Diamond will give users higher precision options, e.g. for cell parameters (5 rather than only 4 digits) in a future minor update 5.x.
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| Bugs that have been reported for version 5.0.2 and will be resolved in an upcoming version 5.1.1: |
| Bug 2024-06-27 |
Structure Info Bar not readable when opening a file via command line parameter (e.g. from Windows Explorer)
In this case the Structure Info Bar is not displayed correctly, has one row only as typical for Info bar but shows caption bar of structure list instead.
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| Bug 2024-06-26 |
No Diamond window after Open with ->Another app
If you open a file with Diamond, e.g. a CIF file, from the Windows Explorer using the context menu for the file and the command "Open with"
followed by "Another app.." where you choose "Diamond [...]" from the list of applications, the "File Import Assistant"
runs through successfully but when the file import is finished, no document/structure window is shown.
(This is because Diamond crashes before it can show any structure, data etc. window.)
Workaround: First open an empty Diamond window (which by default shows the "Start page"),
then use "Drag & drop" to drag a file from the Windows Explorer into the Diamond application window.
It will then launch the File Import Assistant and finally show the Diamond window with the structure and data panes as used to be.
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| Bugs that have been reported for version 5.0 or earlier and will be resolved in an upcoming version 5.1.1: |
| Bug 2023-11-17 |
Auto Picture Creator may not work for ready-to-use pictures from Structure Type Database
In some cases, when loading a ready-to-use structure picture from the Structure Type Database, e.g. the structure of Analcime (3 ready-to-use pictures in total)
and then opening the "Auto Picture Creator" with View/Auto Picture Creator, it does not react - neither with "Apply now" nor
with "Automatic apply".
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| Bug 2023-09-22 |
Errors when using Undo after inserting or deleting a structure from a Diamond document
• When running Structure/From Structure Types Database, then making this undone with an Undo command,
this may lead to subsequent errors. Diamond crashes when you later attempt to re-open a picture of the structure type database
from the Recent Pictures List. This is because the picture in the recent picture list is not more available in the diamdoc file
• When running Undo for a previously inserted structure or running Delete for a structure and the result is an empty document, this could lead to errors displaying the (empty) structure picture thumbnail view or displaying tabs (for no pictures).
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| Bug 2023-02-09 |
TWIN interpreted as atom when reading from Shelx format
A TWIN record in a ShelX file is wrongly interpreted as an atom labelled "TWIN" with undefined element/composition
and located at (0, 0, 0).
Workaround: Please remove the lines with the "TWIN" from the file when importing into Diamond.
|
| Bug 2023-01-20 |
Out of memory error when saving bitmap
The "Save Graphics" dialog, called from "File/Save As/Save Graphics As",
may throw an "Out of memory" error or a message "An error occurred when trying to save [...]"
when the Anti-aliasing option is active (cf. "Tools/Options", "Rendering" page).
The reason is that Diamond needs a temporary bitmap that is up to 4x4 = 16 times larger than the actual target bitmap
to perform the rendering at higher resolution than the physical requested resolution.
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| Bugs that have been reported for version 4.6 but are also present in the current version 5 and are not yet resolved: |
| Bug 2022-08-05 (also 2023-07-31) |
Sub-menus disappearing
Two users reported that some of the sub-menus in Diamond do not appear or disappear after a fraction of a second,
so the commands are not available. The bug was first reported for the "Build"/"Polyhedra" sub-menu
and seemed to depend on if/which high-DPI settings are set on the computer.
In detail this is what the first user reported after testing several scalings:
The submenu can not open correctly in three cases:
1) Diamond software window without scaling, and win 10 system -> Settings -> Home -> Screen -> Zoom & Layout 125% (125% this value is recommended for Windows systems).
2) Diamond software window scaling and Zoom & Layout 125%.
3) Diamond software window without scaling, and Zoom & Layout 125%. And scaling and layout 100%.
If the submenu can be opened typically: the Diamond software window is scaled, and the scaling and layout are 100%.
The second user reported that both "Polyhedra" and "Molecules" sub-menus of the "Build" menu disappear,
but also the "POV-Ray" sub-menu of the "Tools" menu exhibits a similar phenomenon. (Besides that, there is none left.)
This bug is not related to whether atoms were created or not. And it does not depend on which dpi setting is set.
Unfortunately this behaviour cannot be reproduced on the developer's PCs,
one of them a Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro with Windows 10 running with 200, 225, or (recommended by Windows) 250 percent.
(The submenus appear correctly.)
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Bugs fixed in version 5.1.0
Version 5.1.0 was released on October 24, 2024 and contains several new and enhanced functions (see our "Update page") but only some minor bug fixes.
Bugs fixed in version 5.0.2
Version 5.0.2 was released on February 6, 2024 and contains a bug fix for the "Online update" function in Diamond.
Due to this bug It is not available via the "Online update" command in Diamond (cf. "Help" menu) but through a re-installation of Diamond,
see our "Update page".
Bugs fixed in version 5.0.1
Version 5.0.1 was released on January 30, 2024.
| Bug 2023-11-21 and 2024-01-05 |
Diamond does not open with a file from Windows Explorer
Multiple users reported an error that when trying to open a Diamond file (".diamdoc" extension) from Windows Explorer,
e.g. by double-clicking (or from the Windows desktop, if the file icon is on the desktop), Diamond does not open,
although Diamond is set as the default app for this files type.
Reason:
There was a problem with the new version 5 when registering the "Diamond document" (file extension ".diamdoc").
• On a PC where no older version (4 or 3) of Diamond is already installed, opening a diamdoc file from the Windows Explorer could fail.
• If you installed Diamond 5 on a PC where older versions of Diamond were already installed, opening a diamdoc file from Windows Explorer
could open the older version 4,
even if you ran "Open with" and assigned manually the diamdoc file to the new version 5, this could fail (i.e. opened nothing) or still opened the older version 4!
Resolving the issue: You should run Diamond at least once with administrator rights.
This should register the Diamond Document file type in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT section of the Windows Registry.
If you still encounter trouble, you should check the new command Register Diamond Document Type from the Tools menu.
Check the online help for the command/message box for more details how to check the settings and - if necessary - how to manage remaining issues.
Note: Uninstalling an older version of Diamond before or after installing version 5 does not solve the problem!
The reason is that the uninstallation does not remove the erroneous setting from the Windows Registry that causes Diamond 5 not to be called or version 4 instead.
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