Frequently Asked Questions

Registration

Where should registered users go to log in to CAS Solutions?
Registered users should log in to CAS SciFinder with their username and password at https://scifinder-n.cas.org. For organizations with access to the CAS SciFinder Discovery Platform, registered users can also access ChemZent in CAS SciFinder and log in to the following solutions with the same username and password: 

• CAS Analytical Methods: https://methods.cas.org 
• CAS Formulus: https://formulus.cas.org 

To enable access outside of your IP range (i.e., off campus), these URLs should be provided on your library website via proxy. For easy access, your research community should bookmark these URLs in their preferred web browser.

Is there a different custom registration URL for CAS SciFinder if we previously purchased CAS SciFinder^®? 
No, your custom registration URL applies to CAS SciFinder and all other CAS Solutions purchased separately or as part of the CAS SciFinder Discovery Platform.

Do existing CAS SciFinder users need to register for CAS SciFinder and other solutions?
No, registered CAS SciFinder users can access CAS SciFinder with their existing username and password.

Where should new users in my research community go to register for CAS SciFinder?
Please share the registration URL provided in your Welcome to CAS SciFinder email. To enable access outside of your IP range (i.e., off campus), the URL should be provided on your library website via proxy. 

What information is required for new users to register?
New users must provide their first and last name and their organization-issued email address. 

Administration

How is CAS SciFinder access limited to the research community at my organization?
Access is restricted to locations within the IP range that you set for your organization (IP address authentication). However, by providing the registration and log in URLs via proxy, your research community can register and use CAS SciFinder from any location.

Where do I go to set up full-text customizations (e.g., direct linking options, update journal lists, in-house options)?
To access administrative features, sign in to the CAS Customer Portal (https://customer.cas.org/).

How should I list CAS SciFinder on our library website?
In addition to the registration and log in URLs, we recommend including the following:

• Name: CAS SciFinder
• Description: CAS SciFinder is the latest scientific information solution from CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society. In addition to the reference, substance, reaction and supplier content found in CAS SciFinder^®, CAS SciFinder includes relevance-ranked results, step-by-step procedures and protocols, citation mapping, sequence searching, retrosynthetic analysis, patent landscape mapping, touch-screen enabled structure drawing and much more—all accessible in a simple, easy-to-use interface.

Do you have any materials that I can use to promote CAS SciFinder at my organization?
Yes! Feel free to request CAS SciFinder logos and graphics to use on your website and social media channels.

Use

What are the primary advantages to using CAS SciFinder over CAS SciFinder?
With CAS SciFinder, the most advanced offering from CAS, your researchers can access:

• Relevance scoring of reference results
• Enhanced workflow tools (e.g., live search history, auto-suggested search queries, multi-tab browsing)
• Experimental and predictive retrosynthetic analysis for known and novel substances
• Sequence searching (BLAST, CDR, and Motif)
• Touchscreen-enabled structure drawing with ChemDoodle
• Enhanced, visual citation mapping (i.e., references citing and cited by)
• Substance and sequence search results visualization with Chemscape and Bioscape Analysis
• Enhanced view and navigation of full-text patents with PatentPak^®
• Detailed synthetic methods
• Searchable NMR spectra
• Extended experimental spectra coverage

Where can I find CAS SciFinder training materials?
For on-demand support materials, refer to CAS SciFinder Training and the in-product Help.

Where can I find the latest technical information about CAS SciFinder (e.g., system requirements, What’s New)?
This information can be found in the About SciFinder section of the in-product Help.

Are there any scheduled downtimes for system maintenance?
No, your research community can access CAS SciFinder at any time.

Are there any limits to how CAS SciFinder can be used?
CAS SciFinder must be used solely for academic research. For additional information, refer to the CAS SciFinder Terms of Use for Academic Users or contact your CAS representative, as terms may vary in certain countries.

Can CAS SciFinder benefit researchers who are not in the chemistry department?
Yes! CAS SciFinder covers the scientific literature well beyond chemistry (e.g., engineering, medicine, materials), including all of the biomedical literature in PubMed (from the National Center for Biotechnology Information), and protein and nucleic acid sequence searching will be particularly relevant to biologists. Feel free to share this resource across your organization.

Who should I contact if I have additional questions?
Please see our FAQs for CAS SciFinder and academic researchers or contact the CAS Customer Center.