# How to open/read sdf **URL:** \ **Category:** BioInformatics\ **Created:** [March 10, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://forum.knime.com/t/how-to-open-read-sdf/40584 "2022-03-10T21:47:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Razanknime\_123](https://forum-cdn.knime.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Razanknime\_123](https://forum.knime.com/u/Razanknime_123)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://forum.knime.com/t/how-to-open-read-sdf/40584/1 "2022-03-10T21:47:57Z")
Hello Any idea how I can open and read the sdf after using the csv reader-openbabel-sdf writer workflow in knime? Thank you in advance ---
**Author:** ![bruno29a](https://forum-cdn.knime.com/user_avatar/forum.knime.com/bruno29a/32/28802_2.png) [@bruno29a](https://forum.knime.com/u/bruno29a)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://forum.knime.com/t/how-to-open-read-sdf/40584/2 "2022-03-10T22:34:23Z")
Hi @Razanknime_123 , there’s an SDF Reader node > **[SDF Reader](https://hub.knime.com/knime/extensions/org.knime.features.chem.types/latest/org.knime.chem.base.node.io.sdf.SDFReader3NodeFactory)** > > This node reads an SDF file and creates several columns with each molecule in a new row. You can select which parts of the molecule should be extracted into co… Does that work? ---
**Author:** ![Razanknime\_123](https://forum-cdn.knime.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Razanknime\_123](https://forum.knime.com/u/Razanknime_123)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://forum.knime.com/t/how-to-open-read-sdf/40584/3 "2022-03-11T19:58:19Z")
Thank you! But what I’m looking for is a way to export the sdf which i converted from csv using “csv reader- openbabel-sdf writer”, how can i save an sdf and open it on my pc (after obtaining it from knime). also, the input I gave for the sdf writer is an excel sheet, how can I make and choose an sdf instead, to feed it to this node? (What file should i open on my pc to feed it to the sdf writer node and then be able to read it) ---
**Author:** ![bruno29a](https://forum-cdn.knime.com/user_avatar/forum.knime.com/bruno29a/32/28802_2.png) [@bruno29a](https://forum.knime.com/u/bruno29a)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://forum.knime.com/t/how-to-open-read-sdf/40584/4 "2022-03-11T20:08:18Z")
There’s also an SDF Writer that allows you to export as an SDF. > **[SDF Writer](https://hub.knime.com/knime/extensions/org.knime.features.chem.types/latest/org.knime.chem.base.node.io.sdfwriter2.SDFWriterNodeFactory)** > > This node writes SDF or Mol cells into a continuous SDF file. You may also add additional properties from columns to the SDF molecules while they are written o… How you open the sdf on your PC depends on quite a few factors, namely what software you have that can read the sdf. For example, for a csv file, you can open it via any text editor/viewer or Excel. So it really depends on what you have, and what’s your preference to use. Same thing for the sdf file. ---
**Author:** ![sauberns](https://forum-cdn.knime.com/user_avatar/forum.knime.com/sauberns/32/353_2.png) [@sauberns](https://forum.knime.com/u/sauberns)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 11:45pm UTC](https://forum.knime.com/t/how-to-open-read-sdf/40584/5 "2022-03-11T23:45:57Z")
Before you use the SDF Writer node, you can use the RDKit Interactive Table node to view the contents: > **[RDKit Interactive Table](https://hub.knime.com/manuelschwarze/extensions/org.rdkit.knime.feature/latest/org.rdkit.knime.nodes.interactivetable.RDKitInteractiveTableNodeFactory)** > > Displays data in a table view with the capability to show additional header information in the column header, e.g. Smiles structures, produced by RDKit nodes. … And after you export the data with the SDF Writer node, well an SD File is just text. So if you want to view the structures, grab something like DataWarrior [https://datawarrior.org](https://datawarrior.org) (Free) that was designed around molecule viewing. (the other) Simon