While MacVector does have a built-in Entrez browser (Database | Internet Entrez Search) you can easily import GenBank formatted text into MacVector via a simple copy and paste approach. Many sequence-oriented web sites have the option of viewing sequences in GenBank format. This format always starts with the text LOCUS and finishes with two forward slashes (//). Simply select starting at LOCUS, hold down the [shift] key and scroll down the document until you see the // at the end and complete the selection to that point as shown below. Choose Edit | Copy to copy the entire text. Now switch to MacVector and choose File | New From Clipboard. This will create a new window containing the fully annotated sequence.
Genbank is a fully open and universally supported sequence format and supports ALL biological annotation and features contained in a sequence. Genbank is the format used by the NCBI, EMBL and DDBJ. It’s updated yearly and ensures that any sequence is viewable by any researcher worldwide, regardless of the software they are using.
MacVector is fully committed to being open about sequences and ensuring researchers can always exchange sequences without being locked into a proprietary format. We always fully support the import and export of Genbank sequences and we always update MacVector to be fully compatible with the Genbank format.