Two new tripodal ligands designed to anchor complexes onto surfaces have been synthesized. They integrate ester or thioether functions at the 6-position of the indazoles. Potassium hydrotris [6-(ethoxycarbonyl)indazolyl] borate and potassium hydrotris{6-[(ethylsulfanyl)methyl]indazolyl}borate exhibit three pendant groups oriented to anchor complexes onto an oxide and a metallic surface, respectively. Their complexation with [RuCp(CH3CN)(3)]PF6 yielded two piano-stool-shaped complexes that were characterized by X-ray diffraction. Comparison with the synthesized unfunctionalized analog showed that the three 6-substituted functions do not interfere with the coordination site and are particularly well oriented for surface deposition. ((c) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2006).