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What is the number of instances of OpticStudio I can open ?



OpticStudio will allow you to open as many instances as your license is capable of. This section clarifies the limits for each license type and version of the software.





For all OpticStudio18.9 and lower releases, the answer is always 2 instances per machine as this was built into the software.



When OpticStudio19.4 came out, we also released new subscription licenses. These license types have some new and exclusive OpticStudio features, including additional instances for Professional and Premium. For those customers who have perpetual licenses and 19.4, the limit remains 2 instances for all editions of OpticStudio. If you are interested in converting to a subscription license, contact the your Zemax account manager or the sales team:  https://my.zemax.com/en-US/contact-us/





See the chart below for a breakdown:

















































































Single user or network

Single user or network


Perpetual

Subscription


Standard

2

2


Professional

2

4*


Premium

2

8*
* Requires 19.4 or higher.


18.9 or earlier limited to 2








How do I tell how many instances my license supports?



The easiest way to tell is to remember that OpticStudio will only open the maximum number of instances your license can. So, if you have OpticStudio Professional or Premium, installed 19.4 or higher, and you can open more than 2 instances, you know you have a subscription license.





If you have a MyZemax account: Open your Profile page and then Licenses. Look for the license number you are using. If the Product field states "Subscription" and the Duration is "Timed", then you have a Subscription license. If you don't see the license you are using, click the "My" link at the top of the license list, and select your company name. You can see all licenses in your organization.





If you do not have a MyZemax account and have OpticStudio19.4, you can check the “View License” page in the Zemax License Manager. You can tell if you have a subscription license because there will be an "activated" checkbox next to your license. They also will show the license expiration date in bold text. OpticStudio 18.9 and older releases will not be able to give you the correct information.






I have 2 licenses. Can I open additional instances by using the 2nd license?





No, licenses cannot be “stacked”. Only one license seat can be used by any machine at one time.





I have a network license. Can I open extra instances by using more seats?





No, for the same reason as the section above.









I hope this answers any questions you may have. Reply here or support@Zemax.com if you need any more information!



Can you give me a logical reason for limiting some users to two open copies?  I can understand that because time and effort is put into developing a new feature you might want it to be only available to certain users who pay more for their licence and support but this is merely taking away a restriction.  What effort is it to Zemax? 





To me it's analogous to intentionally slowing down optimisation for users who only have the standard version. I just don't get it.
No response from the Zemax team?

Hi Ian,





Our company is a late-comer to the trend of subscription software. As we thought about how to introduce subscription for our flagship product, OpticStudio, we brainstormed ways to provide additional value to users who adopt our subscription model. Adding instances of OpticStudio was an item of value that we knew we could provide to our subscribers. Unlike slowing down optimization (which we're not doing, to be extra clear), it doesn't de-value the product that our existing users already have, but creates additive value for our new offering.





If you'd like to discuss this or other product differences in more detail, we'd be happy to speak with you directly.





Alissa



I would like to jump on say it is very disappointing that none of my 7 perpetual licenses are eligible for the increased number of instances.  I along with many others have been pushing for this for YEARS and now we are told that we (or our companies) must adopt a completely different licensing model.  We have to pay annually for access to the most recent updates and support.  Is that not the definition of a subscription, albeit annual?  Plain and simple... we are being penalized for not adopting a "subscription" model which Zemax is obviously promoting regardless of our valid license renewals.





Why not enable this feature for valid licenses regardless of the flavor instead of limiting capabilities of one?
Surely you aren't disappointed, Ryan Haygood.  Zemax says that everyone except one-man-show consultants prefer the new subscription model...

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