QUESTION: I have two catalogs in my “Catalogs To Use” section of the System Explorer. Both catalogs have a material named “Glass1” in them, but it is defined differently in each catalog. Which catalog will it draw from if I use “Glass1” in my Lens Data Editor?

ANSWER: If there are materials of the same name in multiple catalogs, OpticStudio will use the material from the catalog that is higher on the “Catalogs to Use” list. As an example, imagine the material “Glass1” is in both the SCHOTT and ALOHA catalogs. If it is used in the LDE, it will be pulled from the SCHOTT catalog because it is defined above ALOHA.