Dear Tom,

Thank you for the notice! May I ask where is the download link of 2025 R1? I didn’t see it in the current releases primary optical packages in Ansys download center.

Regards,

Jiang

Hello Tom!

Echo JJiang, I could not find any info on 2025 R1 OpticStudio release on Ansys Download Center.

​@Tom Pickering How do we know when a new version of OpticStudio is released for users to download and use?

I do not see any New Version available notification in my 2024R1 OpticStudio nor I get any email notification that a new version is released and available for use. 

Please advice on how to be notified when a new version is available.

​@Asuku and for whoever is concerned, I just followed the automated installer in download center and installed Zemax 2025 R1. The issue Tom mentioned is exactly for installation via the automated installer. I believe it would be better to state somewhere that the Zemax release 2025 R1 available only via automated installer at the moment. However, I personally don’t suggest you install via automated installer because it’s slower and with a lot of “integrated garbage”, especially some windows runtimes. As I am not a computer expert, I don’t dare uninstall those redundant things prior to contacting out IT. Also, the installed Zemax 2025 R1 can NOT be uninstalled easily. As for your question on new version notification, I have the same concern as well. I guess we may “Sign-up to receive E-mail notifications on Service Pack Releases.” on the download center page for new release but I am afraid we will also receive tons of irrelevant notifications on other Ansys products. Moreover, it would be helpful if Ansys can post some release schedule (e.g. when 2025 R2 will be expected). At least this is helpful in my case.

​@JJiang  Thanks a lot for the details. I guess we just have to wait and see an official announcement  from Ansys team on how to obtain the 2025 release onwards.

JJiang - The Windows runtimes are required. You can choose not to install some of the other Ansys items during install by unchecking them when it gets to that point and only install OpticStudio in the Optics section. 

ASuku - As for notifications, there is not a method within the software. The sign up for notifications on the web site notifies about all Ansys products since they all product updates are released simultaneously. It’s approximately every 3-4 months between releases. 

The “Automated installer” is the primary method Ansys uses to install all products from one installation file, so there will not be a standalone OpticStudio installation file after this release.    

​@Don Dickinson Thank you for your clarifications! I have to confess I like the old fashion Zemax more, in terms of everything. I checked only OpticStudio during installation wizard but I still had to install other “redundant” ~3.4GB whatever files. By the way, is the only way to uninstall OpticStudio 2025 R1 through “Uninstall.exe” in “C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v251”?

​@Asuku Just to get you notified that we have to live with the “Automated installer”, according to Don, if you want an upgrade.

Hello! 

Yes the uninstall in C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v25 is the one to uninstall any Ansys products from this release.

​@Don Dickinson I have trouble when running the 2025 R1 Installer - At the “Sign in via Ansys ID” page it takes to browser to sign in but ends up in 404 error. Any recommendations?

​@Asuku Just to share my experience, before I ran the installer, I signed in with Ansys ID on Ansys website already. And I used Chrome as default browser. Also, I simply double-clicked on the installer (didn’t run as administrator).

​@Asuku  ​@Don Dickinson  There’s a standalone Zemax installation file now in the download center.

Update – Issue Resolved in 2025 R1.01

We’re happy to report that the issue preventing the Ansys Licensing Client from opening after installing with the Ansys Automated Installer has been resolved in Ansys Zemax OpticStudio 2025 R1.01.

If you encountered this issue, please update to 2025 R1.01 to ensure proper functionality.

Thank you for your patience, and we appreciate your feedback! If you have any further questions or experience any issues, feel free to reach out.

Download 2025 R1.01