Dear all, I updated this morning to Zemax 2026 R1.01. Since then I get the following error message when trying to connect to Zemax with Python via API (e.g. by using the PythonStandAlone_01.py file):“InitializationException: Unable to locate Zemax OpticStudio.  Try using a hard-coded path.” Did anything change here? Thank you and best regards, Gregor

When trying to extract results from a Quick Sensitivity, either ran with GUI or API, I get the same message : tol_data_viewer = zos.system.Tools.OpenToleranceDataViewer()tol_data_viewer.FileName = r"C:\full_path_to\quick_sens.ZTD"tol_data_viewer.RunAndWaitForCompletion()if not tol_data_viewer.Succeeded: print(tol_data_viewer.ErrorMessage)tol_data_viewer.Close()cannot parse Sensitivity data: L'index se trouve en dehors des limites du tableau.Are results from quick sentitivity supposed to be compatible with the read of the API ? because it is compatible in the GUI

Dear Team, I am currently working in Zemax OpticStudio, Non-Sequential Mode, along with the MATLAB Interactive Extension. My system consists of multiple source Gaussian objects where I need to assign different phase values individually to each object and dynamically control them through MATLAB.Specifically, I am trying to:• Assign different phase values to different objects in NSC mode• Control or update these phase parameters inside a MATLAB for-loop• Automate the process so that phase values change programmatically for simulation runs.• Understand how phase- and object-specific properties should be addressed correctly through the Interactive Extension My objective is to create a system where multiple objects (for example, a Gaussian source object) are controlled separately within a single simulation, without manually editing each object. I have gone through, but no supported article is available.

Type codes for modifysettings are listed in the Zemax help files under: The Programming Tab > About the ZPL > KEYWORDS (about the zpl) > MODIFYSETTINGS (keywords) However, Geometric MTF is not listed here. My question is: what are the type codes for the geometric MTF analysis window?In case these do not exist, how would I go about modifying the settings for the geometric MTF analysis window via ZOSAPI?

My codes (that were working with the 2024 version) do not work anymore with the 2025 release.This is the error I get:Unhandled Exception: System.IO.FileLoadException: Could not load file or assembly 'ZemaxEngine.dll' or one of its dependencies. A dynamic link library (DLL) initialization routine failed. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8007045A).

Well, the title is prett self-explanatory : how to make a system thermal like the “Make Thermal” tool, using only the ZOS API ?Since I could not find a dedicated tool in the API, I guess it has to be done “manualy with the API” ?

Dear Community -I try to retrieve tilt infromation from (in coodinate break surfaces) using the ZOP API and Python.(Ansys Opticstudio 2024R2, Python 3.8 etc.)Using the boilerplate files, getting thicknesses etc. works well.     thissurf=TheLDE.GetSurfaceAt(i)    print('\n',i)    print('Type: ',thissurf.Type)    print(thissurf.Material)    print(thissurf.Radius)    print(thissurf.Thickness)    print(thissurf.TiltDecenterData.BeforeSurfaceTiltX)    print(thissurf.TiltDecenterData.AfterSurfaceTiltX) The attempt to get tilt and decenter data gives 0.0 in the coordinate brake surfaces, where tiltswhere deliberately set.Any idea what I might have misunderstood? Best regards, Stefan

Hi All! I have created an User Extension using C++ and it has built .exe file and can run it when I open Zemax. Is it possible for me to run the user extensions in MATLAB or Python using any ZOS API function?

Hil All,could anyone share a boilerplate for a ZOS-API application using VB.net.This would be a great starting point for me.Thanks!Hans

Dear Zemax-Team,I recently updated to Ansys R2.01. Since this moment, I got a lot of trouble running my code in the API environment using Python. The first few problems I encountered:   TheAnalyses = TheSystem.Analyses  DistWin = TheAnalyses.New_Analysis(ZOSAPI.Analysis.AnalysisIDM.FieldCurvatureAndDistortion)  DistWin_Settings = DistWin.GetSettings()  DistWin_Settings.Wavelength.SetWavelengthNumber(1)Results in the error:  AttributeError: 'IAS_' object has no attribute 'Wavelength' Or   PupilData=TheSystem.LDE.GetPupil(sysEnum, sysDbl,sysDbl,sysDbl,sysDbl,sysDbl,sysEnum,sysDbl)has to be changed to   PupilData=TheSystem.LDE.GetPupil()to work at all (correctly?!).  Or declaration:  normUnPolData.AddRay(np.int32(WLNo), np.double(Hx), np.double(Hy), np.double(-1), np.double(0), Enum.Parse(ZOSAPI.Tools.RayTrace.OPDMode, "None"))is not working anymore and has to be changed to (from system lib):  normUnPolData.AddRay(Int32(WLNo), Double(Hx), Double(Hy), Double(0), Double(0), Enum.Parse(ZOSAP

The example script for the interactive mode in Ansys Zemax OpticStudio 2024 R1.03 does not work out of the box. It manages to find the path of the ZOSAPI_NetHelper.dll from the windows registry (path is to C:/Users/username….) but it says:Exception: Cannot find OpticStudioI don't know why this automatic path is not found, if I put manually the path inside the script (line 24):pathToInstall = r'C:\Program Files\Ansys Zemax OpticStudio 2024 R1.03'It works! Not sure if it is related that I used Zemax before it was acquired by Ansys and it is looking in the wrong location.Just for those who'd like to use the zospy library, you can also pass the path directly:import zospy as zpopticstudio_directory = r'C:\Program Files\Ansys Zemax OpticStudio 2024 R1.03'zos = zp.ZOS(opticstudio_directory=opticstudio_directory)oss = zos.connect("extension")Perhaps it helps others to save some time.

In interactive mode - I would like to update the merit value and the operand values after every perturbation I do on a surface variable (e.g.; Decenter-X). For some reason - executing this code line does not seem to update the IDE at all.# Before perturbation: apply a value to a surface cellTheSystem.MFE.CalculateMeritFunction()# After perturbation: Step to read updated Merit Values and Merit Operand Values - No Change!Any ideas?

Typically I would only save the Zemax file as below for later useTheSystem.SaveAs(r"C:\Path\To\Save\MyLens.zmx")Is there a way to save the Zemax file as a Lens Project to a folder? With all the dependencies pointed to the folder root? Such as: GLASSCAT, COATING, CONFIG, etc.?Thanks

I need to exchange the Data File Name of a Source File Object:   I tried to do that by python code:import zospyzos = zospy.ZOS()oss = zos.connect()oss.load(‘zmx_file.zmx’)led = oss.NCE.GetObjectAt(1)TypeSet_LED = led.GetObjectTypeSettings(zp.constants.Editors.NCE.ObjectType.SourceFile)TypeSet_LED.FileName1 = 'filename.dat'I wrote that code according to section #! [e21s03_py] in example 21 of the ZOS-API Python examplesApparently, the code does not work.Did anyone ever manage to exchange source files via python?Can you provide a code snippet that works? Thanks in advance

Hi all, does anyone have a simple method to get all variables and associated parameters?Similar to GETVARDATA in ZPL.Please no workaround like the text file from prescription data.Many Thanks!Hans-Jürgen

Hi all,How can I change the multi-configuration control parameter (current, 1/N, 2/N, etc.) in a POP analysis window using ZOS API?I would like to save the beam file output for each configuration.Cheers - Asuku

Hi, I try to retrieve the output POP field distrubution via python. I looked in the help at IAS_PhysicalOpticsPropagation and couldn't find direct way to do it. I know I can manually save ZBF files and then load, but I need a script as I change parameters and want to retrieve the output beam. How would you advise to do so?   Thanks, Leonid

Hello community,  I hope somebody is familiar with this topic and has a quick hint. I would like to use the transmission plots (especially TransmissionFan) of Zemax by controlling them in Python. Yet, I miss the possibility to change the settings. My Code looks as follows: {… I hope the stuff before is clear ...}    TheAnalyses = TheSystem.AnalysesWindow= TheAnalyses.New_Analysis(ZOSAPI.Analysis.AnalysisIDM.TransmissionFan)Settings= Window.GetSettings()dir(Settings)The output looks as follows:['AddChild', 'Analysis', 'CreateObjRef', 'Disconnect', 'Equals', 'Finalize', 'GetHashCode', 'GetLifetimeService', 'GetType', 'InitializeLifetimeService', 'IsActiveWindow', 'IsValid', 'Load', 'LoadFrom', 'MemberwiseClone', 'ModifySettings', 'OS', 'Overloads', 'Parent', 'ReferenceEquals', 'RemoveChild', 'Reset', 'Save', 'SaveTo', 'TheDataID', 'ToString', 'Update', 'UpdateCore', 'UpdateUI', 'Verify', 'WriteToStream', '__call__', '__class__', '__delattr__', '__delitem__', '__dir__', '__doc__', '__eq__

Hi, I’m currently trying to trace a large amount (~1 million) of rays with very specific output position and trace their path length it takes them to reach a detector and then output the position as well as the specific path length of that beam. Currently not using scattering, but in future, I would like to extend this to scattering as well. My first thought was to create a loop that would create single rays, trace them, return the OPL through a Merit Function and then output in the end, but I assume that this would take forever to compute. Any idea how this would be done more efficiently? I’ve seen that batch ray trace might be an option, but I don’t know enough about it or other alternatives to evaluate correctly. Thank you for any help!

I don’t understand how I should set the Filter and RayDatabaseFile of the DetectorViewer in non-sequential mode.SHould I use : DetectorView = zos.system.Analyses.New_DetectorViewer()or :DetectorView = zos.system.Analyses.New_Analysis(zos.ZOSAPI.Analysis.AnalysisIDM.DetectorViewer)Then should I use :        settings = DetectorView.GetSettings()and/or ?        settings = zos.ZOSAPI.Analysis.Settings.RayTracing.IAS_DetectorViewer(settings)Then using :         settings.RayDatabaseFilename = db_file        settings.Filter = "h9"Those seems to make the analysis fail       

Hello, I am working on a macro as described in the following article, but converted in Python:https://support.zemax.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500005579082-Modeling-Rotationally-Symmetric-Irregularity-RSI-with-the-APIAs working directly on the system, each modification saves an UNDO file and the action is repeated for each Zernike coefficient, for each surfaces, that slows down the execution.The actual way :Get the system with :TheSystem = TheApplication.PrimarySystemand work on it directly I tried to get a copy of the system with the CopySystem function, modify the copy and push it back :TheSystem = TheApplication.PrimarySystemnew_system = TheSystem.CopySystem()# does work hereTheSystem = new_system.CopySystem() When looking at the surface type of TheSystem, I can see that it changed correctly, however it is not applied in the Zemax main window.I used the TheSystem.UpdateStatus() function, but does not help. Ideally my goal would be to be able to make all modifications outside of Zemax an

How can I extract detector data using the API? And how can I be sure I'm using the correct settings?

This looks like a bug in ZOS API : when calling FindMaterialCatalog on a row of a non-sequential model with ABSORB as mateial, it returns the first catalog in the available catalog listI would except this call to return None or “”

In non-sequential mode, I am trying to automate the process of reviewing any input data that is spectral. The idea is to review how all models (in the wide sense) behave wrt wavelength in a quick way to make sure there’s nothing shady happening, using the ZOS API.For now I’m trying to review :  - all coatings used, and their spectral response wrt incidence angle and wavelength - all materials used and their refractive index and extinction response wrt wavelengthbecause given the complexity of a NSC model, the complexity of coatings definitions/catalogs, material definition/catalogs, a mistake can happen quickly.For now the idea is to review those spectral model dependencies only in a “passive” manner, using the NCE - without running a raytrace specifiicaly.If anyone has ideas or guideline on this process, feel free to comment ! :)

Hi all, I am trying to use ZOS API to assign the diffraction-based dll for the User Defined Object in Non-sequential mode. I have tried normal ‘Diffraction Grating’ object and it works good, however, for the User Defined Object, it did not work. Could anybody share some insights for me? Thank you! Part of the code for normal ‘Diffraction Grating’ object: (This works!)TheNCE.InsertNewObjectAt(1);o1 = TheNCE.GetObjectAt(1);o1.ChangeType(o1.GetObjectTypeSettings(ZOSAPI.Editors.NCE.ObjectType.DiffractionGrating));o1.DiffractionData.Split=ZOSAPI.Editors.NCE.DiffractionSplitType.SplitByDLL;o1.DiffractionData.DLL='srg_trapezoid_RCWA.DLL';o1.DiffractionData.StartOrder=-1;o1.DiffractionData.StopOrder=1; Part of the code for ‘User Defined Object’: (This  does not work!)TheNCE.InsertNewObjectAt(1);o1 = TheNCE.GetObjectAt(1);o1.ChangeType(o1.GetObjectTypeSettings(ZOSAPI.Editors.NCE.ObjectType.UserDefinedObject));o1.Comment = 'DiffractionGrating.DLL';o1.DiffractionData.Split=ZOSAPI.Editors.NCE.Diff