For those who want to work with ZOS-API using Excel, here are a few advice and sample codes. You can either work in standalone or interactive extension.Enable the communication between Excel and ZOS-APIThe communication between Excel and ZOS-API is pretty straightforward once the references are enabled in the VBA environment.  Click the Developer tab from Excel to access the VBA environment (if you don’t see it it has to be enabled in the Options): Once VBA is opened, simply click on Tools > References and then select ZOSAPI and ZOSAPI_Interfaces:Using ZOS-API with Excel: what is different?From here, create a new Module and subroutines.  There are a few caveats and cool things:Declare variable types with the Dim keyword (at the beginning of your Sub) For any method which is not assigned to a variable, treat it like a ZPL keyword where you don’t use the parenthesis to pass in the arguments (see wavelengths & fields in the example) Use the intellisenseInheritance: When a child cla

I just want to read all data from the material behind a surface in a given lens system which I need to construct the wavelength dependent complex refractive index for that material.I already managed to read the real valued refrative index (dispersion) via ZOSAPI.Tools.IMaterialsCatalog.But I cannot find a way to read the wavelength dependent absorption data from the same material.Does anybody have an advice or hint for me?Looking forward to your answers. Thank you.

I have constructed successful interfaces with the ZOS-API using MATLAB, but there’s a larger system model that I’m now integrating into Simulink and I’m running into import errors because Simulink doesn’t seem to like the data structure.  Has anyone tackled Simulink interfacing?

Hello, I’m trying to control POP analysis through Python, and when trying to change the settings of the POP analysis window, I appear to missing the necessary ZOSAPI methods. Looking at this article, I see the below command to my_analysis = TheSystem.Analyses.New_Analysis(ZOSAPI.Analysis.AnalysisIDM.ANALYSIS_ENUMERATOR_HERE); When I try to do this myself, it doesn’t appear as though I can see the Analysis class for ZOSAPI. The only thing I see is the ZOSAPI_Connection class. I see that in the help it should have the Analysis namespace, but I’m unable to call it in Python. Thanks,Cedar Update: It seems I’m able to call the Analysis class even though it doesn’t appear in the IDE with the above command. Once I do, it shows up normally. I just have to remember what all the different methods/classes are named. My next problem is that according to the ZOSAPI help, the PhysicalOpticsPropagation should have the StartSurface property that I need to be able to set before running analysis, but I

Hi,I wrote a user defined bulk scattering dll (Non-sequential mode) that reads data from a txt file.I create/edit the txt file with Python which I connect to ZEMAX via ZOS-API. What I need to do is as follows (all lines using ZOSAPI and python):(1) Ray trace and Read detector data with Volume Physics bulk scattering set to None and save to a txt file (to be read by dll in step 3).(2) Change some variables for various objects(3) change bulk scattering to user defined dll(4) Ray trace and Read detector data(5) repeat from step 1 I’m having two issues (a small one and a huge one):the smaller issue - In step (1), how do I change Volume Physics bulk scattering to None? I tried the following:Obj = TheNCE.GetObjectAt(1) volphysdata = Obj.VolumePhysicsData volphysdata.Model = ZOSAPI.Editors.NCE.VolumePhysicsModelType.None However, Python doesn't allow this (as None is a protected variable). So, I found a different method which works , by changing to AngleScattering type and then set meanpath t

Dear all, in Wolfram Matheamtica how can one set Nd for material. LoadNETType["ZOSAPI.Editors.SolveType"] layer = theNCE@GetObjectAt[5]solver = layer@MaterialCell@CreateSolveType[SolveType`MaterialModel]solver@USUMaterialModel@IndexNd = 1.6layer@MaterialCell@SetSolveData[solver] USUMaterialModel derived from "ZOSAPI.Editors.ISolveMaterialModel" _S _MaterialModel seems to be a problem? Thanx for support and BR,Jozef

The results of a Geometric Image Analysis may be accessed using: gia = TheSystem.Analyses.New_Analysis(ZOSAPI.Analysis.AnalysisIDM.GeometricImageAnalysis) gia_setting = gia.GetSettings() gia.ApplyAndWaitForCompletion() gia_results = gia.GetResults() gia.ApplyAndWaitForCompletion() gia_data = zos.DoubleToNumpy(gia_results.GetDataGrid(0).Values).reshape(-1, gia_setting.NumberOfPixels) where zos.DoubleToNumpy is tucked into the boilerplate PythonStandaloneApplication class. def DoubleToNumpy(self, data): '''Provided by Sandrine Auriol, Zemax''' if 'numpy' not in sys.modules: print('You have not imported numpy into this file') return False else: src_hndl = GCHandle.Alloc(data, GCHandleType.Pinned) try: src_ptr = src_hndl.AddrOfPinnedObject().ToInt64() cbuf = (ctypes.c_double * len(data)).from_address(src_ptr) npData = np.frombuffer(cbuf, dtype=np.float64) finally: if s

Hey,i want to retrieve data from POP with the API (in python). As far as i got i understand that the pop_analysis.GetResult() is delivering a matrix, like the one you get from the text tab in POP. So far so good. But I don’t know how to get the index for peak irradiance or any other certain value. So, can anybody help me to retrieve the peak irradiance value from that matrix? I’d really appreciate any help that would lead me to a solution. There seem to be some options like “IndexOf”, “FindIndex”, but I don’t know how to use them. My code for that section so far:pop_analysis = TheSystem.Analyses.New_Analysis(ZOSAPI.Analysis.AnalysisIDM.PhysicalOpticsPropagation)pop_analysis.ApplyAndWaitForCompletion()pop_results = pop_analysis.GetResults()matrixData = pop_results.GetDataGrid(0).ValuesThanks,Mo

Dear comunity. What is the syntax to open a shaded model from Wolfram Mathematica? analysis =  TheSystem@Analyses@NewUAnalysis["ZOSAPI.Analysis.AnalysisIDM.NSCShadedModel"] returns  NET::methodargs: Improper arguments supplied for method named NewUAnalysis. Thanx and BR,Jozef

How to read  Zemax interferogram data in matlab ?

Hello, I saw a coupling topics on this but don’t see a real solution.Using the MATLAB API I can load a file and create a universal 1 D plot and change config settings. When I open the zmx file after I can see that the settings were applied correctly and the plot looks good. But, I cannot figure out how the access the plot data from the MATLAB API.  I’m using: UnivPlot = TheSystem.Analyses.New_Analysis(ZOSAPI.Analysis.AnalysisIDM.UniversalPlot1D);UnivPlot_Settings = UnivPlot.GetSettings();fprintf('Universal Plot has analysis specific settings? %i\n', UnivPlot.HasAnalysisSpecificSettings)% Above is False; Universal Plot Settings must be changed via ModifySettings (changing a config (.cfg) file)cfg = System.String.Concat(TheApplication.ZemaxDataDir, '\Configs\UNI.CFG');UnivPlot_Settings.Save(); % Create new .cfg file, named "UNI.CFG" in \Configs\ folder% Change universal plot settingsUnivPlot_Settings.ModifySettings(cfg, 'UN1_CATEGORY', num2str(0));UnivPlot_Settings.ModifySettings(cfg, 'U

Hi everyone, Since I have Ubuntu as a primary OS, I installed OpticStudio in a Windows Guest Virtual Machine. Is there any possibility to connect ZOS-API to my runnig Python scripts on Ubuntu ? Thank you very much  Greetings, Alaeddine Yacoub

HiI am learning how to build the MFE with ZOS-API and for that I am creating a simple MFE. I know that Target and Weight are accessible through  Operand.WeightOperand.Target But calling the Value column using Operand.Value returns 0. Any idea what I am doing wrong? Thanks 

Hi,I’ve been building over the years a series of python based-tools that use ZOSAPI framework in order to automatize repetitive jobs. However, the reccurent changes in the API causes regular failures in these scripts. Lately I’ve been trying to use a simple piece of code that gets the sag from the surfaces and find the following failure (where ZemaxLDE is an instance of the TheSystem.LDE, and xi, yj are points where I want my sag to be returned):    tmp = ZemaxLDE.GetSag(index, xi, yj)  File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\win32com\gen_py\EA433010-2BAC-43C4-857C-7AEAC4A8CCE0x0x1x0\ILensDataEditor.py", line 103, in GetSag    , X, Y, sag, alternateSag)  File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\win32com\client\__init__.py", line 467, in _ApplyTypes_    self._oleobj_.InvokeTypes(dispid, 0, wFlags, retType, argTypes, *args),pywintypes.com_error: (-2147352562, 'Nombre de param\xe8tres non valide.', None, None) Could you please tell me what could have changed (I’m still working with Zemax 21.x beca

Hi!I am experiencing a bug when running local optimisations via the ZOS-API in python. I am using interactive extension. Example of the code is:LocalOpt = TheSystem.Tools.OpenLocalOptimization()LocalOpt.Algorithm = ZOSAPI.Tools.Optimization.OptimizationAlgorithm.DampedLeastSquaresLocalOpt.Cycles = ZOSAPI.Tools.Optimization.OptimizationCycles.Fixed_50_CyclesLocalOpt.NumberOfCores = 8LocalOpt.RunAndWaitForCompletion()LocalOpt.Close()Upon running this, it sometimes completes correctly, but sometimes the optics studio window crashes and closes. Then when i open it back up, it asks if i want to restore the file. I have also tried this on multiple machines with different installations of ZEMAX, and the same thing occurs: sometimes it completes the optimisation and sometimes it crashes. Has anyone else experienced this issue, or know a fix? Thanks very much in advance!!

When I run POP analysis for different grid phases, the display sometimes shows the beam small and sometimes it shows an enlarged beam. I want the beam size to be comparable (all beams to be of similar scale) in the POP display window. How to do that via ZOS-API?

Hi Zemax community,I am a student who is learning to use the ZOS API in Matlab and I’m having issues with getting results from New_WavefrontMap. How do I correctly pull data from a wavefront map? As the results I plot are always zero.I am running a wavefront analysis and POP analysis in the same program, which uses the ‘Double Gauss 5 degree field.zmx’ file from samples. I apply the analysis then pull the results using the following code to get the data:WF_Map_Data = New_WF_map_results.DataGrids(1).Values.double;matrixData = POP_Results.DataGrids(1).Values.double;and try to plot it in Matlab the matrix will be populated by zeros.Wavefront map populated by 0’sBoth wavefront map and POP are set up in a similar fashion, but when plotting the results of the POP it will not be populated by zeros.POP resultThanks for readingNick

I am running tolerancing analysis (TA) using Matlab. I noticed that one tolerance data viewer window will show up after the TA is finished. I would like to close the viewer window using Matlab script however I was not able to find the right way to do it in ZOS-API manual. Do you know how to close the viewer window using Matlab script? Thank you very much.

Hi. I am using the ZOS-API for Python and try to switch to the new recommended method of using PythonNET instead of the COM interface. To do so, I created a new Python template using 'Programming>Python>Interactive Extension' (same problem occurs with 'Standalone Application'). Running this template fails when trying to add the NetHelper DLL: import clr, os, winreg from itertools import islice # determine the Zemax working directory aKey = winreg.OpenKey(winreg.ConnectRegistry(None, winreg.HKEY_CURRENT_USER), r'Software\Zemax', 0, winreg.KEY_READ) zemaxData = winreg.QueryValueEx(aKey, 'ZemaxRoot') NetHelper = os.path.join(os.sep, zemaxData[0], r'ZOS-API\Libraries\ZOSAPI_NetHelper.dll') winreg.CloseKey(aKey) # add the NetHelper DLL for locating the OpticStudio install folder clr.AddReference(NetHelper) import ZOSAPI_NetHelper --------------------------------------------------------------------------- FileNotFoundException Traceback (most recent call

In OpticStudio, We can load any BSDF file from our   \Zemax\ScatterData Folder .Here is the available code for Matlab and Python. You can use this code in Standalone or Interactive Extension.-Copy the code in your file .-Change the path of testfileMatlab Code: TheNCE = TheSystem.NCE; Object_2 = TheNCE.GetObjectAt(2); % changes scatter profile on face Scatter_Data=Object_2.CoatScatterData.GetFaceData(0);o3_Scatter = Scatter_Data.CreateScatterModelSettings(ZOSAPI.Editors.NCE.ObjectScatteringTypes.BSDF);      o3_Scatter.S_BSDF_.ReflectFile  = 'BrownVinyl.bsdf'; o3_Scatter.S_BSDF_.TransmitFile = 'BrownVinyl_HighRes.bsdf'; o3_Scatter.S_BSDF_.ScatterFraction = 0.775;  o3_Scatter.S_BSDF_.Angle = 30;  Object_2.CoatScatterData.GetFaceData(0).ChangeScatterModelSettings(o3_Scatter);  Object_2.CoatScatterData.GetFaceData(0).NumberOfRays = 2; Python code :testFile = r"C:\test\Digital_projector_flys_eye_homogenizer.zos"TheSystem.LoadFile(testFile, False)print(TheSystem.SystemFile)TheNCE = TheSystem.

Hello, I am trying to use the ZOS-API through Python. I have found the knowledgebase articles to be very scattered and confusing. I would like to access the dictionary of enumeration constants referenced multiple times in the linked article. However, the article does not show how to find the constants dict within ZOS-API. And, the source script for the code snippets is not linked in the article attachments! Does anyone know how I can access the constants dict through python? Thanks in advance.https://support.zemax.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500005576662-ZOS-API-using-Python

In opticStudio ,we can set User defined surface through Python and Matlab program using standalone and Interactive Extension.-Set the user defined surface -Select the User defined surface from directory-Get the User defined surfaceMatlab Code:You can directly copy the code in Standalone or Interactive Extension:   import ZOSAPI.*;    % Set up primary optical system    TheSystem = TheApplication.PrimarySystem;    sampleDir = TheApplication.SamplesDir;    testFile = System.String.Concat('C:\test\ABCD\ABCD Simple_lens.zmx');    TheSystem.LoadFile(testFile, false);    TheLDE = TheSystem.LDE;    surf2 = TheLDE.GetSurfaceAt(2);    typeSettings = surf2.GetSurfaceTypeSettings(ZOSAPI.Editors.LDE.SurfaceType.UserDefined);    filesAvailable = typeSettings.GetFileNames();    typeSettings.Filename = filesAvailable(5);    surf2.ChangeType(typeSettings);    d=typeSettings.Filename;    disp(d) Interactive Extension Matlab Python  Code:You can directly copy the code in Standalone or Interactive Extensi

Hello! I am trying to retrieve data about wavefront via ZOS-API in Matlab. Since I need to iterate through different positions of mirror, I am using coordinate breaks and iterate through them using arrays and FOR cycle:decenter = [-0.5:0.1:0.5];tilt = [-0.2:0.04:0.2];for i = 1:tilt_length for j = 1:decenter_length disp([i j]); TheSystem.LDE.GetSurfaceAt(3).GetCellAt(13).DoubleValue = decenter(j); % I set decenter here in the coordinate break (surface 3) TheSystem.LDE.GetSurfaceAt(3).GetCellAt(14).DoubleValue = tilt(i); % I set tilt here newWin = TheSystem.Analyses.New_WavefrontMap(); % Requesting new window newWin_Settings = newWin.GetSettings(); % Requesting settings newWin_Settings.Wavelength.SetWavelengthNumber(1); % Setting wavelength number newWin_Settings.Field.SetFieldNumber(1); % Setting field number newWin_Settings.Sampling = ZOSAPI.Analysis.SampleSizes.S_1024x1024; % Setting sampling newWin.ApplyAndWaitForCompletion(); % Applying the settings

I am able to control IntegerValue parameters of objects in ZEMAX from MathematicatheSystem@NCE@GetObjectAt[8]@GetObjectCell[ObjectColumn`Par2]@IntegerValue = 512; however DoubleValue object returns an errortheSystem@NCE@GetObjectAt[1]@GetObjectCell[ObjectColumn`Par6]@DoubleValue = 10.1; NET::netexcptn: A .NET exception occurred: System.ArgumentException: Expected Double, got 'String'   at ZemaxUI.ZOSAPI.Editors.ZOSAPI_EditorCellBase.set_DoubleValue(Double value). What is the syntax  to control a DoubleValue object? Thank and BR,Jozef

Can anyone point me to the tools/commands to call the Non-sequential Path Analysis Tools in ZOS-API? From Matlab, in Interactive Extension mode on a non-sequential object set, I’d like to be able to execute the path analysis to create the .PAF file and then import that .PAF file into Matlab or at least the desired parts of the .PAF file. I could then do some analysis on the individual aspects of the .PAF file. I’ve been looking in the documentation and not having much luck.Thanks!Josh