Introduction
There is a new utility bundled with your Zemax product called “Ansys Licensing Client Settings”. This utility is used to “borrow” a license seat from the license server and use it if away from your organization’s network for up to 30 days. This was previously called license "check out" in Zemax legacy licenses.
You can return it before expiration if you get back on the network, or it will automatically time out if you do nothing. We recommend you return it as soon as you no longer need it to make it available to other colleagues.
Requirements
Important: This utility only works for Ansys licenses. If you have a Zemax legacy license number in the format similar to L1XXXXX, you will need to install the Zemax version of the software rather than this Ansys release.
Note that this process and license utility requires:
- The Jan 2023 or newer Ansys release of OpticStudio or OpticsBuilder
- BORROW feature enabled (when generating/creating the license file: "BORROW=720").
- Not supported on Ansys Optics Business and Ansys Academic Optics licenses.
- Client machine should be running on a supported Windows operating system - not supported on Linux.
- Administrator rights in Windows
- The name and port of your license server
- Be connected to the network where the license is activated
Configuring access to the license
Start by launching the Ansys Licensing Client Settings from the Windows Start menu. It will be in the same folder as your Zemax product. It can also be launched from within the folder where your software installed. For Example in Opticstudio 2023 R1 it is located in C:\Program Files\Ansys Zemax OpticStudio 2023 R1.00\licensingclient\winx64\ClientSettings\ClientSettings.exe
If you are a computer administrator, you will get a popup to allow it to make changes. Click Yes.
If you get prompted for a password and it does not accept your normal Windows login information, this usually means you do not have admin rights to run the utility. Contact your company IT / helpdesk for assistance getting permissions to run this utility.
From the "FlexNet Publisher" or "License Servers" section of the utility, enter the license server name or IP address where your Ansys Zemax licenses are activated. If you have multiple servers or a “triad” license backup servers, enter all 3 license servers here. The port is normally 1055 unless your organization has a specially configured license on a different port.
If you are unsure of the server name, know that Zemax support does not typically have this information since we do not host your license server. There are several ways to get it:
- Check with a coworker who is already using one of the licenses. They can open the Ansys Client settings app or Ansys License Utility. These are located within OpticStudio or OpticsBuilder in the Help menu, or in the Start menu folder for each product.
- Contact your manager or organization’s IT department.
You can click “Test” to verify connection to the server(s). A checkbox will appear on the right of “Test” if it succeeds.
Click “Save" to apply your settings when done.
Borrowing a seat
1. Navigate to the Borrow section and click the "Borrowable increments" drop-down menu.
TIP: If you get an error "No Borrowable increments available" then your license is not configred with the option enabled. Contact Zemax support for assistance. 
2. Check the box by the license feature to borrow (see list below).
OpticStudio
Important - Depending on which OpticStudio tier you want, you need to borrow one or more license increments
zos_level1 = OpticStudio Pro (1 license feature)
zos_level1+zos_level2 = OpticStudio Premium (both (2) license features are required)
zos_level1+zos_level2+zos_level3 = OpticStudio Enterprise (all 3 license features has to be borrowed)
OpticsBuilder
Important - You must check out BOTH zob_level1 and zob_level2
zos_level1 + zos_level2 = OpticsBuilder
3. Select the license expiration date. We recommend as short a period as you need so that the license will be available to others as soon as possbile, and is not tied up on your machine.
4 Select "Borrow" to save your selections.
Your borrowed entitlements with the corresponding return date will be shown. You may now disconnect from your network and use your Zemax software.
TIP: If you do not see any of the following features listed below, then the server you are accessing does not have any Zemax product entitlements. You may need to specify a different server or may not have purchased an Ansys license for Zemax applications.
Returning a borrowed license
The license will automatically be returned on the expiration date shown in the utility. However, we recommend returning your license as soon as you no longer need it to ensure availability for other users.
To return the license, first connect to your organization’s network. Then open the Ansys Licensing Client Settings utility again. Navigate to the Borrow section and click Return next to the one you want to return, or you can select Return All.
