Getting Started & FAQ
Articles in this section are designed to help new users get up-and-running with Ansys Zemax OpticStudio. These articles will introduce you to OpticStudio's interface or will focus on how optical concepts are implemented in the program. This section also lists solutions to common questions across all experience levels.
- An overview of a typical illumination system design cycle
- Background theory and concepts of illumination design
- Can I change the {DATA} folder?
- Can we model scattering in Sequential Mode?
- Detectors used in illumination design
- Exploring Sequential Mode in OpticStudio
- FAQ on opening multiple OpticStudio instances
- Getting Started with Ansys Zemax OpticStudio - Part 1
- Getting Started with Ansys Zemax OpticStudio - Part 2
- Getting Started with Ansys Zemax OpticStudio - Part 3
- How can I pivot a lens group around any points in space?
- How do I measure polarization in NSC mode?
- How does OpticStudio model the thermal expansion of optical mounts?
- How should I model scattering in OpticStudio from surface roughness data?
- How to convert FWHM measurements to 1/(e^2) halfwidths
- How to create a Gaussian beam profile in OpticStudio?
- How to include Fresnel reflection loss in my ray tracing results?
- How to model laser beam propagation in OpticStudio: Part 1 - Gaussian beam theory and ray-based approach
- How to model laser beam propagation in OpticStudio: Part 1 - Gaussian beam theory and ray-based approach
- How to observe coating effects in OpticStudio?
- How to share an OpticStudio file
- Installing and configuring Ansys Local Help for Zemax OpticStudio 2026+
- Introduction to illumination systems
- Light sources used in illumination design
- Methods for analyzing MTF in OpticStudio
- OpticStudio Gaussian Beam FAQ
- Performance targets of illumination design
- Required OpticStudio version and language for using ZOS-API
- Some of my analysis windows remain hidden. How to make OS show them?
- The Source Diffractive object