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Before diving into the manual’s contents, it is critical to understand the nomenclature. Originally developed by Focus Software, the platform was known as ZEMAX (a portmanteau of "Zernike" and "MAXimum"). In 2014, Ansys Inc. acquired the product and rebranded it as Ansys OpticStudio.
However, the industry still commonly searches for the "ZEMAX user manual" because:
When you search for the manual today, you will likely end up with the Ansys OpticStudio User Manual—but rest assured, the principles are 99% transferable. zemax user manual
Pro Tip: Keep a local PDF copy of the legacy
ZEMAXUserManual.pdfeven if you use the new version. The legacy manual often explains why a function works, while the new manual explains how to click the button.
The manual is organized into logical volumes. Here are the most critical sections for any user: Before diving into the manual’s contents, it is
Scattered throughout the PDF are gray boxes marked Tip. For example:
To optimize the system:
6. Tolerancing and Sensitivity Analysis