MyZemax Frequently Asked Questions

When not logged in to MyZemax, some informational pages remain accessible, as do:

• Community discussion forums
• Installation or licensing-related knowledgebase articles

Once you log in to MyZemax, you will be able to:

• Software release downloads
• Create a thread or post a reply on the community discussion forums
• Update your profile information
• Find contact information for your Zemax account manager

If you are connected as a License Administrator or End User of a supported license, you may also:

• See information related to your license
• Open a support case or schedule support by phone
• Get help through the supported forums (coming soon)
• Access Knowledgebase articles for your product(s)

There are a few ways to set up your My Zemax profile:

1. You purchased a license.

   • You should receive an email invitation from Zemax to join the customer portal. This email invitation contains a link that will prompt you to reset your password. After this, you will have full access to MyZemax.

2. A License Administrator adds you as a colleague or an End User on a license inside MyZemax. Once this happens, an email invitation is sent to you with a link to reset your password.

3. You fill out an access request form.

   • From the sign-in page, click on request portal access. Fill out the submission form.

   • If you are in our user database, you'll be sent an invitation to finalize your account.

   • If you're not in our database and provided a valid software license number, you will not immediately receive an invitation to MyZemax, but the License Administrator for your license will be sent a notice of your request to be added as an End User on that license. 

   • If you're not in our database and do not have a valid software license, your submitted form will be processed by our sales team, who will help get you the information that you need.

Note that only License Administrators and End Users of supported licenses will have full access to MyZemax. You can find out more about your own access at the About My Access page. 

If you were already a Zemax customer as of May 1, 2019, MyZemax doesn't affect how you use your software.

If you purchased a software subscription on or after May 1, 2019, you will need to set up an account on MyZemax and ensure your account is associated with the correct software license(s) before you can run the licensed software.

The License Administrator for your university, likely your professor, will need to add you as an End User to your university's license. Once this is done, you will have access to the Knowledgebase, forums, etc. Students will not be able to create technical support cases.

As a License Administrator, you control End Users assigned to your license. When you assign an End User, that person will be able to access all relevant resources on MyZemax (for supported licenses) and run the licensed software.
 

To add an End User to a license:

1. The person must be available in your list of colleagues: Home > Profile > Colleagues. You may add or deactivate colleagues at any time.
2. Home > Profile > Licenses: Click on the license where you would like to add the End User.
3. In the License Details page, click on Add End User. Click on the magnifying glass to select from your colleagues.

Note: Individual (single user) subscription licenses may only have one End User at any time. Other license types do not have End User limitations.
 

To change an End User on a license:

1. You may remove an existing End User in Home > Profile > Licenses > License Details. On the arrow next to the End User's information, select Remove End User.
2. At the top of the License Details page, click Add End User.
3. Select from your list of colleagues. The selected individual will be notified that they were assigned to your license.
4. If the license is a single-user (individual) license, the original End User must open the Zemax License Manager on his/her computer and transfer the license to the new End User.
   • OpticStudio license transfer instructions
   • LensMechanix license transfer instructions
5. The new End User may download the licensed Zemax software and install it on his/her machine, utilizing the license transfer code. The new End User will also have full access to resources on MyZemax.

• You can see your role and content access information by visiting the About My Access page.
• In order to have full access to MyZemax's resources, you must be a License Administrator or End User of a supported Zemax license.
• You can view your own licenses and those within your company by visiting the Licenses section of your profile.
• If you're not connected to a supported license, you can request to be added as an End User by contacting the License Administrator at your company.

An End User is a person within a company who has right to use a Zemax software license. End Users of supported licenses have full access to MyZemax. For individual licenses, the End User may be the same as the License Administrator. You can find out about your own access at About My Access.

A list of colleagues inside MyZemax will display all the individuals known within your organization. When a License Administrator adds a colleague, that person is invited to join MyZemax. However, that person will not have full access to MyZemax or Zemax software until he/she is listed as an End User of a supported license.

In order to add or change End Users on a license, you must be a License Administrator.

Please note:

• Only those who are listed as end-users of a license may activate a new license or complete a license transfer.
• The person you are adding must be available in the Colleagues page of your Myzemax profile. You may add or deactivate colleagues at any time.
• Individual (single user) licenses are allowed one End User at a time, and may be changed once every 30 days. Network licenses may have multiple end users and users can be added or changed without limit.
• Changing end users on perpetual (non-subscription) licenses or physical USB dongles only controls who has access to Myzemax resources. It is not required to use the license itself.
• In order to add colleagues or modify End Users, the license support or subscription must not be expired and you must be a License Administrator.

To add an End User to a Network license:

1. From the Licenses page, click the license number you would like to add the End User to. Verify the Product says NET or NETWORK.
2. In the License Details page, click on Add End User. Click on the magnifying glass to select from your colleagues. The selected individual will be notified that they were assigned to the license and invited to Myzemax if they were not already. The new End User will also have full access to resources on MyZemax.
3. The new end user needs to open Zemax License Manager, select the View License page, and click the Default button next to the License Number. They will be prompted to log in with their Myzemax credentials to activate it.

To change an End User on a single user license:

1. From the Licenses page, Click the license number to open License Details. You can verify this is a single-user license if you do not see NET or NETWORK in the Product description.
2. Find the name of the end user you want to remove. Click the arrow to the right of their name and select Change User. If this option is not available, a message above the license will state the date when the end user may be changed again.
3. Select the new end user from your list of colleagues. The selected individual will be notified that they were assigned to the license and invited to Myzemax if they were not already. The new end user will also have full access to resources on MyZemax.
4. Next, the original end user must open the Zemax License Manager on his/her computer and transfer the license away to the new end user. License transfer instructions They will be sent a transfer code.
5. The new End User may download the licensed Zemax software and install it on his/her machine. They will use the license transfer code on the Receive License page in Zemax License Manager. They will be prompted to log in with their Myzemax credentials to complete transfer.

Network Licenses

Network licenses may have an unlimited number of End Users listed in MyZemax, though the software will allow concurrent users up to the number of licensed seats. For example, a 10-seat network license may have 20 End Users, but only 10 of those people may run the software at any moment.
 

Individual Licenses

Individual licenses may have one End User at any time. This person may be the same as or different from the License Administrator. For subscription licenses, the End User may be reassigned one time per 30 day period.

If you are logged into MyZemax, you can toggle between viewing licenses that you administer and licenses held by your company in the Licenses page. If you view licenses held by your company, each license has a License Administrator listed, and you may contact that person to have them add you as an End User.

To name a new License Administrator, you may fill out a Registration Form for a license and provide it to sales@zemax.com. Only End Users for licenses may be reassigned within MyZemax at this time.

Inside MyZemax, you can find your support or subscription expiration date by visiting the Licenses section of your profile. At the top of the license table, you can toggle between viewing licenses you manage and those within your company.

Renewal pricing pages and purchasing are coming soon, but may not be immediately available for all geographies. If online purchasing is not available, you may find the contact information for your Zemax account manager at the top of your profile.

Logging into MyZemax is the best way to get technical support. Inside MyZemax, you can search the Knowledgebase and forums for information, post your question to a forum, or open a support case to be addressed by a Zemax engineer. You may also email your inquiry, along with your license number, to support@zemax.com. 

Make sure you include your license number in your inquiry, so that we can verify your support status.
Share a copy of the file where your question or problem can be seen. For OpticStudio, an archive file (.ZAR) is best.

LensMechanix Support

LensMechanix support is currently available through email only. Send your question to support@zemax.com, along with your license number, and you will hear back from a LensMechanix expert within 48 hours.
 

OpticStudio Support

If time is of the essence, you may schedule a time to speak with an OpticStudio expert through the Support by Phone page. Appointments are typically available within 1-2 hours of booking.

Please visit the Licensing Policies page for full information.

When you submit a case through MyZemax, it is routed directly to Zemax's team of optical and opto-mechanical engineers. Zemax's engineers are located in all five of our global offices; USA, England, China, Japan, and Taiwan. The first available engineer from any region will address your inquiry. Your information is not shared outside of Zemax.

After your inquiry has been resolved, files that you shared as part of technical support correspondence are held for a short period, then permanently deleted.
 

We'd love to hear your ideas! To submit a request for new capability in MyZemax, please email webmaster@zemax.com. You may also report any issues to this address.

Thanks for your interest! We would love to hear your thoughts on how we can build new and impactful resources. You can email suggestions for Knowledgebase or webinar topics to support@zemax.com or make your request known in one of our forums.

In order to have an account on MyZemax, your identity must be shared with Zemax. When you create an account, you agree to this in the Terms & Conditions.

If you wish to participate in the forums or leave comments but have your identity hidden from other users, we do support this. In your profile page, you may add a Nickname. This field is much like a username, and will appear in place of your true identity when other users see information you created in MyZemax.

Zemax is working to complete an immersive MyZemax experience in both Simplified Chinese and Japanese in 2020.

• Profile pages, license, and user management will be available first.
• Knowledgebase articles, forums, product pages, pricing, and other information will be added and made available gradually in both Simplified Chinese and Japanese starting in 2019 and continuing through 2020.

Keep checking back to see what's new!