LightTools Enewsletter

June 2017

New Features in LightTools 8.5 SR2

LightTools 8.5 SR2 includes the following new features, as well as fixes to customer-reported bugs.

  • Additional Surfaces Supported for Conformal Surface Receivers
  • Chart Orientation Options Added for Visualizing BSDF Scatter Data
  • Option Added to Fit Content in Dialog Box Tables

Additional Surfaces Supported for Conformal Surface Receivers

LightTools 8.5 introduced an expanded set of mapping options for surface receivers on non-planar surfaces, known collectively as conformal receivers. The following surfaces, originally listed as unsupported surfaces for this feature now support conformal receivers, as shown in the examples below.

  • Edges on Freeform surfaces
Edges on Freeform surfaces

  • Surfaces of swept objects that have facets
Surfaces of swept objects that have facets

Chart Orientation Options Added for Visualizing BSDF Scatter Data

In the Optical Properties Manager, if you use a 2D Polar chart to visualize BSDF scatter data, you can now modify the orientation of the displayed data using a View button that was added above the chart.

BSDF scatter data

To modify the orientation of the data displayed in the chart, click the View button and choose the orientation to display: Front, Top, Left, Back, Bottom, or Right.

orientation of the data displayed

Option Added to Fit Content in Dialog Box Tables

For dialog boxes that include tables of numeric data, LightTools displays hash marks in a table cell when the numeric value has too many digits to be displayed in a column with the default width. This version provides a new option that allows you to quickly resize the width of table columns so that all the content in the cells is shown. The Fit Column to Content option, shown below, is available on the shortcut menu when you right-click a table heading.

Fit Content in Dialog Box Tables

After you select the new option, the columns are resized, and numeric values are displayed in place of the hash marks.

shortcut menu

You can use the shortcut menu to resize a single column, multiple columns, or all columns in a table, as shown in the following figures.

  • To resize a single column, right-click the heading.

  • To resize multiple columns, select them first and then right-click in one of the headings.

  • To resize all columns in the table, right-click the cell in the top left corner.
resize all columns

Software and License File Instructions

Direct-Sales Customers
Software and license key files for LightTools direct-sales customers are available on the 
Synopsys SolvNet website.

  • License key file: You will need version 8.5 license key files for this LightTools release. You can download license keys from the SmartKeys page on SolvNet at https://solvnet.synopsys.com/SmartKeys.

Distributor Customers
For customers working with distributors, you will continue to obtain your software and license keys from your local LightTools software distributor. See the Synopsys Optical Solutions Group Global Contacts page for contact information. If your country is not listed on the Distributors page referenced above, please contact us at lighttools_support@synopsys.com for instructions.

For More Information

The following resources are available on our Customer Support Portal:

Customer Networking Reception at IODC

Customer Networking Reception at IODC

Tuesday, July 11, 2017                                                                                                                                                        6:45 – 9:00 p.m.

Guard & Grace                                                                                                                                                             1801 California Street                                                                                                                                                           Denver, CO 80202

Synopsys' Optical Solutions Group cordially invites you to an evening reception at the International Optical Design Conference (IODC)/OSA Optical Design and Fabrication Congress in Denver, CO. Join us for food and drinks, talk with our LightTools experts, share ideas with other users, and learn about our latest software innovations at our demo stations. Always a popular and well-attended event with our customers!

Please RSVP before July 5 if you plan to attend the reception. We hope to see you there!

Join Us for the LightTools User Group Meeting

LightTools User Group

Please note the date for our annual LightTools User Group meetings. LightTools User Group Meetings are currently planned for September 12 in Marlborough, MA; and September 19 in Sunnyvale, CA.

What topics would you like to see discussed? What features in LightTools would you like to know more about? How could we help you be more productive in LightTools? You have an opportunity to help determine the topics during the annual LightToolsUser Group meetings. We welcome all ideas and will take those into consideration as we plan for the user group meetings. Help us make the user group a truly worthwhile event for you.

Send your brilliant topic ideas to lighttools_support@synopsys.com, or join our LightTools Group on LinkedIn to submit your ideas there. We look forward to hearing them!

Marlborough, MA

Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Synopsys, Inc. 
CES Training Room
377 Simarano Drive, Suite 300
Marlborough, MA 01752 

Sunnyvale, CA

Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Synopsys, Inc.
Von Neumann Room
455 North Mary Ave., Building 2
Sunnyvale, CA 94085

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