Ease of Use

LightTools’ fundamental construction techniques are very similar to those in advanced mechanical CAD software programs. However, LightTools has many additional features to facilitate the creation and modification of optical elements.

Basic geometric creation and editing techniques include place, move, rotate, copy, and scale of system components. Elements can be combined into logical grouping in a variety of ways. This is very useful in managing complex systems. The grouping techniques include a temporary selection group and a permanent grouping option. Once grouped, element parameters (position, color, visibility) can be modified en masse. Layers provide an additional way for the user to segregate data, usually by element type or logical sub-system.

Properties dialog box of a scattering surface

Positioning tools include grid and "snap to" features. The grid may be visible or not, or a visible grid can be at a different resolution than the active grid. The snap feature is useful in aligning a part in relation to other geometry, including light rays, or to one of the global or local axes. A depth feature allows you to work in a given plane and modify the position along the third axis. In addition to the global system coordinates, a user-defined local coordinate system can be established. This is useful in working with irregularly folded systems or very large complex lightpipes.

There are 3 types of navigation windows: the system navigator, window navigator, and preferences navigator. They provide easy access to important data. LightTools has also incorporated the latest technology in online, context-sensitive, and What’s This? help. All of this plus right-click menus makes LightTools one of the easiest software packages to learn and to use.

Utility dialog box giving displaying material properties of glasses

LED utility with displaying intensity of one of over 400 LED's in library