Travel Distance Contours Pathfinder 2026.1 introduces new Travel Distance Visualization Contours that provide clear, post-processed views of how far Occupants traveled during a simulation. The new contours are calculated after the simulation completes, using the known total travel distance of each Occupant. The resulting values can be visualized either as a color-mapped contour overlaid on the geometry or by coloring individual Occupants themselves. Pathfinder includes two related contour options: Travel Distance, which shows the total distance traveled, and Travel Distance Remaining, which represents the distance an Occupant still had to travel to reach an exit.

Figure 1. Example Travel Distance Remaining Contour These contours can be used to gain deeper insight into movement efficiency and spatial performance within a model. By examining Travel Distance, users can identify long or inefficient paths, potential circulation issues, or areas where design changes might reduce walking distances. The Travel Distance Remaining contour can help highlight locations where Occupants are still far from exits at specific simulation endpoints, supporting evaluations of egress design, exit placement, and overall building layout effectiveness. You can read more about Travel Distance and Travel Distance Remaining on the Occupant Contours and Occupant Coloring pages of the Results 2026.1 Documentation. Occupant Vision Contours Pathfinder 2026.1 introduces new Occupant Vision Visualization Contours that provide a powerful way to understand what parts of a model are actually seen by Occupants during a simulation. These contours visualize Occupant line-of-sight interactions with geometry and offers three distinct display values. Current Viewer Count shows how many Occupants are viewing each point in the scene at a given moment, Unique Viewer Count represents the total number of distinct Occupants who have viewed each point at any time during the simulation, and Vision Time displays the accumulated amount of time Occupants have spent viewing each point.

Figure 2. An example Vision Time Vision Contour. These vision-based contours open up a wide range of practical applications beyond traditional movement analysis. They are particularly valuable for identifying high-visibility locations for signage, wayfinding, marketing, and advertising, helping designers and planners place visual elements where they are most likely to be noticed. Additionally, the contours can support evaluations of sightlines, visual clutter, and spatial awareness in complex environments, informing decisions related to safety communication, exhibit design, and overall occupant experience. You can read more about Occupant Vision Contours on the Occupant Vision Contours page of the Results 2026.1 Documentation. User Experience Improvements This release of Pathfinder introduces several user experience and stability improvements designed to streamline workflows and enhance reliability. A newly streamlined Create Elevator action now supports creating multiple elevators at once, reducing setup time for complex models, while the new Find Advanced action enables users to search for objects based on specific property values for faster model management. Simulation startup times have been reduced, helping users get results more quickly, and major OpenGL updates have significantly improved rendering stability, delivering a smoother and more dependable visualization experience overall. You can see the full list of changes in the Changelog. Documentation Improvements The 2026.1 release includes a major overhaul of the product documentation, focused on making information easier and faster to access. Navigation has been significantly improved through the introduction of pagination, allowing users to move more quickly between sections, while a new document-wide search tool makes it easier to find specific topics and answers. Pages that are new or have been updated are now clearly highlighted, helping users quickly identify what has changed in the latest release. In addition, previously separate manuals and content have been consolidated into a single, unified document, reducing fragmentation and simplifying the learning experience. The documentation has also been reorganized to improve the discoverability of related content, making it easier for both new and experienced users to explore features, understand workflows, and find relevant guidance without unnecessary searching. Explore the updated documentation by trying the new search tool located at the top of the documentation table of contents, which provides a quick way to jump directly to relevant information. Be sure to review the Examples section (formerly Tutorials) for practical, step-by-step guidance, visit Troubleshooting (previously FAQs) for help resolving common issues, and explore the Advanced Topics and Appendices for deeper technical detail and reference material that support more complex use cases. Questions about activating your license? We have answers Use one of the links below for information about activating your license Floating Licenses Node-locked Licenses Academic Licenses