# Optimizing a Coverage Beam

After you've adjusted the parameters and added zones to a Coverage Beam, click the **Optimize** button on the right side of the panel. Coverage Beams are will not be shown in simulation or deployed to a real-world X1/X2 Matrix Array until the Optimization is completed.

The Optimization process sends the Beam’s settings and Zone definitions to HOLOPLOT's cloud-based Optimization Engine to create the Beam. Once the optimization process has been completed, the Coverage Beam can be seen in the Simulation view and is ready to be deployed to a real-world X1/X2 Matrix Array.

Plan’s Optimization Engine gives you access to powerful algorithms and a large amount of computational power without taxing the computer you're working on. This means you can continue working in HOLOPLOT Plan while the optimization process is happening in the cloud. You can view the status of your Coverage Beams in the jobs list view by clicking on the jobs window icon in the toolbar.

<figure><img src="/files/t5i5NFbyrH1NnASMUsx6" alt=""><figcaption><p>Optimize Coverage Beam</p></figcaption></figure>

The time required to optimize a Coverage Beam is dependent on the number of modules in an array and the total area of the zones within the Coverage Beam: large arrays with larger cones will take longer to optimize than small arrays with smaller zones.

Once a Coverage Beam is optimized, the **Optimize** button will be greyed out and the beam status will change.

<figure><img src="/files/gjcYqgul4ZKWe3xAQYa6" alt=""><figcaption><p>Coverage Beam Status</p></figcaption></figure>

After a beam is optimized, you will no longer be able to add or adjust the beam's zones or the general beam parameters (**Air Absorption Compensation** and **SPL Drop**). The array that the beam belongs to will also be locked, and its position cannot be moved.

It is possible to create variants of a beam. This means that different variations of the same beam will be created, which can be used across different preset layers. Navigate to the next page to learn more about working with beam variants.


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