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Specify Minimum and Maximum Section Lengths

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Specify Minimum and Maximum Section Lengths

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Last UpdatedNov 14, 2025
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The derived lengths of structural Sections are checked against predefined minimum and maximum values and a diagnostic message is output if an actual length falls outside these limits.

Keywords:

SECTION DEFAULT RESET

Description:

The SECTION command allows you to specify minimum and maximum acceptable lengths for Sections.

You may set a single range of acceptable lengths for all unspecified types of Section by using the SECTION DEFAULT option, or you may set different ranges for one or more specific types of Section (up to a maximum of ten named types). The standard default range of permissible lengths for all unspecified types of Section is from zero minimum to 10000 mm maximum.

Examples:
SECTION DEFAULT 1000 9500	Lengths of all types of Section must be in the range 1000‑9500 mm unless separately specified by a SECT generic_type option (as illustrated in the following examples)
SECT COLUMN 1500 7500	Column lengths must be in the range 1500‑7500 mm; lengths of other types of Section must be within the current default range
SECT BEAM 42 IN 9 FT	Beam lengths must be in the range 42 inches to 9 feet; lengths of other types of Section must be within the current default range
SECT COLUMN 0 12500 BEAM 8750 1000	Column lengths must be in the range 0‑12500 mm; Beam lengths must be in the range 1000‑8750 mm; lengths of all other types of Section must be within the current default range
Note: As illustrated in the last example, you must always enter two values (a minimum and a maximum setting), even if one of these is a current default value (0 mm, say). You may, however, enter them in either order (that means, minimum value first or maximum value first).
SECT DEF RESET	Lengths of all types of Section must be in the range 0‑10000 mm unless separately specified by a SECT generic_type option (that means, this command resets the original default settings)
SECT COLUMN RESET	Column lengths must be in the range 0‑10000 mm; the current settings for other types of Section are not changed by this command
SECT COL RESET BEAM RESET	Column and Beam lengths must be in the range 0‑10000 mm (Note that the RESET command word must be repeated for each type of Section)
SECT RESET	Lengths of all types of Section must be in the range 0‑10000 mm (that means, this resets the original default settings and cancels any individual settings for specific types of Section)

Command Syntax:

                      .---------------------------------------.
                     /                                        |
>--- SECTion ---+---*--- DEFault ---.                         |
                |   |               |                         |
                |   ‘--- word ------+--- <uval> --- <uval> ---|
                |                   |                         |
                |                   ‘--- RESet ---------------+--->
                ‘--- RESet --->

where word is any valid Section GTYPE which conforms with the Design DB.

Querying:

                   .----------.
                  /           |
Q SECTion ---+---*--- word ---+---.
             |                    |
             |--- DEFault --------|
             |                    |
             ‘--------------------+--->

Querying Examples:

Q SECT DEFAULT	Gives settings for current default range
Q SECT BEAM	Gives settings for Beams only
Q SECT BEAM STRU COL	Gives settings for the three named types of Section
Q SECT	Gives settings for any specifically-defined types plus default settings applicable to other Sections

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