A Sections Cut is a horizontal or vertical segment at some location in a Wall Design Group. A horizontal Section Cut may be composed of multiple segments, while a vertical Section Cut is always composed of one segment. A Section Cut is a location or station where the design is performed in the Wall Design Group: that is, where capacity and demand are evaluated and the prescriptive design code checks are calculated. Section Cuts may be created and placed either manually by the user (as discussed here), or automatically using a special feature available in the program.

The Add Manual option allows the user to draw Section Cut at locations of his or her choosing. In order to manually draw a Section Cut through a Wall Design Group, the user must first be in elevation mode. After a valid Section Cut line is drawn the dialog shown below is displayed.

The Section Cut Label may be changed by typing in the desired text. Note that labels are automatically generated with the form 'SC' + next index number. This label is how the Section Cut will be referenced in design output, summary reports, and when viewing Section Cut Labels on screen. The Offset distance represents the distance from the reference edge. The reference edge is listed on the line below the Offset Distance field. This value may be changed to attain a more precise Section Cut location than what was drawn by hand. If a horizontal Section Cut is drawn, the Include All Walls in Wall Design Group check box will be displayed. Check this to have the cut extend across all walls in the wall group. Clicking OK will keep this Section Cut. Clicking Cancel will remove this Section Cut.

Assigning a Section Cut by the manual method will delete the design results for the Wall Panel Group in which the Section Cut was Drawn. The Bar Patterns associated with all Wall Panels within the Wall Panel Group that are not frozen will be cleared, while the Bar Patterns for frozen Wall Panels, as well as Manual Reinforcement, will remain.