Choosing Smartbeam from the Material menu puts you into "Smartbeam Mode". This means that all members modeled after entering Smartbeam Mode will be modeled as Smartbeams until the material is changed. If columns are modeled in Smartbeam Mode, they are considered to be steel columns.

To change the properties of a Smartbeam member you must first be in Smartbeam Mode.

You will notice that choosing Smartbeam from the Material menu has an effect on the Layout menu. Several of the commands under the layout menu are material dependent.