Selecting the Assign > Column > K-Factor or Effective Length command causes the Assign K Factor (ASD 9th, LRFD 3rd, Canada, and IS 800-07) or Effective Length Factor (Eurocode, AS4100 and BS5950) dialog box to be displayed. From this dialog the engineer can override, on a member-by-member basis, the global effective length factors specified in the Criteria-K Factor/Effective Length Factors dialog. Select the appropriate values from the dialog. Refer to Criteria-K Factor/Effective Length Factor section for more information on the various options. The engineer can choose to override the global criteria in one or both axes of the member. The criteria are applied to the column’s local axes.

After the appropriate values are specified the engineer can assign the criteria to a single member (click on Single), to multiple members (click on Fence) or to all members (click on All). If Single is clicked the dialog will close and a target cursor will be made available. Click on each section to apply the criteria to. If Fence is clicked the dialog will close and a fence cursor will be made available. Click and drag a rectangle around all the sections to apply the criteria to. Note that the criteria are only assigned to steel columns. To return to the dialog to select a different effective length criteria click on the right mouse button.

To view which member axes are using the global criteria and which have been overridden select the appropriate option from the View > Members dialog.