The Beam Design module selects beam sizes from a Beam Design Table specified by the user. The Beam Design Tables supplied with the program contain AISC wide flange, square and rectangular hollow sections, and channel members as well as Canadian, British, and other shapes. The user also has the option of creating custom tables or modifying the existing tables. The RAM Manager manual provides information about the tables and contains instructions needed for creating and modifying tables.

A default table and an alternate table from which the Beam Design module selects shapes are specified in the Defaults Utility in the RAM Manager. Unless otherwise instructed, RAM Steel Beam Design will assign sizes to members from the default table. The alternate table can be assigned on a beam-by-beam basis within the Modeler using the Layout - Beams - Steel Tables command. If desired, different tables can be selected for a given model using the Criteria - Master Tables and Criteria - Design Steel Tables commands in the RAM Manager.