The RAM Steel Column Design program automatically determines the unbraced length based on user specified criteria and the geometry of the framing at a column. Usually the unbraced length used in column design is the length of the column. There are conditions, however, where this is not the case for e.g. the situation where there are more than two columns attached to a joint and the bracing is missing in any direction.

Using the Criteria - Bracing command, the user may specify whether or not the presence of floor deck braces the column. If so, the column is considered braced regardless of the configuration of the attaching beams whenever the column is within the decked area.

The angle at which a beam is no longer considered to act as a brace for a given axis of the column is also specified using the Criteria - Bracing command. If no beams frame into a column within the specified angle of a given axis, the column is considered unbraced in that axis (unless braced by the deck).