The Column Design module can produce up to three distinct designs at one time with the use of Trial Groups. "Trial Groups" refers to the grouping of shapes within the Column Design tables: for example all W14's are grouped together into a W14 group, all 16"x16" HSS sections are grouped together in the HSS16X16 group etc.

When the Column Design module designs columns, it selects sizes only from the trial groups specified by the user. Trial groups are specified using the Criteria - Trial Group Defaults command. Separate trial groups are set for standard columns and for hanging columns. For design, sizes from the trial group that result in the lightest design for the column line are selected as “optimum” sizes.