Problem Description

How can I use Structural sections that are not part of the dataset I'm using at the time?   For example, I am using the US Metric dataset but would like to use sections that are part of the UK dataset. 

Steps to Resolve

Section files can be loaded on-demand from any of the standard Structural discipline placement tools:

For a more permanent solution, section files are stored in the folder defined by the configuration variable TFDIR_DATA configuration variable, by default set to C:\ProgramData\Bentley\AECOsimBuildingDesigner V8i Ss6\WorkSpace\BuildingDatasets\Dataset_Name\data. You can only set one folder path for this variable at a time, but you can define the TFDIR_DATA variable within each applicable *.pcf file so that each project can determine the section files to load.

In addition, you can also use the STRUCTURAL_SHAPES configuration variable to override the default.  You can include multiple section file names to control which specific sections are available per project, by using semi-colons between section names when working directly in the Edit Configuration Variable dialog:
$(PROJ_DATASET)data\data\ProjectShapes.xml;UK.xml 

When making these changes directly within the *.pcf file using a text editor, you can simply list the section files:
STRUCTURAL_SHAPES = ProjectShapes.xml
STRUCTURAL_SHAPES > UK.xml

See Also

Creating custom Structural Sections in AECOsim