Applies To
	Product(s):	STAAD.Pro
	Version(s):	ALL
	Environment:	ALL
	Area:	Modeling Solutions
	Subarea:	Properties
	Original Author:	Sye Chakraborty, Bentley Technical Support Group

 

I want to add a new section database in STAAD.Pro for my company. Can I do that ?

 

For STAAD.Pro Connect Edition 

The section profile databases are stored as db3 files as part of the software installation within the Sections folder ( for example C:\ProgramData\Bentley\Engineering\STAAD.Pro CONNECT Edition\Sections ). You can always modify sections in existing databases or add new sections to the existing databases and that can be done from within the program itself by using the menu option Specification > Section Database from within the GUI. For doing that you do NOT need to create a new database.

 

Details on how to add a section to an existing database is available at 

(40) How to add a new section in STAAD.Pro ? - RAM | STAAD Wiki - RAM | STAAD - Bentley Communities

 

However if you still need to add completely separate database for your company, it is possible but you should keep the following points in mind.

 

To create any user defined db3, one has to copy an existing db3 for a particular country to begin with and then modify it. Creating a db3 file from scratch will never work.

In terms of modifying a db3 file, one can modify the data in the existing tables or can add new data to the existing tables but one cannot add new tables.. For example within a particular db3, one can add new sections as part of the Angle Table but one cannot add a new table like say Double Angle or Star Angle.

Once the necessary modifications are made in the db3 file, one needs to go to Configuration > Section Database > Custom Profile Table > Browse to the location of the modified db3 file and click on Import as marked in the screenshot below

Subsequently one should close out of the Configure dialog box and get back into it.

One can then use the Configuration > Section Database > and choose the appropriate database corresponding to the Country from the dropdown list and click OK ( please refer to the same picture above)

For STAAD.Pro v8i and older versions 

The section profile databases are stored as mdb files as part of the software installation within the Sections folder ( for example C:\SProV8i SS6\STAAD\Sections ). You can always modify sections in existing databases or add new sections to the existing databases and that can be done from within the program itself by using the menu option Tools > Browse/Modify Section Database from within the GUI. For doing that you do not need to create a new database.

 

Details on how to add a section to an existing database is available at 

Add a New Section to the STAAD.Pro Section Database

 

However if you still need to add completely separate database for your company, it is possible but you should keep the following points in mind.

 

To create any user defined mdb, one has to copy an existing mdb for a particular country to begin with and then modify it. Creating an mdb from scratch will never work.

In terms of modifying a mdb file, one can modify the data in the existing tables or can add new data to the existing tables but one cannot add new tables. For example within a particular mdb, one can add new sections as part of the Angle Table but cannot add a new table like say Double Angle or Star Angle.

As a final step, one can go to the Configuration > Section Profile Table dialog box and click on the row for Database Names, corresponding to the appropriate country, to identify the new User Database as the data base to be used for that country. No need to use the option Install Custom table for that.

One also needs to have read and write access to the Sections folder.

Additional references 

Details on how to convert older section database files (mdb) to the newer format (.db3) can be found here

How to  Transfer user modified Section Database files to other system can be found in this link.