To create a profile, select ProfileCreate from the main menu bar. A Create Profile dialog box appears in which you can enter a name for the profile and select the profile type. Once you have finished entering this information, click Continue in the Create Profile dialog box to display the profile editor, which allows you to create and edit profiles.

All profile editors display a diagram of the profile shape and text fields in which you can enter all of the data necessary to define the profile. For example, the I-shaped profile editor is shown in Figure 12–4. The editor contains a diagram of the I-shaped profile and data fields in which you can enter each dimension.

Once you have created a profile, you can refer to that profile in a beam section definition. For example, a box-shaped profile named SupportBeam is selected in the beam section editor shown in Figure 12–5.

For more information on profiles, see “Defining profiles,” Section 12.2.2.