Synchronet BBS - Multinode Bulletin Board Software

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[17.1] - Customization: Menus and Text Files

One of the easiest and possibly the most obvious ways to customize or
personalize your BBS is to change the look of the menus. Menus are merely ASCII
text files (with optional ctrl-a codes or ANSI escape sequences) stored in the
TEXT\MENU directory. The filenames are descriptive of the menu subject and
the extensions represent the content of the file. The possible extensions and
their meanings are:

RIP     Contains RIPscrip escape sequences for use with RIPterm
WIP     Contains WIP escape sequences for use with DC-Term
ANS     Contains ANSI escape sequences suitable for color display
MON     Contains ANSI escape sequences suitable for monochrome display
ASC     Contains no ANSI

All of the above file types can contain ctrl-a codes, and only the ASC file
must exist. If a user has color ANSI, the ANS file will be displayed; if it
doesn't exist the ASC file will be displayed. If a user has monochrome ANSI,
the MON file will be displayed; if it doesn't exist the ANS file will be
displayed; and if it doesn't exist the ASC file is then displayed.

A user without ANSI will always be displayed the ASC file.

To edit files with ANSI escape sequences, it is usually preferable to use a
utility designed for such a task. TheDraw is quite popular for this use.

To edit files with ctrl-a codes, you can use any editor that allows the input
of ctrl characters, but you won't see the attributes till you view the file
within Synchronet. You can, however, use the Synchronet internal editor (;EDIT
from the main menu) and it will display the attributes as you edit the file.
The Synchronet editor limits the line length to 79 characters which may not be
sufficient for lines with multiple ctrl-a codes.

The best way to edit files with Ctrl-A codes is to first convert them to ANSI
with MSG2ANS.EXE (see the Utility reference for more information). Then edit
with an ANSI editor (such as TheDraw). Then convert back to Ctrl-A format
using ANS2MSG.EXE (see the Utility reference for more information).


Menu Files	Description
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALLMAIL         Sysop's reading all mail on system menus
ATTR            Ctrl-A code menu for use within the Synchronet internal editor
BATCHXFR        Batch transfer menu
BATDPROT        Batch download transfer protocols
BATFLAG         Batch flag command key menu
BATUPROT        Batch upload transfer protocols
BIPROT          Bidirectional transfer protocols
CHAT            Chat section menu
DLPROT          Download transfer protocols
E-MAIL          E-mail section menu
EDITOR          Synchronet internal editor commands and line editing keys
EXEMPT          Exemption flag descriptions for use within User Edit
FLAGS1          Flag set #1 descriptions for use within User Edit
FLAGS2          Flag set #2 descriptions for use within User Edit
FLAGS3          Flag set #3 descriptions for use within User Edit
FLAGS4          Flag set #4 descriptions for use within User Edit
LOGOFF          Logoff ('O' command) screen
LOGON           Logon screen (LOGON2, LOGON3, ... LOGON9 also supported)
MAILREAD        Reading mail menu
MAIN            Main section menu
MAINCFG         Main configuration menu
MAININFO        Main information menu
MSGSCAN         Message reading/scanning menu
MULTCHAT        Multinode chat menu
PRIVCHAT        Private node-to-node chat menu
QWK             QWK Packet menu
RESTRICT        Restriction flag descriptions for use within User Edit
SENTMAIL        Reading sent mail menu
SYSMAILR        Sysop additional commands while reading mail
SYSMAIN         Sysop additional commands for main section
SYSMSCAN        Sysop additional commands while message reading/scanning
SYSSMAIL        Sysop additional commands while reading sent mail
SYSXFER         Sysop additional commands for transfer section
TEMPXFER        Temporary directory commands menu
TRANSFER        Transfer section menu
UEDIT           User Edit menu
ULPROT          Upload transfer protocols
WFC             Waiting for call menu
XFERCFG         Transfer section configuration menu
XFERINFO        Transfer section information menu


Optional Menus

The following files must be created in the TEXT\MENU directory if you wish to
use them.

GRPS            Message Group listing
SUBSx           Message Sub-board listing, 'x' is the group number
LIBS            File Library listing
DIRSx           File Directory listing, 'x' is the library number
XTRN_SEC        External Program Sections
XTRNx           External Program listing, 'x' is the section number
TEXT_SEC        Text File Section listing
TEXTx           Text File listing, 'x' is the text file section number
CHAN            Multinode Chat Channels
TMESSAGE        Displays when the user enters the transfer section
TPOLICY         Transfer policy (&T transfer section command)

Other Optional Message Files

If you want to have an information file displayed for sub-boards when using
the 'I' scanning command and 'IS' main menu command, create a file for the
sub-board in the DATA\SUBS directory using the internal code for that sub-board
as the name and .MSG as the extension. Example:

DATA\SUBS\GENERAL.MSG

If you want to create in information file for file directories to be displayed
with the 'ID' transfer section command, create a file for the directory in
the DATA\DIRS directory using the internal code as the name and .MSG as the
extension. Example:

DATA\DIRS\GAMES.MSG

If you want to create a custom file listing header for a file directory, create
a file in the DATA\DIRS directory using the internal code as the name and .HDR
as the extension. Example:

DATA\DIRS\GAMES.HDR

Colors

To modify some of colors of the BBS you can edit the ATTR.CFG file which is
located in the CTRL directory. The file contains one color per line and is
commented as to the use of the color. The colors are represented with ctrl-a
code attribute letters/numbers. The number of colors you can change with this
method is very small.

Text Files

There are some text files that are displayed to users at different points
in the system. The locations and descriptions follow (* indicates optional):

TEXT\ANSWER.ANS         Answer message for ANSI users
TEXT\ANSWER.ASC         Answer message for non-ANSI users
TEXT\ANSWER.RIP         Answer message for RIP users
TEXT\SYSTEM.MSG         Description of the system and its configuration
TEXT\NEWUSER.MSG        Displayed to new users (usually system rules)
TEXT\FEEDBACK.MSG       Displayed before new users write validation feedback
TEXT\NUPGUESS.MSG      *Displayed to callers attempting to guess the NUP (after
                        failing to guess correctly)
TEXT\TOOSLOW.MSG       *Displayed to users logging onto a node at less than the
                        minumum configured connect rate for that node
TEXT\BADCID.MSG        *Displayed to users calling from a number contained in
                        CID.CAN
TEXT\BADNAME.MSG       *Displayed to new users trying to use a name contained
                        in NAME.CAN
TEXT\BADPHONE.MSG      *Displayed to new users using a number contained in
                        PHONE.CAN
TEXT\BADFILE.MSG       *Displayed to user trying to upload filename contained
                        in FILE.CAN
TEXT\QWK\HELLO         *Included in QWK packets
TEXT\QWK\BBSNEWS       *Included in QWK packets
TEXT\QWK\BLT-0.?       *Included in QWK packets (? must be number)

Logon Message Flow Chart

Displayed filenames are in upper case.

(Note: LOGON*.* are not displayed for local logons)

ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º TEXT\ANSWER.* º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ Logon Prompt ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
  ÚÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
  ³ New User? ÃÄ´ Yes ÃĶ TEXT\SBBS.MSG ÇĶ TEXT\SYSTEM.MSG º
  ÀÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
     ÚÄÄÁÄ¿                               ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
     ³ No ³                               º TEXT\NEWUSER.MSG º
     ÀÄÄÂÄÙ                               ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
        ³                                ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
        ³                                ³ Password Selection ³
        ³                                ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
        ³                               ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
        ³                               ³ Default Configuration ³
        ³                               ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
        ³  ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
        ³  º TEXT\FEEDBACK.MSG ÇÄ´ Yes ÃÄ´ Feedback Required? ³
        ³  ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
        ³    ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿                  ÚÄÄÁÄ¿
        ³    ³ Send Feedback ³                  ³ No ³
        ³    ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ                  ÀÄÄÂÄÙ
        ³  ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿                   ³
        ³  ³ New User Event(s) ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
        ³  ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
        ³  ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
        ÀÄĶ TEXT\MENU\LOGON.* º
           ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
          ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
          º TEXT\MENU\LOGON2.* º
          ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
          ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
          º TEXT\MENU\LOGON3.* º
          ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
                    ...

          ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
          º TEXT\MENU\LOGON9.* º
          ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
            ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
            ³ Logon Event(s) ³
            ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

[17.1.1] - Text/Colors

Virtually all the text and color that the BBS displays is stored in the file
TEXT.DAT in the CTRL directory. The syntax of this file is VERY specific and
extreme caution should be taken when editing it. Knowledge of the C language
would be very helpful in producing the desired results. If all you want to
do is change colors of a certain text line, take care not to disturb the
arrangement of the other characters on the line. Ctrl-a codes can be preceded
by an embedded ctrl-a character (usually a black happy face) or by a '\1' 
(the printf() equivalent of ctrl-a).

The syntax of the characters between the double quotations is identical to 
the C language printf() format string with one exception: \xxx where x are
digits (0-9) represents a decimal number, not an octal number. The range is
0 to 255. If you wish to set a background color using \1 for the ctrl-a code, 
you may need to pad the attribute number with zeros. For example; to set the 
background to blue, you might try to use the sequence "\14" which won't work.
You could either embed the actual ctrl-a character (which is preferred) or
use "\0014".

Some of the strings have characters preceded by a tilde ('~'). These strings
are referred to as mnemonics. The tilde precedes a character that is to be
highlighted for users supporting ANSI and enclosed in parenthesis for non-ANSI
users. Usually used for prompt strings that contain the valid key commands.
The colors to use for the highlighted characters, normal characters, and the
command character are specified in the CTRL\ATTR.CFG file.

The order of the % specifiers (if they exist) in a TEXT.DAT line cannot be
altered. The display of %s specifiers can be suppressed by changing the '%s' to
'%.0s'. Another way to suppress the display of specifiers is to enclose them
between Ctrl-A( and Ctrl-A). Any text between Ctrl-A( and Ctrl-A) would only
be displayed to users of level 90 or higher. To suppress the display to all
users, put the text/specifiers between Ctrl-ACtrl-Z and Ctrl-A) (assuming
that the Z flag from flag set #1 is not set on any user accounts).

** WARNING **
Make a backup of the TEXT.DAT file before you edit it. If you damage the file
syntax when editing it, Synchronet may execute erroneously or even fail to
initialize.

[17.1.2] - Node Action Text

The node action text can be over-ridden by editing the NodeAction lines in
the TEXT.DAT file (see previous section for details on TEXT.DAT). The node
action text is what is displayed on the node status line when a node is in
use. (i.e. instead of "Node  1: So-and-so uploading at 14400bps", you could
make it say whatever you like).

You can also include the following optional specifiers (in this order):

%s	User's name or alias
%u	User's security level
%u	User's age
%c	User's sex (gender, M or F)
%s	User's computer type
%s	User's note
%s	Date user was first online
%u	Auxiliary value (chat channel, door number, paged node, etc)
%u	Connection rate (in bps)

If you include any of the above specifiers, you must also include any of the
specifiers above it. The order of the specifiers cannot be changed. If you
wish to suppress the display of a %s specifier, use "%.0s" instead of "%s".
To suppress other specifiers, see the previous section for details.

[17.1.3] - Trash Can Files

Trash can files are used to be able to reject text during certain sequences on
the BBS.  For example, if you don't want a user to be able to log on with a
certain name or use a certain phone number, you would place the information you
don't want them to use into the appropriate trash can file.  Synchronet looks
for trash can files in the \SBBS\TEXT directory, certain ones may already
exist, others will need to be created if you wish to use them.	The names of
the various trash can files and their function are as follows:

TEXT\CID.CAN	You MUST have caller ID capabilities in your area (as well as a
		modem which can support those capabilities) in order to use
		this file.  When a call comes in to the BBS who's caller ID
		phone number matches a phone number in this file, the call will
		be rejected.

TEXT\NAME.CAN	When a user attempts to use a name contained in this file as
		the name for their user account, they will be told that s/he
		cannot use that name.
		If the file TEXT\BADNAME.MSG exists, this will be displayed to
		the user.

TEXT\FILE.CAN	When a user uploads a file to the transfer section who's
		filename matches one of the names contained in this file, the
		user will be told that s/he cannot upload the file.
		If the file TEXT\BADFILE.MSG exists, this will be displayed to
		the user.

TEXT\PHONE.CAN	When a user attempts to use a phone number contained in this
		file as a phone number for their user account, they will be
		told that s/he cannot use that phone number.  This file can
		also be used by the Synchronet Callback Verifier program.
		If the file TEXT\BADPHONE.MSG exists, this will be displayed to
		the user.

The trash can files also allow special key characters to be used within them,
the tilde '~' character means "contained within" the carrot '^' character
means "beginning with", the '!' character means "negate the match logic"e;
and the '*' character means "e;begins with or ends with" depending on the position
in the line.  For example:

sysop	in the name.can would mean users could not use the name "sysop".

sysop^ or sysop*	would mean users could not use names beginning with the word "sysop",
	like "sysopa" or "sysops" etc.

*sysop or sysop*	would mean users could not use names ending with the word "sysop",
	like "thesysop" or "your_sysop" etc.

sysop~	would mean users could not use names that have the word "sysop"
	anywhere in them, like "imthesysop" or "mesysophere".

!sysop~	would mean users must use names that have the word "sysop"
	anywhere in them, like "imthesysop" or "mesysophere".

These key characters can be used in any of the trash can files.

[17.2] - Customization: Message Variables

Using Message Variables

Message Variables (also called @-Codes) are a way to customize text files in
Synchronet to display information about the user online or the BBS.
If Synchronet encounters an @-Code in a text file (i.e.: TEXT.DAT, menus, etc.),
it will replace the @-Code in the file with the information that it corresponds
with. @-Codes in e-mail messages and posts will only be expanded if they were
posted locally (not networked) by user #1. TEXT.DAT lines that have %
specifiers will not expand @-Codes unless the % specifiers are removed.

For example, placing the following line in a text file displayed to a user
named Fred Jones living on 100 Maple Street:

	Hi @ALIAS@, you live at @ADDR1@ don't you?

Would result in the user seeing:

	Hi Fred Jones, you live at 100 Maple Street don't you?

It's that simple.  The following is a list of the @-Codes that Synchronet will
recognize. Remember that the Code NAME must begin and end with an @ symbol.
The two columns after the description of the @-Code show which other BBS
programs also support that @-Code (either PCBoard or Wildcat).

The @-Codes with "[...]" following the name indicate that you can have the
variable displayed with padding. If the @-Code name ends in "-L" the variable
will be left justified and "-R" indicates it will be right justified. If for
example, the user's name is Bob, the text string "___@NAME-L@___" would display
to the user as "___Bob     ___" and the text string "___@NAME-R@___" would
display to as "___     Bob___". If you want the string to be padded longer, you
can add extra characters to the end of the @-Code name and before the
terminating '@' sign. So for example, "___@NAME-L#####@___" would display as
"___Bob          ___" (the "___" segments of the above text examples are only
to demonstrate where the padding begins and ends).

*** Synchronet Supported @-Codes ***
( * Indicates Synchronet specific )

Note: All codes must be uppercase and sandwiched between @ symbols
      (e.g. @USER@).
System Information
Code            Description                                             Ver
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBS             Name of BBS					
BOARDNAME       Name of BBS					
CONF            Name of current Group and Sub-board		
CONFNUM         Number of current Group and Sub-board		
CONN            Connection description (modem type, "Telnet", "Local")  2.3c
DATE            Current system date				
DIR             Current file directory short description	
DIR-L[...]      " " padded and left justified                   
DIR-R[...]      " " padded and right justified                  
DIRL            Current file directory long description 	
DIRL-L[...]     " " padded and left justified                   
DIRL-R[...]     " " padded and right justified                  
DN              Number of current file directory		
DL              " " padded and left justified (4 chars wide)    
DR              " " padded and right justified (4 chars wide)   
FIDOADDR        System's primary FidoNet address                        2.3c
FREESPACE       Free disk space available for uploads		
GRP             Current message group short description 	
GRP-L[...]      " " padded and left justified                   
GRP-R[...]      " " padded and right justified                  
GRPL            Current message group long description		
GRPL-L[...]     " " padded and left justified                   
GRPL-R[...]     " " padded and right justified                  
GN              Number of current message group 		
GL              " " padded and left justified (4 chars wide)    
GR              " " padded and right justified (4 chars wide)   
INETADDR        System's Internet Address (as configured in SCFG)       2.3c
LASTCALLERNODE  Name of user last on this node			
LASTCALLERSYSTEM <same as LASTCALLERNODE>
LIB             Current file library short description		
LIB-L[...]      " " padded and left justified                   
LIB-R[...]      " " padded and right justified                  
LIBL            Current file library long description		
LIBL-L[...]     " " padded and left justified                   
LIBL-R[...]     " " padded and right justified                  
LN              Number of current file library			
LL              " " padded and left justified (4 chars wide)    
LR              " " padded and right justified (4 chars wide)   
LOCAL-IP        System's IP address                                     3.0b
LOCATION        System location (city, state)                           2.3c
NOACCESS        Why user was denied access (last false ARS)	
NODE            Number of current node				
NODE###         Status of node number ###			
NUMCALLS        <same as STATS.LOGONS>				
NUMDIR          Number of current library and directory 	
PREVON          <same as LASTCALLERNODE>			
QUESTION        Current Yes/No question (for TEXT\MENU\YESNO.*) 
QWKID           System's QWK BBS-ID                                     2.3c
REV             Software revision (single letter)
STATS.LOGONS    Total logons during history of system                   3.0b
STATS.LTODAY    Total logons today                                      3.0b
STATS.TIMEON    Total time used during history of system (in minutes)   3.0b
STATS.TTODAY    Total time used today (in minutes)                      3.0b
STATS.ULS       Total uploads today                                     3.0b
STATS.ULB       Total bytes uploaded today                              3.0b
STATS.DLS       Total download today                                    3.0b
STATS.DLB       Total bytes downloaded today                            3.0b
STATS.PTODAY    Total posts today                                       3.0b
STATS.ETODAY    Total e-mails sent today                                3.0b
STATS.FTODAY    Total feedbacks sent today                              3.0b
STATS.NUSERS    Total number of new users today                         3.0b
SUB             Current message sub-board short description	
SUB-L[...]      " " padded and left justified                   
SUB-R[...]      " " padded and right justified                  
SUBL            Current message sub-board long description	
SUBL-L[...]     " " padded and left justified                   
SUBL-R[...]     " " padded and right justified                  
SN              Number of current message sub-board		
SL              " " padded and left justified (4 chars wide)    
SR              " " padded and right justified (4 chars wide)   
SYSDATE         Current system date
SYSOP           Name of System Operator 			
SYSTIME         Current system time					
TCALLS          Total number of logons for system		
TFILE           Total number of files on system
TIME            Current system time
TMSG            Total number of messages on system
TNODE           Total number of nodes on system
TUSER           Total number of user slots on system
VER             BBS version number
WHO             Display status of all active nodes
User Information

Code            Description                                             Ver
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADDR1           User's street address                 	        
ALIAS           User's name or alias                            
BAUD            User's connect rate (DCE) in bps                
BDATE           User's birthdate (MM/DD/YY)                     
BPS             <same as BAUD>					
BYTELIMIT       User's free credits per day                     
BYTESLEFT       User's total credits                            
CALLS           Total number of logons for user 		
CID             Caller's Caller-ID info or IP address                   2.3c
CITY            User's city                                     
COMPANY         User's company name or real name                
CPU             User's computer type (v2.x) or hostname (v3.x)
DATA            <same as PHONE> 				
DATAPHONE       <same as PHONE> 				
DAYBYTES        Number of free credits used today by user	
DLBYTES         Total bytes downloaded by user			
DLFILES         Total files downloaded by user			
DLKLIMIT        User's total credits (in kilobytes)             
DOWNK           Total kilobytes downloaded by user		
DOWNS           <same as DLFILES>				
EXDATE          User's expiration date (MM/DD/YY)               
EXPDATE         <same as EXDATE>				
EXPDAYS         Days left before user expires
FIRST           User's first name/alias                         
FIRSTREAL       User's first real/company name                  
FROM            User's location (City, State)                   
HANDLE          User's chat handle                              
HOMEPHONE       <same as PHONE> 				
HOST            <same as CPU>                                           2.3c
IP              <same as CID>                                           2.3c
KBLEFT          User's total credits (in kilobytes)             
KBLIMIT         User's free credits per day (in kilobytes)      
LAST            User's last name (alias)                        
LASTDATEON      Date of user's last logon (MM/DD/YY)            
LASTNEW         Date of user's last new file scan (MM/DD/YY)    
LASTON          Date and time of user's last logon              
LASTTIMEON      Time of user's last logon (HH:MM am)
LASTREAL        User's last real/company name                   
LEFT            <same as MINLEFT>
MAILW           Number of mail messages waiting for current user
MAILW:x	        Number of mail messages waiting for current user #x
MAILP           Number of pending mail messages sent by current user
MAILP:x         Number of pending mail messages sent by current user #x
MAXDK           <same as KBLIMIT>				
MEMO            Date of user's last password modification       
MEMO1           User's note                                     
MEMO2           <same as COMPANY>				
MINLEFT         User's time left in minutes				
MSGLEFT         Total number of messages posted by user 	
MSGREAD         Number of messages read by user this call	
MSGSLEFT        <same as MSGLEFT>					
NAME            User's name or alias                            
NAME-L[...]     User's name (padded and left justified)         
NAME-R[...]     User's name (padded and right justified)        
NEWFILETIME     Date and time of user's last new file scan
NUMTIMESON      <same as CALLS> 				
PHONE           User's phone number (###-###-####)              
REAL            User's real first name                          
SEC             User's security level                           
SECURITY        <same as SEC>					
SINCE           Date of user's first call (MM/DD/YY)            
STATE           User's state (from location)                    
TIMELEFT        <same as MINLEFT>				
TIMELIMIT       Maximum time per call in minutes		
TIMEON          Time used this call in minutes			
TIMEUSED        <same as TIMEON>				
TLEFT           Time left (H:MM:SS)				
TPERC           Time allowed per call (H:MM:SS) 		
TPERD           Time allowed per day (H:MM:SS)			
TUSED           Time used this call (H:MM:SS)			
UPBYTES         Total bytes uploaded by user			
UPFILES         Total files uploaded by user			
UPK             Total kilobytes uploaded by user		
UPS             <same as UPFILES>				
USER            User's name or alias (same as ALIAS)            
ZIP             User's zip/postal code                          
Display

Code            Description                                             Ver
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
AUTOMORE        Toggle automatic pausing			
BEEP            Generate a beep 				
BELL            <same as BEEP>					
CLS             Clear screen					
CRLF            Carriage return/line-feed pair                          3.0b
MENU:filename   Display a menu file (from TEXT\MENU directory)
MSGREPLY        Command key to reply to last message                    3.0b
MSGREREAD       Command key used to re-read last message                3.0b
NOPAUSE	        <Same as POFF>
MORE            <same as PAUSE> 				
PAUSE           Immediately produces a [Hit a key] prompt	
PON             Toggles automatic screen pause for everyone
POFF            Toggles automatic screen pause for everyone
TYPE:filename   Display a specific filename
UP              Move cursor up one row                  (ANSI)          3.0b
UP:n            Move cursor up n rows                   (ANSI)          3.0b
DOWN            Move cursor down one row                (ANSI)          3.0b
DOWN:n          Move cursor down n rows                 (ANSI)          3.0b
RIGHT           Move cursor right one column            (ANSI)          3.0b
RIGHT:n         Move cursor right n columns             (ANSI)          3.0b
LEFT            Move cursor left one column             (ANSI)          3.0b
LEFT:n          Move cursor left n columns              (ANSI)          3.0b
GOTOXY:x,y      Move cursor to x/y (1-based)            (ANSI)          3.0b
PUSHXY          Save current cursor position            (ANSI)          3.0b
POPXY           Restore saved cursor position           (ANSI)          3.0b
Miscellaneous
There a few special Synchronet specific @-Codes which require a parameter
(following the colon and before the terminating @ symbol):
Code            Description                                             
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
HANGUP          Immediately disconnect user			
SETSTR:STR      Sets the current Baja command string to STR
EXEC:MODNAME    Execute a loadable (Baja) module, EXEC\MODNAME.BIN
TYPE:FILENAME   Display a specific filename (must specify path and file ext.)
MENU:FILENAME   Display a menu file (from TEXT\MENU with automatic file ext.)

Synchronet command line specifiers may be used in the FILENAME parameter to
the TYPE: @-Code allowing symbolic replacment for specific Synchronet
directories (%!, %z, %k, %j, etc).

Examples:

@EXEC:MYMOD@
@TYPE:%zSYSTEM.MSG@
@MENU:YESNO@

[17.3] - Customization: Message Color Codes

Synchronet supports six different Color Code formats.  When Synchronet
encounters one of these Color Codes in a message, it changes the text following
the Color Code to the specified color.	Support of the formats which are not
native to Synchronet (WWIV, Celerity, Renegade, PCBoard, and Wildcat) can be
toggled on and off from the Synchronet Configuration utility (System->Message
Options->Extra Attribute Codes). The non-Synchronet color codes (Extra
Attribute Codes) only affect the text that is displayed on the SAME LINE.  When
using Synchronet color codes, the new color is retained from line to line until
another color code is processed or the end of the text is reached.

Synchronet Format

The native Synchronet Color Code format (preferred) consists of a Control-A
followed by a singe character.	The following is a list of valid Control-A
Color Codes:

	Foreground	Background
	----------	----------
Black       K		    0
Red         R		    1
Green       G		    2
Yellow      Y		    3
Blue        B		    4
Magenta     M		    5
Cyan        C		    6
White       W		    7

	Attribute	Description
	---------	-----------
High        H		High Intensity
Blink       I		Blinking
Normal      N		No Special Attributes (Normal)
Pause       P		Insert a Pause Prompt into message
Pause Reset Q		Reset the line counter for the auto screen-pause
Delay       ,		Insert a Tenth Second Delay into message
Delay       ;		Insert a Half Second Delay into message
Delay       .		Insert a Two Second Delay into message
Date        D		Display the system date
Time        T		Display the system time
Cls         L		Insert a Form Feed (Ctrl-L, Clear Screen) into message
Clreol      >		Clear to End of Line (leave cursor in current position)
Bckspc      <		Non-destructive backspace (Ctrl-H)
CR          [		Carriage return (Ctrl-M)
LF          ]		Line feed (Ctrl-J)
Ctrl-A      A		Send an actual Ctrl-A character
Sync        S		Synchronize output with remote system
EOF         Z		End of displayable text in this file

Normal      -		Same as 'N' but only sends ANSI codes if the
         (minus)        High Intensity, Blinking, or Background attribute is
			set.

Normal      _		Same as 'N' but only sends ANSI codes if the
       (underscore)     Blinking or Background attribute is set.

Synchronet also supports Special Control-A codes used to hide text from users
not meeting certain criteria (i.e.: Security Level or Flags from Flag Set #1).
The following is a list of Special Control-A codes, and a brief description
of each code's usage:

Code		Description
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
^A thru ^Z	Only display the following text to users with the corresponding
		flag A through Z turned on (from Flag Set #1).

 !		Toggle the text display off/on for users of less than level 10.
 @		"                                                         " 20.
 #		"                                                         " 30.
 $		"                                                         " 40.
 %		"                                                         " 50.
 ^		"                                                         " 60.
 &		"                                                         " 70.
 *		"                                                         " 80.
 (		"                                                         " 90.
 )		Restore the displaying of text to ALL users.

 "<filename>    Display contents of <filename> (from your TEXT directory) 

High Bit	(greater than ASCII 127) Used for cursor right positioning.

WWIV Format

Synchronet also supports Color Codes which are native to WWIV BBS software.
These codes consist of a Control-C followed by a number (0 through 7):

Code		Color
----		-----
 0		Normal
 1		High Intensity Cyan
 2		High Intensity Yellow
 3		Normal Magenta
 4		High Intensity White with Blue Background
 5		Normal Green
 6		High Intensity Blinking Red
 7		High Intensity Blue
 8		Low Intensity Blue
 9		Low Intensity Cyan

Celerity Format

Synchronet also supports Color Codes which are native to Celerity BBS software.
These codes consist of a pipe symbol '|' followed by a letter (case sensitive):

Code		Color (foreground)
----		------------------
 k		Normal Black
 b		Normal Blue
 g		Normal Green
 c		Normal Cyan
 r		Normal Red
 m		Normal Magenta
 y		Brown
 w		Normal White
 d		High Intensity Black
 B		High Intensity Blue
 G		High Intensity Green
 C		High Intensity Cyan
 R		High Intensity Red
 M		High Intensity Magenta
 Y		Yellow
 W		High Intensity White
 S	      * Swap foreground and background

Example: "|b|S|W" would set the current color to high intensity white on a
	 blue background.

Note:	 Due to conflicting escape sequences (namely, the pipe character),
	 Celerity color codes are not supported when using RIP terminal mode.

Renegade Format

Synchronet also supports Color Codes which are native to Renegade BBS software.
These codes consist of a pipe symbol '|' followed by a number (0-23):

Code		Color
----		-----
 0		Normal Black
 1		Normal Blue
 2		Normal Green
 3		Normal Cyan
 4		Normal Red
 5		Normal Magenta
 6		Brown
 7		Normal White
 8		High Intensity Black
 9		High Intensity Blue
 10		High Intensity Green
 11		High Intensity Cyan
 12		High Intensity Red
 13		High Intensity Magenta
 14		Yellow
 15		High Intensity White
 16		Background Black
 17		Background Blue
 18		Background Green
 19		Background Cyan
 20		Background Red
 21		Background Magenta
 22		Background Brown
 23		Background White

Example: "|15|17" would set the current color to high intensity white on a
	 blue background.

Note:	 Due to conflicting escape sequences (namely, the pipe character),
	 Renegade color codes are not supported when using RIP terminal mode.

PCBoard/Wildcat Format

Two of the Color Code formats which Synchronet supports (PCBoard and Wildcat)
use similar, yet cryptic, methods of displaying colors.  The PCBoard method
uses the format "@X<Background><Foreground>", and Wildcat uses the format
"@<Background><Foreground>@".  The following is a list of the Background and
Foreground choices available:

<Background>    Color   Attribute       <Foreground>    Color   Attribute
------------    -----   ---------       ------------    -----   ---------
      0         Black   Normal                0         Black   Normal
      1         Blue      "                   1         Blue      "
      2         Green     "                   2         Green     "
      3         Cyan      "                   3         Cyan      "
      4         Red       "                   4         Red       "
      5         Magenta   "                   5         Magenta   "
      6         Brown     "                   6         Brown     "
      7         White     "                   7         White     "
      8         Black   Blinks Foreground     8         Black   High Intensity
      9         Blue      "                   9         Blue      "
      A         Green     "                   A         Green     "
      B         Cyan      "                   B         Cyan      "
      C         Red       "                   C         Red       "
      D         Magenta   "                   D         Magenta   "
      E         Brown     "                   E         Yellow    "
      F         White     "                   F         White     "

Example: "@1F@" in Wildcat format and "@X1F" in PCBoard format would set the
	 current color to high intensity white on a blue background.

[17.4] - SIF Questionnaire File

An automatic new user SIF questionnaire can be specified in SCFG->System.
If a newuser SIF is specified, all users who logon and don't have a copy of
the answered questionnaire data in their user file will be given the
questionnaire upon logon. The sysop can view the answered questionnaire from
User Edit with the '#' command. For convenience, the sysop can create a second
(abbreviated) SIF file for his own use in viewing user's answers. The two SIF
files (input and output) should be identical with the exception of what is
in the 'text' portion.

format:

<STX>text<ETX>mode[mod][l][r][x][.n]["str"]

element descriptions:

STX     is the ASCII code for start of text (ASCII 2 / Ctrl-B)
ETX     is the ASCII code for end of text   (ASCII 3 / Ctrl-C)

text    is any number of ASCII characters - Synchronet Ctrl-A codes supported

mode    text input mode desired for this field. Possible mode values are:
                c       single character
                s       string of characters

mod     optional mode modifier. Possible mode modifiers are:
                n       numeric characters only
                u       input converted to uppercase
                f       forced word capitalization ('s' mode only)

l       input line will be displayed (inverse bar of maximum input length)

r       a carriage return / line feed pair will be appended to this field
        in the data buffer. Only use this field if you want the data buffer
        or file to be more readable. All data is on one line otherwise.

x       maximum string length allowed (required for non-template 's' mode)

n       minimum string length allowed (only applicable with 's' input mode)


str  1: in 's' modes, a template string that defines what will be displayed
        at the prompt and what type of characters the user can input. All
        characters other than 'N', 'A' or '!' are printed at the prompt.
        Occurances of 'N', 'A' or '!' define which type of character the user
        can input for each character position. 'N' allows the user only to
        enter a numeric character, 'A' allows only alphabetic, and '!' allows
        any character. Popular templates are "NNN-NNN-NNNN" for phone number
        input or "NN/NN/NN" for date input.

     2: in 'c' modes, a string that defines which characters the user will
        be allowed to input (not case sensitive), usually used for multiple
        choice answers. Most common allowed characters are "ABCD..." or
        "1234...". If this string is specified in 'c' input mode, 'u' and 'n'
        have no effect and input will be converted to uppercase automatically.
                                   
Example 1:
<BOT>
Enter string: <EOT>sulr8.3
Prints the prompt, "Enter string: ", then a line of 8 blue spaces
(an input bar, if you like), would convert all of user's input to uppercase,
allow the user to input a maximum of eight characters, a minimum of three and
append a CRLF onto the end of the data field.

Example 2:
<BOT>
A> First Answer
B> Second Answer
C> Third Answer
Which: <EOT>c"ABC"
Prints "A> First Answer" "B> Second Answer" etc... then allows the
user to input one character, either A,B, or C. No other characters will be
accepted as input.

Example 3:
<BOT>
Enter phone number: <EOT>s"NNN-NNN-NNNN"
Prints "Enter phone number: ", then allows the user to input only
numbers in the 'N' character positions, and automatically skips over the
'-' characters.


See EXAMPLE.SIF in the SBBS\TEXT directory for more information.

[17.5] - GURU.DAT

The Synchronet Guru is an artificial intelligence engine that users can chat
with for entertainment or educational purposes. You may wish to fool the users
into believing the guru is a live human, or tell them up-front that it's just
a program.

You may have up to 500 different guru available to chat with on your BBS,
each with its own "personality" and "intelligence". You add additional gurus
in SCFG->Chat Options->Artificial Gurus. You can specify access requirements
(see the ARS chapter for details) for each guru, allowing you to have specific
gurus for different groups of users or allow users to choose which guru they
want to chat with.

The gurus of your BBS can be "taught" to respond to keywords and phrasing that
your users use when chatting with him. The default guru's "brain" is a file
named GURU.DAT that is kept in the CTRL directory. It is a special data file
that contains logic expressions and lists of responses. Before you edit the
GURU.DAT file, be sure you understand exactly what you are doing, as the neuro
system that interprets the GURU.DAT file does not handle syntax errors very
well. The basic structure of the GURU.DAT is as follows:

(expression)
response
response
(expression)
response
response
()
response
response
response

You may include as many Expression/Response sets as you like, as long as 
the file size does not exceed 64k or the amount of available memory.
Each expression contains one or more string of characters that The Guru may
respond to and logic operators. The string must be in all uppercase and may
not contain the following characters: ~^|&()

If the expression just contains one string (e.g. (HELLO)) and that string is
used in the users input, The Guru will pick a random response from the list
that follows that expression. The Guru will only use one response for each
line input by the user, so as soon as a "true" expression is encountered, a
response is made and the evaluation of the user's line is complete.

All expressions are evaluated from the top of the file down, so if a true
expression is encountered toward the top of the file, all of the remaining
expressions are ignored until the next evaluation. Notice that the last set of
responses is preceded by a pair of empty parenthesis. This is an "always true"
expression and should always be the last expression in the file. Omitting this
fall-through expression is a syntax error. If all the previous expressions are
evaluated as false, then a response will be picked from the set following the
fall-through expression.

The simplest form of an expression is just a string of uppercase letters (with
or without spaces). If the string is followed by a tilde '~', the string will
be evaluated as true even if the string is embedded in another string (e.g. if
the user types "XhelloX", an expression of (HELLO) would evaluate as false, but
an expression of (HELLO~) would evaluate as true).

You can also specify that the string must be the beginning of the users input
line by following the string with a caret '^'symbol (e.g. if the user types
"I said, Hello!", an expression of (HELLO) would evaluate to true, but an
expression of (HELLO^) would be false).

An expression can contain multiple strings connected with logic symbols. The
valid logic symbols are & (and) and | (or) (e.g. if you have the expression
(HELLO&GURU) the user must type both "hello" and "guru" in the input line in
order for the expression to be true. If you have the expression (HELLO|HI), it
will be evaluated as true if the users includes either "hello" or "hi" in his
input string). Nested evaluations are supported (e.g. the expression,
(GURU&(HELLO|HI)) will evaluate as true if the user inputs either "guru" and
"hello", or "guru" and "hi").

Expressions may also contain AR strings within square brackets ([ and ]). The
expression (HELLO&GURU&[LEVEL 20]) would evaluate as TRUE only if the user
typed the words "HELLO" and "GURU" and had a level of 20 or higher. See the
ARS chapter for details on the AR string syntax and possible keywords.

RESPONSES:

Each expression can be followed by up to 100 responses and each response can
be up to 512 bytes long. Responses can not contain the characters ( or ) and
may only span several lines if the last character of each continued line is a
back-slash '\'. Responses are picked at random from the group below the first
expression that is evaluated as true. The more responses you have to each
expression, the less likely The Guru is to repeat himself. The Guru can also
respond with information about the current user or perform an action. To
initiate these special responses, you must precede a valid response variable
with a back-quote (`) character. The valid response variables and their
definitions are as follows:

A       User's alias (name, if Aliases not allowed)
B       User's birth date
C       User's computer type
D       User's download bytes
G       Guru's name
H       Hang up on the user (immediately)
I       System's QWK ID
J       Current day of the month
L       User's security level
M       Current month
N       User's note (location, if Aliases not allowed)
O       Sysop's name
P       User's phone number
Q       Quit chat
R       User's real name (address, if Aliases not allowed)
S       System name
T       Current time
U       User's upload bytes
W       Current day of the week
Y       Current year
Z       User's zip/postal code
$       User's credits
#       User's age
!       Toggle The Guru's typing mistakes Off/On
_       Pause in response

Three of the above response variables only have effect when the user is
chatting with The Guru in the "Local" mode and not from multinode chat. These
are the 'Q'uit chat (which is the only means of the exiting without hitting
Alt-G locally), '!' Toggle typing mistakes, and '_' pause in response.

e.g. The expression/response pair:

(HELLO)
Hello there, `a...

would display "Hello there, Joey..." if Joey were to say "hello" to The Guru.

See CTRL\GURU.DAT for more detailed examples of GURU.DAT programming.

Back to Top


Copyright © 2000 by Rob Swindell

Synchronet BBS Software
(Synchronet) Version 3 is comprised of several documentation,
library, executable, and source code files, all of which are covered by the
GNU General Public License
with the exception of the following portions covered by
the GNU Lesser General Public License: SMBLIB and XSDK.

Synchronet Version 2 (for DOS and OS/2) and its source code was released to the
Public Domain
by Digital Dynamics in 1997 and remains Public Domain software today.
Synchronet Version 3 is not Public Domain software.

Rob Swindell
PO Box 501
Yorba Linda, CA 92885
http://www.synchro.net

For the complete Copyright Information please read the Copyright Documentation .