Customization

The sysop can change how the BBS looks: their own screens (ANSI art, text and 3270 screens in colour), their own menus, and the wording of the prompts. None of this is required; without it, the BBS uses its built-in screens and menus.

Screens¶

Display files go in one directory:

[general]
screens_dir = /etc/bbs/screens

A screen has a name (lower-case letters, digits, _ and -) and one or more files, one for each kind of terminal:

Each terminal gets the first file it can show:

• an ANSI terminal: .ans, then .asc, then .txt
• a RIP terminal: .rip, then the same as ANSI
• a plain terminal: .asc or .txt
• a Commodore: .seq, then .asc or .txt (translated)
• a 3270: .3270, .asc or .txt

ANSI art is sent to a UTF-8 terminal as UTF-8, and to any other terminal as its original CP437 bytes, which is what SyncTERM, NetRunner and DOS terminal programs expect. Files are read each time they are shown, so you can change them while the BBS runs. The largest file read is 256 KB.

The BBS shows these screens by itself:

Menus show the others, with screen = NAME on a menu or a screen:NAME item. screens.sample has a set to start from.

@-codes¶

Screens, menu titles, labels, prompts and strings can hold codes that are filled in when they are shown:

@CODE:20@ pads or cuts the value to 20 characters, and @CODE:-20@ aligns it to the right, so art keeps its shape whatever the length of a name. Anything else between two @ signs (such as an email address) is left as it is. Values are cleaned like anything a caller writes, so no escape sequences can get into art through a user's name.

Tags¶

Text screens (.asc, .txt), the strings, and a menu's title, labels and prompt can hold tags in braces. Tags are shortcuts for ANSI escape sequences, like the tags .3270 files use for a 3270's colours.

{clear}{cyan}{bright}*** @BBS@ ***{reset}
{yellow}1.{default} The board is open.   {on blue}{white} NEW {reset}
{pause}

Each terminal gets what it can show:

• an ANSI terminal gets the escape sequences;
• a terminal without colour (Mono) gets bright, underline and the like, but no colours;
• a Commodore gets its own colours (but no backgrounds, blink or underline);
• a VT52 gets the clears and cursor moves;
• a plain terminal gets nothing (a {clear} becomes a new line).

A screen always ends plain, whatever its last colour. On a 3270, a text screen keeps its colours (each change takes a column, as explained below) and the other tags are dropped. A menu's labels show their colours the same way, while its title and prompt are plain. Where tags cannot be shown at all (on a RIP terminal's buttons, or a menu's title in Who's online), they are dropped too. A menu label stays in its column whatever its tags, and ends plain. In a text screen, a line holding only {clear} or {pause} (or @CLS@ or @PAUSE@) leaves no blank line behind.

Tags work only in the sysop's text: a caller who names themselves {red}bob is shown as {red}bob. ANSI art (.ans) keeps its braces as they are, because it has its own escape sequences.

3270 screens¶

A .3270 file is lines of text with tags that change the colour for the rest of the line:

{turquoise}{bright}*** @BBS@ ***
{blue}A bulletin board, by telnet, modem and TN3270.{default} plain again

The tags are {blue} {red} {pink} {green} {turquoise} {yellow} {white} {default}, {bright} and {normal}, plus {clear} and {pause} for a new page. The text terminals' names ({magenta}, {cyan}, {reset}) work too. On a 3270, each change of colour takes up a blank column, because that is where the 3270 keeps the field's attribute byte.

Menus¶

Each [menu NAME] section makes a menu. [menu main] replaces the built-in main menu on text terminals and 3270s alike, and the other menus are reached from it and from each other.

[menu main]
title = {cyan}{bright}@BBS@{reset}
screen = mainmenu          ; shown instead of the list of items (optional)
prompt = "Command: "       ; (optional)
m = areas Message areas
e = mail E-mail ({yellow}@NEWMAIL@{default} new)
d = doors Doors
l = door:lord Legend of the Red Dragon
b = screen:bulletins Bulletins
g = area:general Straight to General
x = menu:extras Extras
q = logoff Goodbye

[menu extras]
title = Extras
u = users User list
z = back Back

Each item is KEY = ACTION Label. The key is one character (not ; or #, which begin comments), and the action is what the item does:

With screen =, a text terminal sees the screen, which shows the keys itself. A 3270 sees the screen's .3270 (or .asc or .txt) version if there is one, or otherwise the list of items in a box, so a menu drawn only as ANSI art still works on a 3270. On a 3270 the caller types the key in the option field, and PF3 goes back (on the main menu, it logs off if there is a logoff item). Doors are for text terminals only; on a 3270, a door item says so. bbs check refuses a menu that names a menu, door or screen that does not exist, and lists the menus it read.

Strings¶

[strings]
name_prompt = "Handle: "
new_name_prompt = "Handle (or NEW): "
password_prompt = "Password: "
command_prompt = "@USER@ @ @BBS@ > "
pause = "-- more --"
logoff_confirm = "Leaving so soon, @USER@?"
welcome = "Hi @USER@, @NEWMAIL@ new letters."

Each string can hold @-codes and tags. Put a value in quotes to keep spaces at its end. welcome is also the greeting on the 3270 main menu (shown there without its tags).

command_prompt = "{yellow}@USER@{default} @ {cyan}@BBS@{default} > "
pause = "{blue}-- more --{reset}"

See also: Configuration, Doors