Display files are displayed by the BBS to the user at certain times while a user is online. These files exist in the theme's text directory and have an extension of either .ANS or .ASC, where .ANS files contain ANSI color codes and .ASC contain either pipe color codes, or no color at all.

Some display files are displayed by certain events within the BBS, such as the user's birthday. Others are used within certain functions of the BBS such as reading messages. Others are shown by executing a menu command on one of your menus, or from within MPL or Python scripting.

Every prompt shown to the user within the BBS can also be replaced with a display file, so you will find and want to use these files everywhere.

The extension of the display file will automatically be resolved based on the user's terminal emulation. If the user has ANSI graphics enabled, then Mystic will select a .ANS file. If no .ANS file exists, then Mystic will instead look for the same file but with an .ASC extension. Similarly, if the user does not have ANSI terminal emulation, then Mystic will immediately look for the .ASC extension.

Pipe color codes can be used in .ASC files, and Mystic will filter them out just as is does anywhere else in the BBS, displaying the colors when the user has ANSI and not displaying colors when they don't. This allows the option to have a single .ASC file which can work for both ANSI colors and non-ANSI emulations, if so desired.

Note that all extensions are lower-cased on operating systems with case sensitive file names.

Mystic has the capability to allow up to 36 variations of any display file to be selected a random each time it is displayed. This is done by changing the last character in the file extension to a number from 1 to 9, but IN ALL CASES at a minimum a file with a 1 must exist for Mystic to select a randomly displayed file.

For example: If the display file named EXAMPLE.ASC and EXAMPLE.AS1 exists, Mystic will randomly select any one of the following files that may exist for display, because a filename with a 1 as the last character of the extension exists:

 EXAMPLE.ASC   EXAMPLE.ASA   EXAMPLE.ASK   EXAMPLE.ASU
 EXAMPLE.AS1   EXAMPLE.ASB   EXAMPLE.ASL   EXAMPLE.ASV
 EXAMPLE.AS2   EXAMPLE.ASC   EXAMPLE.ASM   EXAMPLE.ASW
 EXAMPLE.AS3   EXAMPLE.ASD   EXAMPLE.ASN   EXAMPLE.ASX
 EXAMPLE.AS4   EXAMPLE.ASE   EXAMPLE.ASO   EXAMPLE.ASY
 EXAMPLE.AS5   EXAMPLE.ASF   EXAMPLE.ASP   EXAMPLE.ASZ
 EXAMPLE.AS6   EXAMPLE.ASG   EXAMPLE.ASQ
 EXAMPLE.AS7   EXAMPLE.ASH   EXAMPLE.ASR
 EXAMPLE.AS8   EXAMPLE.ASI   EXAMPLE.ASS
 EXAMPLE.AS9   EXAMPLE.ASJ   EXAMPLE.AST

Mystic allows every display file to be shown as if it were being displayed at a specific modem baud rate. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, from embedding a Display Code within the display file itself, to using parameters when executing from a Menu Command or MPL/Python script.

These files are automatically displayed by Mystic at certain times during a user's session if they exist in the current theme's text directory. The file extension .XXX is either .ANS or .ASC

Note: All file names are lower-cased in operating systems that use case sensitive file names.

        ANSICHAT .XXX - This is the template file for the split screen
                        chat mode.  For more information on templates,
                        see the section on the Template System.
        ANSIEDIT .XXX - This is the template file for the full screen
                        editor.  For more information on this file,
                        see the section on the Template System.
        ANSIFINF .XXX - This is the template file used when displaying
                        extended file information during the lightbar
                        file listings.
        ANSIFLST .XXX - This is the template file used to setup the
                        ANSI lightbar file listings.  For more information
                        on this, see the Editing Template section.
        ANSIMLST .XXX - This is the template file used for the lightbar
                        message reading index.
        ANSIMRD  .XXX - This is the tempalte file used for the lightbar
                        message reading.
        ANSIQUOT .XXX - This is the template file for the full screen
                        editor quote mode window.  For more information
                        on this, see the section on the Template System.
        ANSITEXT .XXX - This is the template file for the full screen
                        text editor.  For more information on this,
                        see the section on the Template System.
        AMSGHLP1 .XXX - Help file for ANSIMLST.XXX
        AMSGHLP2 .XXX - Help file for ANSIMRD.XXX
        BIRTHDAY .XXX - Displayed during login if the user calls on
                        their birthday.
        BLINDUL  .XXX - Displayed when a user selects to start a blind
                        file upload.
        CLOSED   .XXX - Displayed if a System Password has been defined
                        and the incoming caller did not enter the
                        correct password.
        DOWNLOAD .XXX - Displayed before the "Filename:" prompt when a
                        user attempts a download.
        EMAILHLP .XXX - Displayed during the e-mail reading prompt when
                        the user enters "?".
        FEEDBACK .XXX - Displayed before new users are forced to send
                        the SysOp an e-mail message.
        FGROUPx  .XXX - Displayed after joining file group x.
        FLAG1x   .XXX - Displayed during login if user has flag 1x set.
        FLAG2x   .XXX - Displayed during login if user has flag 2x set.
        FLISTHLP .XXX - Displayed when help is selected during the
                        lightbar file listings.
        FSEARCH  .XXX - Displayed before a file search.
        FSHELP   .XXX - Displayed if user selects help while in the
                        full screen editor.
        GROUPx   .XXX - Displayed after joining group x.
        LOGOFF   .XXX - Displayed right before hanging up the caller when
                        a user selects to log off the BBS.
        LOGON1-9 .XXX - Displayed in order from 1 to 9 after a user
                        successfully enters their password.
        NEWUSER  .XXX - Displayed before asking the user if they'd like
                        sign up as a new user.
        NEWUSER1 .XXX - Displayed after user answers yes to continue to
                        login as a new user.
        NONEWUSR .XXX - Displayed if a new user tries to log in when
                        Allow New Users is toggled off.  The call is
                        terminated after this file is displayed.
        PRELOGON .XXX - Displayed after the user selects their terminal
                        emulation, and before the "login:" prompt.
        PROTO    .XXX - Displayed as a list of available protocols.  If
                        this file doesn't exist, Mystic will generate a
                        protocol list.
        PROTOB   .XXX - Displayed as a list of available batch protocols.
                        If this file doesn't exist, Mystic will generate
                        a batch protocol list.
        READHLP  .XXX - Displayed during the message reading prompt when
                        the user enters "?".
        READSHLP .XXX - Displayed during the message reading prompt when
                        the user enters "?" AND they have SysOp access to
                        the message base.
        SLxxx    .XXX - Displayed during login if user has a security
                        level of xxx or higher.
        TELECONF .XXX - Displated when entering the standard
                        teleconference system, and redisplayed again
                        after the teleconference help file is displayed.
        TELEHELP .XXX - The help file displayed in the teleconference
                        when a /? is entered.
        UPLOAD   .XXX - Displayed before the "File Name:" prompt when a
                        user attempts an upload.

These system files are worth looking at and reviewing their content. If some are left unchanged it will show you really have not spent any time setting up or customizing your BBS :)

These file all reside in the DATA directory of your Mystic BBS.

        NEWLETTER.TXT   Sent to a new user that has signed up to the BBS
                        the contents of this file appear as a new BBS
                        email the user is presented with when their
                        BBS email account is checked. 
                        
        SYSLETTER.TXT - This is a template that contains the contents of
                        a BBS email that is sent to the sysop when a new
                        user registers.
                        
        HACKWARN.TXT  - Displayed as a BBS email to users who have had
                        someone attempt (and fail) to login to the BBS
                        using their account name.