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Table of Contents
How to use Display Codes
Mystic Display Codes are found throughout the BBS in various prompts and display files. The purpose of these codes is to replace the code with a corresponding value for that code. For example, if you wanted to display the user's name, there is a code which when parsed in a prompt or file would be replaced with the current logged in user name.
The format for all codes consists of a starting pipe character (|) followed by two characters which are used to represent what data Mystic will replace the code with. These codes are CASE SENSITIVE although currently almost all codes use upper-cased letters.
An example of an MCI code and how it would be processed by Mystic would be:
Welcome the BBS, |UH.
In the above example, |UH is the MCI code for the user's handle. If the current user online had a account handle of “Joe User”, then the result of the above example after being processed by Mystic would be:
Welcome to the BBS, Joe User.
NOTE: Certain display codes require additional data to be provided after the code. These types of codes are used to do many advanced things such as text formatting, changing the way input fields look and work, saving/restoring the remote user's screen, terminal cursor manipulation, all the way through to popping up confirmation windows and performing various other BBS functions.
The additional data required for these types of codes will vary and will be documented specifically within the sections that follow.
BBS and User Information Codes
AG - User's age in years AS - User's auto signature (On or Off) AV - User's chat availability for user to user chat (Yes or No) BD - User's baud rate (returns TELNET or LOCAL) (may be removed) BI - User's birthdate in their selected date format BN - BBS name from System configuration CM - User's full screen node chat setting (On or Off) CS - User's total number of calls to the BBS CT - User's total number of calls to the BBS today DA - Current date in the user's selected date format DK - User's total downloads in kilobytes DL - User's total number of downloaded files DT - User's total number of downloads today FB - User's current file base name FG - User's current file group name FK - User's total uploads in kilobytes FO - User's first call date in their selected date format FT - Total number of files in current file base (dynamic) FU - User's total number of files uploaded HK - User's hotkey setting (On or Off) IL - User's node status invisibility (On or Off) KT - User's downloads in kilobytes today LO - User's last call date in their selected date format MB - User's current message base name MD - Menu description of the current menu (from menu flags) ME - User's total number of e-mails sent MG - User's current message group name ML - User's lightbar message index setting (On or Off) MN - Network address of current message base MP - User's total number of message posts MT - Total number of messages in current message base (dynamic) ND - Current node number NE - Minutes until next BBS-type event OS - Operating system (Windows, Linux, Raspberry Pi, etc) PC - User's current post to calls ratio PW - Configured number of days before required password change QA - User's selected archive format (QWK, etc) QE - User's Generate QWKE setting (Yes or No) QL - User's Include QWK file listing setting (Yes or No) RD - User's download ratio for their current security level (files) RK - User's download ratio for their current security level (kilobytes) SB - User's max allowed minutes in time bank for current security level SC - User's max calls per day allowed for current security level SD - User's current security level description SK - User's max allowed download kilobytes per day for current sec level SL - User's current security level number SN - Configured Sysop name SP - Configured post call ratio for the current security level ST - Configured allowed minutes per day for current security level SX - User's max allowed downloaded files per day for current security level TB - User's timebank minutes TC - Total number of calls to the BBS system TE - User's terminal emulation (Ansi or Ascii) TI - Current time of day in 12 hour format TL - User's time left in minutes TO - User's time spent online this session (in minutes) U# - User's number (aka permanent user index) U1 - User's optional data answer for question #1 U2 - User's optional data answer for question #1 U3 - User's optional data answer for question #1 UA - User's address UB - User's file listing type (Normal or Lightbar) UC - User's city, state UD - User's data phone number UE - User's message editor type (Line, Full, or Ask) UF - User's Date input format (MM/DD/YY, DD/MM/YY, YY/DD/MM) UG - User's gender (Male or Female) UH - User's handle (alias) UI - User's User information field UJ - User's message reader type (Normal or Lightbar) UK - User's email address UL - User's selected theme description UM - User's lightbar message index setting (On of Off) UN - User's real name UP - User's Home phone number UQ - User's full screen editor quote mode (Standard or Lightbar) US - User's screen size lines (ie 25) UX - User's computer/router/internet host name UY - User's IP address UZ - User's zip (postal) code VR - Mystic BBS version number XD - Days left before the user's account expires (or 0 if none) XS - Security level in which the user's account will expire to
Color Codes (Pipe Colors)
The typical pipe format of <pipe>## where ## is one of the following:
Setting Foreground color:
00 : Sets the current foreground to Black 01 : Sets the current foreground to Dark Blue 02 : Sets the current foreground to Dark Green 03 : Sets the current foreground to Dark Cyan 04 : Sets the current foreground to Dark Red 05 : Sets the current foreground to Dark Magenta 06 : Sets the current foreground to Brown 07 : Sets the current foreground to Grey 08 : Sets the current foreground to Dark Grey 09 : Sets the current foreground to Light Blue 10 : Sets the current foreground to Light Green 11 : Sets the current foreground to Light Cyan 12 : Sets the current foreground to Light Red 13 : Sets the current foreground to Light Magenta 14 : Sets the current foreground to Yellow 15 : Sets the current foreground to White
Setting Background color:
16 : Sets the current background to Black 17 : Sets the current background to Blue 18 : Sets the current background to Green 19 : Sets the current background to Cyan 20 : Sets the current background to Red 21 : Sets the current background to Magenta 22 : Sets the current background to Brown 23 : Sets the current background to Grey
Depending on the terminal the 24-31 codes can have different results. Some terminals will use what is often referred to as “ICE colors” which are the non-blinking brighter backgrounds. Others may use blinking foreground text instead.
TERMINALS THAT USE BRIGHT BACKGROUNDS (ICE COLORS):
24 : Sets the current background to Dark Grey 25 : Sets the current background to Light Blue 26 : Sets the current background to Light Green 27 : Sets the current background to Light Cyan 28 : Sets the current background to Light Red 29 : Sets the current background to Light Magenta 30 : Sets the current background to light Yellow 31 : Sets the current background to light White
TERMINALS THAT USE BLINKING:
24 : Sets the current background to black with blinking foreground 25 : Sets the current background to blue with blinking foreground 26 : Sets the current background to green with blinking foreground 27 : Sets the current background to cyan with blinking foreground 28 : Sets the current background to red with blinking foreground 29 : Sets the current background to magenta with blinking foreground 30 : Sets the current background to brown with blinking foreground 31 : Sets the current background to grey with blinking foreground
Each Theme in Mystic BBS can also have a set of custom colors configured specifically for that theme. These can be accessed by using the following codes:
T1 : Sets current color to theme's color #1 T2 : Sets current color to theme's color #2 T3 : Sets current color to theme's color #3 T4 : Sets current color to theme's color #4 T5 : Sets current color to theme's color #5 T6 : Sets current color to theme's color #6 T7 : Sets current color to theme's color #7 T8 : Sets current color to theme's color #8 T9 : Sets current color to theme's color #9 T0 : Sets current color to theme's color #0
Screen/Cursor Related Codes
The following codes found in this section are used to manipulate the cursor location and/or various other terminal specific codes. The majority of these codes will require that the user has an ANSI-BBS capable terminal or better. Mystic will simply filter out codes that require ANSI and do nothing when they are encountered if the user does not have a capable terminal.
Note: ## should be replaced by the number noted in the description, and must always be two characters. For example, to move to column 1 on the current line you would use “|[X01” (without the quotation marks, of course).
[A## - Move the cursor up ## lines [B## - Move the cursor down ## lines [C## - Move the cursor forward (to the right) ## columns [D## - Move the cursor backwards (to the left) ## columns [K - Clear from the current cursor position to the end of the line [L - Move cursor and erase data backwards from current column to column ## [X## - Move cursor to X coordinate ## [Y## - Move cursor to Y coordinate ## BS - Sends 1 destructive backspace sequence (ASCII 8-32-8) CL - Clears the screen (ANSI 1,1 locate and [2J or ASCII 12) CR - Send a carrage return and line feed (move to next line) RA - Restore the saved text attribute color RS - Restore the saved user's terminal screen SA - Save the current text attribute color SS - Save the entire user's terminal screen
Input Field Manipulation Codes
Input field codes affect the next input field of its type, and are generally used in prompts that are displayed to the user prior to asking the user for input.
-N - Forces the next Yes/No prompt to default to a No answer -Y - Forces the next Yes/No prompt to default to a Yes answer IF - Turns off the input field background color for the next input prompt. IN## - Sets the scrolling input field size for the next input prompt to ## characters. If the maximum size of the input field is larger than this, Mystic will scroll the text inside so that it can accept more characters without taking up more than ## columns on the screen. IS## - Limits the actual maximum number of characters allow for an input prompt to ## characters.
Text Box Codes
Text Box codes are used to pop up a quick notification box, using the configured ANSI box style which is configured in each theme.
In addition to just displaying a box, Mystic is able to use its remote screen imaging to save what the user's screen looks like before displaying the box, and then restore the user's screen after the box is closed. This screen restoration prevents the user's screen from being “corrupted” regardless of what they are doing when the box is displayed.
User and BBS data MCI codes, along with pipe color codes can be used within these boxes!
#B<header>#<notification>#
The #B code opens a notification box with a <header> and <notification> string, following by an "OK" prompt for the user to press a key. After the user pressed a key, Mystic will automatically restore the user's original screen content that was overwritten by the box. Example: |#BThis is a header#This is a test notification box!#
#I<header>#<notification>#
This box is similar to the #B notification, except that it does not restore the user's screen content after displaying, and it does not wait for the user to press a key. One use for this might be during a new message scan "Scanning" prompt, for example. Example: |#INew Message Scan#Scanning: |&1...#
Prompt Information Codes
Prompt Information codes are used within the prompts found in a theme's prompt file. The value of each prompt is dynamic, meaning it's value changes depending on each specific prompt.
The prompt editor and the prompt file itself will have comments that show what each Prompt Info code's value means for that particular prompt. For an example, lets look at prompt #334:
334 Jump to which message? (1-|&2):
In this prompt, &1 is replaced by the current message number, and &2 is replaced by the total number of messages in the message base. These values are noted in the comments for that particular prompt in both the prompt editor and the text-based prompt file itself.
Prompt Information codes can range from |&0-|&9, and from |&A-|&Z