Message Editors

The message editor is what you use to compose a message — for e-mail, NetMail, sub-board posts, and feedback. Synchronet always has an internal editor (the built-in line editor) available, and the sysop can additionally install one or more external editors that you can pick instead. Which editor you actually get is determined by your User Settings (the E option) plus what the sysop has made available.

External editors come in two forms:

Native or MS-DOS programs — standalone executables (run as external programs by the BBS, much like a door game)
JavaScript or Baja scripts — run in-process by Synchronet (these scripts are themselves modules in the broader Synchronet sense, but in the context of message editors they're typically just called “external editors” alongside the native/DOS variety)

Available editors

Synchronet built-in line editor (internal) — the ASCII line-mode editor with slash commands and a /? help menu. Always available; the fallback for any user/terminal.
SlyEdit (external, JavaScript) — full-screen
FSEditor (external, JavaScript) — full-screen

The sysop installs external editors in SCFG -> External Programs -> Message Editors. See the editor how-to pages for setup of specific editors.

Built-in line editor

The internal line editor is always available regardless of terminal type. It works line-by-line: you type a line, press <CR>, and move on to the next. There are two categories of editing commands.

Slash (/) commands are entered at the start of a new blank line (type / followed by the command name and press <CR>).

Control (Ctrl) commands may be entered from any cursor position on the current line. Commands marked * require ANSI terminal support.

Slash commands

/? — display the editor help menu
/S — save and send the message
/ABT — abort (discard) the message
/CLR — clear (erase) all message text
/L — list the entire message so far
/Lx — list from line x onward
/E — edit the last line
/Ex — edit line x
/D — delete the last line
/Dx — delete line x
/I — insert a blank line before the last line
/Ix — insert a blank line before line x
/T — edit the message title (subject)
/ATTR — display the text attribute code list

Control commands

Ctrl-C — cancel (discard) the current line
Ctrl-V — center the current line
Ctrl-R — redraw the current line
Ctrl-X — delete the current line
Ctrl-Y * — delete to end of line
Ctrl-W — delete word to the left of the cursor
Ctrl-D * — delete word to the right of the cursor
Ctrl-B * — move cursor to beginning of line
Ctrl-E * — move cursor to end of line
Ctrl-N * — move cursor to next word
Ctrl-\ * — move cursor to previous word
Ctrl-F * — move cursor forward one space
Ctrl-Bkspc * — move cursor back one space
Ctrl-Minus * — toggle insert/overwrite mode
Ctrl-Ax * — set text attribute x (see below)

Text attributes (Ctrl-Ax)

The Ctrl-A command toggles a text attribute. Attributes take effect when the line is word-wrapped or <CR> is pressed. Type Ctrl-A then the attribute letter:

Letter	Effect
`K`	Black foreground
`R`	Red foreground
`G`	Green foreground
`Y`	Yellow foreground
`B`	Blue foreground
`M`	Magenta foreground
`C`	Cyan foreground
`W`	White foreground
`0`–`7`	Background color (0=black … 7=white, matching foreground order)
`H`	High intensity (bold)
`I`	Blinking
`N`	Normal — reset all attributes
`P`	Insert a pause into the message
`L`	Insert a form feed into the message

For a complete reference to Ctrl-A codes as used in ANSI text files and custom menus, see Ctrl-A Codes.

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