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| config:text_file_sections [2026/05/03 20:12] – Created — modern reality (file.ini [text:CODE] sections + text_sec loadable module) Claude.Ai | config:text_file_sections [2026/05/04 20:29] (current) – Convert SCFG/UIFC screen captures from <code>/<file> blocks to 2-space-indented preformatted text Claude.Ai |
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| A //Text File Section// is a sysop-curated collection of text files made available to users for reading. Common uses are bulletins, ANSI art galleries, BBS information, news archives, and similar non-credit-bearing reading material. Text File Sections are distinct from the [[config:file_areas|file transfer section]] — files in a text section are read in-line through the BBS terminal interface, not downloaded, and are not subject to credit/transfer access controls. | A //Text File Section// is a sysop-curated collection of text files made available to users for reading. Common uses are bulletins, ANSI art galleries, BBS information, news archives, and similar non-credit-bearing reading material. Text File Sections are distinct from the [[config:file_areas|file transfer section]] — files in a text section are read in-line through the BBS terminal interface, not downloaded, and are not subject to credit/transfer access controls. |
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| This page documents how Text File Sections are configured in modern Synchronet (v3+). The 2004-era SCFG menu for editing individual sections is no longer present; sections are now defined in [[config:file.ini|file.ini]] and rendered by a [[#renderer|loadable module]]. | Text File Sections are configured in [[util:scfg|SCFG]] → //Text File Sections//. |
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| ===== Section Definitions ===== | ===== Section List ===== |
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| Text File Sections are defined in ''[[dir:ctrl]]/file.ini'' as ''[text:CODE]'' INI sections, where ''CODE'' is the section's internal code (up to 8 valid filename characters; case-sensitive on disk but matched case-insensitively at runtime). | ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════╗ |
| | ║ Text File Sections ║ |
| | ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════╣ |
| | ║ │Information ║ |
| | ║ │ANSI Artwork ║ |
| | ║ │ANSI Music Files ║ |
| | ║ │PETSCII Artwork ║ |
| | ║ │RIP Art ║ |
| | ║ │UTF-8 Tests ║ |
| | ║ │Operator ║ |
| | ║ │PCBoard Display Files ║ |
| | ║ │Wildcat! Display Files ║ |
| | ║ │VT100 art ║ |
| | ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════╝ |
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| <code ini> | * ''Ins'' or ''+'' — add a new section |
| [text:INFO] | * ''Del'' or ''-'' — delete a section |
| name=Information | * ''F5'' / ''Ctrl-C'', ''F6'' / ''Ctrl-V'' — copy / paste a section |
| ars= | * Press ''Enter'' on a section to edit it. |
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| [text:ANSI] | When adding a section, SCFG prompts for a //Name// and an //Internal Code//. The internal code becomes the on-disk identifier for the section (and the name of the data subdirectory). |
| name=ANSI Artwork | |
| ars=ANSI | |
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| [text:OPERATOR] | ===== Per-Section Options ===== |
| name=Operator | |
| ars=SYSOP | |
| </code> | |
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| ^ Key ^ Description ^ | ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ |
| | ''name'' | Display name shown to users in the section list. | | ║ Information ║ |
| | ''ars'' | [[access:requirements|Access Requirements String]] users must match to see and use this section. Blank = open to all. | | ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ |
| | ║ │Name Information ║ |
| | ║ │Internal Code INFO ║ |
| | ║ │Access Requirements ║ |
| | ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ |
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| After editing ''file.ini'', changes take effect on the next user invocation of the section (no rerun required for adding/removing sections). | ^ Option Name ^ Description ^ |
| | | Name | Display name shown to users in the section list. | |
| | | Internal Code | Up to 8 valid filename characters; uniquely identifies this section in storage. The lowercased code is also used as the on-disk subdirectory name. | |
| | | Access Requirements | An [[access:requirements|ARS]] expression — users not matching the requirements cannot see or access the section. Blank = open to all. | |
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| ===== File Storage ===== | ===== File Storage ===== |
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| Each section's text files live in a directory whose name matches the //lowercased// section code: | Each section's text files live in: |
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| * ''[[dir:data]]/text/<code>/'' — the section's files (any text format: ASCII, ANSI, UTF-8, etc.) | * ''[[dir:data]]/text/<code>/'' — text files for the section (any text format: ASCII, ANSI, UTF-8, etc.). Created automatically by SCFG when the section is saved. |
| * ''[[dir:data]]/text/<code>.ini'' — //optional// per-section metadata file | * ''[[dir:data]]/text/<code>.ini'' — //optional// per-section metadata file (see [[#section_ini_file|below]]). |
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| If you create the directory and drop files in, they will appear in the section list. The per-section ''.ini'' file lets you set display order, friendly titles, and per-file rendering options. | The configuration of the sections themselves (the ''[text:CODE]'' blocks) is persisted to ''[[dir:ctrl]]/[[config:file.ini]]''. |
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| ==== Per-section .ini ==== | ==== Section .ini File ==== |
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| The per-section ''.ini'' file is read by the renderer module to override file titles and presentation. Its global keys: | If present at ''[[dir:data]]/text/<code>.ini'', this file is read by the default renderer ([[:dir:exec]]/text_sec.js) and gives the sysop control over presentation defaults and per-file overrides. |
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| ^ Key ^ Description ^ | === Root section keys === |
| | ''mode'' | Default file display mode (''P_*'' flags — see [[ref:smb|Synchronet Message Base]] header definitions). Default: ''P_CPM_EOF'' (stop at Ctrl-Z). | | |
| | ''cols'' | Column width to format file output to. Default: //undefined// (use terminal width). | | |
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| Each entry under a per-file ''[<filename>]'' section may override the title, sort order, etc. — see ''[[:dir:exec]]/text_sec.js'' for the full handling. | Keys placed before any ''[<filename>]'' section header apply to the entire text section as defaults: |
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| ===== Renderer (Loadable Module) ===== | ^ Key ^ Default ^ Description ^ |
| | | ''mode'' | ''P_CPM_EOF'' | Default //pmode// flags passed to ''console.printfile()'' for files in this section. Value is a JavaScript expression of one or more ''P_*'' constants combined with ''%%|%%''. See the [[#pmode_flag_reference|pmode flag reference]] below. | |
| | | ''cols'' | //undefined// (use terminal width) | Column count to format file output to. Files are wrapped or truncated to this width depending on the ''mode'' flags. | |
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| <a name="renderer"></a>The module responsible for presenting Text File Sections to users is configured in [[util:scfg|SCFG]] → System → Loadable Modules → Text Section. The default is ''text_sec'' (i.e. ''[[:dir:exec]]/text_sec.js''), which is suitable for most installs. | Example minimal section .ini: |
| | <code ini> |
| | mode=P_CPM_EOF | P_NOATCODES |
| | cols=80 |
| | </code> |
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| A sysop wishing to customize the rendering — different navigation, ANSI flair, hot-key behavior — can replace the default with their own JavaScript module. The replacement module is invoked when a user selects the //Text// option from the main menu. | === Per-file sections === |
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| ===== Access from the BBS ===== | Each ''[<key>]'' header in the .ini file describes one displayable file in the section. The ''<key>'' is a sysop-chosen short identifier the user types to view the file. |
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| | ^ Field ^ Description ^ |
| | | ''name'' | The actual filename in ''[[dir:data]]/text/<code>/''. | |
| | | ''desc'' | Descriptive title shown in the file list. | |
| | | ''ars'' | Optional [[access:requirements|ARS]] for this individual file. | |
| | | ''mode'' | Optional override of the [[#root_section_keys|section default ''mode'']] for this file. | |
| | | ''cols'' | Optional override of the section default ''cols'' for this file. | |
| | | ''petscii_graphics'' | If set, the file is treated as native PETSCII graphics. | |
| | | ''tail'' | If set to a positive integer N, only the last N lines of the file are displayed (uses ''console.printtail''). | |
| | |
| | Example: |
| | <code ini> |
| | mode=P_CPM_EOF |
| | cols=80 |
| | |
| | [news] |
| | name=news.asc |
| | desc=Latest BBS news |
| | mode=P_CPM_EOF | P_AUTO_UTF8 |
| | |
| | [c64] |
| | name=welcome.pet |
| | desc=Welcome (PETSCII) |
| | petscii_graphics=true |
| | |
| | [changelog] |
| | name=CHANGELOG |
| | desc=Recent changes (last 50 lines) |
| | tail=50 |
| | </code> |
| | |
| | === pmode flag reference === |
| | |
| | The ''mode'' value is a JavaScript expression of pmode constants (defined in ''sbbsdefs.js'' / ''sbbsdefs.h''), bitwise-OR'd with ''%%|%%''. Most commonly used: |
| | |
| | ^ Constant ^ Meaning ^ |
| | | ''P_NONE'' | No flags. | |
| | | ''P_NOABORT'' | User cannot abort the display with ''Ctrl-C''. | |
| | | ''P_SAVEATR'' | Save current text attributes after display. | |
| | | ''P_NOATCODES'' | Don't process [[custom:atcodes|@-codes]] in the file. | |
| | | ''P_NOPAUSE'' | Disable the //hit a key// pause prompt at end-of-screen. | |
| | | ''P_SEEK'' | Allow keyboard navigation (Home/End/PgUp/PgDn) within the file. | |
| | | ''P_NOCRLF'' | Don't emit a CRLF before the file content. | |
| | | ''P_WORDWRAP'' | Word-wrap long lines for the user's terminal. | |
| | | ''P_CPM_EOF'' | Stop parsing/displaying at ''Ctrl-Z'' (CP/M end-of-file convention). The default. | |
| | | ''P_TRUNCATE'' | Truncate (rather than wrap) lines longer than ''cols''. | |
| | | ''P_PETSCII'' | File is native PETSCII. | |
| | | ''P_UTF8'' | File is UTF-8 encoded. | |
| | | ''P_AUTO_UTF8'' | Auto-detect UTF-8 content. | |
| | | ''P_MARKUP'' | Process StyleCodes / Rich / StructuredText markup. | |
| | | ''P_HIDEMARKS'' | Hide markup source characters from the rendered output. | |
| | | ''P_NOXATTRS'' | Disable "Extra Attribute Codes" processing. | |
| | |
| | The full set is defined in ''src/sbbs3/sbbsdefs.h''. |
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| | ===== Adding Files to a Section ===== |
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| | There are two ways to populate a Text File Section: |
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| | ==== Via the BBS (sysop) ==== |
| | Log into the BBS, enter the //Text// option of the main menu, choose the section, and use the //Add// command. The sysop is prompted for the title and the path/filename. If no path is given, the file is read from the section's data directory. |
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| | ==== Directly on the filesystem ==== |
| | Drop files into ''[[dir:data]]/text/<code>/''. Optionally edit ''[[dir:data]]/text/<code>.ini'' to set display order and friendly titles. |
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| | ===== Renderer (Loadable Module) ===== |
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| Users reach the Text File Sections through the //Text// option (key ''T'' in the default Synchronet Classic command shell main menu). They are presented with the configured sections (filtered by ARS), then within a section, the list of files. | The module that presents Text File Sections to users is configured in [[util:scfg|SCFG]] → //System// → //Loadable Modules// → //Text Section//. The default is ''text_sec'' (i.e. ''[[:dir:exec]]/text_sec.js''). Sysops wanting a custom navigation experience can replace this with their own JavaScript module. |
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| ===== Recommended Sections ===== | ===== Recommended Sections ===== |
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| A reasonable baseline to include: | A reasonable baseline: |
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| * ''[text:INFO]'' — general BBS information, including a copy of relevant Synchronet documentation | * **Information** (''INFO'') — general BBS info; consider including ''[[:dir:text]]/sbbs.msg'' |
| * ''[text:OPERATOR]'' or similar (sysop-only) — system maintenance notes, action logs, etc. | * **Operator** (''OPERATOR'', ''ars=SYSOP'') — sysop-only system notes / change logs |
| * ''[text:ANSI]'' — ANSI artwork gallery (fits naturally with PETSCII / RIP / VT100 sibling sections for systems that cater to retro terminals) | * **ANSI Artwork** (''ANSI'') — and sibling sections (''PETSCII'', ''RIP'', ''VT100ART'', ''UTF8'') for systems catering to retro terminals |
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| It is requested that sysops make at least the ''[[dir:text]]/sbbs.msg'' file available somewhere reachable for users. | It is requested that sysops make at least the ''[[:dir:text]]/sbbs.msg'' file available somewhere reachable for users. |
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| ===== See Also ===== | ===== See Also ===== |
| * [[:config:|Configuration index]] | * [[:config:|Configuration index]] |
| | * [[:util:scfg|SCFG]] |
| * [[:config:file.ini|file.ini]] | * [[:config:file.ini|file.ini]] |
| * [[:config:text_files|Text Files]] (system display files, unrelated to text sections) | * [[:config:text_files|Text Files]] (system display files, distinct topic) |
| * [[:config:file_areas|File Areas]] (transfer / download section) | * [[:config:file_areas|File Areas]] (transfer / download section) |
| * [[:dir:data]] | * [[:dir:data]] |
| * [[:util:scfg|SCFG]] → System → Loadable Modules → Text Section | |
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| {{tag>configuration text_files scfg}} | {{tag>configuration text_files scfg}} |
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