Text File Sections

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 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.

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 file.ini and rendered by a loadable module.

Section Definitions

Text File Sections are defined in 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:INFO]
    name=Information
    ars=
 
[text:ANSI]
    name=ANSI Artwork
    ars=ANSI
 
[text:OPERATOR]
    name=Operator
    ars=SYSOP

Key	Description
`name`	Display name shown to users in the section list.
`ars`	Access Requirements String users must match to see and use this section. Blank = open to all.

After editing file.ini, changes take effect on the next user invocation of the section (no rerun required for adding/removing sections).

File Storage

Each section's text files live in a directory whose name matches the lowercased section code:

data/text/<code>/ — the section's files (any text format: ASCII, ANSI, UTF-8, etc.)
data/text/<code>.ini — optional per-section metadata file

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.

Per-section .ini

The per-section .ini file is read by the renderer module to override file titles and presentation. Its global keys:

Key	Description
`mode`	Default file display mode (`P_*` flags — see 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).

Each entry under a per-file [<filename>] section may override the title, sort order, etc. — see exec/text_sec.js for the full handling.

Renderer (Loadable Module)

<a name=“renderer”></a>The module responsible for presenting Text File Sections to users is configured in SCFG → System → Loadable Modules → Text Section. The default is text_sec (i.e. exec/text_sec.js), which is suitable for most installs.

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.

Access from the BBS

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.

Recommended Sections

A reasonable baseline to include:

[text:INFO] — general BBS information, including a copy of relevant Synchronet documentation
[text:OPERATOR] or similar (sysop-only) — system maintenance notes, action logs, etc.
[text:ANSI] — ANSI artwork gallery (fits naturally with PETSCII / RIP / VT100 sibling sections for systems that cater to retro terminals)