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Message Variables (@-codes)

Synchronet sysop-posted messages, text and menu files, and some lines in the ctrl/text.dat file may contain special Message Variables, also called @-codes (“at codes”, some BBS authors and sysops refer to these types of codes as “@ Macros” or “MCI codes”1)). @-codes may also be displayed using the bbs.atcode() JavaScript method.

@-codes are called such because they begin and end with the @ (ASCII 64) (“at”) character. The code names themselves (sandwiched between the @'s) must be entered using only UPPERCASE letters. Some additional symbols and numbers may also be included in the @-code, but never a space.

Some of the @-codes supported in Synchronet have unusual names or aliases specifically for PCBoard and/or Wildcat! BBS Software compatibility. Although this compatibility with these other BBS packages is less of a concern these days, the unusual code names remain.

Synchronet also, optionally, supports some Color Codes which begin and/or end with the @ character (again, specifically for PCBoard and/or Wildcat! BBS Software compatibility). These PCBoard and Wildcat! color codes are not usually referred to as @-codes and do not fall under the usage/formatting guidelines given on this page.

Messages

@-codes contained in the text of messages sent as email or posted on sub-boards will not be expanded to the equivalent text unless the message was sent or posted locally by user #1 (the sysop).

If using smbutil to import a message with embedded @-codes, use the -e1 option to specify that the message is being sent from the local sysop (user #1) to enable expansion of the @-codes when the message is viewed by users.

Formatting

By default, @-codes are expanded to just the number of characters necessary to display the dynamic text with no padding, shortened (truncated) if necessary to fit the available terminal line. This default formatting can be modified by adding a format modifier.

Format Modifiers

Most @-codes support an optional format modifier. Modifiers are appended to the end of the @-code variable name and before the terminating @ character, separated from the code itself with either a hyphen (-) or a pipe (|) character.

When using the hyphen (-) modifier separator, only one format modifier may be used per @-code instance (you cannot combine format modifiers) and @-code arguments (separated from the code with a colon) are not supported.

When using the pipe (|) modifier separator, some modifiers may be combined with others (e.g. |TR) and @-code arguments (separated from the code with a colon) are supported.

Modifier Purpose
L Pad and left-justify an expanded @-code
R Pad and right-justify an expanded @-code
C Pad and center an expanded @-code (added in v3.17b)
W Displays double-wide using “fullwidth” Unicode code points if possible, spaces between the characters otherwise
Z Zero-pad and right-justify an expanded @-code (added in v3.17b)
T Thousands-separated (e.g. with a comma) numeric values, may be combined with other modifiers (added in v3.17c)
U Convert all alphabetic characters in string to uppercase (added in v3.18a)
> Allow the terminal to wrap (don't truncate) overly-long expanded @-codes (added in v3.17c)

Width Specificity

A string width, specified as a positive decimal number, may immediately follow a format modifier.

Example: @NODE|L2@ for a left-justified 2 character (space padded) node number or @NODE|Z2@ for a right-justified 2 digit (zero-padded) node number.

Another method of specifying the width of an expanded @-code is to include non-numeric non-space characters between the modifier and the trailing @ character.

Example: @ALIAS|R###########@ for a right-justified 20 character user alias (any non-numeric non-space characters could have been used in place of the # characters).

Truncation

When a width is specified, expanded @-code strings which are longer than the specified width will be truncated (shortened) to adhere to the requested width. The left-most characters are preserved/displayed while the right-most characters are truncated (lost).

By default, most expanded @-codes that would reach the last column of the terminal screen are truncated (shortened) so as to not cause an automatic line-wrap of the user's terminal. If you wish for an expanded @-code to be displayed in the last terminal column, or beyond (possibly causing an automatic line-wrap of the terminal) use the > format modifier.

Exceptions

@-codes that take an argument value, preceded by a colon (:) character, cannot be used with format modifiers when using the hyphen (-) modifier separator; use the pipe (|) modifier separator instead.

System Information

The currently supported System Information @-codes are:

Code Aliases Description
ANODES AN, ANODE Number of active nodes (including current node)
AUTODEL Maximum days of user inactivity before auto-deletion or “unlimited”
BBS BOARDNAME Name of BBS
COMPILER Compiler used to build Synchronet
CONF Name of current Group and Sub-board
CONFNUM Number of current Group and Sub-board (separated by a space)
CONN Connection description (modem type, “Telnet”, “RLogin”, etc.)
COPYRIGHT Synchronet copyright details
DATE SYSDATE Current system date (in “DD/MM/YY” or “MM/DD/YY” format)
DATEFMT Date display/input format: “DD/MM/YY” or “MM/DD/YY”
DATETIME Current system date and time (in 24-char long format)
DATETIMEZONE Current system date and time and time-zone
DIR Current file directory short description
DIRL Current file directory long description
DN Number of current file directory
DL DN-L “ ” padded and left justified (4 chars wide)
DR DN-R “ ” padded and right justified (4 chars wide)
EVENT Date and time of next scheduled timed event
FIDOADDR System's primary FidoNet address
FILES Number of files in the user's currently selected file transfer directory
FILES:<code> Number of files in the file transfer directory specified by internal-code
FILES:<path> Number of files in the directory specified by path
FILESIZE Total size of all files in the user's currently selected file transfer directory
FILESIZE:<code> Total size of all files in the file transfer directory specified by internal-code
FILESIZE:<path> Total size of all files matching the path/filespec specified in path
FILEKB Total size (in kibibytes) of all files in the user's currently selected file transfer directory
FILEKB:<code> Total size (in kibibytes) of all files in the file transfer directory specified by internal-code
FILEKB:<path> Total size (in kibibytes) of all files matching the path/filespec specified in path
FILEMB Total size (in mebibytes) of all files in the user's currently selected file transfer directory
FILEMB:<code> Total size (in mebibytes) of all files in the file transfer directory specified by internal-code
FILEMB:<path> Total size (in mebibytes) of all files matching the path/filespec specified in path
FILEGB Total size (in gibibytes) of all files in the user's currently selected file transfer directory
FILEGB:<code> Total size (in gibibytes) of all files in the file transfer directory specified by internal-code
FILEGB:<path> Total size (in gibibytes) of all files matching the path/filespec specified in path
FREESPACE Free disk space available for uploads (in bytes)
FREESPACEK Free disk space available for uploads (in kibibytes)
FULL_VER Synchronet full version number (e.g. “3.15a”)
GRP Current message group short description
GRPL Current message group long description
GN Number of current message group
GL GN-L “ ” padded and left justified (4 chars wide)
GR GN-R “ ” padded and right justified (4 chars wide)
HOSTNAME Server's hostname
INETADDR System's Internet Address (as configured in SCFG)
JS_VER JavaScript Library Version
LASTCALLERNODE PREVON, LASTCALLERSYSTEM Name of user last user to use the terminal server
LIB Current file library short description
LIBL Current file library long description
LN Number of current file library
LL LN-L “ ” padded and left justified (4 chars wide)
LR LN-R “ ” padded and right justified (4 chars wide)
LOCAL-IP System's IP address
LOCATION System location (e.g. “city, state”)
MSGREPLY Command key to reply to last message ('A' or 'R')
MSGREREAD Command key used to re-read last message ('R' or 'A')
MSG_LIB Synchronet Message Base Library version information
NOACCESS Why user was denied access (last failed ARS check)
NODE NN Number of current node
NODEn Status of node number n
NUMDIR Number of current library and directory
ONODES ONODE, ON Number of other active nodes (not counting current node)
OS_VER Operating system type and version information
PLATFORM Platform or operating system name (e.g. “win32”, “linux”)
PWDAYS Maximum age (in days) of user's password before forced-change or “unlimited”
QUESTION Current Yes/No question being asked of the user
QWKID System's QWK BBS-ID
REV Synchronet revision (single letter)
SERVED Total clients served by the Terminal Server during this uptime
SOCKET_LIB Socket Library type and version information
SMB_AREA Current message group and sub-board (short names) or Email for mail base
SMB_AREA_DESC Current message group and sub-board (long names) or Personal Email for mail base
SMB_GROUP Current message group name
SMB_GROUP_DESC Current message group description (long name)
SMB_GROUP_NUM Current message group number
SMB_SUB Current message sub-board name (or Mail for the mail base)
SMB_SUB_DESC Current message sub-board description (or Mail for the mail base)
SMB_SUB_CODE Current message sub-board internal code (or MAIL for the mail base)
SMB_SUB_NUM Current message sub-board number
SMB_MSGS Total number of messages visible to current user in the current message sub-board
SMB_CURMSG Currently viewed message (index) into current message sub-board
SMB_LAST_MSG Number of last message stored in current message sub-board
SMB_MAX_MSGS Maximum number of messages to store in current message sub-board
SMB_MAX_CRCS Number of history message body hashes to store for current message sub-board
SMB_MAX_AGE Maximum age (in days) of messages stored in current message sub-board
SMB_TOTAL_MSGS Total number of message stored in the current message sub-board
MSG_NUM Current message number
MSG_ID Current message ID
MSG_REPLY_ID Current Message Reply-ID
MSG_TO Current message to-user name/number/address
MSG_TO_NAME Current message to-user name
MSG_TO_EXT Current message to-user extension (number)
MSG_TO_NET Current message to-user network address
MSG_TO_NETTYPE Current message to-user network address type (e.g. “QWKnet”, “FidoNet”, or “Internet”)
MSG_CC Current message carbon-copy list (usually blank)
MSG_FROM Current message from-user name/number/address
MSG_FROM_NAME Current message from-user name
MSG_FROM_EXT Current message from-user extension (number)
MSG_FROM_NET Current message from-user network address
MSG_FROM_NETTYPE Current message from-user network address type (e.g. “QWKnet”, “FidoNet”, or “Internet”)
MSG_SUBJECT Current message subject
MSG_SUMMARY Current message summary (usually blank)
MSG_TAGS Current message tags (space-separated, optional)
MSG_DATE Current message date/time written
MSG_IMP_DATE Current message date/time imported
MSG_AGE Current message age (e.g. in seconds, minutes, hours, etc.)
MSG_TIMEZONE Current message timezone written
MSG_IMP_TIMEZONE Current message timezone imported
MSG_ATTR Current message attributes
MSG_AUXATTR Current message auxiliary attributes
MSG_NETATTR Current message network attributes
MSG_UPVOTES Current message total number of 'up-votes' (new v3.17)
MSG_DOWNVOTES Current message total number of 'down-votes' (new in v3.17)
MSG_SCORE Current message vote score (down-votes subtracted from up-votes)
MSG_VOTED Current user voted status for current message (checkmark)
MSG_UPVOTED Current user up-voted status for current message (checkmark)
MSG_DOWNVOTED Current user down-voted status for current message (checkmark)
FILE_AREA Current file area (lib and directory) names
FILE_AREA_DESC Current file area (lib and directory) descriptions
FILE_LIB Current file library name
FILE_LIB_DESC Current file library description
FILE_LIB_NUM Current file library name
FILE_DIR Current file directory name
FILE_DIR_DESC Current file directory description
FILE_DIR_CODE Current file directory internal code
FILE_DIR_NUM Current file directory number
FILE_NAME Current file name
FILE_DESC Current file description
FILE_UPLOADER Current file uploader (e.g. user name)
FILE_SIZE Current file size (in bytes)
FILE_CREDITS Current file credit value
FILE_TIME Current file modification time and date
FILE_TIME_ULED Current file upload time and date
FILE_TIME_DLED Current file last download time and date
FILE_DATE Current file modification date
FILE_DATE_ULED Current file upload date
FILE_DAT_DLED Current file last download date
FILE_TIMES_DLED Current file download count
STATS.LOGONS NUMCALLS, TCALLSTotal logons during history of system
STATS.LTODAY Total logons today
STATS.TIMEON Total time used during history of system (in minutes)
STATS.TTODAY Total time used today (in minutes)
STATS.ULS Total uploads today
STATS.ULB Total bytes uploaded today
STATS.DLS Total download today
STATS.DLB Total bytes downloaded today
STATS.PTODAY Total posts today
STATS.ETODAY Total e-mails sent today
STATS.FTODAY Total feedbacks sent today
STATS.NUSERS Total number of new users today
SUB Current message sub-board short description
SUBL Current message sub-board long description
SN Number of current message sub-board
SL SN-L “ ” padded and left justified (4 chars wide)
SR SN-R “ ” padded and right justified (4 chars wide)
SYSOP Name of System Operator
SYSAVAIL Sysop availability for chat (e.g. “Available” or “Not Available”)
TFILE Total number of files on system
TIME SYSTIME Current system time
TIMEZONE Current system time zone abbreviation or UTC offset
TMSG Total number of messages on system
TNODES TNODE,TN Total number of Terminal Server nodes
TUSER Total number of currently active registered users
UPTIME Synchronet uptime details
VER BBS version number (e.g. “3.15”)
VER_NOTICE BBS version information (e.g. “Synchronet BBS for Win32 Version 3.15”)
WHO Display status of all active nodes

User Information

The currently supported User Information @-codes are:

Code Aliases Description
ADDR1 User's street address
AGE User's age (in years since birth date)
ALERTS Node activity alerts enabled status (e.g. “On” or “Off”)
ALIAS NAME, USER User's alias
BDATE User's birth date (in “MM/DD/YY” or “DD/MM/YY” format)
BYTELIMIT User's free credits per day
BYTESLEFT User's total credits
CALLS NUMTIMESON Total number of logons for user
CITY User's city
CREDITS Total unspent credits the user has earned
DAYBYTES Number of free credits used today by user
DLBYTES Total bytes downloaded by user
DLFILES DOWNS Total files downloaded by user
DLKLIMIT User's total credits (in kibibytes)
DOWNK Total kibibytes downloaded by user
EMAILADDR User's Internet e-mail address on your system
EMAILS Total number of emails sent by user
ETODAY Number of emails sent today by user
EXPDATE EXDATE User's expiration date (in “MM/DD/YY” or “DD/MM/YY” format)
EXPDAYS Days left before user expires
FBACKS Number of feedback messages sent by user
FIRST First word of user's alias
FIRSTON Date and time of user's first logon
FIRSTDATEON SINCE Date of user's first logon (in “MM/DD/YY” or “DD/MM/YY” format)
FIRSTTIMEON Time of user's first logon (in “HH:MM am” or “HH:MM:SS” format)
FIRSTREAL REAL First word of user's real name
FROM User's location (e.g. “City, State”)
FREECDT User's remaining freely-awarded (unearned) credits for today
FWD User's netmail forward status (e.g. “On” or “Off”) (new in v3.18c)
HANDLE User's chat handle
HOST CPU Client's hostname
IP CID Client's IP address or Caller-ID information
LAST Last word of user's alias
LASTDATEON Date of user's last logon (in “MM/DD/YY” or “DD/MM/YY” format)
LASTIP IP address of user's last logoff (new in v3.18c)
LASTNEW Date of user's last new file scan (in “MM/DD/YY” or “DD/MM/YY” format)
LASTON Date and time of user's last logon
LASTTIMEON Time of user's last logon (in “HH:MM am” or “HH:MM:SS” format)
LASTREAL Last word of user's real name
LTODAY Number of times user has logged on today
KBLEFT User's total credits (in kibibytes)
KBLIMIT DLKLIMIT, MAXDK User's free credits per day (in kibibytes)
MAILW Number of mail messages waiting for current user (includes SPAM)
MAILW:x MAILW#x Number of mail messages waiting for current user number x (x=0 for all users)
MAILP Number of pending mail messages sent by current user
MAILP:x MAILP#x Number of pending mail messages sent by current user number x
MAXCALLS Maximum number of calls/logons per day allowed per user's security level
MAXLINES Maximum number of lines per message allowed per user's security level
MAXMAILS Maximum number of sent emails per day allowed per user's security level
MAXPOSTS Maximum number of posted messages per day allowed per user's security level
MBANKED Minutes banked by user
MEXTRA Extra time earned today, in minutes
MPERC TIMELIMIT Minutes allowed per call/logon
MPERD Minutes allowed per day
MSGLEFT MSGSLEFT Total number of messages posted by user
MSGREAD Number of messages read by user this call
MTODAY Total minutes used during previous logons today
MTOTAL Total minutes used during all previous logons
NEWFILETIME Date and time of user's last new file scan (see LASTNEW)
NETMAIL User's personal email or netmail address (new in v3.18c)
NOTE MEMO1 User's note (new in v3.18c)
PAGER Chat pager enabled status (e.g. “On” or “Off”)
PCR User's post/call ratio (0-100)
PHONE HOMEPHONE, DATA, DATAPHONE Users's phone number
PTODAY Number of messages posted by user today
PWAGE Age (in days) of the current user's password
PWDATE MEMO Date of user's last password modification (in “MM/DD/YY” or “DD/MM/YY” format)
REALNAME COMPANY, MEMO2 User's real name
SEC SECURITY User's security level (0-99)
SPAMW Number of SPAM messages waiting
SPAMW:x SPAMW#x Number of SPAM messages waiting for user number x
SPLITP Split-screen private chat enabled status (e.g. “On” or “Off”)
STATE User's state (from location)
TBANKED Banked time in HH:MM format
TEXTRA Extra time earned by user, in H:MM format
TLAST Time used by user during last logon
TIMELEFT MINLEFT User's time left in minutes
TIMEON TIMEUSED Time used this call in minutes
TLEFT Time left (in “H:MM:SS” format)
TMP Temporary file type chosen by user (e.g. “ZIP”) (new in v3.18c)
TPERC Time allowed per call (in “H:MM:SS” format)
TPERD Time allowed per day (in “H:MM:SS” format)
TTODAY Time used by user today (in “H:MM format)
TTOTAL Total time used by user for all previous calls/logons (in “HH:MM” format)
TUSED Time used this call (in “H:MM:SS” format)
UPBYTES Total bytes uploaded by user
UPFILES UPS Total files uploaded by user
UPK Total kibibytes uploaded by user
USERNUM User's number (1-based index into user database)
ZIP User's zip/postal code

Terminal Information / Control

The currently supported Terminal Control @-codes:

Code Aliases Description
BPS BAUD Current emulated modem (DCE) bit-rate, in bps
BPS:n Set the current emulated rate to 0 (unlimited), or 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 76800, or 115200 bps
BEEP BELL Generate a beep sound on the user's terminal
CLS Clear the screen
CLEAR Clear the screen, all existing mouse hot-spots and eat the next newline sequence
CLEAR_HOT Clear all existing mouse hot-spots
HOT Define a new mouse hot-spot color (the color of the @-code defines the hot-spot attributes)
HOT:HUNGRY Define a new mouse hot-spot color for defining hungry hot-spots (hungry hot-spots are the default type)
HOT:STRICT Define a new mouse hot-spot color for defining strict hot-spots
HOT:OFF Disable hot-spot by color/attribute definitions for the remainder of the file (or until re-enabled)
~text Define a single hungry hot-spot (where the displayed text and command keys are the same)
~text~cmd Define a single hungry hot-spot with an alternate command to stuff in the keyboard input buffer
`text Define a single strict hot-spot (where the displayed text and command keys are the same)
`text`cmd Define a single strict hot-spot with an alternate command to stuff in the keyboard input buffer
CRLF Send a carriage return/line-feed pair
CHECKMARK Send a check mark symbol appropriate for the user's terminal
COPY Send a copyright symbol appropriate for the user's terminal, e.g. ”©“
SOUNDCOPY Send a sound-copyright symbol appropriate for the user's terminal, e.g. ”(P)“
REGISTERED Send a registered mark appropriate for the user's terminal, e.g. ”®“
TRADEMARK Send a trademark symbol appropriate for the user's terminal, e.g. ”™“
ELLIPSIS Send a ellipsis (...) appropriate for the user's terminal
DEGREE_C Send a degree Celsius symbol appropriate for the user's terminal
DEGREE_F Send a degree Fahrenheit symbol appropriate for the user's terminal
YESCHAR Print the character that corresponds with an affirmative “Yes” answer key (e.g. Y)
NOCHAR Print the character that corresponds with an negative “No” answer key (e.g. N)
QUITCHAR Print the character that corresponds with a “quit” command key (e.g. Q)
EOF End-of-file (stop parsing/displaying)
PAUSE MORE Force a screen pause (hit a key) prompt
PON AUTOMOREToggle automatic screen pause on
POFF NOPAUSE Toggle automatic screen pause off
RESETPAUSE Reset the automatic screen pause line counter
DELAY:n Wait n 10ths of a second before continuing
UP:n Move cursor up n rows
DOWN:n Move cursor down n rows
RIGHT:n Move cursor right n columns
LEFT:n Move cursor left n columns
GOTOXY:x,y Move cursor to x/y coordinate (1-based)
POS:x Move cursor to column x (1-based)
HOME Home cursor (to upper left), don't clear the screen
CLRLINE Clear the current line (cursor to first column)
CLR2EOL Clear to end of line (cursor doesn't move)
CLR2EOS Clear to end of screen (cursor doesn't move)
PUSHXY Save current cursor position
POPXY Restore saved cursor position
HANGUP Disconnect the user
COLS Number of terminal columns
ROWS Number of terminal rows
TERM Terminal-type name (i.e. 'ANSI', 'RIP', 'PETSCII', or 'DUMB')
CHARSET Terminal character set supported (i.e. 'UTF-8', 'CP437', 'PETSCII', or 'US-ASCII')
WORDWRAP Word-wrap the the following text
WRAPOFF Mark the end of a word-wrapped text block
CENTER Middle-align the remaining text on the line
SYSONLY Toggle off/on visibility for non-sysops
FILL:text Repeat the specified text, filling the current line (to terminal columns - 1)
WIDE:text Display specified text double-wide, using Unicode “fullwidth” characters if possible
U+code Send a Unicode character code point (in hexadecimal) to UTF-8 terminal or an automatic fallback character, if supported2)
U+code:text Send a Unicode character code point, specifying fallback string
U+code,char Send a Unicode character code point, specifying fallback character value in hexadecimal (or 0 for none)
U+code!char Send a Unicode character code point, specifying fallback character only to used when no automatic fallback is available

Unicode

Only UTF-8 terminals support Unicode. For other terminals (TTY/ASCII, CP437, and PETSCII), an equivalent “fallback” character may be automatically available or when using the U+ @-codes, explicitly specified in the @-code itself.

The 'U+' @-code supports additional syntax to allow the sysop to specify the CP437 fallback character:

  • @U+<code>:<text>@: Send a Unicode character with specified fallback character sequence (string)
  • @U+<code>,<char>@: Send a Unicode character with specified fallback character, in hexadecimal (specify 0 to send no character to non-UTF-8 terminals)
  • @U+<code>!<char>@: Send a Unicode character with specified fallback character to be used only when no automatic fallback character is supported

Examples

@-code UTF-8 CP437 US-ASCII
WIDE:Test Test T e s t T e s t
CHECKMARK +
COPY © (C) (C)
TRADEMARK (TM) (TM)
ELLIPSIS ... ...
U+20AC
U+20AC,24 $ $
U+2265 >
U+2265!a8 >
U+2265,a8 ¿ ?
U+1F609 😉
U+1F609:;-) 😉 ;-) ;-)

External Content

The currently supported External Content @-codes:

Code Description
MENU:filename Display a menu file from the text/menu directory
CONDMENU:filenameDisplay a menu file from the text/menu directory, only if it exists (conditionally)
TYPE:filename Display a specific filename (may include specifiers)
INCLUDE:filename Display a specific filename (may include specifiers) without a trailing CR/LF pair
EXEC:module Execute an in-process module (Baja or JavaScript) from the exec directory
EXEC_XTRN:code Execute an external online program (e.g. door) by specifying the internal code
SETSTR:str Sets the current Baja/PCMS command string to str
STR Display the current Baja/PCMS command string value
STRVAR:name Display the contents of a Baja/PCMS command shell string variable, specify name in ALL-CAPS unless baja -c was used3)
JS:name Display the value of a named JavaScript property

See Also

1)
and not because of the defunct phone company
2)
Not all Unicode code points support fallback characters for ASCII/CP437/PETSCII terminals
3)
this feature only works for variables defined in command shells
custom/atcodes.1601271095.txt · Last modified: 2020/09/27 22:31 by digital man
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