Synchronet v3.19b-Win32 (install) has been released (Jan-2022).

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SCFG

The Synchronet Configuration Utility (SCFG) is used for viewing and modifying the primary ini files in the Synchronet ctrl directory.

SCFG Main Menu

Invoke

SCFG may be invoked from the Synchronet Control Panel with the BBS->Configure menu option:

Or by running scfg from a command prompt.

:!: Note: If the Synchronet exec directory is not in your search path, you may need to change the current working directory (e.g. using cd) or specify the full path to scfg.

Executable

SCFG is a native executable program.

On Windows, the executable file is: exec/scfg.exe

On UNIX, the executable file is: exec/scfg

Command-line

Help on the command-line usage can be displayed by executing the command: scfg -? or scfg –help:

usage: scfg [ctrl_dir] [options]

options:

-w                run initial setup wizard
-f                force save of configuration files
-a                update all message base status headers
-h                don't update message base status headers
-u#               set file creation permissions mask (in octal)
-k                keyboard mode only (no mouse support)
-c                force color mode
-m                force monochrome mode
-e#               set escape delay to #msec
-insert           enable keyboard insert mode by default
-import=<fname>   import a message area list file
-faddr=<addr>     specify your FTN address for imported subs
-misc=<value>     specify option flags for imported subs
-g#               set group number (or name) to import into
-host=<name>      set hostname to use for alternate sbbs.ini file
-iX               set interface mode to X (default=auto) where X is one of:
                   X  = X11 mode
                   C  = Curses mode
                   F  = Curses mode with forced IBM charset
                   I  = Curses mode with forced ASCII charset
                   W  = Windows console mode
                   G  = Windows graphics mode
                   GF = Windows graphics mode, full screen
                   A  = ANSI mode
                   D  = standard input/output/door mode
-A                use alternate (ASCII) characters for arrow symbols
-v#               set video mode to # (default=42)
-l#               set window lines to # (default=auto-detect)
-s#               set window scaling factor to # (default=1.0)
-y                automatically save changes (don't ask)

:!: Note: some of the interface mode values are only available on particular platforms/operating systems.

ctrl Directory

If the SBBSCTRL environment variable is set, then SCFG will find the ini files without needing you to specify the path to the ctrl directory ([ctrl_dir]) on the command-line.

If the SBBSCTRL environment variable is not set and the [ctrl_dir] is not specified on the command-line, SCFG will look for the ini files in the /sbbs/ctrl directory, by default.

scfg.ini

The default user interface/display control settings of SCFG can be overridden by creating the file ctrl/scfg.ini (new to SCFG v3.20).

All of the scfg.ini keys are in the root (global) section:

Key Default Value Description
video_mode 42 (80×25 LCD) The text/video output mode
uifc_mode 0 Bit-flags controlling the user interface library, see uifc.h for bit definitions, e.g. set to 2 to disable mouse support
ciolib_mode 0 (auto) Console I/O Library Interface mode, see ciolib.h for value definitions, e.g. set to 4 to enable ANSI output mode
lines auto-detect Height of user interface window, in rows/lines of text (usually, 25)
insert false Set to true to enable keyboard insert mode by default, not overwrite
esc_delay 25 Milliseconds to wait for escape sequence, differentiating between ESC key press and extended key escape sequence
scaling 0 (auto) Initial display scale of graphical window, fractions supported

If the ctrl/scfg.ini file does not exist, SCFG will fallback to using the file ctrl/uifc.ini, if it exists.

Usage

Help

At any time within SCFG, you can press the F1 or ? keys or click the ? on a window to get online help about the list of options or items being viewed or the option being edited.

Key(s) Action
Up and Down arrows Move the lightbar that highlights the desired item
Page Up and Page Down Move the lightbar up or down one “screen full” at a time
Home Highlight first option in the menu
End Highlight the last option in the menu
Enter Select the highlighted item
Esc or Backspace Return to the previous menu, or if at the top-level menu, quit the SCFG application
F1 or ? Display help text on current windows/dialog/list
Ctrl-F Find an option or item in a list
Ctrl-G Find next option or item in list (after use of Ctrl-F)
Letters/numbers Pressing the first letter or number of an item in the menu will highlight that item

Editing keys:

Key(s) Action
Insert or + Insert new items in lists
Delete or - Delete items from lists
Ctrl-C or F5 or Ctrl-Insert Copy item from list into clipboard
Ctrl-X or Shift-Delete Cut item from list into clipboard
Ctrl-V or F6 or Shift-Insert Paste clipboard item into list (above highlighted item)

Initial Setup Wizard

When SCFG detects a new Synchronet installation, it'll start its Initial Setup Wizard which will prompt the sysop for various important initial configuration settings.

╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ New install detected, starting Initial Setup Wizard ║
╠═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ │OK                                                 ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

The SCFG -w command-line option can also be used to force SCFG to execute its Initial Setup Wizard.

┌─────────────────────────────┤ Setup Wizard ├─────────────────────────────┐
│                                                                          │
│                                  Welcome                                 │
│   _________                   .__                                __      │
│  /   _____/__.__. ____   ____ |  |_________  ____   ____   _____/  |_    │
│  \_____  <   |  |/    \_/ ___\|  |  \_  __ \/  _ \ /    \_/ __ \   __\   │
│  /        \___  |   |  \  \___|   Y  \  | \(  <_> )   |  \  ___/|  |     │
│ /_______  / ____|___|  /\___  >___|  /__|   \____/|___|  /\___  >__|     │
│         \/\/         \/     \/     \/                  \/     \/         │
│                                                                          │
│ This wizard will take you through the configuration of the basic         │
│ parameters required to run a Synchronet Bulletin Board System.  All of   │
│ these configuration parameters may be changed later if you choose.       │
│                                                                          │
│ Press  ENTER  to advance through the setup wizard or  ESC  to move       │
│ backward or abort the wizard.                                            │
│                                                                          │
│                                                                          │
│                                │Continue                                 │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Configure

See Also