Citadel+ User's Guide and Reference Manual
Draft Version/065
March 12, 1995
By Anticlimactic Teleservices
Table of Contents
Introduction v
What we want from you v
Typographic conventions v
Style conventions v
Section I: Quick Setup 1
System requirements 1
Choosing the correct version 1
Setting Citadel up 1
Section II: User's Guide 3
Basic Usage 4
Message Editor 6
Groups 9
Boolean group expressions 10
Accounting 11
Message Censoring 12
ANSI Colors 13
Message Command Interpreter (MCI) Commands 15
Variables 15
The commands 15
Examples 19
Applications 22
General format 22
Special command-line variables 23
Defining applications 24
The input and output data files 25
Help Files 27
Blurbs 27
Menus 31
Help files 34
Networking 36
General information 36
DragCit 1.0/1.1: The oldest and slowest 36
DragCit 1.5/1.6: Faster, but still messy 38
Net 6.9: Citadel networking at its best (so far) 39
Citadel-86 compatible networking 43
Time and Date Formatting 44
The TZ environment variable 44
Time/date format strings 44
Scroll-Back Buffer 46
Spell Checker 48
Status Line and Screen 49
The standard status line 49
The second status line 50
The help window 50
The status screen 50
User Configuration 52
Room Editing 61
User Editing 65
Section III: Command Reference 67
Common single-key commands 67
Less common single-key commands 68
Multiple key (extended) commands 69
.Read (.R...) commands 70
.Sysop (.S...) commands 72
.Aide (.A...) commands 76
.Chat (C) command 78
.Download (.D...) command 78
.Enter (.E...) commands 79
.Goto (.G...) command 80
.Help (.H...) command 80
.Jumpback (.J) command 80
.Known (.K...) commands 80
.Login (.L...) command 81
.Mail search (.M) command 82
.Bypass (.B...) command 82
.Terminate (.T...) commands 82
.Upload (.U...) command 82
.Invite (.I...) commands 82
.Expert toggle (.X) command 82
.Queue (.Q...) commands 82
.Menu (.?) command 83
Message Editor Commands 83
Output commands 85
Console-only commands 85
Dial-out commands 88
Window commands 88
Section IV: Configuration Files 91
CONFIG.CIT 92
Required 92
Optional 93
Paths and filenames 93
Console Attributes (Colors) 95
System Size 95
Modem 97
System Settings 100
Auxiliary Memory 107
Configuration 107
System Personality 108
Accounting 111
Security 112
EXTERNAL.CIT 118
NODES.CIT 121
CRON.CIT 128
GRPDATA.CIT 131
Sample Entry 132
DEFUSER.CIT 134
HARDWARE.CIT 142
PROTOCOL.CIT 143
Command line variables and flags 144
MDMRESLT.CIT 146
ROUTE.CIT 148
MAILLIST.CIT 149
Section V: Citadel Script Files 151
Overview 152
How script files are called 152
Variables 153
Functions 154
Script keywords 155
Debugging 160
Citadel internal functions by name 162
Citadel internal functions by function 247
Configuration 247
Debugging 247
Files 247
Messages 247
Networking 247
Users 247
Rooms 247
Halls 247
Groups 247
User interaction 247
String duplication checking 248
Miscellaneous 248
Appendix A: Customization 249
The CTDL.DAT File 249
Using CTDLDAT.EXE 250
The CTDLDATA.DEF file 250
What Citadel expects 251
The ENG-AM.DAT File 259
Appendix B: External drivers 261
Appendix C: FOSSIL support 275
Appendix D: Sound Blaster 277
Appendix E: Citadel BBSes 279
Appendix F: Credits 281
Appendix G: Data Files 283
The userlog files 283
The room files 289
The hall files 290
The group file 291
The borders file 291
The message file 291
Appendix H: Other files 295
Queued file transfers 295
Abnormal termination 295
Networking files 299
The NETID.CIT file 299
Net 1.0/1.1 network packets 299
Net 1.5/1.6 network packets 299
Net 6.9 network packets 299
MSG.69 format 300
MESG.TMP format 300
ROOMREQ.(alias) format 300
FILE69.(alias) format 300
Appendix I: Legal 313
Index 315
IIntroduction
Citadel+ is the most configurable, most powerful, most
supported, and all-around best variant of Citadel there is.
If you have doubts about this, point us in the direction of
a better Citadel and reasons why it is better; we will
quickly incorporate any missing features into future
versions of the software.
The software is free for anyone to use for any use. This
does not, of course, mean that you should expect any less
from Citadel than from any commercial product; Citadel is
fully tested and supported software. If you have any
problems with the software, report them to The Anticlimactic
Teleservice at (206)562-9792 for a quick fix. The same
applies to new features: we will implement almost any new
feature requested of us.
What we want from you
What we want most from our users is feedback. Even if you
decide not to use Citadel, it would be nice to hear from
you; tell us why you did not like Citadel so we can improve
the software for future releases.
Typographic conventions
There are a few typographic conventions used in this manual
that, if understood, help readability. They are as follows:
Courier This is used when showing text as it would be
entered into a text file.
Italics This is used in two places: subheadings
within a section and user input into the
keyboard when running Citadel. Subheadings in
italics are referenced in the table of
contents.
Style conventions
Most references on written American English style will claim
that all punctuation belongs inside quotation marks.
However, this can lead to confusing text, especially when
dealing with a computer: when listing possible words to
enter in a configuration file, for example, the "correct"
method would be to list them with the commas inside the
quotes: "Setting1," "Setting2," or "Setting3." However, as
the comma is not really part of what you should enter into
the file, and the computer will not recognize what you want
it to do if you do, this manual adopts a style of including
only what is really being quoted inside the quotation marks:
"Setting1", "Setting2", or "Setting3". This is just a
warning to those of you who expect strict conformity to all
style rules, even the silly and counterproductive ones.
Another problem arises that English has no neuter pronoun
that is acceptable for referring to people: people are
always "he", "she", "him", or "her". The neuter pronoun
("it") is not used to refer to people. The problem is that
in most cases, we do not know what sex the person we are
referring to is. The solution to this problem that some
people prefer is to use text like "he or she" whenever using
a pronoun to refer to a person of unknown sex. The problem
with this method is that it leads to longer, more confusing
sentences. The purpose of a reference manual is to clearly
state what it is trying to communicate, so adopting this
style would cause the manual to suffer in quality. Another
solution some people use is to alternate: sometimes use "he"
and sometimes use "she". The problem that I have with this
method is that it seems to turn into a quota system: after
revising any section of the manual, I would have count "he"s
and "she"s, to ensure that I used an equal amount of them.
So, even though this may annoy some people, this manual uses
"he" and "him" as the neuter pronoun. While this may not be
fair in that it implies that the person being referred to is
male, this is a problem with the language we speak. I don't
feel that there is any good solution to this problem.
(Introducing a new word, or making "it" acceptable when
referring to people, would be nice, but we would have to
convince several hundred million other people who speak
English of this.) So, if you are female and reading some
section that applies to you, please regard all occurrences
of the word "he" as typographical errors for the word "she",
all occurrences of the word "him" as typographical errors
for the word "her", and all occurrences of the word "his" as
typographical errors for the word "hers".
_Section I: Quick Setup
Citadel is a complex program with many features. It includes
defaults that work well for most settings, but it can still
take a while to set up a Citadel. Because of the number of
manufacturers and models of modems in the world, setting the
modem parameters can be especially difficult. If you have
problems, call The Anticlimactic Teleservice at (206)562-
9792. This is the main distribution and support site for
Citadel, so it carries the latest version of the program and
related utilities and is a good place to ask questions or
link into the Citadel network.
System requirements
Citadel requires the following to run:
Hard disk
512K RAM (perhaps less)
MS-DOS version 3.30 or later
IBM PC Compatible computer
The following is recommended:
Modem
640K RAM
IBM AT Compatible computer
The following is nice to have, as well:
Even more RAM
Even faster computer
Choosing the correct version
There are two versions of Citadel: the Regular version and
the Auxmem version. The Auxmem version can store much of its
data in either EMS or XMS memory, or in disk-based virtual
memory. Because of this, the Auxmem version can handle a
larger system than the Regular version. But, even if you
don't have a large system, the Auxmem version may be the
correct one for you. It requires less conventional memory
when running a moderately sized system than the Regular
version, which gives you more room to use other features of
Citadel. The disadvantage to the Auxmem version is that it
is slightly slower than the Regular version. This slow-down
is not noticeable if you are using an AT-class machine or
faster, and is only slightly noticeable on an XT-class
machine with EMS memory.
If you only have conventional memory (up to 640K), then you
should probably use the Regular version of Citadel. However,
if you have any EMS or XMS memory, you should probably use
the Auxmem version of Citadel. Also, if you have extended
memory but no XMS driver, you can configure it as a RAM
disk, so the Auxmem version of Citadel can indirectly access
the memory by placing its swap file on the RAM disk.
Setting Citadel up
The first thing to do is make a directory for Citadel on
your hard disk. If you don't have a hard disk, get one. (If
you really want to run on a floppy-only system, request a
floppy version of Citadel+ on The Anticlimactic Teleservice,
and we will try to comply. It might be possible to make the
software run on such a system by removing enough features to
make the executable file small enough. Then again, it might
not: it has been a couple of years since this was
attempted.)
Copy CTDL.EXE into this directory, then run it with the -C
command-line parameter. (-C tells Citadel to configure
itself. If you omit this, Citadel will alert you that it
needs to be configured, and to run it with the -C
parameter.)
When first run, Citadel will prompt for some information
that it needs to know to get started, such as the name of
the BBS and its phone number, then create all its data files
(room, message, user, etc.) and directories. Citadel will
use default values for the size of the system and other
options. Section IV contains full information on the
configuration options, which you might want to change at a
later time.
Once Citadel has configured itself, it will present you with
a room prompt for the Lobby. At this time, it is ready for
use. Create an account with the Login (L) command by
pressing L then coming up with new initials and password.
Use the F6 key to access the sysop functions. You can press
? at any prompt to get a menu, or H for help. Now is a good
time to read the "Basic Usage" topic in the next section.
SSection II: User's Guide
Citadel has many features, not all of which are used by all
users. This section describes all features of the software,
on a topical basis.
This section does not explain specific commands; Section III
is a command reference. This section also does not go into
detail about setting configuration options in files (Section
IV has detailed information about these); it merely tells
you which options apply to the feature being described.
The following topics are discussed in this section:
Basic Usage
Message Editor
Groups
Accounting
Message Censoring
ANSI Colors
Message Command Interpreter (MCI) Commands
Applications
Help Files
Networking
Time and Date Formatting
Scroll-Back Buffer
Spell Checker
Status Line and Screen
User Configuration
Room Editing
Hall Editing.
User Editing
Basic Usage
Citadel contains many rooms, which are grouped together in
halls. When in a certain room, the message retrieval
commands (such as the New messages (N) command) are used to
read messages in that room and the Enter message (E) command
is used to enter a message into that room. Individual
pointers are kept for the last message read in each room, so
there is no need to visit every room with new messages every
call: new messages in rooms not visited will still be new
during the next call. Additionally, Citadel allows more
structure by grouping rooms in halls. This way, similar
rooms (such as those dealing with technical topics) can be
grouped together.
Because of the simplicity of the room concept, only a few
commands are needed to use Citadel effectively. These are
the commands to enter and read messages and change rooms and
halls. This makes Citadel easy for new modem users: there is
no need to memorize a large command set to use the program
well, and it is easy to get at the messages as there are no
sub-menus to navigate (and potentially get lost in).
After a user logs on, Citadel displays all new messages in
the Lobby, then gives a room prompt, meaning that it is
ready for user commands. There are two commonly used
commands at this point: the Enter message (E) and Goto new
messages (G) commands.
To respond to something in the Lobby, press E to invoke the
Enter message (E) command. This brings up Citadel's message
editor. This is an easy editor to use for entering text, and
fairly simple for editing text as well. To enter text, just
start typing. Everything typed gets entered into the message
buffer. To bring up the message editor's command prompt,
press Enter on a blank line.
The most common mistake that new users make when using the
message editor is that they forget that Citadel
automatically formats messages for each caller's screen-
width. Because of this, pressing the Enter key will not
force Citadel to start on a new line when it displays the
message. To force Citadel to start a new line, press the
Enter key then the space bar, so it thinks that you are
starting a new paragraph.
The commands most used from the message editor's command
prompt are Save (S) , Abort (A), Continue (C), Print
formatted (P), and Replace (R). Save, Abort, Continue, and
Print do the obvious thing. Replace starts its search at the
end of the text, going backwards, and only replaces one
occurrence. An alternate text replacement command is Find
and replace (F). This command displays the text it is going
to replace before doing it. It takes a bit longer to use,
but is good for users not totally familiar with Citadel's
message editor.
Another useful command of the message editor is Verify
spelling (V). This checks the spelling of the words in the
message, and gives suggestions for correcting those words it
cannot find. The spell checker has many options, and is
fully explained in the spell checker section.
It is a good idea, especially when new, to use the Print
formatted (P) command of the message editor before saving
the message. This gives you a chance to see what Citadel's
formatting does to a message, so it can be revised before
saving it.
Usually, the Goto new messages (G) command is used after
entering a message in Lobby. This moves to the next room
with new messages in the current hall. Once there, use the
New messages (N) command to read the messages in the room.
Then, either post a message with the Enter message (E)
command or go to the next room with the Goto new messages
(G) command.
When the Goto new messages (G) command returns you to the
Lobby, use the Next hall (>) command to go to the next hall
and repeat the Goto/New/Enter loop. After you have visited
all the halls, use the Terminate (T) command to log off the
BBS and let others call.
Other useful commands are the file transfer commands: Upload
(U), Download (D), .Read Directory (.RD), and .Read Info
file (.RI). More information is available with the .Read
Directory (.RD) and .Read Info file (.RI) commands by adding
the Verbose modifier: .Read Verbose Directory (.RVD), and
.Read Verbose Info file (.RVI).
These commands only work in directory rooms, which are rooms
with a ] character at the end of the room prompt. The file
transfer protocols available on the board are up to
individual sysops to configure, using the PROTOCOL.CIT
configuration file. The ones set up are available when
either the Upload (U) or Download (D) commands are used.
In addition, Xmodem, 1K Xmodem, Xmodem CRC, and Zmodem are
always available through the .Enter With protocol (.EW...)
and .Read With protocol (.RW...) commands.
Message Editor
Citadel's message editor allows for quick entering of
messages, and effective editing of them. Enter text by just
typing; Citadel takes care of word wrap. The message
formatting that Citadel performs may be confusing to a new
user: Citadel tries to word wrap messages to the caller's
screen width, which can cause columnized messages (such as
tables) to be displayed incorrectly.
There are two ways around this formatting: one that is
compatible with all software on the network, and one that is
specific to Citadel+. If you want to ensure that the message
will be easily readable by all software, just start every
line with a space. This will make Citadel think that you are
starting a new paragraph, so it will not word wrap the line
to join with the previous. To be able to start typing in the
left column, enter a Control+A5 before the text. This will
tell Citadel to turn off its formatting. This only works
with Citadel+ BBSes, though, so your message might be
displayed incorrectly on another BBS on the network. If you
want to turn formatting back on, use Control+A6. Citadel
turns formatting back on after it is done with each message,
so a message with a Control+A5 in it does not have to
include a Control+A6.
To exit text entry mode, and go into text editing mode,
press Enter on a blank line. Citadel will respond with an
"Entry Command:" prompt. The following commands are active
at this prompt:
A Abort. This aborts the message being entered and
returns to the room prompt. If this command is
used by accident, the .Enter Old (.EO) command
will revive the aborted message. By default,
Citadel asks for confirmation when aborting a
message. However, this can be overridden with the
Confirm Abort (A) option of the Message Editor
options (E) sub-command of the .Enter
Configuration (.EC) command.
C Continue. This returns to the text entry mode. By
default, Citadel displays the last 100 characters
of the message before returning to text entry
mode. To have Citadel display the whole message,
use the Verbose Continue (V) option of the
Message Editor options (E) subcommand of the
.Enter Configuration (.EC) command.
D Delete buffer. This deletes all of the message
text that has been entered, and returns to the
text entry mode. Citadel asks for confirmation
when using this command, as there is no way to
undo it.
E Encrypt message. This asks for a key to use to
encrypt the message. The key is case sensitive,
and you must remember it if you want to be able to
read the message in the future: the key is needed
to decrypt the message when reading it. By
default, only mail may be encrypted, but the sysop
has control over which types of messages may be
encrypted with the #ALLOWCRYPT keyword in
CONFIG.CIT. He may choose to allow all messages to
be encrypted, or no messages to be encrypted.
F Find and replace. This prompts for text to
replace, then finds the most recent occurrence of
it, starting with the end of the message. It then
asks if you want to replace this text. If you
answer no, Citadel finds the next matching text,
and prompts to replace it. This continues until
you answer yes, when it asks for the text to
substitute, or until no more matches are found.
I Signature. This lets you change the user signature
of the message. The _ key can also be used to
change the signature.
L Location. This displays the current room and hall.
P Print formatted. This displays the message as it
would appear when read. This is a good way to
ensure that your message is formatted the way you
want.
R Replace. This operates as Find and replace (F),
but is more of an expert-level command: you are
not prompted for the occurrence to replace.
Citadel finds the last occurrence of the text in
the message, and replaces it with what you
specify. Use this with caution, especially as a
new user.
S Save. This saves the message and returns to the
room prompt. By default, Citadel does not ask for
confirmation when saving messages. However, this
can be overridden by using the Confirm Save (S)
option of the Message Editor options (E) sub-
command of the .Enter Configuration (.EC) command.
U Subject. This lets you change the message's
subject.
V Verify spelling. This runs the spell checker on
the message. Citadel's spell checker has many
options, which are described in the Spell Checker
topic.
W Word count. This counts the characters, words, and
lines (as Citadel thinks) of the message.
! Link application. This is available only to
sysops on console. It links the message to an
application (see the "Applications" topic in this
section) to the message, so that the application
is run every time the message is read, after the
message is displayed. If the message is
transferred to another board on the network, this
link is lost.
~ Allow ESC. This toggles whether Citadel will save
the Escape character (ASCII 27) to the message or
not. By default, it strips this character, to
avoid confusing people who try to use the arrow
keys for message editing. However, some people
might want to include ANSI sequences in their
messages; they must use this command to tell
Citadel to save the Escape character to do so.
@ Address message. This lets you change the address
of the message, for sending mail to other users.
# Special delivery options. This sets special
delivery options for mail. The only one currently
implemented is receipt confirmation requested. If
a message is marked as such, then Citadel
generates a message addressed to you confirming
that the message was received when it is read by
the recipient for the first time. Note that if the
message is networked mail destined to software
other than Citadel+ on the network, then the
confirmation will not be sent. Also, if the
message passes through some other software that
does not pass the special delivery information,
the response will not be sent.
< Insert file. This command is available only to
sysops on console. It reads the contents of any
file on disk and appends it to the message, up to
Citadel's 8K message limit.
* Change name. This lets users change their title
and surname for this message only. Sysops have the
added capability to change their name for this
message only.
? Menu. This displays a list of available commands.
Groups
Access to different areas of the board can be limited by
using groups. For example, if a room is group-only, only
users who are members of the group can get to the room to
read the messages in it. In addition to rooms, halls,
messages, and doors can be made group-only.
Groups are created with the .Sysop Group New (.SGN) command,
edited with the .Sysop Group Edit (.SGE) command, and killed
with the .Sysop Group Kill (.SGK) command. Once a group is
created, aides can usually add and remove people and rooms
from the groups. To make a group more secure, it can be
locked from aides, which means that only sysops can add and
remove people from it. For even greater security, a group
can be hidden, which means that only current members of the
group or a sysop on console can even know of the group's
existence. A low-security group can be made auto-add, which
means that all new users are added to it when they log in
for the first time.
Groups are also used for accounting: different time limits
and upload/download charges can be assigned to different
groups. Citadel's accounting is powerful and adaptable. The
Accounting section explains it in full.
Only aides and sysops may add or remove people from groups.
For a list of all groups on the system that you can add or
remove users from, use the .Aide List group (.AL) command,
and don't specify a group. If a group is specified, the
command will list all users, rooms, and halls belonging to
the group. The .Sysop Group List (.SGL) command operates
identically.
To add or remove users to or from a group, use the .Aide
Group (.AG) command, the .Sysop Group Group-specific
membership (.SGG) command, the .Sysop Group User-specific
membership (.SGU) command, or the .Sysop Group Operator-
specific membership (.SGO) commands. The .Aide Group (.AG)
command works on one user and one group at a time. The
.Sysop Group Group-specific membership (.SGG) command
operates on one group, but goes through the whole userlog,
prompting to add or remove each user or not. The .Sysop
Group User-specific membership (.SGU) command operates on
one user, but goes through the group list, prompting to add
or remove the user to or from each group on the system. The
.Sysop Group Operator-specific membership command (.SGO)
command lets you add users to a group based on their
membership in another group, or their access to the system.
This is done by specifying a Boolean expression, as
described below.
A rooms can be made group-only by setting its access with
the .Aide Edit room (.AE) command. A room can also have a
privileges group, also set by the .Aide Edit room (.AE)
command. Users not in the privileges group can access the
room, but have fewer privileges than members of the
privileges group. The privileges can be upload or download
ability in directory rooms, or message entry or moderating
in any room. Alternatively, a room can be made group-only
when it is being created, by adding the Group-only modifier
to the .Enter Room (.ER) command: .Enter Group-only Room
(.EGR).
Halls can be made group-only by setting the group with the
.Sysop Hall Edit (.SHE) command. Also, when a new hall is
being created with the .Sysop Hall New (.SHN) command,
Citadel allows the hall to be made group-only.
Messages can only be made group only when being created, by
adding the Group-only modifier to the .Enter Message (.EM)
command: .Enter Group-only Message (.EGM). Sysops have the
added ability to send mail to every member of a group by
using the .Enter Group-only Exclusive message (.EGE)
command.
Two groups are automatically created by Citadel: Null and
Reserved_2. Everybody is added to Null when logging in new
(Null is always auto-add). The Reserved_2 group is used when
something needs to be made group-only, but there is no
defined group for it, such as when mapping unknown group-
only messages coming in over the network, or creating an
Aide room message for a room with a Boolean group expression
(see below).
Boolean group expressions
Citadel allows you to use Boolean expressions to control
group-access to halls and rooms. By using these, you have a
large amount of control over who may access a room or hall.
They can also be used for the .Sysop Group Operator-specific
membership (.SGO) command and the .Read Group-only...
(.RG...) commands.
When entering a Boolean expression, you may use the
operators OR, AND, NOT, and XOR, in addition to the grouping
symbols "(" and ")". If the group name you are specifying
contains more than one word, you must enclose the name in
quotations. You must also put a space before and after the
grouping symbols "(" and ")" so Citadel does not try to
interpret them as part of the group name. For example,
suppose you have three groups on your system: Group 1; Group
2; and Group 3. If you want to make a room accessible to
members of Group 1 or Group 2, but who are not in Group 3,
then you would enter the following expression: ( "Group 1"
or "Group 2" ) and not "Group 3". Note that as Citadel has
partial group-name recognition, you could also enter that
expression as: ( 1 or 2 ) and not 3, assuming that you have
no other groups that Citadel would find first.
When using the .Sysop Group Operator-specific membership
(.SGO) command and .Read Group-only... (.RG...) commands,
Citadel provides the meta-groups *SYSOP, *AIDE, *NODE,
*UNLISTED, *TWIT, *PERMANENT, *NETWORK, and *NOMAIL to allow
you more power when choosing a group expression. These are
used like actual groups, with membership based on access.
Most of these are not available in the .Read Group-only
(.RG) commands to users who are not Aides, for security
reasons. Also, these don't make sense with the .Read Group-
only Messages (.RGM) commands, because messages don't have
these access levels.
Accounting
Citadel accounting is based on groups. When a user logs in,
Citadel assigns accounting information to him based on which
groups he is in, picking the best deal for him if he is a
member of two or more conflicting groups.
For each group, you can limit the times (days and hours) it
can call, its maximum time limit, the number of minutes
granted to members per day, the cost of uploads and
downloads, and hours of the day that the group is not
charged any time.
To turn on accounting, you must edit CONFIG.CIT and
sometimes DEFUSER.CIT. At the minimum, you must set the
#ACCOUNTING keyword in CONFIG.CIT to 1. This is enough to
turn on accounting, but you may want to change some of the
defaults. The default time limit for unlogged-in users is
five minutes. If you want to give them more or less time,
set #UNLOGGEDBALANCE in CONFIG.CIT to the number of minutes
you desire. When a new user creates an account, Citadel
assigns 60 minutes to it. If you want to give more or less
time, set #CREDITS in DEFUSER.CIT to the number of minutes
you desire. If you want to rename credits, use the
#CREDIT_NYM keyword in CONFIG.CIT.
Then, set GRPDATA.CIT for your accounting values, as
explained in Section IV.
You can turn off accounting for a specific user by using the
.Sysop Userlog edit (.SU) command. You can also use this
command to change the balance of a user's account. When a
user is logged-in, you can use the PgUp and PgDn keys to
change the account balance by five minutes at a time. The
current account balance is displayed in the status line.
Message Censoring
Citadel provides a method to keep messages on your system
from being too vulgar for your taste. This is done with
message censoring. When a message is censored, it will
always pass through the network. However, you have control
over who reads the message on your system.
In addition to the obvious censoring of message text that
you find objectionable, you can elect to censor any author
who has demonstrated a history of undesirable posts, or any
node with either an undesirable name or with users who
continually post unacceptable messages. You can also choose
to censor (or uncensor) any message that you read as you
read it. Exclusive messages are never censored. If a user on
your system enters a message that Citadel censors, it will
display the file CENSOR.BLB to the user. This is a good
place to insert a warning or tell the user why you chose to
have the message censored.
Each user can be configured to view or not view messages
that are marked "Censored" by Citadel. Sysops can control
this by using the View censored messages (*) option of the
.Sysop Userlog edit (.SU) command. If the #CENSOR keyword in
CONFIG.CIT is set to 1, then users can also control this
with the View censored messages (*) option of the .Enter
Configuration (.EC) command. When viewing is enabled with
this option, the file DISCLAIM.BLB is displayed to. A
carefully worded disclaimer blurb can help keep you out of
prison.
It is easy to enable censoring: just use the #CENSOR_AUTHOR,
#CENSOR_TEXT, and #CENSOR_NODE keywords in EXTERNAL.CIT as
follows:
#CENSOR_AUTHOR "name"
Censor all messages from the user name.
#CENSOR_TEXT "text"
Censor any messages that contain text anywhere in
the message buffer that might be displayed when a
user reads the message. This includes titles,
surnames, signatures, source software field, etc.
#CENSOR_NODE "node"
Censor all messages from the board node.
ANSI Colors
Citadel supports both ANSI codes and a Citadel-specific
method of changing colors that is a bit easier to use. To
turn on this support, use the Terminal settings (T)
subcommand of the .Enter Configuration (.EC) command. There
are two choices for turning on ANSI available from this
subcommand: ANSI mode (A) and ANSI color (C) . Turning on
ANSI mode tells Citadel to display certain things with ANSI
(such as room prompts and message headers). It also tells
Citadel to pass the Citadel-specific Control+A codes (see
below) 0 to 4 to you. Turning on ANSI color tells Citadel to
pass the Control+A codes a-h and A-H to you.
Turning on either also tells Citadel to pass ANSI (ESC[...)
codes to you. Otherwise, it strips these out, in an attempt
to keep the text visible to you. (It works well as long as
the only ANSI codes are color changes, not cursor movement.)
Citadel's Control+A color codes start with a Control+A
(ASCII 1) and then a character that specifies the new color
or other attribute. The available characters are:
Code Result
0 Normal
1 Blink
2 Reverse
3 Bold (high intensity)
4 Underline
a Black foreground
A Black background
b Red foreground
B Red background
c Green foreground
C Green background
d Yellow foreground
D Yellow background
e Blue foreground
E Blue background
f Magenta foreground
F Magenta background
g Cyan foreground
G Cyan background
h White foreground
H White background
r Random foreground
R Random background
You can change the actual ANSI codes that Citadel passes to
your terminal for the codes 0-4 by using the Attributes (R)
choice of the Terminal settings (T) subcommand of the
.Enter Configuration (.EC) command.
Underline (Control+A4) usually does not appear as an
underline: the text modes of IBM PC video cards that support
color (CGA, EGA, VGA) do not support underlined text. The
ANSI terminal code that enables underlined text on these
cards sets the text color to blue. (Or, more accurately, to
generate underlined text on the MDA, you specify the text
color as blue.)
You can also mix Control+A3 with the a-h codes to make the
colors brighter. To do this, enter the Control+A3 before the
Control+Aletter. Similarly, mixing Control+A1 with the codes
A-H will make the characters blink in the specified color.
Control+A2 (reverse) and Control+A4 (underline) cannot be
mixed with the other colors like this: the color code
entered will override the reverse or underline attribute.
Message Command Interpreter (MCI) Commands
If you have MCI (Message Command Interpreter) turned on with
the #TWIT_FEATURES keyword of CONFIG.CIT, messages can
become much more than just text: they can be interactive
sessions for the user.
Like colors (see the "ANSI Colors" section), MCI commands
all start with Control+A. A few MCI commands are a single
character long, like the colors, but most are multiple
characters. Multiple character commands all start with X and
end with X; the X at the start tells Citadel that this is an
extended command, and the X at the end tells Citadel that it
has reached the end of the command. For example, the command
to display the current connect rate is "^AXcrX". The "^A" is
the Control+A that tells Citadel that a special formatting
code (color or MCI) is next. The first "X" tells Citadel
that this is an extended code. The "cr" stands for "Connect
Rate" and actually tells Citadel what to display. The final
"X" tells Citadel that this is the end of the extended
command.
Variables
There are 10 variables that can hold string values and 10
that can hold character values. The variables holding string
values can also be used to hold numeric values. The
variables are labeled 0 to 9.
To assign a value to a string variable, use the Assign
(^AXas{variable}{value}X) command. To get the output of any
MCI command into a string variable, use the Assign next
(^AXan{variable}X) command. To get user input into a string,
use the Get string (^AXgs{variable}X) command. String
variables can be displayed using the Put string
(^AXps{variable}X) command.
Character variables can only be assigned to a user's
keystroke, with the Get character (^AXgc{variable}X)
command. Character variables can be displayed using the Put
character (^AXpc{variable}X) command.
The value of a variable can be tested with the Compare
(^AXcm{variable}[vflag]{type}{value}X) command, then acted
on with the Equal to (^AXeq{command}X), Greater than
(^AXgt{command}X), and Less than (^AXlt{command}X) commands.
The commands
All commands with an "*" after them are not yet implemented.
Account balance (^AXabX)
This displays the current user's account balance.
Add (^AX++{result variable}{variable 1}{variable
2...}X)
This command looks at string variables as if they
were numeric, and adds {variable 1} to {variable
2} (and to {variable 3}, etc., if present) and
assigns the value to {result variable}. For
example, the command "^AX++394123X" would assign
the sum of string variable 9 plus string variable
4 plus string variable 1 plus string variable 2
plus string variable 3 to string variable 3.
Address (^AXad{#}X)
This displays the current user's address. The
value of {#} determines which line to display: 1,
2, or 3. If no user is logged-in, this displays
"Not logged in" for all three.
Assign (^AXas{variable}{value}X)
This assigns the value given by {value} to the
string variable number {variable}.
Assign next (^AXan{variable}X)
This assigns the output of the next MCI command to
the string variable number {variable}, instead of
displaying to the user.
Backspace (^AXbs{#}X)
This sends backspace (Control+H) characters to the
user. The value of {#} determines how many to
send.
Beep (^AXbp{#}X)
This sends bell (Control+G) characters to the
user. The value of {#} determines how many to
send.
Call number * (^AXcnX)
This sends the current call number.
Clear screen *(^AXclX)
This clears the screen.
Compare (^AXcm{variable}[vflag]{type}{value}X)
This does a comparison of a variable to {value}.
The type of comparison is determined by {type}: if
it is "N" then a numeric comparison between
{value} and the string variable number {variable}
is made; if it is "C" then an alphabetic
comparison between the character variable number
{variable} and {value} is made; otherwise an
alphabetic comparison between the string variable
number {variable} and {value} is made. The
alphabetic comparisons are not case sensitive: the
strings "abc" and "ABC" are considered equal.
[vflag] should be set to "V" if you want {value}
to address a variable, or omitted if you want
{value} to be treated literally by Citadel. That
is, the MCI command "^AXcm0S9X" will compare
string variable 0 to the string "9" and MCI
command "^AXcm0VS9X" will compare string variable
0 to string variable 9.
To use the result of a comparison, use the Greater
Than, Less Than, and Equal To commands, which are
described below.
Connect rate (^AXcrX)
This displays the connect rate.
Disk free * (^AXdf{drive}X)
This shows how much disk space is free on
{drive}:. For the drive of the current room's
directory, use "0" for {drive}. For the drive of
the #HOMEPATH as set in CONFIG.CIT, use "1" for
{drive}. Otherwise, use a letter from "A" to "Z".
Divide (^AX//{result variable}{variable 1}{variable
2...}X)
This command looks at string variables as if they
were numeric, and divides {variable 1} by
{variable 2} (and by {variable 3}, etc., if
present) and assigns the value to {result
variable}. For example, the command "^AX//394123X"
would assign the quotient of string variable 9
divided by string variable 4 divided by string
variable 1 divided by string variable 2 divided by
string variable 3 to string variable 3.
Equal to (^AXeq{command}X)
This executes the MCI command {command} if the
last Compare (see above) command resulted in
equivalence. Don't put an "X" at the start of
{command}. Otherwise, Citadel will interpret this
as the end of the "eq" command. If you need to do
a non-extended command in response to an Equal to
command, you must use the Goto command to go to
it. For example, this will display the current
room name (see the Room Name command below) if the
last Compare command ended in an equivalency:
"^AXeqrmX". Notice that there is no X before the
"rm" part of the command, only after it.
First name (^An)
This attempts to display the user's first name. It will
display full names of users like "The Hidden" who
have "The", "A", or "An" as their first names.
Get character (^AXgc{variable}X)
This gets a single character from the user and
stores it in character variable number {variable}.
The character is not displayed by Citadel.
Get string (^AXgs{variable}X)
This gets a string from the user and stores it in
string variable number {variable}. The string is
displayed as the user enters it.
Goto label (^AXgo{label}X)
This makes the output flow jump to the label
specified by {label}. This command does not work
if the output is not stoppable by the user (such
as in a room prompt).
Greater than (^AXgt{command}X)
This executes the MCI command {command} if the
result of the last Compare command was greater
than. The {command} should not start with an "X"
as that is not part of the MCI command, but a
special character that tells Citadel where an MCI
command starts and ends. For example, the command
"^AXgtgowowX" will transfer the output flow to the
label "wow" if that last Compare command resulted
in a greater than.
Hall name (^AXhnX)
This outputs the name of the current hall.
Initials (^AXinX)
This outputs the initials the current user uses to
log into the board.
Label (^AXlb{label}X)
This is a place holder, used by the Goto label
command. It does nothing by itself.
Last call time/date (^AXlcX)
This displays the user's last call time and date,
using the current verbose time/date format string.
Last name (^AXlnX)
This attempts to display the user's last name.
Citadel does this by searching backwards from the
end of the name for the first space. Anything
after the first space it finds (or the whole name
if there is no space) is thought to be the last
name.
Less than (^AXlt{command}X)
This executes the MCI command {command} if the
result of the last Compare command was less than.
The {command} should not start with an "X" as that
is not part of the MCI command, but a special
character that tells Citadel where an MCI command
starts and ends. For example, the command
"^AXltgowowX" will transfer the output flow to the
label "wow" if that last Compare command resulted
in a less than.
Messages in room (^AXmrX)
This displays the number of messages in the current
room, as is displayed when going to it.
Multiply (^AX**{result variable}{variable 1}{variable
2...}X)
This command looks at string variables as if they
were numeric, and multiplies {variable 1} by
{variable 2} (and by {variable 3}, etc., if
present) and assigns the value to {result
variable}. For example, the command "^AX**394123X"
would assign the product of string variable 9
times string variable 4 times string variable 1
times string variable 2 times string variable 3 to
string variable 3.
Node name (^AXnnX)
This displays the name of the current node.
Node phone number (^AXnpX)
This displays the phone number of the current
node.
Non-verbose Time/Date (^At)
This displays the current time/date using the non-
verbose time/date stamp.
Number read * (^AXnmX)
This displays the total number of messages read
this call.
Out special * (^AXos#X)
Wow. This has not yet been implemented.
Password (^AXpwX)
This displays the password the current user uses
to log on.
Phone number (^AXpnX)
This displays the phone number of the current
user.
Poopcount (^AP)
This displays the poopcount of the current user.
Poopuser * (^Ap)
This displays the current poopuser of the board.
Port rate (^AXprX)
This displays the current port rate.
Put character (^AXpc{variable}X)
This displays the contents of character variable
number {variable}.
Put string (^AXps{variable}X)
This displays the contents of string variable
number {variable}.
Random number (^AXrd{variable}#X)
This assigns a random number in the range of 1 to
# to string variable number {variable}.
Real name (^AXrnX)
This displays the real name of the current user.
Room name (^AXrmX)
This displays the current room name.
Slow output * (^AXsl#X)
Wow. This has not yet been implemented.
Subtract (^AX--{result variable}{variable 1}{variable
2...}X)
This command looks at string variables as if they
were numeric, and subtracts {variable 2} from
{variable 1} (and {variable 3} from that
difference, etc., if present) and assigns the
value to {result variable}. For example, the
command "^AX--394123X" would assign the difference
of string variable 9 minus string variable 4 minus
string variable 1 minus string variable 2 minus
string variable 3 to string variable 3.
Sysop name (^AXsnX)
This displays the name of the console sysop, as
set by #SYSOP in CONFIG.CIT.
User name (^AN)
This displays the current user's full name.
Verbose Time/Date (^AT)
This displays the current time/date using the verbose
time/date stamp.
Examples
To create complex MCI messages with looping and branching,
you almost need to use a text editor, unless you are really
good about keeping things in your mind. In the following
examples, the character "" is used for Control+A. (Control+A
will show up as a smiley face in your text editor.) Also, as
you often need to enter many characters without pressing the
Enter key to make the formatting come out correctly, each
line is entered with a hanging indent.
The following message would give the user a message based on
his poopcount:
Hey, n, youXan0XPXcm0N0XXltgonegativeXXcm0N100XXltgosma
llXXcm0N1000XXltgomedXXcm0N10000XXltgola
rgeX have a lot of poop!XgoendX
XlbnegativeXr poop comes out backwards!XgoendX
XlbsmallX should poop more.XgoendX
XlbmedX just barely poop enough.XgoendX
XlblargeX are pretty good about pooping.XlbendX
This message starts with the text "Hey, n, you", which is
always displayed. This lets the user see that it is directed
at him by including his name in the message. After that,
Citadel does some comparisons and branching to display the
rest of the message based on the user's poopcount. As we
don't want to output a carriage return in the middle of
this, it all has to be on the same line. If your text editor
takes you to the next line when you fill up the first, then
you have word-wrap mode turned on. You should turn it off so
that the message looks correct when it is loaded into
Citadel.
The first thing this message does after printing the
introduction text is use the Assign Next command and the
Poopcount command to assign the user's poopcount to variable
number 0. This is the "Xan0XP" in the message.
After this, the message performs the first comparison:
"Xcm0N0X". This compares the value of variable 0 (which we
just loaded with the user's poopcount) with the number 0.
Then we act on the comparison: "XltgonegativeX" branches to
the label "negative" if the variable 0 contains a value less
than 0. If the value is not less than zero, then display of
the message continues with the next comparison: "Xcm0N100X".
This compares the value of variable 0 with the number 100.
As before, this is acted on with the Less Than command:
"XltgosmallX" branches to the label "small" if the value is
less than 100. This continues similarly, checking for a
value of under 1,000 (which branches to the label "med"),
then a value of under 10,000 (which branches to the label
"large").
If the user's poopcount is 10,000 or greater, then the text
" have a lot of poop!" is displayed. This, when combined
with the "Hey, n, you" that has already been displayed to
the user, creates the full message "Hey, n, you have a lot
of poop!" After the message is displayed, the Goto command
"XgoendX" is used to skip to the end of the message.
At this point in the message, any text entered would never
be displayed. That is because there was an unconditional
Goto just previous: there is no way that this section of the
message will ever be displayed. Because of this, we can
press Enter here and move to the next line (just to keep
things close to readable in the text editor) without having
an effect on the formatted output.
Then we have our first Label: "XlbnegativeX". This gives a
destination to go to when the user's poopcount is less than
0 (remember the first comparison done in the message). This
starts by outputting the text "r poop comes out backwards!"
This, when combined with the first part of the message
already displayed, forms the message: "Hey, n, your poop
comes out backwards!" (You'd understand if your poopcount
was less than 0.) After the message is displayed, the Goto
command "XgoendX" skips to the end of the message.
Again, we are now in a place of the message that will never
be displayed to the user. Because of this, we can start a
new line to keep things close to readable. This new line is
just the label "small" and the rest of the message that
should be displayed to people with a poopcount of less than
100 but not less than 0, followed by a Goto that skips to
the end of the message. This is repeated for people with a
poopcount of less than 1,000 but not less than 100, with the
label "med".
Finally, the label "large" is used for the message to
display to uses with a poopcount of less than 10,000 but not
less than 1,000. At the end of this message, however, we
don't have a Goto command that skips to the end of the
message: we have the "end" Label that we have been skipping
to previously.
At this point, you can enter anything more in the message
that you want to display to all users. However, we just end
the message here, so nothing more is done.
Wow. More examples.
Applications
You can configure Citadel to make extensive use of
applications (external programs). They can be set up as
doors, which can be accessed through the .Enter Door
(.ED...) command; they can be attached to a room, then
accessed either through the .Enter Application (.EA) command
or automatically when someone enters the room; they can be
accessed through a single-key command from the room prompt,
even overriding internal commands; they can be hooked up to
the message editor menu as external editors or message
filters; they can be used to implement external file
transfer protocols, both for the .Upload (.U...) and
.Download (.D...) commands and for networking; applications
can also be attached to many system events with the #EVENT
keyword in EXTERNAL.CIT.
These applications can be .EXE or .COM programs, DOS batch
files, or Citadel script files. They are set up in different
places, depending on what sort of application they are (file
transfer protocol, door, etc.)
General format
All applications, regardless of where they are set up, have
the same general format: first, 0 or more flags that tell
Citadel how to execute the application, then the file name
for the application, then any command line parameters that
you wish to pass to the application.
The following flags tell Citadel to execute the application
using the following methods:
! This tells Citadel to "Super-shell", or swap as
much of itself as possible out of memory, thus
giving the application the most memory possible in
which to run. Citadel leaves less than 1K of
itself in conventional memory, swapping the rest
of itself to XMS, EMS, or disk. Swapping to XMS or
EMS is nearly instantaneous, but swapping to disk
takes a few seconds.
@ This tells Citadel to not clear the screen before
running the application, and to not restore the
screen before returning. This is used to save
memory if you are not super-shelling and the
application saves and restores the screen for you:
an 80x25 text screen takes nearly 4K to save in
memory. When using the super-shell, this does not
make any difference, because the memory used to
save the screen is also swapped out when shelling.
$ This tells Citadel to load COMMAND.COM (or,
actually, the program pointed to by the COMSPEC
environment variable) and tell it to process the
command. This is required to run DOS batch files
or to redirect program output to a file.
? This tells Citadel not to write BBS information
files (Citadel's native OUTPUT.APL as well as
CALLINFO.BBS, CHAIN.TXT, DOOR.SYS, DORINFO1.BBS,
PCBOARD.SYS, TRIBBS.SYS, and USERINFO.DAT) before
shelling. Writing these files takes some time and
disk space, but not much. Usually, it does not
matter if they are written when not needed. But,
if you are very tight on disk space or running on
a slow machine, this may make a difference.
* This tells Citadel that the application is a
script file, not a program. This overrides all
other flags. That is, if this flag is present then
all others are ignored. This is because the other
flags don't apply to script files. Also, when
running a script file the command line arguments
are not passed to it, since script files have no
command line parameters.
After these flags, give Citadel the application file name,
optionally followed by any command line parameters to pass
to the application. For example, the application command to
write the directory listing of your C:\CIT drive to the
C:\LIST.DIR file would be as follows:
?$dir c:\cit >c:\list.dir
The "?" flag is included because the DOS DIR command does
not need or use any BBS information files. This is a
performance enhancement only, and is not required. The "$"
flag is used because DIR is a DOS internal command, so it
needs COMMAND.COM to process the command. Even if DIR was an
external command (like CHKDSK), you would need the "$" flag
in this case because COMMAND.COM handles the redirection to
a file specified by the ">c:\list.dir" command line
parameter. Note that this would be entered into a file (such
as CRON.CIT or EXTERNAL.CIT) in quotations, which means that
backslashes would have to be doubled, as explained at the
beginning of Section IV:
"?$dir c:\\cit >c:\\list.dir"
Special command-line variables
Often, you will want to specify variable information to your
application. For example, the file transfer protocols need
to know which file to send. This is done with command line
variables, which all start with the "%" character. (If you
need to pass the "%" character itself to an application, use
"%%".)
These variables are valid for all applications:
%a The application path, as set by the #APPLICPATH
keyword in CONFIG.CIT. This is the path that
applications are run from.
%c The speed of the connection between modems. This
is a numeric value between 300 and 115200,
representing the baud rate at which the modems are
communicating.
%l The modem port or LOCAL. This is the numeric value
1-4, depending on which serial port the modem is
connected to, or the text LOCAL if the current
user is logged in locally.
%p The modem port, as set by the #MDATA keyword in
CONFIG.CIT. This the numeric value 1-4, depending
on which serial port the modem is connected to.
%s The speed of the connection to the serial port.
This is a numeric value between 300 and 115200,
representing the actual baud rate at which Citadel
is currently sending data to and receiving data
from the serial port.
%u The name of the currently logged-in user, after
stripping out any color codes. If there is no user
logged-in, this passes the text "[Not logged in]".
If the application is being defined as an external editor,
the following variable applies, in addition to the standard
%a, %c, %l, %p, %s, and %u:
%f The file to edit.
If the application is being defined as a file transfer
protocol, the following variable applies, in addition to the
standard %a, %c, %l, %p, %s, and %u:
%f The file, or files, to transfer.
If the application is being defined as an #ARCHIVER in
EXTERNAL.CIT or in a #ZIP line in NODES.CIT, the following
variables apply, in addition to the standard %a, %c, %l, %p,
%s, and %u:
%f The name of the archive file.
%d The name of the file, or files (using wildcards or
separation by spaces), to extract from the archive
file. The files should be extracted into the
current directory.
In the preceding three cases, %f may be full path to the
file or just the filename (assumed to be in the current
directory), depending on Citadel's needs at the time. The
application should be able to accept either form.
Defining applications
The following specifies all ways in which an application can
be defined:
As an #ARCHIVER in EXTERNAL.CIT
This type of application tells Citadel how to get
the contents of an archive file, or extract files
from it. See the EXTERNAL.CIT section in Section
IV for full information.
As a file transfer #PROTOCOL in PROTOCOL.CIT
This type of application implements external file
transfer protocols, such as Kermit, for uploading
and downloading as well as networking. See the
PROTOCOL.CIT section in Section IV for full
information.
As a #DOOR in EXTERNAL.CIT
This type of application is available as a single
keystroke from a room prompt, or from the .Enter
Door (.ED...) command. See the EXTERNAL.CIT
section in Section IV for full information.
As an #EDITOR in EXTERNAL.CIT
This type of application implements an external
message editor or message filter. See the
EXTERNAL.CIT section in Section IV for full
information.
As an #AUTO_EDITOR in EXTERNAL.CIT
This type of application is similar to an #EDITOR,
but it is always run on every message posted. See
the EXTERNAL.CIT section in Section IV for full
information.
As an #EVENT in EXTERNAL.CIT
This type of application is run every time some
system event occurs, such as a user logging in or
uploading a file. See the EXTERNAL.CIT section in
Section IV for full information.
As a #USERAPP in EXTERNAL.CIT
This type of application runs every time a
specific user logs in. See the EXTERNAL.CIT
section in Section IV for full information.
As a #NEWUSERAPP in CONFIG.CIT
This type of application is run every time a new
user logs in. See the EXTERNAL.CIT section in
Section IV for full information.
As a room application
This type of application is attached to a room
with the .Aide Edit room (.AE) command. While in
the room, the user can use the .Enter Application
(.EA) command to run the application. Citadel can
also be told to make the room an auto-application
room, which means that it will run the application
every time a user enters the room for the first
time during a call. See the Room Editing topic in
this section for full information.
As a #ZIP command in NODES.CIT
This is used when collecting files together for
any networking using Net 1.5 or higher. See the
NODES.CIT section in Section IV for full
information.
As part of a #LOGIN string in NODES.CIT
This is used if you want to execute an application
as part of logging into a remote system during
networking. See the NODES.CIT section in Section
IV for full information.
As a SHELL_1 or SHELL_2 #DO type in CRON.CIT
This is used to execute an application at a pre-
determined time. See the CRON.CIT section in
Section IV for full information.
As an application linked to a message
This type of application is attached to a message by
the sysop-only message editor command Link
application (!). After Citadel displays a message
with a linked application, it then runs the
application.
The input and output data files
When Citadel executes an application, it creates BBS
information files in the application directory, unless the ?
or * flags were specified in the application command line.
Citadel creates BBS information files of various standards
to maximize compatibility with doors written for a specific
other BBS program.
The formats created by Citadel are OUTPUT.APL, CALLINFO.BBS,
CHAIN.TXT, DOOR.SYS, DORINFO1.BBS, PCBOARD.SYS, TRIBBS.SYS,
and USERINFO.DAT.
After it is finished executing, it reads in the contents of
INPUT.APL (if such a file exists), and modifies its settings
based on its contents. It then checks for the file
MESSAGE.APL, and uses the information to create a message on
the system. It then displays the contents of README.APL (if
the file exists) to the user of the system, then the
contents of CONSOLE.APL (if the file exists) to the system
console only (not the user on the modem). It then deletes
all above files to clean up.
See Appendix H: Other files for the specifications of these
files, and the values written to various of these files that
are not designed for Citadel.
Help Files
Help files are files that Citadel displays to users to help
them in using the software. Help files fall into three
categories: blurbs, menus, and help files. The blurbs and
menus can only be defined by Citadel, but you can make as
many help files as desired, in addition to those defined by
Citadel. All help files have defaults built into Citadel. If
you want to override the defaults, just create your own
files: Citadel looks for the files on disk before it uses
its built-in files.
Blurbs
If you want to override Citadel's default blurb files, place
them in the directory set by #HELPPATH in CONFIG.CIT. They
all have the extension .BLB and inform the user of
something. Equivalents of these blurbs for users with ANSI
have the extension .BL@. If Citadel cannot find the
appropriate blurb with the .BL@ extension, it uses the .BLB
version. There are no default ANSI blurbs.
If a blurb is said to rotate, then the sequence of rotation
is FILE.BLB, FILE1.BLB, FILE2.BLB, etc. When the next file
in sequence is not found, it is reset to FILE.BLB. You can
have a different number of ANSI (.BL@) and normal (.BLB)
blurbs; they will rotate at their own rate. If you want to
use this feature, you must override the default: if there is
no FILE.BLB, Citadel will just use the default one built
into it, and not even look for FILE1.BLB.
AD######.BLB
This is displayed at the room prompt, at times
defined by the #ADCHANCE and #ADTIME keywords of
CONFIG.CIT. This is a rotating blurb.
ADDRESS.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when Citadel is prompting for his mailing address.
BULLETIN.BLB
This is displayed after the user logs in and
before new messages in Lobby are displayed. This
is a good place to give user important news about
the BBS. If you have a bulletin menu defined in
your CTDL.MNU file (see the Menus section below
for information about menus), then this blurb is
not displayed.
CALLIMIT.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when setting a user's call-per-day limit with the
.Sysop Userlog edit (.SU) command.
CENSOR.BLB
This is displayed whenever a message is posted
that the BBS censors because the sysop has
specified message censoring in EXTERNAL.CIT; see
the Message Censoring topic in this section for
full information.
CHAT####.BLB
This is displayed when the sysop enters chat with
the user. This is a rotating blurb.
CHATTED.BLB
When #CHATMAIL in CONFIG.CIT is set to 2, this is
displayed when a user who has requested chat
terminates. After this is displayed, Citadel asks
if he wants to leave a message to the sysop.
CLOSESYS.BLB
This is displayed to users requesting access to a
closed system, as set by "#LOGIN CLOSED_SYSTEM" in
CONFIG.CIT. After this blurb is displayed, the BBS
will hang-up on the user. Use this to inform the
user that you are not accepting new callers.
COLORS.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when prompted to enter a color's number.
DIALOUT.BLB
This is displayed when the console user goes into
dial-out mode by pressing F8 when the modem does
not have a connection.
DISCLAIM.BLB
This is displayed when a user turns on the display
of censored messages with the .Enter Configuration
(.EC) command.
ENCRYPT.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when prompted to enter a message encryption or
decryption key.
ENTERNYM.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when using the .Enter Name (.EN) command.
ENTRY.BLB
This is displayed when a user in non-expert mode
enters a message. This is a good place to inform
users about the Citadel message editor.
GOODBYE.BLB
This is displayed when the user runs out of time
on systems with accounting enabled. After this
message is displayed, the BBS will hang up on the
user.
HELLO###.BLB
This is displayed when the BBS detects carrier,
before the user logs in. This is a rotating blurb.
JOKE####.BLB
If present, this is displayed after the bulletin
blurb, before Citadel builds message counts. If
there is no JOKE.BLB file, Citadel displays "One
moment please..." at this time. JOKE.BLB files are
special in that they are not all output at once:
before the pause when Citadel builds the message
counts, Citadel prints out all lines of the file
up to the first one that starts with the "#"
character. After the pause, all lines after the
first one that starts with the "#" character are
printed out. This gives users something to think
about while Citadel takes time to count messages.
This is a rotating blurb.
LENGTH.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when setting lines per screen with the .Enter
Configuration (.EC) command.
LOGOUT##.BLB
This is displayed when the user issues the command
to log out, before the BBS hangs up. This is a
rotating blurb.
MOREPRMP.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when setting a more prompt with the .Enter
Configuration (.EC) command.
MSGNYM.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when using the .Aide Name messages (.AN) command.
NETPREFX.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when setting a new prefix with the .Enter
Configuration (.EC) command.
NEWMSG.BLB
This is displayed to new users before they enter a
message to sysop when "#LOGIN SYSOP_MESSAGE" is
set in CONFIG.CIT.
NEWQUEST.BLB
This is displayed to users before asking the
questions enabled by #NEWUSERQUESTIONS in
CONFIG.CIT.
NEWROOM.BLB
This is displayed when a user in non-expert mode
creates a room.
NOANSWER.BLB
This is displayed to users who have requested chat
when the sysop does not respond to the request.
NOCHAT##.BLB
This is displayed to users requesting chat when
chat is turned off, either for the system or for
the user. This is a rotating blurb. The rotation
is reset when a user logs in, so you can have the
blurbs in a progressive sequence, hinting that you
really are not around to chat.
NOLOGIN.BLB
This is displayed when a user is not able to log
in for accounting reasons on systems with
accounting enabled.
NOROUTE.BLB
This is displayed when Citadel cannot find the
ROUTE.CIT file when trying to send networked mail.
Why is this a blurb and not just a simple message?
I don't know.
NULLS.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when setting the number of nulls with the .Enter
Configuration (.EC) command.
NUMUSERS.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when setting the number of users to display on log-
in with the .Enter Configuration (.EC) command.
PASSWORD.BLB
This is displayed to new users immediately before
their name is requested. You can use this to give
them some information about what you like for
names: pseudonyms, full names, only first names,
etc.
PHONENUM.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when being prompted for a phone number.
PROMPT.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when setting the room prompt format string with
the .Enter Configuration (.EC) command.
REALNAME.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when being prompted for a real name.
RESUME.BLB
This is displayed when a user logs in after losing the
connection to the BBS while entering a message
during the previous call: it informs the user of
the situation so he can decide whether to continue
entering the message.
TEXTUP.BLB
This is displayed to users not in expert mode when
they issue the command to start a text upload.
TIME.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when setting a time/date format string with the
.Enter Configuration (.EC) command.
TOOLOW.BLB
This is displayed when a connection is made at a
speed slower than the #MINBAUD setting in
CONFIG.CIT. The BBS hangs up after displaying this
blurb.
TOOMANY.BLB
This is displayed to users who have called more times
in one day than their limit allows, as set with
#CALLLIMIT in CONFIG.CIT or with the .Sysop
Userlog edit (.SU) command.
UNLINK.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when using the .Aide Unlink (.AU) command.
USERINFO.BLB
This is displayed to new users as soon as they
request access. You can give general information
about your BBS in this blurb.
VERIFIED.BLB
This is displayed when unverified users try to log
in.
WCDOWN.BLB
This is displayed to non-expert users when they
request a download.
WCUP.BLB
This is displayed to non-expert users when they request
an upload.
WIDTH.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
while setting the screen width with the .Enter
Configuration (.EC) command.
WOWCOUNT.BLB
This is displayed when the user presses the ? key
when using the .Wowcount (.W) command.
Menus
Citadel's menus are all kept in the file CTDL.MNU in the
path set by #HELPPATH in CONFIG.CIT. An optional file,
CTDL.MN@, can be used to define ANSI menus. If a menu is not
found in CTDL.MN@, Citadel will display the menu from
CTDL.MNU. If the menu is not defined in CTDL.MNU, Citadel
will use a default menu built into the program.
These menu files are text files, with separator lines in
between sections to let Citadel know which section belongs
to which menu. These lines start with the "#" character and
are followed by the menu's name. For example, a line "#AIDE"
starts the Aide section of the menu file. The section ends
when another section begins. The following menus are used by
Citadel:
#AIDE
This is displayed when the .Aide Menu (.A?)
command is used.
#AIDEQUEUE
This is displayed when the .Aide Queue Menu (.AQ?)
command is used.
#BULLETINS
This is an optional menu. If it is not present,
the BULLETIN.BLB file is displayed when a user
logs in. If it is present, then it is used instead
of the BULLETIN.BLB file. Because this is
optional, there is no default for this menu.
This menu is displayed line-by-line like other
menus, except for lines that start with the "!"
character. In this case, Citadel reads the line to
determine what to do. The format for such lines is
as follows:
!filename character description show
filename is the name of the file to display for
this bulletin.
character is the character to use to display this
bulletin.
description is the name of this bulletin, as shown
to users.
show can either be 1 or 0: if it is 1, then
Citadel formats a prompt for this menu
automatically. If it is 0, then no such prompt is
formatted, allowing you to make as fancy a menu as
you desire.
For example, the following line describes a
bulletin for showing system news:
!news.txt s "System News" 1
Because "show" is set to 1, Citadel will display
the following:
S> System News
After the menu is displayed to the user, Citadel
prompts for which bulletin to read.
#CRON
This is displayed when the .Sysop Cron Menu (.SC?)
command is used.
#DOOR
This is displayed when the .Enter Door Menu (.ED?)
command is used. If this menu does not exist, then
Citadel creates a menu based on the doors that
have been set up in EXTERNAL.CIT.
#DOWNLOAD
This is displayed when the .Download Menu (.D?) command
is used when there is no file queue defined. If
this menu does not exist, then Citadel creates a
menu based on the file transfer protocols that
have been set up in PROTOCOL.CIT.
#EDIT
This is displayed when the Menu (?) command is
used at the "Entry Command:" prompt of the message
editor.
#EDITTEXT
This is displayed when the Menu (?) command is
used at the "Entry Command:" prompt of the text
editor when not entering a message (currently,
only when editing a finger).
#ENTERWC
This is displayed when the .Enter With protocol
Menu (.EW?) command is used.
#ENTOPT
This is displayed when the .Enter Menu (.E?) command is
used.
#FILEQUEUE
This is displayed when the .Queue Menu (.Q?)
command is used, if file queuing is enabled. See
#PROTOCOL in PROTOCOL.CIT for information
regarding file queuing.
#FINGER
This is displayed when the .Finger Menu (.F?)
command is used.
#GRPGLOB
This is displayed when the .Sysop Group Group-
specific membership Menu (.SGG?) command is used.
#HELP
This is displayed when the .Help Menu (.H?)
command is used. If this menu does not exist,
Citadel looks in the path set by #HELPPATH in
CONFIG.CIT for all files with a .HLP extension,
and lists these to the user. Citadel will also
list any help files built into it that are not in
the help path.
#INVITE
This is displayed when the .Invite Menu (.I?)
command is used.
#KNOWN
This is displayed when the .Known Menu (.K?)
command is used.
#MAINDOT
This is displayed when the .Menu (.?) command is
used.
#MAINOPT
This is displayed when the Menu (?) command is
used.
#PERSONAL
This is displayed when the .Personal hall Menu
(.P?) command is used.
#PERSONALADD
This is displayed when the .Personal hall Add Menu
(.PA?) command is used.
#READOPT
This is displayed when the .Read Menu (.R?)
command is used.
#READWC
This is displayed when the .Read With protocol
Menu (.RW?) command is used.
#RESPONSEDOWNLOAD
This is displayed when the .Queue Download Menu
(.QD?) command is used, or when the .Download
Menu (.D?) command is used when a file queue has
been defined. If this menu does not exist, then
Citadel creates a menu based on the file transfer
protocols that have been set up in PROTOCOL.CIT.
#SYSENTER
This is displayed when the .Sysop Enter config file
Menu (.SE?) command is used.
#SYSGROUP
This is displayed when the .Sysop Group Menu
(.SG?) command is used.
#SYSHALL
This is displayed when the .Sysop Hall Menu (.SH?)
command is used.
#SYSNET
This is displayed when the .Sysop 6.9 net command
Menu (.S6?) command is used.
#SYSOP
This is displayed when the .Sysop Menu (.S?)
command is used.
#SYSTABLE
This is displayed when the .Sysop Table debugging
Menu (.S+?) command is used.
#TERMINATE
This is displayed when the .Terminate Menu (.T?)
command is used.
#UPLOAD
This is displayed when the .Upload Menu (.U?)
command is used. If this menu does not exist, then
Citadel creates a menu based on the file transfer
protocols that have been set up in PROTOCOL.CIT.
#VOLKSWAGEN
This is displayed when the .Volkswagen Menu (.V?)
command is used.
Help files
Citadel has several help files built into it, all of which
can be overridden by including a file by the same name in
the path set by #HELPPATH or #HELPPATH2 in CONFIG.CIT. In
addition, you may add as many more help files as you want
just by including files with the .HLP extension in #HELPPATH
or #HELPPATH2. Users may read any of these help files by
using the .Help (.H) command followed by a filename. A list
of help files is available by pressing ? instead of
providing a filename. The following help files are included
in Citadel:
ACCOUNT.HLP
The internal version declares that there is no
accounting enabled on the BBS. If you enable
accounting on your board, you should create your
own ACCOUNT.HLP that details what you charge for
and give time for.
AIDE.HLP
This explains all Aide-level commands.
ANSI.HLP
This explains Citadel's support of ANSI and its
own special color codes.
CONFIG.HLP
This explains all options available for users to
configure their userlog entry with the .Enter
Configuration (.EC) command.
DOHELP.HLP
This gives a brief overview of the system. It is
displayed when the user uses the Help (H) command.
DOORS.HLP
This explains how to access doors.
FILES.HLP
This explains how to upload and download files.
GROUPS.HLP
This describes groups and how they are used.
HALLS.HLP
This describes halls and tells how they are used.
HELP.HLP
This describes the help system.
INTRO.HLP
This gives an introduction to Citadel. This is also
displayed when the user uses the Information (I)
command.
LOGIN.HLP
This describes logging in.
MESSAGES.HLP
This describes messages.
NETWORK.HLP
This describes how to use the Citadel network.
QUEUE.HLP
This describes how to use file queuing.
ROOMS.HLP
This describes rooms.
ROOMSYS.HLP
This explains what a room system is.
SPECIAL.HLP
This explains some special commands. How a command
comes to be regarded as special is beyond me.
SPELL.HLP
This describes the internal spell checker.
SYSOP.HLP
This explains all Sysop-level commands.
Networking
Citadels can share messages and files with each other. This
is called networking. Citadel+ can network with many other
versions of Citadel: all versions of Citadel derived from
DragCit share a common networking protocol. Citadel+ also
supports networking with Citadel-86 compatible software that
supports the MSGOUT and MSGADD utilities. In addition,
Anticlimactic Teleservices has significantly enhanced the
networking protocols, so networking with other Citadel+es is
faster, easier, and more reliable than netting in the "old
style" way with the other Citadels. Citadel+ has also added
file transfers to the basic message-only netting provided by
the other Citadels.
You can set up a network with just one or two other boards,
so a few friends can have their own message and file passing
system, or you can hook onto the main network of DragCit-
derived Citadels, which spans the country. Most of the nodes
listed in Appendix E are on this network, so you can check
it for a possible connection to the network. The
Anticlimactic Teleservice at (206)562-9792 is a good place
to pick up a network connection: create a node account, then
leave mail to "Sysop" giving your node's address and request
to be given network access.
General information
Some things are the same across all the network revisions.
Each node has to have an account on all the boards with
which it networks, and at least one of them has to call the
other. Also, a file named NODES.CIT contains additional
information about the remote node that is needed for
networking. Here are the basic procedures to start a network
of any protocol, using two hypothetical BBSes named NODE1
and NODE2.
First, create an account on the remote BBS. That is, create
an account on NODE1 called "NODE2", and create an account on
NODE2 called "NODE1". These are created like any other
accounts: log in with new initials and password.
Second, mark these accounts as Node accounts with the Node
(O) option of the .Sysop Userlog edit (.SU) command. When
you set the Node option, Citadel requests the node's
address. See Appendix I for information on selecting your
address. Wow. Appendix I has been removed, I think.
Now, decide which node is going to call the other. (Both can
call each other. This makes for the best netting, but if
only one sysop wants to pay for a long distance net, only
one should make the call, of course.) On each BBS that is
going to be calling, add the following line to the file
CRON.CIT:
#DO NETWORK "Other Board"
"Other Board" is the name of the other BBS (NODE1 or NODE2).
At this point, the procedure differs for each of the
supported network protocols, and is explained in the
appropriate section below.
DragCit 1.0/1.1: The oldest and slowest
Versions 1.0 and 1.1 of the network protocol are essentially
the same. Actually, there is some dispute as to whether
there is any difference, or if 1.1 even exists. Regardless
of its name, it is the original network protocol of DragCit.
As the original, it is the one that is in all DragCit
derived software. However, also because it is the original,
it is the least desirable of the methods. (Other methods
wouldn't be implemented unless they were better.) Only use
it if the other node cannot use anything newer.
To set up this type of networking, add the following lines
to the NODES.CIT file for the remote BBS:
#NODE "node_name" "node_region"
#PHONE "node_phone"
#BAUD 300...115200
#DIAL_TIMEOUT seconds to wait for CONNECT from modem
#LOGIN see below
#WAIT_TIMEOUT seconds to wait for a "W" in the #LOGIN
string, as explained below.
#NETWORK DRAGCIT1_1
#PROTOCOL protocol used, as specified in
PROTOCOLS.CIT. This must be a batch
protocol.
The #LOGIN line is a simple script to follow to log into the
remote BBS. The available commands are:
D "protocol" "path" "file"
Download. protocol is the file transfer protocol
to use (as set in PROTOCOL.CIT); path is the path
that the downloaded file should end up in; and
file is the name of the file. If protocol is a
batch protocol, then file is ignored, but it still
needs to be there.
P "time"
Pause. time is the number of seconds to pause.
R "text" "send" "tries"
Repeat. This is a combination of Send and Wait.
This waits for text to come in over the modem for
#WAIT_TIMEOUT (as set in NODES.CIT) seconds. If it
is not received in that time, it sends the text
send to the modem, and starts waiting again. It
does this tries times before giving up and
aborting the script.
S "text"
Send. text is the text to send to the modem.
U "protocol" "path" "file"
Upload. protocol is the file transfer protocol to
use (as set up in PROTOCOL.CIT); path is the path
that the downloaded file should end up in; and
file is the name of the file. If protocol is a
batch protocol, then file may contain wildcards or
multiple filenames, separated by spaces.
W "text"
Wait. text is the text to wait to come in over the
modem. If the text does not appear in
#WAIT_TIMEOUT (as set in NODES.CIT) seconds, the
script is aborted.
! "cmd"
Shell. cmd is the command line to shell to. All
standard Citadel flags are available here, as
explained in the Applications section.
@ "script"
This tells Citadel to read the text file specified
by "script" and interpret it as more of the #LOGIN
command. Citadel reads each line in this file, so
it can have any number of #LOGIN commands.
For example, you usually will wait for the prompt
"initials:" and send your node's initials and password. This
would be accomplished by the following line:
#LOGIN W "initials:" S "initials;password\r"
The "\r" is interpreted as a return; see the beginning of
Section IV: Configuration Files for more special characters
you may use.
Then, choose if you want to share any groups between the two
nodes. This is done by adding #GROUP lines to the NODES.CIT
file, as follows:
#GROUP "name_here" "name_there"
If the group is named the same on both nodes, you only need
to supply the name_here field.
Then, choose which rooms you want to share messages in. Each
room must be marked as "shared" on each system, and the node
must be in the proper groups to access the rooms. Then, make
a line for each room as follows:
#ROOM "name_here" "name_there"
As with the #GROUP lines, only one name has to be specified
if the room name is the same on both nodes.
The biggest thing to watch out for with Net 1.0/1.1 is
improper room matching. Make sure both sysops agree which
rooms to net, and make sure to net them both ways. Also,
cross netting is easy to do by accident, and can be quite a
pain to figure out. Make sure you have the room names
correctly entered in the NODES.CIT file.
Wow. Some conclusion.
DragCit 1.5/1.6: Faster, but still messy
One of the biggest bottlenecks in Net 1.0/1.1 is the file
transfer: it transfers each room as a separate file and the
file must be there even if it is zero bytes long. When
netting more than a few rooms, the overhead of sending many
short files is quite large.
Also, there is significant time wasted as each system waits
for the other. One system requests the rooms, then waits for
the other system to prepare the message files to send back.
Once the messages are passed in that direction, the order is
reversed: the second system requests rooms from the first
system and has to wait for it to prepare the message files
to send back.
In addition to all of this, the files are sent in raw ASCII
form, so the files are bigger than they need to be.
Net 1.5 solves these problems by switching the order the
files are sent, and by compressing the message files before
sending them.
The order is switched so that both room requests are sent
first, so both systems are fetching the messages at the same
time. The total time spent fetching messages, therefore, is
the length of time spent by the slower of the two systems,
not the sum of both lengths.
After the message files are created, they are compressed
into one file by some archival program. To tell Citadel
which one to use, add a #ZIP line to the NODES.CIT file as
follows:
#ZIP "compress_cmd" "decompress_cmd"
When creating the command lines, use %d in place of the
resulting file name. For the compress command, use %f for
the original file name. (Make sure the compressor can handle
more than one file name and make use of wildcards: Citadel
will send "room.* mesg.tmp" as the file name.) To use PKZIP,
for example, use the following line:
#ZIP "pkzip %d %f" "pkunzip -o %d"
Make sure the programs are either in the #APPLICPATH or on
the DOS PATH so Citadel can find the programs to run.
In addition to the #ZIP line in NODES.CIT, the only other
addition to make to distinguish from Net 1.0/1.1 is the
#NETWORK line. Use either:
#NETWORK DRAGCIT1_5
or
#NETWORK DRAGCIT1_6
Net 1.5 and 1.6 are almost identical. 1.6 is a little bit
more robust, so use it if the remote BBS software supports
it.
Net 6.9: Citadel networking at its best (so far)
Wow. More proofreading.
As mentioned earlier, the biggest problem with the network
up to this point is in cross netted and one-way netted
rooms. It was hard to add a room to the network, as every
connection had to add the appropriate #ROOM lines to the
NODES.CIT file on both sides. If only one sysop remembered
to do it, a one-way net would develop. Worse, the room names
are up to each sysop's fancy, so cross-netting could develop
quite easily: it was hard to keep track of what each sysop
has named a room.
Net 6.9 solves these problems by using Net IDs instead of
room names to keep track of netted rooms. Net IDs are
consistent across the network, so there is no possibility of
crossing rooms. Net IDs are kept in the ROOM.DAT file, and
are set with the .Aide Edit room (.AE) command.
When networking, Citadel generates a room request file with
all the Net IDs on the BBS. This eliminates the need for
#ROOM lines in the NODES.CIT file, so networking is much
easier to maintain, and more reliable: there is no
dependence on sysops to verify that all rooms that can
network do network, as it is done automatically by Citadel.
To be able to use Net 6.9, you must first create a "Default"
node in NODES.CIT. This entry sets how packets should be
incorporated that came from nodes that your system could not
identify. (It also sets the defaults for items in NODES.CIT,
which apply to all other nodes in the file if there are no
overrides for them.)
Then set the #NETWORK keyword for the node to NET6_9, and
Citadel will know to use Net 6.9 when networking with that
node. The protocol specified by #PROTOCOL needs to be a bi-
directional protocol. If you need (or prefer) to use a
unidirectional protocol, set #NETWORK to NET6_9a, and make
sure your network partner does so as well.
Several keywords were added to the NODES.CIT file to help
with Net 6.9. Of these, two important ones are #AUTOROOM and
#VERBOSE. The reason for these two is that Citadel will
request all rooms it carries from the remote node whether it
has them or not; it has no way of knowing which rooms are
available. This creates both a problem and an opportunity.
The problem is that the error messages in Aide) can be very
long if the remote node requests many rooms not carried
locally. By setting #VERBOSE, you can specify which error
and status messages are created. Valid values are as
follows:
All Show all error and status messages.
File69In Tell when an incoming network file
transfer is received.
File69InFull Tell when an incoming network file
transfer is received, and give full
information about it.
NetIDNotFound Tell when a Net ID is requested that is
in NETID.CIT but does not exist on the
system.
NoAccess Tell when a node attempts to access a
room that it cannot.
NoNetIDOnSystem I don't know.
RoomCreated Tell when a room is created with
#AUTOROOM.
RoomNotCreated Tell when a room could not be created
with #AUTOROOM: a room by that name
already exists, or there is no more
space for new rooms.
Citadel allows you to choose any of these you want.
Additionally, if you choose "All" to turn them all on, you
can then turn any off that you do not want on by placing an
exclamation mark ("!") before it. For example, to turn on
all messages except NetIDNotFound, use:
#VERBOSE All !NetIDNotFound
To turn all messages off, specify #VERBOSE followed by no
options. The default is File69In.
As the both name and some of the settings for #VERBOSE
imply, Citadel can create networked rooms automatically with
#AUTOROOM. If #AUTOROOM is set to 1, any unknown room
requested by another node is first checked against the file
NETID.CIT. If its Net ID is not in this file, then it is
created and placed in the Maintenance hall. The Net ID is
then appended to NETID.CIT. The sysop can then decide
whether to keep the room and add it to an appropriate hall,
or to kill the room. Because the NETID.CIT file is checked
and updated as it is, a room will only be created by
#AUTOROOM once; if the room is killed, it will not be re-
created, as its Net ID is already in the NETID.CIT file.
More control over rooms created by #AUTOROOM is provided by
two more NODES.CIT keywords: #AUTOHALL and #AUTOGROUP. By
setting #AUTOHALL for a node, you can specify a hall you
wish rooms to be placed in, in addition to Maintenance.
Similarly, #AUTOGROUP lets you specify a group to assign to
all rooms created by #AUTOROOM.
Another important new keyword is #REQUEST. If you want to
get all rooms from the other board that you have access to,
set #REQUEST to 0. This will ensure that you always get all
new rooms from the other board. This is most often used by
boards that run as network hubs, to ensure that they get all
rooms. If, as is most often the case, you want to only carry
some of the rooms, set #REQUEST to 1 (this is the default).
This will make Citadel send a room request file to the other
node with each network packet. You can tell Citadel to send
a room request file with every nth packet by setting
#REQUEST to that number, but there really is no good reason
to do that. Just another case of Citadel over-engineering,
really. (Well, there are some extreme cases when this could
be helpful in a minor way, but you would have to be trying
hard to make this the case.)
However, Net 6.9 is more than just a better way to share
messages. One of the added benefits is that of file
transfers, though it is a bit rudimentary. To transfer a
file to another node that you directly net with, create a
file named FILE69.xxx, where xxx is the other node's alias,
and put it in your #TRANSPATH, as defined in CONFIG.CIT.
This file should be created in the same way as network
packets as specified by the #ZIP keyword in NODES.CIT
(usually by using PKZIP.) When Citadel next creates a packet
to send to the other node, it will include this file in the
packet. When the other node receives the packet, it will see
this file and extract it into #DLPATH using the command
specified by the #ZIP keyword. If it sees any FILE69.* files
in #DLPATH after this, it will copy them to #TRANSPATH. In
this way, you can pass files through many boards to get to
your destination.
For example, if you want to get a file to a board ZZZ, but
you don't net with ZZZ, you can send that file to the board
in steps. Assume that you net with board XXX, which nets
with board YYY, which nets with board ZZZ. To transfer the
file, therefore, you will need to send it to XXX, which will
need to send it to YYY, which will need to send it to ZZZ.
To do this, you would do the following:
1. Create FILE69.ZZZ, which contains the files you
want to get to ZZZ.
2. Create FILE69.YYY, which contains FILE69.ZZZ. You
can then get rid of FILE69.ZZZ.
3. Create FILE69.XXX, which contains FILE69.YYY. You
can then get rid of FILE69.YYY.
4. Place FILE69.XXX in your #TRANSPATH.
Then, when you network with XXX, you will send it
FILE69.YYY, which it will then pass on to YYY, which will
take FILE69.ZZZ out of it and pass it on to ZZZ, which will
then extract the files you wanted to send to it.
Note that not only is this far from easy, it is also far
from fail-safe. Because the file names are not unique, your
transfer might not make it through if another file transfer
comes through and overwrites your file. This is one area
tagged for future improvement.
One of the other benefits of Net 6.9 is that the process of
creating network packets, transferring them, and
incorporating them, is all separate. Usually, you will just
use the default setup, which does it all together as in
previous network protocols. However, there are times when it
is beneficial to take control, and specify that the
networking happens in some other order.
The most common of these is the case of long distance
networking: by the default setup, all message fetching is
done while the BBSes are connected. Usually, this is not
much of a problem. However, when the connection costs money,
things are different.
To facilitate pre-fetching (that is, fetching the messages
before the connection is established), use the NET69_OUT
command in CRON.CIT. Have this event run once every four
hours or so, and there will be a packet waiting to be sent
when the connection to the other BBS is established. If
there are one or more packets waiting to be transferred,
Citadel will not fetch more messages, but instead just send
the packets it has already created. This behavior can be
modified with the #FETCH command in NODES.CIT.
Another reason that you might want to deviate from the
standard networking model is if you have two BBSes running
on the same computer, one as a sub-board of the other, or on
two computers connected by a LAN, or able to transfer files
between the two in some other way. If you have two computers
that each run a BBS that can access a shared directory over
a LAN, for example, an efficient method to network them is
to have the systems share a common #TRANSPATH. Have each
system fetch once every hour or so, which will then have it
dump a packet into the #TRANSPATH. Also have a NET69_IN
command in CRON.CIT that runs once every hour or so, to pick
up packets that are sitting in #TRANSPATH waiting for it.
There are plenty of other reasons that you might want to
create network packets separate from sending them to the
other BBS immediately, some that have been thought of
already and some that have not. Experiment.
In addition to using commands in CRON.CIT to facilitate
networking, the .Sysop 6.9 net command (.S6...) commands let
you do things manually. The available sub-commands of this
command are:
F Fetch. This will create a network packet for the
node you specify.
I Incorporate. This will incorporate all incoming
network packets that are on the local system.
R Room request. This will generate a room request
file for the specified node. You can then read
through it and see which rooms you are requesting.
Citadel-86 compatible networking
Citadel+ can also network with systems that support the
Citadel-86 method of networking. The Citadel-86 (or
compatible system, such as Citadel-68K) needs to use the
utility MSGOUT to create a packet that Citadel+ can read,
and MSGADD to read packets that Citadel+ writes.
Wow.
Time and Date Formatting
Citadel stores all times internally in Greenwich Mean Time
(GMT). This means that times come over the network correctly
set; if a user on the east coast was to leave a message at
1:00pm, for example, a BBS on the west coast will know that
is 10:00am in its time zone. Citadel also computes daylight
saving time, and adjusts the time zone as appropriate.
Citadel's date stamps can be configured by the user to suit
his preferences. In addition, #DATESTAMP and #VDATESTAMP in
CONFIG.CIT provide date stamps for when there is no user
logged-in. These are also used as defaults for new users,
unless overridden with the #DSTAMP and #VDSTAMP keywords in
DEFUSER.CIT.
The TZ environment variable
Before you run Citadel, you should set your time zone with
the TZ environment variable. Do this from the DOS command
prompt as follows:
C:\>set TZ=XXX#YYY
The meanings of XXX, #, and YYY are as follows:
XXX Time zone name.
# Number of hours difference from GMT when not in
daylight saving time.
YYY Daylight saving time zone name.
For example, use the following command if you are in the
Pacific time zone (the west coast of the United States):
C:\>set TZ=PST8PDT
This names the time zone as PST, tells Citadel that it is
eight hours behind GMT, and that during daylight saving time
to call the time zone PDT. If there is no TZ environment
variable set, the default is Eastern Time (the east coast of
the United States).
Time/date format strings
When setting #DATESTAMP, #VDATESTAMP, #DSTAMP, or #VDSTAMP,
or when a user sets his date stamp with the .Enter
Configuration (.EC) command, use the following variables:
%a abbreviated weekday name (Sun, Mon, Tue...)
%A full weekday name (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday...)
%b abbreviated month name (Jan, Feb, Mar...)
%B full month name (January, February, March...)
%c standard date and time string. Wow.
%d day-of-month as decimal (1-31)
%D day-of-month as decimal (01-31)
%H hour (00-23)
%I hour (01-12)
%j day-of-year as a decimal (001-366)
%m month as decimal (01-12)
%M minute as decimal (00-59)
%p locale's equivalent of AM or PM
%S second as decimal (00-59)
%U week-of-year, Sunday being first day of week (00-
52)
%w weekday as a decimal (0-6, Sunday being 0)
%W week-of-year, Monday being first day of week (00-
52)
%x standard date string. Wow.
%X standard time string. Wow.
%y year in decimal without century (00-99)
%Y year including century as decimal (1900-)
%Z time zone name (as set with TZ; see above)
%% the percent sign
If there are any #HOLIDAY lines in the EXTERNAL.CIT file,
they will show up in place of the "%x" variable.
Scroll-Back Buffer
To create a scroll-back buffer, add the following line to
the CONFIG.CIT file:
#SCROLL_BACK color_flag num_lines time_out
color_flag This is either 0 or 1. 0 means don't
save color to the scroll-back buffer and 1
means to save colors. Saving the color
information is visually appealing, but takes
more memory, so you are not able to save as
many lines.
num_lines This is the number of lines to save. In the
Regular version with a standard 80-column
display, you can save 408 lines if color_flag
is 1 and 818 lines if color_flag is 0. You
can save fewer lines on a wider (such as 132-
column) display, but I don't know how many
right off. Basically (as this is a goofy
Intel-based segmented architecture machine),
you get up to 64K to play with. You do the
math. You can just set this to some
impossibly high number like 9999 and let
Citadel compute the maximum for you if you
want.
The Auxmem version stores the scroll-back
buffer in EMS, XMS, or virtual memory, so
this limit does not apply.
time_out This is the number of seconds you can be idle
in the scroll-back buffer before you are
kicked out. While using the scroll-back
buffer, nothing else works: users cannot log
in; the screen saver will not turn on; cron
events won't execute. If you set this to 0,
you will never time out. This is a good way
to disable the board if you want...
When running Citadel, use the Alt+K key combination to
activate the scroll-back buffer. When the scroll-back buffer
is active, the following commands are available:
B Search for text backwards in the buffer from
the current position.
G Go to a specified line in the buffer.
S Search for text forward in the buffer from
the current position.
W Write text from the buffer to a file on disk,
starting at the top of the current screen.
Cursor Up Move one line farther back into the buffer.
Cursor Down Move one line forward in the buffer.
PgUp Move one screen farther back into the buffer.
PgDn Move one screen forward in the buffer.
Home Move to the beginning of the buffer.
End Move to the end of the buffer.
Esc Return to normal operation.
Note: Even when #BIOS is set to 1, the buffer uses
direct screen writes when being displayed.
Spell Checker
Citadel has a spell checker built into its internal message
editor. The default dictionary to use is found in #LEXPATH
and its name is defined by the #DICTIONARY keyword, both set
in CONFIG.CIT, but the name can be overridden on a room-by-
room basis using the .Aide Edit room (.AE) command.
The default #DICTIONARY is ENG-AM.DAT (American English),
which is also the only dictionary that Anticlimactic
Teleservices provides currently. You can create your own
dictionary by using CTDL -O or Control+F6, G and selecting
"Compile dictionary". The input to this function is simply
an alphabetically sorted list of words, one per line.
Citadel reads this file, then writes out an indexed
compressed version of it that it can use as a dictionary.
The Customization Kit comes with the list of words used to
create the default ENG-AM.DAT dictionary; you can add your
own words to this list and use the resulting enhanced
dictionary. You can also create your own dictionaries,
perhaps for languages other than American English. By
attaching one of these dictionaries to a room, you can, for
example, have a French dictionary in a room devoted to
learning and practicing French.
The spell checker is accessed by using the Verify spelling
(V) command of the message editor. It has three modes:
Terse, Regular, and Verbose. In Terse mode, it just lists
the words that it cannot find in its dictionary. In Regular
mode, it lists the words that it cannot find in its
dictionary, and gives some suggestions as to the correct
spelling of the words. In Verbose mode, it enters a dialog
that lets you replace all occurrences of a misspelled word
with the correct spelling, or update your personal
dictionary if the word is spelled correctly.
A special fourth mode, Automatic, operates like Verbose
mode. It is called Automatic, however, because it runs
automatically whenever the message is saved. It is best to
have Citadel confirm the Save command when using the spell
checker in Automatic mode. (This is enabled by using the
Message editor options (E) subcommand of the .Enter
Configuration (.EC) command.
The current mode can be changed by the Spell checker mode
(P) option of the Message editor options (E) subcommand of
the .Enter Configuration (.EC) command. This subcommand also
lets you manipulate your personal dictionary: you can add
words to it, remove words from it, or list the words
currently in it. Citadel checks the personal dictionary when
verifying the spelling of a word, but not when looking up
suggestions for an incorrectly spelled word.
Users should choose the mode best suited for their spelling
ability; good spellers might not want to spend the time it
takes Citadel to determine possible correct spellings for a
word that it cannot find in its dictionaries. Average
spellers might like suggestions for correct spellings, but
might not want to enter the full session with the spell
checker that a poor speller might desire. And poor spellers
might appreciate the full spell checker and corrector,
especially when in Automatic mode.
Status Line and Screen
Citadel usually has a single status line at the bottom of
the screen to alert you to what is going on with it. You can
turn this status line off if you want by using the Shift+F10
keystroke. Alternatively, you can turn on a second status
line with the Alt+F10 keystroke. You can also turn on a help
window with the F10 keystroke. If you really want to go into
information overload, turn on the status screen with the F4
keystroke.
The standard status line
The status line is displayed on the last line of the console
screen. This has ten sections that display information about
what the BBS is up to:
In the first section (that is, before the first "|"
character), the name of the currently logged-in user is
displayed. If there is no user logged-in, this is used to
display a clock and calendar.
The second section is used to tell where Citadel thinks the
user is. If this is displayed as "Modem", then Citadel
thinks there is a caller on-line over the serial port. If
carrier is not present, then Citadel resets, logging off the
current user. If this is displayed as "Console", then
Citadel ignores anything commands sent to it over the serial
port. (Except that it will answer the phone if it gets a
call, and switch to Modem mode if it gets carrier.) However,
if carrier is present, then text is output to the serial
port. This is also used to determine where to echo hidden
information (such as mail): either the modem or the system
console. You can use the F5 keystroke to toggle between
these two modes. Be careful if you are logged on locally and
there is no caller on-line, however: if you switch to Modem
mode, then Citadel will check for carrier, see there is
none, and reset itself, thinking the user just dropped
carrier.
The third section is used to report the presence of carrier:
it will contain either the text "CD" (carrier detect) or
"NC" (no carrier).
The fourth section is used to report the speed. If there is
no carrier or you are in dial-out mode, then this is the
port speed between the computer and the modem. If there is a
caller on-line, then this is the speed of the connection
between the two modems. (These are generally the same at
lower speeds.) Speeds of over 9600 baud are abbreviated:
12.0, 14.0, 16.8, 28.8, 57.6, 115K, and 230K. This is
because there is only four characters to display the speed
in. (Would you believe that this status line was designed,
and the space allocated to the speed section, when 9600 baud
was a dream?)
The fifth section is used to report the time left in the
current user's account in minutes. If there is no user on-
line, or accounting is disabled (either for the current user
or for the whole system), then the text "NA" is displayed.
If it is currently special time for the current user, the
text "SpTm" is displayed. If the current user has over 9,999
minutes (6 days, 22 hours, 39 minutes), the text "Lots" is
displayed, as there are only four digits available for the
time.
The sixth section is used to display system status flags:
The first flag is either "E" if the modem is enabled (the
BBS will answer calls) or "D" if disabled (the BBS will now
answer calls); the second flag is either the male symbol (an
"o" with an arrow extending out of it to the upper right) if
there is mail waiting for the sysop and #CHECKSYSMAIL in
CONFIG.CIT is set, or blank if not; the third flag is a
double musical note if bells are turned on, a single musical
note if turned on only to run the chat request, or blank if
bells are turned off; the fourth flag is the Yen symbol (an
upper-case "Y" with an equals sign in the middle of it) if
output filtering (Alt+B) is turned on, or blank if not; the
fifth flag is the Greek letter phi (an upper-case "I" with a
circle in the middle of the vertical part) if debug mode
(Alt+D) is turned on, or blank if not; the sixth flag is a
symbol I don't know the origin of (sort of like a sun) if
the console is locked, or blank if not; and the seventh flag
is the approximately equals symbol (a wavy equals symbol) if
ignore up-time (Alt+U) is turned on, or blank if not.
The seventh section displays the status of the Chat command:
"Chat" if chat is enabled and the current user has not
requested chat; "RCht" if chat is enabled and the current
user has requested chat; "rcht" if chat is disabled and the
current user has requested chat; or blank if chat is
disabled and the current user has not requested chat. The
"RCht" and "rcht" chat-requested messages flash. You can
clear the requested message by pressing F9 twice, which
toggles chat mode.
The eighth section displays "Prt" if output is being trapped
to the printer file (which is toggled with Alt+P) or blank
if not.
The ninth section displays "REQ" if the system has been
requested (F3 or Alt+F3), or blank if not.
The tenth section displays flags that give information about
the current user: "A" if the user is an Aide, "T" if the
user is a Problem-user (twit); "P" if the user is Permanent;
"N" if the user has Network privileges; "U" if the user is
Unlisted; "S" if the user is a Sysop; and "M" if the user
may not leave mail.
The second status line
The second status line has three sections: First, the name
of the current hall; second, the name of the current room;
and third a clock (and calendar if your display is wide
enough).
The help window
The help window displays the function of the 10 function
keys F1 through F10. This stays up for two minutes after it
is displayed. It really doesn't give much help, does it?
The status screen
The status screen gives a quick summary of the status of the
system.
On the top line is the version of Citadel that is running,
the current time and date, and a display of how long the BBS
has been up.
On the next few lines on the left side of the screen is the
name of the current user, room, and hall. On these lines on
the right side of the screen are the command that the user
is using and the length of time that the user has been
logged into the system. If accounting is enabled, this also
shows the time left in the user's account.
On the next few lines are a display of the count of
characters sent and received since the last user logged in,
a display of the count of messages entered and read since
the last user logged in, and a display of the current user's
poopcount if there is a user logged in.
On the next line is a display of memory. In the regular
version, this is the amount of memory free. In the Auxmem
version, there is first a display of the amount of
conventional memory free, followed by a display of the
amount of EMS, XMS, and virtual memory used (note: used, not
free). (If any of these forms of memory is not in use, it
will not appear on the screen.)
On the next line is the current speed of the serial port,
and the speed of the modem-to-modem connection if there is a
connection.
The rest of the screen is devoted to a list of significant
system events that have occurred, along with the time that
they occurred.
User Configuration
One of the strengths of Citadel is that users have a high
degree of control over the appearance of the BBS. Sysops can
configure new users in any way they desire, can edit any
user's configuration, and can control what users can change
to some degree. Users use the .Enter Configuration (.EC)
command to change their configuration. Sysops use the .Sysop
Userlog edit (.SU) command to change the configuration of
users; see the User Editing topic for full information on
this command. The configuration of new users is specified in
the DEFUSER.CIT file, and some options of the .Enter
Configuration (.EC) command can be turned off in the
CONFIG.CIT file with the #ECCOLOR, #ECSIGNATURE, #ECTWIRLY,
and #ECUSERLOG keywords. See Section IV (Configuration
Files) for full information on the DEFUSER.CIT file and the
CONFIG.CIT keywords.
The .Enter Configuration (.EC) command is used for almost
all editing of users' configuration. The only setting that
falls outside of this command is the initials and password
used to log in. Those are set with the .Enter Password
command.
The .Enter Configuration (.EC) command is based on menus,
with various depths of sub-menus. The main menu that appears
when the command is first invoked includes the following
options:
D Toggle room descriptions. Room descriptions are
files that the sysop can attach to a room to give
some explanation of the room. If this option is
turned on, then Citadel displays this file to you
the first time you enter a room during a call. If
this option is turned off, then Citadel does not
display the contents of this file.
- Toggle hall descriptions. Hall descriptions are
files that the sysop can attach to a hall to give
some explanation of the hall. If this option is
turned on, then Citadel displays this file to you
every time you enter a hall during a call. If this
option is turned off, then Citadel does not
display the contents of this file.
+ Toggle room info lines. Room info lines are brief
(80 characters or fewer) descriptions of rooms,
which may be created when a room is created or
changed later by an Aide. If this option is turned
on, then Citadel displays this line to you every
time you enter a room. If this option is turned
off, then Citadel does not display the line.
1 Toggle wide rooms. When you use the Known rooms
(K) command, Citadel displays the rooms in one of
two methods, depending on the setting of this
option. If this option is turned on, then the room
list is displayed in two columns, making it easy
to see which rooms are being listed. If this
option is turned off, then Citadel displays as
many rooms as it can per line, separating each
room with a comma, fitting the maximum number of
rooms per line.
X Toggle auto next hall. When this is turned on,
Citadel automatically takes you to the next hall
on the system when you enter a window room. This
usually works well to take you through the system
without every having to manually change halls, but
it does not work as well if the sysop has created
an elaborate hall and window scheme.
W Toggle twirly cursor. When Citadel is waiting for
user input, it can display a twirly cursor, to let
you know that it is waiting. Note that the cursor
pattern is under the sysop's control, so it might
not actually twirl.
V Toggle auto verbose. Usually, to get more
information when reading messages, the Verbose (V)
modifier is used in the .Read Messages (.RM)
command. This setting is useful for people who
always want the full message header, by forcing
verbose mode to always be on. This also affects a
few other commands that have a Verbose mode.
L Toggle verbose logout. This option turns on
verbose mode for only the .Terminate (.T) command.
This is useful for people who always want full log-
out information (such as time on the system,
number of messages read and entered, etc.), but do
not want to see everything verbosely. This option
is not available when Auto verbose (V) is enabled,
as it would be redundant: this is a subset of that
option.
U Toggle list in userlog. Turning this setting off
makes it so that other users cannot see your entry
in the userlog, and therefore cannot know when you
last called, or that you even called at all. This
does not, however, prevent Aides from being able
to see your entry.
H Toggle helpful hints. Helpful hints give you more
information about what Citadel is doing, or
expects from you. After a while, these notes
become more annoying than helpful. When this
happens, turn them off with this option.
Y Toggle you are here. For users new to room
systems, turning this on may help navigating the
system. When this is on, it presents a list of
accessible halls and rooms before every room
prompt.
O Toggle last old on new. It is often easier to keep
track of the discussion in a room between calls by
viewing the last old message when you read the new
messages in a room. Turning this feature on gives
you this reminder.
M Toggle Minibin login stats. When logging on to a
Citadel, it usually gives you information
regarding what has happened since your last call:
the number of callers the system has had since
then, the number of messages they left on the
system, etc. If you do not want to see this
information, turn it off with this option.
J Toggle display of subjects. Messages may have
subjects, telling what the message is about.
However, some users find these to be redundant:
the subject can be known by reading the message.
Turning this option off keeps Citadel from
displaying message subjects.
@ Toggle pause after message. Citadel usually
displays all messages to the user with no pausing,
leaving it up to the user to determine when to
pause the output. However, some users find it
easier to have Citadel pause after every message
it displays. Turning this option on makes it do
that.
G Toggle display of signatures. Signatures are
attached to the bottom of messages, and usually
have no relevance to the message and are quite
repetitive, and thus often are thought of as
annoying. Use this option to suppress the display
of signatures.
C Toggle clear screen before message. Usually,
Citadel displays messages one after the other when
the user is reading them. Some users, however,
prefer to have each message start fresh at the top
of a blank screen. Turn this option on to have
Citadel do this. This is only available if the
user has ANSI terminal emulation turned on. (See
Terminal settings (T), later in this list.) Note
that it is highly recommended that you also turn
Pause after message (@) on if you choose to use
this feature.
I Toggle display of titles and surnames. Citadel
gives users the ability to add text both before
their names (titles) and after (surnames). They
may be informative, humorous, bizarre, or whatever
else the user wants. If you find them all to be
just annoying, use this option to suppress the
display of them.
5 Format strings. This displays a sub-menu that has
the following options:
B Back to previous menu. This returns to the
main menu.
N Net prefix. When listing rooms, Citadel
prepends the net prefix to the room name to
let you know that it is a networked room.
Additionally, the default room prompt (which
can be changed by the sysop, or by each user
individually with the Prompt format (P)
format string option, described later in this
list) displays the net prefix before
networked rooms.
P Prompt format. This lets the user change what
the room prompt looks like. It is possible,
for example, to have Citadel give the current
time as part of the prompt, or the group the
current room belongs to, or many other pieces
of information. For a full explanation of
what is allowed for a prompt format, press
the ? key when setting the prompt.
# Time/date stamp. This lets the user change
what the time stamp looks like. It is
possible, for example, to have Citadel give
the day of the week in numeric form (0 being
Sunday, 1 being Monday, etc.), in short form
(Sun, Mon, etc.), or in long form (Sunday,
Monday, etc.). There are two format strings
used: regular and verbose. When reading
messages with Verbose turned on, and most
other times that Citadel gives a time, the
verbose format string is used. When reading
messages without Verbose turned on, the
regular format string is used. For a full
explanation of what is allowed for the
time/date format, press the ? key when
setting it.
> Default hall. Usually, Citadel logs all users into
the Root hall (which the sysop may have renamed).
Some users wish to start in another hall, which
may contain the rooms they read most. This can be
accomplished by setting the default hall to
whatever is desired.
P Default protocol. Usually, Citadel waits for the
user to supply a file transfer protocol when the
Upload (U) and Download (D) commands are used. If
a default protocol is specified, Citadel uses that
instead. The default protocol can be overridden by
using the .Upload (.U) and .Download (.D)
commands, which always wait for a protocol.
_ Signature. Messages can have two signatures: one
for the board and one for the user. The board's
signature is defined by the sysop. This is used to
define the user signature you wish to have
appended to your messages.
F Forwarding address. You can choose to have
exclusive messages sent to you to be forwarded to
another user. This other user can be someone on
the board, or someone on another board on the
network. Just enter the user's name and Citadel
will start forwarding any new messages. By
choosing this option and selecting no name, you
can turn off forwarding if it is currently on.
Note that "forwarding" is not the best term: the
message is still available to you, so it is more
of a "cc" function.
& Address. If you have a hard-to-type name, you may
want to set an address for your account. Then,
other users just have to enter your address to
send mail to you. (For example, a user with the
name John Quilcene Jackovichsky, Jr. might use his
initials: JQJ.)
T Terminal settings. This brings up a sub-menu that
has the following options:
A Toggle ANSI mode. Enabling ANSI mode tells
Citadel to display various messages with
different attributes, which makes it easier
to read the board.
C Toggle ANSI color. Enabling ANSI color tells
Citadel to interpret the ^A codes that set
color.
I Toggle IBM graphics characters. Enabling IBM
graphics characters tells the board to send
all characters out without translation. This
enables users to see IBM extended ASCII
characters, such as the line drawing symbols.
Users without IBM PC or compatible computers
(or some other computer with the same
character set) would want to turn this option
off, which tells Citadel to translate such
characters into the graphically closest
approximation, using standard seven bit
ASCII.
W Screen width. This tells Citadel how wide
your terminal screen is, which it uses to
properly word wrap output. Most terminals
support 80 columns today. Valid values range
from 10 to 255 columns.
U Toggle uppercase only. This tells Citadel to
send all text out mapped to uppercase letters
only. This is useful for users with older
terminals that cannot handle lowercase
letters.
F Toggle linefeeds. This tells Citadel to send
a linefeed (ASCII 10) after every carriage
return (ASCII 13) that it sends. This is
required to prevent line overwriting for many
terminals, but double spaces the text on
others.
T Toggle tabs. This tells Citadel to send tab
characters out. If this is turned off,
Citadel sends enough spaces to simulate eight-
space tab stops. On terminals that support
tabs, message reading is slightly faster when
this option is turned on. (Very slightly,
since tabs are not used often.)
N Nulls. This tells Citadel to send out nulls
as filler between sending a carriage return
and linefeed (if so configured) to the user.
This is useful on slower terminals, which
might not be able to keep up with the baud of
the connection. If you cannot see the first
characters of each line, set this to the
number of missing characters.
M Music. This tells Citadel that your terminal
supports music codes. Most terminals do not,
but users of those that do might want to
enable this, in case the sysop has put such
codes into the board.
L Lines per screen. This sets the number of
lines after which Citadel should pause the
display. This screen pause can also be turned
off with this option by specifying 0 lines.
R Attributes. This prompts for color numbers to
send in response to the ^A0 through ^A4
codes. This is only available if you are
configured to use ANSI. You will be prompted
for each color number; enter either the
number or press the ? key to view a list of
available colors.
B Back to previous menu This returns you to the
main menu.
O IBM Room prompts. This is only available if
IBM Graphics characters are turned on. This
changes the flags at the end of the room
prompt to use IBM Extended characters.
> More prompt. This specifies the text to
display when pausing on a full screen, or
between messages.
6 Personal information. This option brings up
another menu, with the following choices:
R Real name. This lets you set your real name.
Real names are never displayed to any users
other than sysops on a Citadel. However, they
are written to networked messages. If a room
is networked into some other network that
requires real names, they may be displayed on
the other network.
P Phone number. This lets you set your phone
number. Phone numbers are never displayed to
any users other than sysops, and never leave
the board in networked messages.
1 Address line 1.
2 Address line 2.
3 Address line 3. These let you set your street
mailing address. Your mailing address is
never displayed to any users other than
sysops, and never leave the board in
networked messages.
B Back to previous menu. This returns you to
the main menu.
R Message read options. This option brings up
another menu, with the following choices:
A Author-based exclusions. This option brings
up another menu, with the following choices:
L List. This lists your current author-
based message exclusions. Citadel will
not display any message from an author
that you have excluded.
A Add. This adds another author-based
message exclusion.
R Remove. This removes an author-based
message exclusion.
B Back to previous menu. This returns you
to the Message read options menu.
N Node-based exclusions. This option brings up
another menu, with the following choices:
L List. This lists your current node-based
message exclusions. Citadel will not
display any message from a node that you
have excluded.
A Add. This adds another node-based
message exclusion.
R Remove. This removes a node-based
message exclusion.
B Back to previous menu. This returns you
to the Message options menu.
T Text-based exclusions. This option brings up
another menu, with the following choices:
L List. This lists your current text-based
message exclusions. Citadel will not
display any message containing text that
you have excluded.
A Add. This adds another text-based
message exclusion.
R Remove. This removes a text-based
message exclusion.
B Back to previous menu. This returns you
to the Message options menu.
R Region-based exclusions. This option brings
up another menu, with the following choices:
L List. This lists your current region-
based message exclusions. Citadel will
not display any message from a region
that you have excluded.
A Add. This adds another region-based
message exclusion.
R Remove. This removes a region-based
message exclusion.
B Back to previous menu. This returns you
to the Message options menu.
O Notify on exclusion. When Citadel excludes a
message, it can either do it silently, or it
can tell you that it is skipping the message.
This option tells it which one to do.
E Toggle exclude encrypted messages. To keep
Citadel from displaying encrypted messages,
turn this on.
M Message author tags. This option brings up
another menu, with the following choices:
L List. This lists your current message
author tags. These are extra text after
a user's name in a message header. You
can set more than one for a user, as
well. These can be used as a reminder
about who the user is, or any other
personal note to yourself.
A Add. This adds another message author
tag.
R Remove. This removes all tags on a
specified author.
B Back to previous menu. This returns you
to the Message options menu.
B Back to previous menu. This returns you to
the main menu.
Z Pointer edit menu. This option brings up another
menu, with the following choices:
S Set all pointers. This sets all message
pointers in all rooms to a specified value.
This can be beneficial after returning to a
board that you have not called for a few
months; you can set the pointer back by a few
hundred, so you only have that many new
messages to read, not a few thousand.
N Set all pointers to new. This sets all
message pointers in all rooms to make all
messages on the system new.
O Set all pointers to old. This sets all
message pointers in all rooms to make all
messages on the system old.
R Set pointer for a room. This sets the message
pointer for a specific room to a specified
message. This is useful if you only read some
of the messages in a room. You can set the
message pointer to the last message you read,
then bypass the room. On the next call to the
system, only messages newer than the last one
you read will be new.
D Display all pointers. This shows the message
pointer for every room on the system that you
have access to.
B Back to previous menu. This returns you to
the main menu.
E Message editor options. This option brings up
another menu, with the following choices:
V Verbose continue. When using the Continue (C)
command of the message editor, Citadel can
either display the whole message to you as it
has been entered up to that point, or just
the last 100 bytes. Turning this on tells
Citadel to display the full message, and
leaving it off tells it to only display the
last 100 bytes.
P Spell checker options. This brings up another
menu with the following options:
Wow. All the options.
P Spell checker mode. This configures
Citadel's spell checker for your
preference: Automatic, Verbose, Regular,
or Terse modes.
R Remove word from dictionary. This
removes a word from your personal
dictionary.
A Add word to dictionary. This adds a word
to your personal dictionary.
L List words in dictionary. This lists the
words in your personal dictionary.
S Confirm Save. This tells Citadel to confirm
your choice to save a message when in the
message editor.
A Confirm Abort. This tells Citadel to confirm
your choice to abort a message when in the
message editor.
E Confirm not .EO. This tells Citadel to
confirm the loss of aborted messages by not
using the .Enter Old Message (.EOM) command
when entering a message after aborting the
last one.
B Back to previous menu. This returns you to
the main menu.
S Save. This asks for confirmation, then (if you
confirm your choice) saves your configuration as
you have specified it and returns to the room
prompt.
A Abort. This asks for confirmation, then (if you
confirm your choice) aborts any configuration
changes you have made and returns to the room
prompt.
Room Editing
Users with Aide access are able to edit most attributes of
rooms. This is done with the .Aide Edit room (.AE) command.
Sysops can use this command to edit the few attributes that
Aides are not allowed to modify. Note that this command does
not change the location of the room in the hall structure:
that is done by editing the halls, and is explained in the
Hall Editing topic.
When the .Aide Edit room (.AE) command is used, Citadel
prompts for a room name, using the current name as a
default. If a valid name is entered, Citadel provides a menu
with the following options:
N Name. This changes the name of the room.
I Infoline. This changes the infoline of the room.
D Directory. Only Sysops are allowed to pick this
option. This allows the room to be linked to a
directory on disk to facilitate uploads and
downloads. To prevent remote sysops from accessing
parts of the disk that you want to keep private,
use the #DIRECTORY keyword in EXTERNAL.CIT.
L Application. Only Sysops are allowed to pick this
option. This allows an application to be linked to
the room. See the Applications topic for more
information on applications.
F Description file. Only Sysops are allowed to pick
this option. A description file is a text file on
disk that describes the room. Users can configure
to view this file when they enter the room for the
first time each call.
G Access group. This allows the room to be
restricted to a specific group of users. You can
use Boolean expressions to assign access to
groups. For example, you might wish to limit a
room to "Group 1" AND NOT "Group 2", which would
cause the room to be only accessible to people in
Group 1 but not in Group 2. The main sysop set by
#SYSOP in CONFIG.CIT is always allowed into all
rooms.
V Privileges group. This allows a certain group to
be given more privileges than others. After
picking a group to give the privileges to, Citadel
asks what privileges to give to the group. The
questions it asks are:
Read only? If a room is read-only, then only
members of the privileges group are allowed
to enter messages in it.
Group moderates? If a room is moderated, then all
messages left in it are not visible to
callers other than the original author and
the room's moderators. The moderators can
release the messages for others to read. This
allows you to let a whole group of people
moderate the room.
Download-only? If a room is download-only, then
only members of the privileges group are
allowed to upload to it.
Upload-only? This question is only asked if you do
not make the room download-only. If a room is
upload-only, then only members of the
privileges group are allowed to download from
it.
H Toggle hidden. If a room is hidden, then users
must know the exact room name to get to it the
first time. Once they go to it once, Citadel
remembers that they have found the room, and lets
them back in as if it was a normal room in the
future. The main sysop as set by #SYSOP in
CONFIG.CIT is always allowed into all rooms.
B Toggle BIO. BIO stands for "By Invitation Only".
BIO rooms are similar to hidden rooms, but the
user must be explicitly invited to the room to
access it: merely knowing the name is not enough.
(Users are invited with the .Invite... (.I...)
commands.) The main sysop as set by #SYSOP in
CONFIG.CIT is always allowed into all rooms.
Y Toggle anonymous. Citadel does not store any
information about the authors of messages in
anonymous rooms. (However, sysops can configure
Citadel to keep track of anonymous messages in the
trap file, if they are concerned about security or
legality.) Only Sysops are allowed to make Lobby,
Aide, or Mail anonymous.
M Toggle moderated. If a room is moderated, then all
messages left in it are not visible to callers
other than the original author and the room's
moderators. The moderators can release the
messages for others to read. Unless the privileges
group is set to moderate the room, Aides are the
only moderators. (Unless the sysop has turned off
Aides' ability to moderate rooms with #MODERATE in
CONFIG.CIT, in which case only Sysops can moderate
rooms.)
E Toggle network/shared. Only Sysops are allowed to
change this. If a room is marked as
network/shared, then its messages can be shared
with the Citadel network.
W Network ID. The Network ID is used to identify the
room on the Citadel network when using the Net 6.9
protocol. Each room shared on the network has a
unique Network ID.
P Toggle permanent. Permanent rooms do not appear
when using the .Sysop Zap empty rooms (.SZ)
command. Lobby, Mail, Aide, and Dump are always
permanent.
U Toggle subject prompt. Citadel can be set to
prompt for a subject when entering a message in
the room.
R Archive. Only Sysops on console are allowed to
change this. Rooms marked as Archive rooms have
their messages stored in a text file in addition
to in Citadel's message base. This allows the
messages to be stored even after the message base
scrolls: Citadel never empties the archive file.
X Toggle Nonexcludable. Rooms marked as
nonexcludable cannot be excluded with the Exclude
room (X) command.
C Dictionary. Only Sysops on console are allowed to
change this. Citadel allows alternate spell-
checker dictionaries to be set for each room. This
allows, for example, rooms dedicated to a foreign
language to have a dictionary for that language.
S Save. This saves the changes made, after asking
for confirmation.
A Abort. This aborts all changes made, after asking
for confirmation.
Hall Editing
Wow.
User Editing
Sysops can use the .Sysop Userlog edit (.SU) command to edit
the configuration of other users. When the .Sysop Userlog
edit (.SU) command is used, Citadel asks for the name of the
user to edit, using the current user as the default. If a
valid name is entered, it provides the following menu:
L Lock title and surname. If a user's title and
surname are locked, then he cannot change them
himself.
K Lock signature. If a user's signature is locked,
then he cannot change it himself.
Y Toggle Sysop. This sets whether the user has Sysop
privileges or not.
D Toggle Aide. This sets whether the user has Aide
privileges or not.
O Toggle node. This sets whether the user is a node
on the Citadel network or a person.
P Toggle permanent. This sets whether the user's
account is permanent or not. Permanent accounts
are not removed to make room for new callers.
E Toggle net user. This sets whether the user's
messages are sent out on the network always, or if
an Aide has to release them first.
T Toggle twit. This sets whether the user's messages
are visible to other users always, or if an Aide
has to release them first.
M Toggle mail. This sets whether the user can send
mail to other users or not.
V Toggle verified. This sets whether the user is
verified or not. Non-verified users are not
allowed to log in.
4 Toggle enter borders. This sets whether the user
can change the system's borders with the .Enter
Border (.EB) command.
H Lock default hall. If a user's default hall is
locked, then he cannot set it.
C Toggle chat. This sets whether the user is allowed
to use the Chat (C) command or not.
R Toggle room creation. This sets whether the user
is allowed to create rooms or not. This is in
addition to limits set by #ROOMOK in CONFIG.CIT.
3 Toggle 300 baud output. This sets whether the user
is presented with a simulated 300 baud connection
or not. This is meant as a method to discourage
the user from using the board much.
1 Toggle psycho chicken. This sets whether the BBS
switches to psycho chicken mode when the user
calls.
U Toggle upload. This sets whether the user is
allowed to upload files.
5 Toggle download. This sets whether the user is
allowed to download files.
F Toggle trap to print file. This sets whether the
printfile set by the #PRINTER keyword in
CONFIG.CIT is opened when the user logs on.
N Name. This allows you to change the user's name.
2 Calls per day. This lets you limit the number of
times a user can call in a day. (Midnight to
midnight.)
. User configuration. This presents the same menus
available with the .Enter Configuration (.EC)
command, except Save and Abort are replaced with B
for Back to previous menu.
S Save. This asks for confirmation, then saves the
data entered if confirmation is given.
A Abort. This asks for confirmation, then aborts the
data entered if confirmation is given.
SSection III: Command Reference
The Citadel command structure is quite powerful. It has been
designed to make the most common commands quickly
accessible. Most commands that are used during a call to a
Citadel are a single keystroke. The less common, and more
dangerous, commands take at least two keystrokes. This lets
new users quickly remember all they need to know for using
the system, while protecting them from accidentally doing
something they did not want to do.
The multiple keystroke commands are usually forms of the
single-key commands that include command modifiers. That is,
the command to enter a message is just E for "Enter". To
enter an exclusive message (a message that can only be read
by one other person), the command is .EE for "Enter
Exclusive". The period tells Citadel that you are starting
an extended command. All multiple keystroke commands start
with a period. (You can also use the comma (,), slash (/),
or space ( ) characters to invoke an extended command. This
makes it easier to start such a command: use whichever key
you find easiest to use. For simplicity and clarity, only
the period key is mentioned in the documentation.)
Common single-key commands
The following commands are the ones most often used while
logged into a Citadel. They only require a single keystroke.
B Bypass. This command works like the Goto (G)
command, but it does not update the new pointer
for the current room. That is, messages that were
new when you entered the room are still considered
new when you exit the room. This is a good way to
skip a room so you can come back to it on a later
call, and not miss any new messages. Unless the
room being bypassed is the Lobby, Citadel will not
take you back to this room during the current
call.
C Chat. This command rings the console speaker to
page the sysop. If the sysop is around, he can
enter chat mode, where the user and the sysop can
type to each other in real-time. The console page
can by turned off by the sysop with the F9 key, in
which case Citadel will display NOCHAT.BLB to the
user.
E Enter message. This command lets the user enter a
message in the current room.
F Forward messages. This command displays all
messages in the current room, from the oldest to
the newest.
G Goto. This command goes to the next room in the
current hall with unread messages. It may also go
to the next window room, depending on the setting
of #SUBHUBS in CONFIG.CIT.
H Help. This command prints out help information to
the user.
J Jumpback. This command returns to previously
visited rooms, in reverse order of leaving them.
K Known rooms. This command lists all known rooms
in the current hall, telling the user which ones
do and which ones don't have new messages.
N New messages. This command displays all new
(unread) messages in the current room, from the
oldest to the newest. This is the most common way
to read messages.
O Old messages. This command displays all old
(read) messages in the current room, in reverse
order from the newest to the oldest. This command
is a good way to check up on what was recently
said in the room.
R Reverse messages. This command displays all the
messages in the current room in reverse order,
from the newest to the oldest.
T Terminate. This asks for confirmation, then
terminates the connection between the user and the
board.
> Next hall. This command takes the user to the
next hall that a window room has access to. This
is usually used after rooms with new messages in
the current hall have been visited. The ] key can
be used instead of the > key.
< Previous hall. This command takes the user to the
previous hall that a window room has access to.
The [ key can be used instead of the < key.
? Menu. This displays a list of available commands.
Often, the only commands that are used during a call to a
Citadel are the New messages (N), Goto new messages (G),
Enter message (E), and Next hall (>) commands, followed by a
Terminate (T) command at the end.
When the user logs in, he is shown all new messages in
Lobby, the first room. He can then post a message with the
Enter message (E) command. After finishing with Lobby, he
can use the Goto new messages (G) command to go to the next
room with new messages, and then the New messages (N)
command to read them. He can then choose to enter a message
in this room with the Enter message (E) command before using
the Goto new messages (G) command to go to the next room
with new messages. When he is done with the first hall, he
can use the Next hall (>) command to go to the next hall,
where the Goto new messages (G)/New messages (N)/Enter
messages (E) loop starts up again. After visiting all halls,
he can use the Terminate (T) command to end the call.
Less common single-key commands
The following commands are also single-key commands, but are
not as commonly used.
A Aide edit room. To use this command, the user
must be an aide. This lets the user edit the
attributes of a room, such as its name and access
group.
D Download. This command lets the user download
from the current room if it is a directory room.
(Directory rooms end with a "]" character.)
I Introduction. This command displays INTRO.HLP as
an introduction to the BBS.
L Login. This logs the user onto the board. This
command is usually only used on console; most
boards are set up to automatically log callers on
when they first connect by setting #FORCELOGIN in
CONFIG.CIT to 1.
M Enter exclusive (Mail). This sends an exclusive
message to another user on the board, or possibly
on the network if the board is connected to the
network.
U Upload. This command lets the user upload to the
current room if it is a directory room. (Directory
rooms end with a "]" character.)
V Auto verbose toggle. When verbose mode is on,
more information is displayed as you use Citadel.
X Exclude. This command excludes the current room
from being visited by the Goto new messages (G)
and Bypass (B) commands. The room is still
accessible by the user if he uses the .Goto (.G),
.Bypass (.B), Next room (+), or Previous room (-)
commands. When not in expert mode, Citadel asks
for confirmation when excluding a room. To
unexclude a room, go to it then use this command
again. It is impossible to exclude the Lobby, or
any other room that has been set as non-excludable
with the .Aide Edit room (.AE) command.
+ Next room. This command goes to the next room on
the system. This is not usually used, because the
Goto new messages (G) command goes to the next
room with new messages, which is usually the only
type of room users want to visit anyway. As "+" is
often a special character for modems, the = key
will do the same thing.
- Previous room. This command goes to the previous
room on the system. This is not usually used,
because the Goto new messages (G) command goes to
the next room with new messages, which is usually
the only type of room users want to visit anyway.
The backspace key also moves the user to the
previous room.
; Small chat. This gives users and sysops a quick
way to communicate with each other. After the ;
key, up to 255 characters can be entered, which
Citadel ignores but can be seen by the user of
either computer.
Multiple key (extended) commands
Multiple key, or extended, commands all start with a period
followed by one or (usually) more keystrokes. The subsequent
keystrokes sometimes set an option of another command. For
example, the .Read (.R) family of commands usually are used
to read messages. If you want to read only messages from one
user, you would use the .Read By-user (.RB) command. At this
point, you can still choose more qualifiers, such as .Read
By-user Keyword search (.RBK) to search for messages that
the user left containing a certain word or phrase. When you
have picked enough qualifiers, you then invoke the command.
In this case, you would use the M key or the Enter key
(Enter because Messages is the default) to finish off the
command: .Read By-user Keyword search Messages (.RBKM) or
.Read By-user Messages (.RBM).
These qualifiers could, however, have been applied to
another command. In the previous example, .Read By-user was
applied to the .Read Messages (.RM) command. It could also
have been applied to the .Read Userlog (.RU) command, as
.Read By-user Userlog (.RBU).
Not all qualifiers can be used with all commands, of course.
For example, the Keyword-search option means nothing to the
.Read Userlog (.RU) command. Don't worry about hurting
anything, though. If you enter .Read Keyword-search Userlog
(.RKU), Citadel will just ignore the Keyword-search option
and do a standard .Read Userlog (.RU) command.
Following is a list of all multiple key commands and
qualifiers in Citadel.
.Read (.R...) commands
## Number of messages. Just enter a number after
.Read, such as ".R10" to read that number of
messages. This also works with the .Read Userlog
(.RU) command.
A All. This reads all messages in all rooms on the
system. It is good to combine with the Keyword
search (K) or By-user (B) option to search for
messages.
M Messages. This tells Citadel to start reading
messages with the currently defined options. You
can also use the Enter key to start reading
messages.
# By message number. This tells Citadel where to
start reading. For example, to read all messages
numbered under 100, use .Read Reverse By message
number Messages (.RR#M) and Citadel will ask for
which message number. Enter 100, and it will
display all messages with a number under 100. To
read all messages over 100, use "Forward" instead
of "Reverse" (.RF#M).
& By date. This tells Citadel that you want to read
only messages after or before a certain date. When
you start the command, Citadel will ask for the
date, then whether you want to read messages
before or after that date. Enter B or A to specify
which. Messages on the date specified are always
include.
! Header scan. This tells Citadel that you only
want to display message headers, and not read the
actual message text. This is a good way to quickly
scan messages.
K Keyword search. This prompts you for a keyword to
search for when reading messages. Only messages
containing the keyword are displayed. The *
keystroke can be used for K if desired.
B By-user. This searches for messages by user,
using wildcards if desired. This also searches
node names, so you can read all messages posted on
a certain node with the command. By-user also
affects the .Read Userlog (.RU) command.
C Configuration. This displays the configuration of
the currently logged-in user.
D Directory. This displays the contents of the
directory for directory rooms. (Directory rooms
end with the "]" character.)
E Exclusive. This searches only for exclusive
messages.
F Forward. This reads messages in the forward
direction.
G Group-only. This reads only messages posted in a
certain group. This command also affects the .Read
Userlog (.RU) command.
H Halls. This lists all hallways that the current
room is in.
I Info file. This displays file information for
files in directory rooms. (Directory rooms end
with the "]" character.)
L Local. This reads only messages that did not come
in over the network.
N New. This reads only messages that have been
posted since the last time you were in the current
room. This also affects .Read Directory (.RD),
.Read Info file (.RI), and .Read Archive file
(.RZ) commands. For these commands, Citadel asks
which date to consider "new" files to be after. It
also affects the .Read Userlog (.RU) command, by
listing only those users who have called since
your last call, or the last time somebody logged-
in on console if there is nobody currently logged-
in.
O Old. This reads only messages that were posted
before the last time you were in the current room.
This also affects .Read Directory (.RD), .Read
Info file (.RI), and .Read Archive file (.RZ)
commands. For these commands, Citadel asks which
date to consider "old" files to be before. It also
affects the .Read Userlog (.RU) command, by
listing only those users who have not called since
your last call, or the last time somebody logged-
in on console if there is nobody currently logged-
in.
P Public. This reads only non-exclusive, non-group-
only messages.
R Reverse. This reads the messages in reverse
order, from newest to oldest. This also affects
the .Read Userlog (.RU) command.
S Status. This displays the current system status,
including such things as how much memory is free,
how many messages are on the system, etc.
T Text file. This displays the contents of a file
in a directory room to the user. (Directory rooms
end with the "]" character.)
U Userlog. This displays a list of users who
currently have accounts on the system.
V Verbose. This tells Citadel to display more
information when reading. It affects the following
commands as follows:
Messages All information in the message
header is displayed.
Text file The text file is passed through
Citadel's word wrapping code, making
many text files look better to the
user.
UserlogDisplays the last call time and date
and number for the users, and their
titles and surnames.
Status Shows more information.
Directory Shows file dates, sizes, and
approximate download times.
Info file Shows file uploaders, dates and
times, sizes, and approximate
download times.
Additionally, users can use the Auto verbose (V)
command to turn on auto verbose mode. In this
mode, all commands are treated as if they have the
Verbose modifier.
W With Protocol. This downloads files from
directory rooms. Use the .Read With protocol Menu
(.RW?) for a listing of available file transfer
protocols. (Directory rooms end with the "]"
character.)
Z Archive file. This views the contents of archived
files. Citadel relies on external archiver viewers
to be set up with #ARCHIVER in EXTERNAL.CIT to
view these files. A list of which ones have been
set up is available with the .Read Archive file
Menu (.RZ?) command.
? Menu. This displays a list of available commands.
.Sysop (.S...) commands
These commands are only available to people with sysop
accounts. In addition, anybody at console can use these
commands by using the F6 key, unless the console has been
locked with #F6PASSWORD in CONFIG.CIT.
> Create PATH.DAT. This command creates a file
containing all paths of all networked messages on
the system. This can then be used by a network map
generator.
A Abort. This returns to the room prompt.
1 Reset Maintenance hall. This command puts all
rooms in Maintenance.
C Cron. This provides another choice of commands,
as follows:
A All done. This sets the last try and
last succeeded times of all events to
the current time.
D Done. This sets the last try and last
succeeded time of a certain event to the
current time.
E Enter. This reads CRON.CIT, replacing
all information in memory. This is the
same as the .Sysop Enter CRON.CIT (.SET)
command.
F Force. This lets you force the
execution of a specific cron event.
L List. This lists all cron events in
memory.
N Next event set. This sets the next cron
event for Citadel to try to execute.
P Pause. This toggles cron pause. When
cron pause is turned on, no cron events
execute.
R Reset event. This resets a cron event
to the "never-done" state and unzaps it.
S Set success time. This lets you set the
"last succeeded" time of a cron even to
any date and time desired.
Z Zap event toggle. If an event is
zapped, then it will not execute
automatically: you could still force it
with the .Sysop Cron Force (.SCF)
command.
? Menu. This displays a list of available
commands..
O Off hook. This takes the modem off hook. This
only works if logged-in on console.
D Date set. This sets the time and date.
E Enter config file. This provides a choice of
which files to reload, as follows:
A All. All files are reloaded.
C CONFIG.CIT.
E EXTERNAL.CIT.
G GRPDATA.CIT.
I MCI.CIT
M MDMRESLT.CIT]
P PROTOCOL.CIT
T CRON.CIT.
? Menu. This displays a list of available
commands.
F Aide function. This operates exactly the same as
the .Aide (.A...) command.
G Group. This provides another choice of commands,
as follows:
E Edit. This lets you change the
attributes of a group, such as its name
and whether aides are locked from it.
Although you can also use the R (for
"rename") key for this, don't: this
ability may not exist in future versions
of Citadel.
G Group-specific membership. This lets
you add or remove every user on the
system from a specified group. Citadel
prompts for each user.
K Kill. This lets you kill a group.
L List. This works the same as the .Aide
List group (.AL) command.
N New. This creates a new group.
O Operator-specific membership. Wow.
U User-specific membership. This lets you
add or remove a user from every group on
the system. Citadel prompts for each
group.
? Menu. This displays a list of available
commands.
H Hall. This provides another choice of commands,
as follows:
F Force access. This moves you into a
specified hall.
K Kill. This removes a hall.
L List. This lists all halls on the
system.
N New. This lets you create a new hall.
E Edit. This lets you change the
attributes of a hall, such as its name
or group. The R key can also be used.
G Global room. This lets you add or
remove every room on the system from a
hall.
- Move hall backward. This moves the
current hall back one in the hall file.
+ Move hall forward. This moves the
current hall forward one in the hall
file.
? Menu. This displays a list of available
commands.
I Info file reset. This packs FILEINFO.DAT, the
file that Citadel uses to keep track of files for
upload and download, which users can see with the
.Read Info file (.RI) command. Over time, this
file gets fragmented and full of extra
information. This command just reorders it for
quicker lookups. Because the file is reset every
time Citadel is started, the only time this
command should be used is if the board has lots of
file moving, deleting, or uploads without being
taken down.
J Journal room. This command copies all messages in
a room from a specified number onward into a file.
It is a shortcut to using the Alt+P command to
capture messages to a file.
K Kill user. This command removes a user's account
from the system.
L Login enable. This enables a single remote new-
user login when "#LOGIN CLOSED_SYS" is entered
into CONFIG.CIT. (If it is not a closed system,
remote new-user logins are always allowed).
M Mass delete. This command kills all messages from
a specified user.
N New user verify. This command prompts you for
each unverified or problem user on the system,
asking if you want to give the user regular access
or not. If you choose not to do so, you are then
given the option to kill the user's account.
P Purge userlog. This command goes through all
users in the userlog, asking if you want to remove
the user. This is good for corrupted userlogs,
when there may be many users you want to remove
but cannot even type their names, or if someone
tries to scroll your userlog by logging in with
many false accounts. This starts with the last
user in the userlog, and works backwards.
R Run script file. This command runs a Citadel
script file.
S Show user. This command shows the current
configuration of a user, as if the user had used
the .Read Configuration (.RC) command.
U Userlog edit. This command lets you edit the
userlog entry of a user.
X Exit Citadel. This command takes the board down
and exits to the operating system. It can only be
used on console.
Z Zap empty rooms. This command goes through all
unused rooms (those with no messages in them) and
asks if it should delete each one.
! Shell to DOS. This command invokes a copy of the
DOS command shell, letting you run other programs
or DOS commands.
@ Super-shell to DOS. This command invokes a copy
of the DOS command shell, letting you run other
programs or DOS commands. It also removes most of
Citadel from conventional memory, giving you a
large amount of free conventional memory. On
systems with no free EMS or XMS memory, Citadel
needs to write a large amount of information to
disk for this to work, which takes some time.
Therefore, only use this command on such systems
if you need the extra memory for what you plan to
do while shelled out of Citadel.
+ Table debugging. This provides another choice of
commands, as follows:
M Message. This displays what is in the
message table, which can be useful for
debugging.
R Room. This displays what is in the room
table, which can be useful for
debugging.
6 6.9 Net command. This provides another choice of
commands, as follows:
F Fetch. This fetches messages for a node
and generates an outgoing network
packet.
I Incorporate. This incorporates any
incoming network packets that are found
in the #TRANSPATH.
R Generate room request. This generates a
room request file for a node, but does
not send it out to the node.
@ Build address. This reads MSG.DAT and
builds addresses in ROUTE.CIT.
< Wow.
> Wow.
? Menu. This displays a list of available
commands.
^ Auxmem memory status. This command lists EMS,
XMS, and swap file usage for the Auxmem version of
Citadel. This command does not exist in the
Regular version.
# Read by message number. This command reads
messages specified by message number. Messages
that the current user does not have access to (for
example, mail between other users) cannot be
viewed with this command.
% Full path file download. This command lets you
download any file on the system, restricted by any
#DIRECTORY keywords in EXTERNAL.CIT.
? Menu. This displays a list of available commands.
.Aide (.A...) commands
These commands are only available to people with aide
accounts. In addition, anybody at console can use this
command by using the F6 key and the Aide function (F)
subcommand, unless the console has been locked with
#F6PASSWORD in CONFIG.CIT.
A Attributes. This can be used to change the DOS
attributes (read-only and hidden) of a file in a
directory room. (Directory rooms end with the "]"
character.)
C Chat. This works similarly to the Chat (C)
command, but is active even when the sysop has
toggled chat off with the F9 key. The sysop can
use #AIDECHATHRS in CONFIG.CIT to disable this
command during specific hours of the day (or, more
often, night).
E Edit room. This command can be used to change the
attributes of a room, such as its name or owning
group. This is the same as the Aide edit room (A)
command.
F File set. This command asks for file comments for
all files in a directory room without comments.
(Directory rooms end with the "]" character.)
G Group. This command adds users to and removes
them from groups.
H Hall. This command adds rooms to and removes them
from halls. This can be limited to sysops by
setting #AIDEHALL in CONFIG.CIT to 0.
I Insert message. This command inserts the
currently marked message into the current room.
J Jump to Aide) and Maintenance. This command takes
the user to the Aide) room and Maintenance hall,
if he has group access to them.
K Kill room. This command removes a specified room
from the system.
L List group. This command can either list groups
on the system, or which users, rooms, and halls
belong to a certain group. To get a list of groups
on the system, don't provide a group when asked.
To get a list of what belongs to a certain group,
provide a group when asked.
M Move file. This moves a file from one directory
room to another. (Directory rooms end with the "]"
character.)
N Name message. This lets you change what messages
are called on the system. To work, message nyms
have to be enabled with the #TWIT_FEATURES keyword
in CONFIG.CIT.
Q Queue. This provides another choice of commands,
as follows:
A Auto mark/kill/censor toggle. When
these are enabled, you are asked if you
want to mark, kill, or censor each
message that you read.
C Clear. This clears the message queue.
I Insert. This copies all messages in the
queue into the current room.
K Kill. This kills all messages in the
queue.
L List. This lists all messages in the
queue.
M Move. This kills all messages in the
queue and then copies them into the
current room, as if the user used the
.Aide Queue Kill (.AQK) command followed
by the .Aide Queue Insert (.AQI)
command.
R Room mark. This puts every message in
the current room into the queue.
S Sort. This sorts the queue by message
number, either ascending or descending.
V Verbose. This turns on verbose mode,
which affects the Insert, Kill, List,
and Move commands. In non-verbose mode,
these commands print out the message
numbers of the messages affected. In
verbose mode, these commands print out
the headers of the messages affected.
? Menu. This displays a list of available
commands.
R Rename file. This can be used to rename a file in
a directory room. (Directory rooms end with the
"]" character.)
S Set file information. This can be used to change
file the description of a file in a directory
room. (Directory rooms end with the "]"
character.)
U Unlink file. This can be used to unlink (delete)
a file in a directory room. Sysops can use this
command to unlink multiple files in a directory
room by specifying wildcards. (Directory rooms end
with the "]" character.)
W Window room. This changes whether a room is a
window into a specific hall. This can be limited
to sysops by setting #AIDEHALL in CONFIG.CIT to 0.
- Move room back. This moves a room back in the
list of rooms, to before the previous room in the
current hall. Note that there is only one list of
rooms, so any change in one hall affects all other
halls that the room is in.
+ Move room forward. This moves a room forward in
the list of rooms, to after the next room in the
current hall. Note that there is only one list of
rooms, so any change in one hall affects all other
halls that the room is in.
< Copy message to old-buffer. This can be used to
copy the contents of any visible message on the
system and into the "old-buffer". The user can
then use the .Enter Old (.EO) command to re-post
the message.
? Menu. This displays a list of available commands.
.Chat (C) command
This operates identically to the Chat (C) command.
.Download (.D...) command
Wow.
.Enter (.E...) commands
A Application. This is used to run the room's
application, if any has been specified with the
.Aide Edit room (.AE) command.
B Border. This lets the user modify borders, if
borders are turned on for the board and the user
has border modification access.
C Configuration. This lets users change their
configuration. See the "User Configuration" topic
in Section II for full information regarding this
command.
D Door. This lets users run a door that has been
set up in EXTERNAL.CIT with the #DOOR keyword.
E Exclusive message (Mail). This enters a message
that can be read by only one other user.
Additionally, sysops can add the Group-only
modifier to this command to leave mail to every
member of a group: .Enter Group-only Exclusive
message (.EGE).
G Group-only. This is used to create Group-only
messages and rooms by adding it to the .Enter
Message (.EM) and .Enter Room (.ER) commands:
.Enter Group-only Message (.EGM) and .Enter Group-
only Room (.EGR). A Group-only message can only be
read by members of the group, and a Group-only
room can only be visited by members of the group.
Citadel will ask for the group's name.
H Hall. This moves to any hall that the current
room windows into and that the user has access to.
This is an alternative to the Next hall (>) and
Previous hall (<) commands.
L Local. This is used to create Local messages by
adding it to the .Enter Message (.EM) command:
.Enter Local Message (.ELM). Local messages never
network off of the system they were entered on.
M Message. This enters a message in the current
room, using any modifiers (such as Group-only)
that have been used. The Enter key can also be
used for this.
N Name. This is used to change the color and case
of the current user's name. Additionally, sysops
can use this command to completely change their
name.
O Old. This is used to revive the contents of an
aborted message: .Enter Old Message (.EOM) will
place the text of the aborted message into the
message editor and let the user continue editing
the message.
P Password. This is used to change the user's
password.
R Room. This is used to create a new room.
S Surname / Title. If allowed by #TWIT_FEATURES in
CONFIG.CIT, this can be used by users to change
their title and surname.
T Text file. This is used to create a text file in
a directory room. (Directory rooms end with the
"]" character.)
W With protocol. This is used to upload files into
directory rooms using an internal file transfer
protocol. Use the .Enter With protocol Menu (.EW?)
command to list available protocols. (Directory
rooms end with the "]" character.)
X Exclude room. This is identical to the Exclude
room (X) command.
* File-linked. This is used to create File-linked
messages: .Enter File-linked Message (.E*M). File-
linked messages have no message text of their own;
they just point to a file on the disk to display
as message text. If the file specified is not
present, then Citadel displays an error message
stating this. Only sysops can create File-linked
messages. When file-linked messages network off
the board, only the first 8K of the file is sent
out, as the limit on normal Citadel messages is
8K.
? Menu. This displays a list of available commands.
.Goto (.G...) command
This prompts for a room to go to, then takes you to that
room. This will only allow you to specify rooms in the
current hall. If a room with the exact name you specify is
not found, Citadel will then look for rooms that start with
what you specify. If it still cannot find any matches, it
checks for any room that contains what you entered anywhere
in its name. If there are still no matches, it says it
cannot find a room, and stays in the current room.
.Help (.H...) command
Wow.
.Jumpback (.J) command
This command is identical to the Jumpback (J) command.
.Known (.K...) commands
Most of these commands are modifiers to the .Known Rooms
(.KR) command, which lists rooms in the current hall. Any
number of these modifiers can be used together, though some
cancel others out (such as Local and Shared). If you specify
two such mutually-exclusive options, the last one specified
is used, and the first one ignored.
A Application. This lists only rooms with room
applications.
Y Anonymous. This lists only anonymous rooms.
P Permanent. This lists only permanent rooms.
D Directory. This lists only directory rooms.
H Halls. This lists all halls that the room is
contained in that the user has group access to.
G Group-only. This lists only rooms that have a
group, or that belong to a specific group. When
you use this command, Citadel asks for a group;
just press Enter to list all rooms that belong to
any group, or specify a group to list all rooms
belonging to that group.
L Local. This lists only rooms that are not shared
on the network.
N New. This lists only rooms that have new messages
in them.
O Old. This lists only rooms that have no new
messages in them.
E Exclusive-message. This lists only rooms that
have unread mail in them. M can also be used for
this.
S Shared. This lists only rooms that are shared on
the network.
I Room information. This lists information about
the current room, such as which halls it is in,
what group owns it, etc.
R Rooms. This lists rooms in the current hall.
Enter can also be used for this.
V Verbose. This performs a verbose listing, which
shows more information about what is being listed.
T This hall only. This lists rooms that are in no
other halls. This is generally used only in
Maintenance, to see which rooms have been created
by #AUTOROOM recently when #AUTOHALL is not
specified in NODES.CIT.
W Window. This lists all rooms that exit to other
halls.
X Excluded. This lists only rooms that have been
excluded by you.
0 Empty. This lists only rooms that have no
messages in them.
) Hidden. This lists only hidden rooms that you
have found.
B BIO. This lists only BIO rooms.
# Number of messages. This lists the number of
messages in all rooms that are listed.
? Menu. This displays a list of available commands.
.Login (.L...) command
This is similar to the Login (L) command, but does not
display system information (such as the node's name, etc.),
and accepts the initials and password immediately.
.Mail search (.M) command
This skips to the next room on the system with unread
exclusive messages. It checks rooms in all halls the current
user has access to.
.Bypass (.B...) command
This prompts for a room to go to, then takes you to that
room, without updating the message pointers for the current
room. This will only allow you to specify rooms in the
current hall. If a room with the exact name you specify is
not found, Citadel will then look for rooms that start with
what you specify. If it still cannot find any matches, it
checks for any room that contains what you entered anywhere
in its name. If there are still no matches, it says it
cannot find a room, and stays in the current room. Once a
room is bypassed, Citadel will not take you to it with the
Goto new messages (G) command or the Bypass (B) commands for
the rest of the call.
.Terminate (.T...) commands
Q Quit-also. This logs the user off of the board
and hangs up. Y can also be used for this.
S Stay. This logs the user off of the board, but
does not hang up.
V Verbose. This lists information about the call
when logging off, such as the number of messages
entered and read.
? Menu. This displays a list of available commands.
.Upload (.U...) command
Wow.
.Invite (.I...) commands
L List users. Wow.
R Room list. Wow.
U User. Enter Wow.
? Menu. This displays a list of available commands.
.Expert toggle (.X) command
This provides a quick way to toggle helpful hints on and
off.
.Queue (.Q...) commands
These only work if file queuing has been enabled on the
system with #RESPONSEDOWNLOAD in PROTOCOL.CIT.
A Add. This adds a file in the current room to the
queue.
C Clear. This clears the queue by removing all
files from it.
D Download. This downloads all files in the queue.
L List. This lists all files in the queue.
R Remove. This removes a specified file from the
queue.
? Menu. This displays a list of available commands.
.Menu (.?) command
This displays a list of all available commands.
Message Editor Commands
When entering text into a message, press Enter on a blank
line to bring up the "Entry Command:" prompt of the message
editor. At this point, the following commands are available:
A Abort. This aborts the message being entered and
returns to the room prompt. If this command is
used by accident, the .Enter Old (.EO) command
will revive the aborted message. By default,
Citadel asks for confirmation when aborting a
message. However, this can be overridden with the
Confirm Abort (A) option of the Message Editor
options (E) subcommand of the .Enter
Configuration (.EC) command.
C Continue. This returns to the text entry mode. By
default, Citadel displays the last 100 characters
of the message before returning to text entry
mode. To have Citadel display the whole message,
use the Verbose Continue (V) option of the
Message Editor options (E) subcommand of the
.Enter Configuration (.EC) command.
D Delete buffer. This deletes all of the message
text that has been entered, and returns to the
text entry mode. Citadel asks for confirmation
when using this command, as there is no way to
undo it.
E Encrypt message. This asks for a key to use to
encrypt the message. The key is case sensitive,
and you must remember it if you want to be able to
read the message in the future: the key is needed
to decrypt the message when reading it. By
default, only mail may be encrypted, but the sysop
has control over which types of messages may be
encrypted with the #ALLOWCRYPT keyword in
CONFIG.CIT. He may choose to allow all messages to
be encrypted, or no messages to be encrypted.
F Find and replace. This prompts for text to
replace, then finds the most recent occurrence of
it, starting with the end of the message. It then
asks if you want to replace this text. If you
answer no, Citadel finds the next matching text,
and prompts to replace it. This continues until
you answer yes, when it asks for the text to
substitute, or until no more matches are found.
I Signature. This lets you change the user signature
of the message. The _ key can also be used to
change the signature.
L Location. This displays the current room and hall.
P Print formatted. This displays the message as it
would appear when read. This is a good way to
ensure that your message is formatted the way you
want.
R Replace. This operates as Find and replace (F),
but is more of an expert-level command: you are
not prompted for the occurrence to replace.
Citadel finds the last occurrence of the text in
the message, and replaces it with what you
specify. Use this with caution, especially as a
new user.
S Save. This saves the message and returns to the
room prompt. By default, Citadel does not ask for
confirmation when saving messages. However, this
can be overridden by using the Confirm Save (S)
option of the Message Editor options (E) sub-
command of the .Enter Configuration (.EC) command.
U Subject. This lets you change the message's
subject.
V Verify spelling. This runs a spell checker on the
message. Citadel's spell checker has many options,
which are described in the Spell Checker topic.
W Word count. This counts the characters, words,
and lines (as Citadel thinks) of the message.
! Link application. This is available only to
sysops on console. It links the message to an
application (see the "Applications" topic in this
section) to the message, so that the application
is run every time the message is read, after the
message is displayed. If the message is
transferred to another board on the network, this
link is lost.
~ Allow ESC. This toggles whether Citadel will save
the Escape character (ASCII 27) to the message or
not. By default, it strips this character, to
avoid confusing people who try to use the arrow
keys for message editing. However, some people
might want to include ANSI sequences in their
messages; they must use this command to tell
Citadel to save the Escape character to do so.
@ Address message. This lets you change the address
of the message, for sending mail to other users.
# Special delivery options. This sets special
delivery options for mail. The only one currently
implemented is receipt confirmation requested. If
a message is marked as such, then Citadel
generates a message addressed to you confirming
that the message was received when it is read by
the recipient for the first time. Note that if the
message is networked mail destined to software
that is not Citadel+ on the network, then the
confirmation will not be sent. Also, if the
message passes through some other software that
does not pass the special delivery information,
the response will not be sent.
< Insert file. This command is available only to
sysops on console. It reads the contents of any
file on disk and appends it to the message, up to
Citadel's 8K message limit.
* Change name. This lets users change their title
and surname for this message only. Sysops have the
added capability to change their name for this
message only.
? Menu. This displays a list of available commands.
Output commands
Citadel lets you enter certain commands while it displays
text, depending on what is being displayed. The possible
commands are:
P Pause. This works almost all the time. It pauses
the output of text until another key is pressed.
Control+S also works for this.
N Next. This works when displaying text files, help
files, or messages. It skips to the next text
file, help file, or message.
S Stop. This works almost all the time. It stops
the output flow.
J Jump. This works when displaying messages, and a
few other times. It jumps to the next paragraph or
section of what is being displayed. If there is no
next paragraph or section, this operates the same
as the Next (N) command.
K Kill. This works when reading your own message,
or any message if you are an aide. It lets you
kill the message.
! Header scan. This works when reading messages. It
toggles header scan mode.
R Reverse. This works almost all the time (often
times, when you don't think it will). It reverses
the output flow.
V Verbose toggle. This works often. It toggles
verbose mode on and off.
M Mark. This works for aides reading messages. It
marks a message to insert later with the .Aide
Insert (.AI) command.
Console-only commands
There are also commands that only work on console. These use
the IBM extended keys, such as those generated by Alt with
another key or the function keys. These keys are only active
when there is no window currently displayed on the screen
that has the input focus.
F1 Shutdown. This disables the modem, and Citadel
stops answering the phone. This is only
temporary, and is usually used to hang up on
the current user. When Citadel next
reinitializes the serial port (which it does
periodically to ensure that it is still
active), the system will start answering the
phone again.
Ctrl+F1Speech toggle. If an external sound driver is
loaded that has support for speech synthesis,
this will toggle whether Citadel uses it or
not.
Alt+F1 Clear screen. This clears the console screen
and places the cursor in the top left corner.
This is available even when the console is
locked with #F6PASSWORD in CONFIG.CIT, unless
#FULLCONLOCK in CONFIG.CIT is specified.
F2 Reset. This re-initializes the serial port.
Like F1, this hangs up on the current user.
However, it immediately starts answering the
phone again.
Ctrl+F2Toggle input focus. This switches the input
focus from the TTY interface to the last
focused window, if there are any windows
currently displayed. If not, this does nothing.
F3 Request. This tells Citadel to wait until the
current user terminates, then alert you and
wait for you to log on or turn off request
mode. This lets you log onto the system after
the current caller.
Alt+F3 Request with an attitude. Wow.
F4 Status screen. This switches from the terminal
screen to a status screen, which displays some
information about the system. This screen is
updated in real time while the user operates
the board. The update is quick enough that the
status screen can be left up all the time, even
on a slow computer. The user will not notice a
difference.
F5 Console / Modem mode. If a user is logged on
via modem, you can take control of the call by
switching to Console mode. While you can always
enter commands while a user is logged-in,
switching to Console mode keeps the remote user
from being able to do anything. If a user is
logged in on console, switching to Modem mode
make Citadel think that a user on the modem
hung up the phone, and logs the console user
off.
F6 Sysop function. This has the same effect as
the .Sysop (.S...) command, but is available
even if the currently logged-in user is not a
sysop.
Alt+F6 Aide toggle. This toggles the aide status of
the currently logged-in user.
Sft+F6 Sysop toggle. This toggles the sysop status of
the currently logged-in user.
Ctrl+F6Console sysop. This brings up a windowing
interface to the sysop functions.
F7 Bells toggle. This changes the current bells
setting: whether Citadel rings the computer's
bell any time it encounters a Control+G, only
when the Control+G is part of the chat page, or
never.
F8 Chat mode. This brings the user into chat mode
the next time he encounters a prompt. Alt+C can
also be used to bring the user into chat mode.
If there is no user on, this enters dial-out
mode.
F9 Chat toggle. This toggles whether the system
rings the chat bell when a user requests chat
with the Chat (C) command, or if it just
displays NOCHAT.BLB to the user.
F10 Help. This displays a little help window at
the bottom of the screen, explaining what
function keys do what. Alt+H will also show
this help window.
Sft+F10Status line toggle. This turns off the status
line at the bottom of the screen.
Alt+F10Second status line toggle. This toggles
between single and double line status line
modes.
Alt+A Accounting toggle. This turns accounting on
and off for the currently logged-in user.
Alt+B Filter toggle. This toggles the output filter
as set by #FILTER in CONFIG.CIT.
Alt+D Debug toggle. This toggles Debug mode. In
Debug mode, Citadel gives extra information
about what it is doing, to help track down
problems.
Alt+E Event time-out. This executes the next cron
event that is ready to be executed, if any.
Alt+F Force event. This executes the current cron
event, even if it is not time to execute it.
Alt+K Scroll-back buffer. This brings up Citadel's
scroll-back buffer, if it has been defined with
#SCROLL_BACK in CONFIG.CIT.
Alt+L Console lock toggle. If there is a #F6PASSWORD
defined in CONFIG.CIT, this will let you lock
and unlock the console keyboard.
Alt+P Printing toggle. This will turn on and off the
print file.
Alt+R Repeat event. This executes the current cron
event, and does not set the cron event pointer
to the next event until it is successful.
Alt+S Screen saver. This activates the screen saver.
Alt+T Twit toggle. This toggles the problem user
status of the currently logged-in user.
Alt+U Ignore up-time toggle. This ignores the
#UP_DAYS and #UP_HOURS in CONFIG.CIT and lets
the board answer the phone at any time.
Alt+V Verified toggle. This toggles the verified
status of the currently logged-in user.
Alt+X Exit. This exits from Citadel. The Alt+F4
keystroke can also be used to exit.
Alt+Z Time-out. This forces a time out of the
currently logged-in user. This is a somewhat
more "polite" way to take over the computer, as
compared to using the F1 or F2 keys.
PgUp More time. This places five minutes in
currently logged-in user's account, if
accounting is turned on.
PgDn Less time. This removes five minutes from the
currently logged-in user's account, if
accounting is turned on.
Dial-out commands
When in dial-out mode, the following console commands are
available:
Alt+D Debug toggle. This is the same as Alt+D
outside of dial out mode.
Alt+E Shell. This shells to DOS, leaving all of
Citadel in memory.
Alt+H Hang-up. This hangs up the phone.
Alt+K Scroll-back. This is the same as Alt+K outside
of dial-out mode.
Alt+P Duplex toggle. This toggles between full and
half duplex.
Alt+Q Exit dial-out mode. This returns to normal
mode.
Alt+S Super-shell. This shells to DOS, swapping most
of Citadel out of memory.
Alt+V Status screen. This is the same as F4 outside
of dial out mode.
PgUp Speed up. This increases the current baud
rate.
PgDn Slow down. This decreases the current baud
rate.
FKeys Macros. All function keys, shifted function
keys, controlled function keys, and Alted
function keys are reserved for macros when in
dial out mode. Use the #DIALMACRO keyword in
CONFIG.CIT to defining them.
Window commands
When a window has the input focus, the following commands
are available, in addition to any specified by that window
(the window can also disable any of these commands, though
none does currently):
Ctrl+F2Switch to TTY mode. Wow.
Alt+F4 Close window. Wow.
F5 Move window. Wow.
Ctrl+F5Resize window. Wow.
F6 Switch to next window. Wow.
Sft+F6 Switch to previous window. Wow.
_Section IV: Configuration Files
Citadel configures itself based on the settings it finds in
various configuration files, all of which have the extension
.CIT. The CONFIG.CIT file must be in the same directory as
the CTDL.EXE file, and the rest should be in the #HOMEPATH
defined in CONFIG.CIT. These are just text files, listing
the variables and their desired values, one line for each
variable. All variable names start with a "#" character,
which must be in the first column of the line. Any line not
starting with "#" is considered a comment by Citadel and is
ignored.
String values must be in double quotes ("") if there is any
space in the string. Single-word strings can be in quotes,
but it is not required. If a string value is in quotes, the
"^" and "\" characters are special. The "^" character
signifies control. That is, "^A" in a string would be
interpreted by Citadel as Control+A (ASCII 1). The "\"
character is used to signify special characters, as in the C
programming language. The following special characters are
recognized by Citadel:
Code Resulting character
\n Line feed (ASCII 10)
\t Tab (ASCII 9)
\r Return (ASCII 13)
\f Form feed (ASCII 12)
\b Backspace (ASCII 8)
\\ Backslash (\)
\^ Caret (^)
The values from CONFIG.CIT are stored in ETC.TAB and the
values from CRON.CIT are stored in CRON.TAB, so they are not
read every time Citadel is loaded. The values in
HARDWARE.CIT, EXTERNAL.CIT, PROTOCOL.CIT, GRPDATA.CIT, and
MCI.CIT are read every time Citadel is loaded, and the
values in NODES.CIT, ROUTE.CIT, and DEFUSER.CIT are loaded
as Citadel needs them: when networking or doing a Net 6.9
fetch for NODES.CIT; when routing networked mail for
ROUTE.CIT; and when creating a default log entry for
DEFUSER.CIT.
CONFIG.CIT
Citadel's main configuration file is named CONFIG.CIT.
Because of the configurability of Citadel, there are over
150 keywords that can be specified in this file. However,
only a few are required for Citadel to run: the rest have
reasonable defaults. If Citadel cannot find one or more of
the required keywords when it loads this file, it prompts
for the missing information. It then adds this information
to the file so it is available the next time it is read.
Required
The following keywords must be in the CONFIG.CIT file for
Citadel to run. If any are missing, Citadel will ask you to
provide the missing information, then save it to CONFIG.CIT
for the future.
#NODENAME
This is the name of the system. It is displayed at
the beginning of a call, and when the .Read Status
(.RS) command is used. When a networked message
from your board is read on another node, this node
name will be in the header, along with the node
region.
#NODEREGION
This is the city or town that your board is in. If
you don't live within the boundaries of any
city/town, choose the nearest major city/town as
your region. In networked messages from your
board, the region is displayed after the node
name, in the format "node name, region".
#NODECOUNTRY
This is the country, state or province, and county
(or whatever low-level subdivision your country
uses) in which your board resides. The preferred
format is hierarchical: country/state/county. For
example, a Seattle, Washington board would have
US/WA/KING.
#NODEPHONE
This is a string containing the node's phone
number, including area code. At present, it is
used for informational purposes only (users will
see this field in the message header when reading
verbosely), so it can be just a partial number or
"private" if the board is a private node. For the
United States and Canada, the preferred format is
"(xxx)xxx-xxxx".
#HOMEPATH
This determines which drive and subdirectory the
Citadel system files (CTDL.EXE,.DAT, .TAB, .CIT
files, etc.) will be in. It must be given as a
full path name, including drive letter. (See the
beginning of this section for conventions
regarding backslashes in quoted path names.)
#MDATA
This defines the modem data port. Citadel supports
COM1 through COM4: #NODEPHONE use 1 for port 1, 2
for port 2, 3 for port 3, 4 for port 4. Even
though Citadel supports them, try to avoid COM3
and COM4; on the IBM PC, the COM3 and COM4
hardware is not well designed.
#SYSOP
This is the user name of the BBS's sysop. This
account has access to all groups. If the
(optional) #FORWARD keyword is set to 1, then all
mail to "Sysop" will be sent to the #SYSOP account
only.
#ADDRESS
This is the network address for your BBS. It is
used when netting, and must be different from all
other #ADDRESSes on the network. The format of
#ADDRESSes is xxx.yyyy, where xxx is the alias
specific to your BBS, and yyyy is the Location
Identifier. Aliases may be one, two, or three
characters. Most Location Identifiers are three
characters, but they may be four, as well. See the
file LOCID.ZIP for information on how to choose
your Location Identifier.
Optional
The following keywords are optional, and let you set up
Citadel to reflect the character of your BBS. The default
settings are shown in parentheses.
Paths and filenames
Set these keywords to keep Citadel from creating its default
paths off of the path set by the required keyword #HOMEPATH.
This gives you the ability to keep different files on
different drives, etc.
#APPLICPATH (#HOMEPATH + \APPLIC)
This defines which drive and directory Citadel
should search for application files in first. If
they are not found in this directory, Citadel
searches the DOS PATH for application files.
Application files include room applications and
the external programs found in EXTERNAL.CIT.
#HELPPATH (#HOMEPATH + \HELP)
This defines which drive and directory the help
(*.HLP), menu (CTDL.MNU), and blurb (*.BLB) files
are in.
#HELPPATH2 ("")
If present, this defines a second place to look
for the help (*.HLP), menu (CTDL.MNU), and blurb
(*.BLB) files if they cannot be found in
#HELPPATH. If you are using a sub-board or front
door, you should put the general files in the
#HELPPATH2 directory (which should be the same for
all sub-boards), and the sub-board-specific files
in the #HELPPATH directory (which should be
different for each sub-board).
#ROOMPATH (#HELPPATH)
This defines the drive and directory in which the
room description files will be kept (these files
are linked with rooms using the .Aide Edit room
(.AE)command). The keyword #ROOMTELL determines
whether or not any such files will be displayed to
users.
#SCRIPTPATH (#HOMEPATH)
This defines the drive and directory in which Citadel
script files (*.CSF) are found.
#TEMPPATH (#HOMEPATH + \TEMP)
This sets the drive and directory to use for
temporary networking files. This must be different
from #HOMEPATH, #TRANSPATH, and #DLPATH. This can
be a RAM disk to improve networking performance.
#TRANSPATH (#HOMEPATH + \TRANS)
This sets the drive and directory for outgoing
networked e-mail files, Net 6.9 packets, etc. This
must not be a RAM disk, as you will lose all files
if there is a power loss. This path must be
different from #HOMEPATH, #DLPATH, and #TEMPPATH.
#DIRPATH (#HELPPATH)
This sets the default directory for directory
rooms.
#DLPATH (#HOMEPATH + \DLPATH)
This sets the default directory for received Net
6.9 file transfers.
#MSGPATH (#HOMEPATH)
This sets the directory for MSG.DAT. You should
only set this to something other than #HOMEPATH if
you are low on disk space on the drive where
#HOMEPATH resides.
#LOGEXTDIR (#HOMEPATH)
This sets the directory for the log extension
files: there may be as many of these as there are
users in the userlog, so you may want to put this
in some place other than #HOMEPATH to reduce
clutter. Additionally, these files tend to be
small, so putting these on a drive with a small
cluster size will improve disk usage.
#LEXPATH (#HOMEPATH)
This sets the path for any dictionaries used by
the spell checker.
#RLMPATH (#APPLICPATH)
This sets the path for .RLM files. This is all you need
to know.
#PRINTER (#HOMEPATH + \PRINTER.OUT 0)
This defines the file that output is copied to
when you press Alt+P. This can be any valid DOS
file or device name. If you supply a filename
only, rather than a full path name, the file will
be in the #HOMEPATH directory. An optional second
parameter, if set to 1, will make Citadel prompt
for a file name when you press Alt+P, with the
#PRINTER file name as the default.
#TRAP_FILE (#HOMEPATH + \TRAP.FBI)
This is the file that contains a log of system
auditing and important events. This can be any
valid DOS file or device name. Log information
will be appended to this file. The #TRAP keyword
lets you specify which events are trapped.
#DICTIONARY (ENG-AM.DAT)
This sets the name of the dictionary to use for
spell-checking unless a specific one is assigned
to a room.
Console Attributes (Colors)
These keywords are used to set the console colors. If you
want to change any of the defaults, refer to a reference
book on the IBM PC to see which colors are available, and
which hexadecimal values to use to specify them. All of
these are set with hexadecimal values.
#ATTR (07)
This sets the color for normal text. The default,
07, gives white on black.
#BATTR (00)
This sets the color for the screen border; it is
for color systems only. The default, 00, is black.
The screen is looks best if it is left black or
set to the same color as the background in #ATTR.
#CATTR (0A)
This sets the color of the characters that the console
user types in chat mode. The default, 0A, gives
green on black for color systems, and bold for
monochrome systems.
#UTTR (01)
This sets the color for underlined text. The
default, 01, is blue on black for color systems,
and underline for monochrome systems.
#WATTR (70)
This sets the color for inverse text, including
the status line. The default, 70, gives black on
white for color systems, and inverse for
monochrome systems.
System Size
These keywords set the size of your system. Once set, these
values can be changed by running Citadel with the "-C"
command line parameter: "CTDL -C".
Be reasonable about the sizes you set here. Don't try, for
example, to set #MAXLOGTAB and #MAXROOMS to their maximum
values at the same time. It is not that Citadel cannot
handle it, it is that it would take nearly 300 megabytes of
disk space to store the log files, and another four or five
to save the room file. Setting absurdly large values for
#MAXROOMS also slows things down a bit, and gives you
nothing. It is best to keep all the #MAX... values set only
a bit above what you actually have. When you need more, you
can always resize up. This will both keep things faster and
save you memory.
#MESSAGEK (1024)
#NMESSAGES (8000)
#MESSAGEK sets how many kilobytes of disk space to
reserve for the message base. Typically, 1024
works well for the Regular version and non-
networked BBSes running the Auxmem version, and
5120 is a good value for networked BBSes running
the Auxmem version.
#NMESSAGES sets the maximum number of messages
that the system will be expected to contain at any
one time. 5-8 times #MESSAGEK is a good guess for
non-netted systems; 3-5 times #MESSAGEK is good
for netted systems. If you have #MSGCOMPRESS
turned on, you can store about 1.3 times more
messages, so you should increase #NMESSAGES
accordingly. As a too-large #NMESSAGES merely
wastes memory, while a too-small #NMESSAGES causes
"message not found" error messages, the default is
set to the very generous (in relation to the
default #MESSAGEK) value of 8000. If you wish to
save memory once your message base is scrolling,
look at the values given in .Read Verbose Status,
and set your #NMESSAGES to 500 or so larger than
the number of messages on the system.
Both the Auxmem and Regular versions of Citadel
can handle #MESSAGEK values of up to two
gigabytes. However, the Regular version of Citadel
is limited to 32766 #NMESSAGES, each one taking 14
bytes of RAM. The Auxmem version of Citadel has no
practical limit on #NMESSAGES; it is limited by
the amount of free memory and disk space (each
message taking 22 bytes of RAM or disk space).
#MAXLOGTAB (128)
This sets how many users can be stored in the
userlog at one time. Values between 64 and 256
work well in most cases. The minimum allowed value
is 2 and the maximum allowed value is Wow.
#MAXROOMS (128)
This sets the maximum number of rooms that can be
on the system. The minimum is 8, and the maximum
is 856 (Regular version) or 16376 (Auxmem
version). It needs to be a multiple of 8. If it is
not, or if it is out of range, Citadel will
automatically set it to a valid value.
#MAXHALLS (8)
This sets the maximum number of halls that can be
on the system. The minimum is 8, and the maximum
ranges from 32 to 1360, depending on the setting
of #MAXROOMS. To derive the largest possible
#MAXHALLS from the #MAXROOMS setting, use the
formula:
INT((65532 / (#MAXROOMS / 8)) / 8) * 8
#MAXHALLS needs to be a multiple of 8. If it is
not, or if it is out of range, Citadel will
automatically set it to a valid value.
#MAXGROUPS (16)
This set the maximum number of groups that can be
on the system. The minimum is 8, and the maximum
is 256. It needs to be a multiple of 8. If it is
not, or if it is out of range, Citadel will
automatically set it to a valid value.
#MAXFILES (150)
This sets the maximum number of files that Citadel
will see in a directory. For non-Net 6.9 style
networking (1.0, 1.1, 1.5, 1.6), this is also the
maximum number of rooms you can network with any
single node.
#MAXBORDERS (10)
This sets the maximum number of borders allowed on the
system. Each border takes 81 bytes of RAM and 81
bytes on disk when Citadel exits to store them for
next time.
Modem
These keywords are used to set the various modem parameters
and commands. The default values work for Hayes-compatible
2400 baud modems. Check your modem documentation if you have
some other type of modem.
#MODSETUP ("ATX4VMQS0=0S2=128&D2")
This sets the modem initialization string, which
is sent when Citadel loads, after every call,
after every cron event, every #IDLE_WAIT minutes,
and when F2 is pressed on console.
#MODUNSETUP ("")
This is sent when the BBS is taken down. If
#MODSETUP sets auto-answer (S0=1 for Hayes-
compatible modems), then #MODUNSETUP can be used
to turn if off (S0=0 for Hayes-compatible modems).
Also, if you are using #DUMB_MODEM 6 (described
below), you can reset the modem to hang up when
DTR is lost with this command.
#INIT_BAUD (2400)
This tells Citadel the baud rate at which the
modem should be initialized. Valid values are:
300 600 1200 2400 4800
9600 19200 38400 57600 115200
#MIN_BAUD (300)
This is the minimum baud rate at which the system
will accept calls. If a connection is established
at a slower speed than #MIN_BAUD, the system will
print out TOOLOW.BLB and then hang up. Valid
settings are:
300 600 1200 2400 4800
7200 9600 12000 14400 16800
19200 21600 24000 26400 28800
38400 57600 115200 230400
#DUMB_MODEM (0)
This allows you to set the baud rate detection
method for incoming calls. Settings of 4, 5, and 6
are for high speed (9600+ baud) modems. Valid
settings are:
0 Citadel looks for numeric response codes
from a Hayes-compatible modem. Wow. This
is probably the same as 3 now. I'll have
to check.
1 Callers must type a plurality of
carriage returns to determine what the
baud rate is.
2 Citadel looks for the HS line on the RI
line. You need a special cable to do
this, but it is quite accurate and quick
for 1200 baud modems.
3 Citadel looks for verbose response codes
from a Hayes-compatible modem.
4 This fixes the system at the #INIT_BAUD
for incoming calls. (#BAUD in NODES.CIT
is used for netting out.)
5 This is the same as 4, but drops the
port speed for 300, 1200, and 2400 baud.
This can only be used with a few modems;
6 is more widely supported. (One one
modem ever tested worked with this
setting. Another modem of the same model
from the same manufacturer failed to
work properly with this setting.)
6 This is the same as 5, but instead of
just changing the port rate when a low
speed connection is made, Citadel first
drops DTR, then changes the port rate,
and then sends the string specified by
#DOWNSHIFT to the modem. #DOWNSHIFT
contains the command to switch back to
on-line mode, out of command mode. For
this to work, #MODSETUP needs to tell
the modem to go into command mode when
it loses DTR, and not to hang up the
phone (&D1 for Hayes-compatible modems).
When Citadel hangs up the phone with
this setting, it first drops DTR, then
sends the string specified by #HANGUP to
the modem.
7 Similar to 6. Richard says he'll write
something about it some time. Wow.
#DOWNSHIFT ("ATO")
#HANGUP ("ATH")
These keywords are for use with #DUMB_MODEM 6
only. #DOWNSHIFT is the command to switch back to
on-line mode, and is used when connecting as
described in the #DUMB_MODEM entry. #HANGUP, also
described in the #DUMB_MODEM entry, is the command
to tell the modem to hang up after switching to
command mode by dropping DTR.
#DIAL_INIT ("ATM0V1")
This is the string that is used to initialize the
modem before dialing out; i.e., when netting out
and when going into dial-out mode.
#DIAL_PREF ("ATDT")
This is the dial prefix used for dialing the phone
number when networking.
#DIAL_RING ("ATA")
This is the string to send to the modem when the
phone rings. Use "" if your modem auto-answers (S0
is set to a non-zero value in the modem
initialization string, #MODSETUP). Use "ATA" if
you have S0=0 and no call-waiting.
This is generally used to ensure that users will
not get a "zombie modem" when the BBS is not
answering the phone, and is used to implement
#UP_HOURS and #UP_DAYS (explained below). However,
it can also be used to run a BBS on a line with
call waiting, if you can disable it and also have
three-way calling on the line. Together with
#UP_DAYS and #UP_HOURS, this lets you run a part-
time BBS on a voice line. To do this, set
#DIAL_RING to disable the call-waiting before
answering the phone ("ATX3DT!,*70R" for Hayes-
compatible modems).
This keyword can take an optional second
parameter: the number of seconds after answering
the phone before Citadel should try again. Wow.
#OFFHOOK (0)
This determines whether Citadel should take the
modem off-hook at console log-in, giving a busy
signal to anyone calling during that time. Turn
this on by setting it to 1.
The effect of turning off #OFFHOOK (setting it to
0) depends on the configuration of the modem as
specified with #MODSETUP. If auto-answer is off
(S0=0 for Hayes-compatible modems), the modem will
not answer. If the person logged-in at console can
tell that there is a caller (if a phone plugged
into the modem line is ringing, for example), he
can log out and allow Citadel to tell the modem to
answer the phone. If auto-answer is on (S0=a non-
zero value for Hayes-compatible modems), the
caller will get a zombie modem; the sysop can
allow the caller to log in by doing a .Terminate
Stay (a .Terminate Quit-Also will hang up on the
caller, as it reinitializes the modem).
#OFFHOOKSTR ("ATM0H1")
This is the string to send to the modem to make it
go off-hook when #OFFHOOK is set to 1.
#HANGUPDELAY (0)
This is the number of seconds to wait after
dropping DTR before raising it again (or sending
#HANGUP if #DUMB_MODEM is set to 6). Most modems
don't need this, so the default is 0. If the BBS
is not hanging up on your users when they issue
the .Terminate Quit-Also command, try setting this
to a larger number, after verifying that your
modem is set to drop carrier when it loses DTR.
(Or, if using #DUMB_MODEM 6 or 7, that #HANGUP is
set correctly.)
#CHECKCTS (0)
This determines whether Citadel should check the
Clear To Send (CTS) line of the serial port before
sending data to the modem. If this is set to 0,
Citadel will always send data. If it is set to 1,
Citadel will only send data if CTS is true. This
is used for synchronization of systems with high-
speed modems, as Citadel will be communicating
with the modem much faster than the modem
communicates with the other modem. This lets the
modem tell Citadel when it needs to wait for the
remote modem.
#AUTOANSI (0)
This determines whether or not your system checks
for ANSI at the beginning of a call. A setting of
1 means that Citadel does the ANSI check. With 0
or 2, Citadel doesn't check: with 0, it assumes
that no caller has ANSI; with 2, it assumes that
every caller has ANSI. (Of course, once the caller
has logged-in, the ANSI settings in his
configuration take priority. #AUTOANSI only
applies before log-in, and sets the default ANSI
setting for new users.)
#CONNECTWAIT (0)
After a connection is made with another modem,
Citadel will wait #CONNECTWAIT seconds before
sending anything out. This can be useful for
synchronizing high-speed modems.
#BAUDPAUSE (0)
This tells Citadel to wait after changing the
serial port speed before sending anything else to
the port. Give the time desired to wait in
hundredths of a second. The need for this option
is very rare; one quite flaky modem seemed to be
more stable when this was set.
System Settings
These keywords set various aspects of your BBS.
#IDLE_WAIT (3)
This is the time (in minutes) that the system will
wait before executing a cron event or resetting
the modem with #MODSETUP.
#OLDCOUNT (150)
This determines how many messages are new to first-
time callers. A value of 0 makes all the messages
on the system new.
#ROOMTELL (1)
This activates room descriptions. Room
descriptions are displayed to users the first time
each call they visit a room with a room
description file set up, unless they turn off "see
room descriptions" with the .Enter Configuration
(.EC) command. Setting this to 1 enables room
descriptions, and setting it to 0 disables them.
However, there is no good reason to disable room
descriptions; just don't set any with the .Aide
Edit room (.AE)command if you don't want any.
#UP_DAYS (ANY)
#UP_HOURS (ANY)
These set the days and hours that your BBS is up
for callers. This only works if #DIAL_RING is set
(i.e., you are not setting your modem to auto-
answer). Valid settings are a list of numbers
representing days or hours (for days, 0 =
Sunday... 6 = Saturday; for hours, 0 = midnight
through 23 = 11PM), or the word ANY. For example,
to have the BBS only answer on weekdays between
10PM and 7AM, use these two lines:
#UP_DAYS 1 2 3 4 5
#UP_HOURS 22 23 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
#NETMAIL (1)
This determines whether networked mail is put into
the Mail room, or into the room corresponding to
the room it was entered in on the originating
system. (If there is no corresponding room, the
mail will be put in the Mail room.) Setting this
to 0 directs all networked mail to the Mail room;
setting it to 1 tells Citadel to try to put it in
a corresponding room.
#SUBHUBS (1)
This option affects how the Goto new messages (G)
and Bypass (B) commands work. Valid settings for
#SUBHUBS are:
0 Window rooms are treated the same as on
Stonehenge; that is, you are never taken
to window rooms on a Goto loop unless
there are new messages in them. Also, if
there are no new messages in any room in
a hall, Goto will just take you to the
Lobby room, even if it is not in that
hall.
1 When you issue the Goto command, Citadel
will take you to the next room with new
messages. After all non-excluded new
rooms have been visited, further Gotos
will cycle through any window rooms in
that hall.
2 When you issue the Goto command, Citadel
will take you to the next room with new
messages or the next window room,
whichever comes first.
4 This enables floor mode: there are no
window rooms, so the > and < commands
will take you to the next or previous
hall from any room, and Goto will always
take you to the next room with new
messages, or to the Lobby room if there
are no rooms with new messages in the
current hall. When this setting is used,
it is not possible to remove the Lobby
room from any halls.
There is no #SUBHUBS 3.
#SCREENSAVE (0 0 0 0 0 0)
This keyword sets the screen saver parameters. You
don't need to set all parameters; Citadel will
assume a value of 0 for any that you don't set.
The meaning of each parameter is as follows:
1st The number of minutes with no keyboard
activity before the screen blanks.
Setting this to 0 disables the screen
saver.
2nd This tells Citadel whether or not to
turn off the screen saver when a call is
received. Setting this to 1 tells it to
turn off the screen saver, and setting
it to 0 tells it to leave it on.
3rd This only makes sense if the second
parameter is on; it tells Citadel if you
want the screen saver to stay off for
the duration of the call. If this is set
to 1, the screen saver stays off;
setting it to 0 tells Citadel to turn
the screen saver on again after the
number of minutes set with the first
parameter.
4th This tells Citadel whether or not to
display a clock on the screen while it
is blanked. If this is non-zero, a clock
is displayed that moves and changes
color after the number of seconds set by
this parameter. This movement and color
changing prevents screen burn-in.
Setting this to 0 disables the display
of the clock. (You can use the #SAVERMSG
keyword to display something other than
a clock.)
5th This determines whether or not the
cursor is displayed on the blanked
screen. The cursor position is kept
current, as if the screen was not
blanked, so you can tell if a user is on
line by watching to see if the cursor
moves. Setting this to 1 tells Citadel
to display the cursor; setting it to 0
tells it not to display the cursor.
6th This determines whether the console is
locked when the screen-saver turns on.
For this to work, a password must be set
with the #F6PASSWORD keyword. Setting
this to 1 tells Citadel to lock the
console; setting it to 0 tells it not to
lock the console.
#SAVERMSG ("")
This sets a message to be displayed in place of a
clock when the screen-saver is active if the
fourth parameter to #SCREENSAVE is non-zero.
#SCROLL_BACK (0 0 0)
This sets up the console scroll-back buffer.
Setting all three parameters to 0 means that no
scroll-back buffer is created. Otherwise, the
first parameter determines whether or not to save
colors in scroll-back (set this to 1 to save
color, or 0 to strip color information from the
scroll-back buffer, which gives you twice as many
lines), the second parameter sets the number of
lines of scroll-back to allocate, and the third
parameter sets the number of seconds of inactivity
to allow before timing out of scroll-back (if this
parameter is 0, it will never time out: this is
not recommended, as you may inadvertently tie up
Citadel for long periods of time by leaving the
scroll-back buffer on). The Regular Version of
Citadel can handle scroll-back buffers of up to
64K in size, so the maximum number of lines you
can save is around 400 with color, or 800 without
(assuming an 80 column screen). If you set the
number of lines too high, Citadel will calculate
it for you, so you can get the maximum scroll-back
by choosing an absurdly high value. In the Auxmem
Version, the scroll-back buffer is stored in XMS,
EMS , or virtual memory, and has no practical
limit.
#MSGCOMPRESS (0)
This determines whether or not messages will be
compressed. The current compression scheme only
compresses message text (not headers), so it
shouldn't interfere with auto-routing programs, or
other programs that read the message header.
However, this means that you will only get 20-30%
more messages in your message base. Compression
does, of course, slow down message reading
slightly, but this is not particularly noticeable
even on an XT. Also, turning this on leads to some
memory overhead: there is some memory needed for
the compression buffer and Huffman tree, and you
will need to set #NMESSAGES higher because there
will be more messages in the message base, so if
you tend to be short on memory, you may not want
to use compression. Set 1 for compression on, 0
for compression off.
#FORWARD (0)
This sets where to send mail that users leave to
"Sysop". By setting this to 1, mail to "Sysop" is
sent to the user identified by the #SYSOP keyword;
setting it to 0 makes mail to "Sysop" readable by
every user on the system with sysop access by
saving "Sysop" as the recipient of the mail.
#TIMEOUT (5)
#CONSOLETIMEOUT (#TIMEOUT)
#UNLOGTIMEOUT (1)
These keywords set the amount of time (in minutes)
that a user may be idle before being logged out.
#UNLOGTIMEOUT is the maximum allowed idle time for
an unlogged-in user, and #TIMEOUT is the maximum
allowed idle time for a logged-in user.
#CONSOLETIMEOUT is the maximum allowed idle time
for a user logged in at console.
#SLEEPCOUNT (0)
#COUNTBEEP (0)
#SLEEPCOUNT sets a countdown timer on the idle
time out. If this is set to a non-zero value,
Citadel will perform a seconds-based countdown
from this number before the user is logged out,
but after the #SLEEPPROMPT is displayed: if the
user takes any action during this countdown, it
will be aborted, and the call will continue. A 0
value means that no countdown will be done; the
user is immediately logged out. #COUNTBEEP
determines whether or not to beep every second
during the #SLEEPCOUNT countdown (also during the
post-download hang-up countdown). Set this to 1 to
beep, or to 0 to not beep.
#RESTORE_MODE (1)
This sets whether or not to restore the video mode
after a shell to an application. Usually, you will
want Citadel to run in the same video mode always.
However, if two people use Citadel from console,
there may be a disagreement: for example, one
person may like 25 line mode and the other likes
50 line mode. When this is set to 1, you would
have to exit Citadel, run a video-mode changing
program, and restart it to switch video modes. If
it is set to 0, simply shelling and running a
video-mode changing program is sufficient to
change video modes.
#MAXJUMPBACK (25)
This sets the maximum number of Jumpbacks the user
can do at one time. Each new room added to the
buffer takes a few bytes; the maximum is over 4000
(if you set it too high, Citadel will set it to
the maximum).
#MAXSTAT (??50??)
This sets the maximum number of system events to
store for display on the System Status Screen. 50
is more than enough for any standard screen mode.
If you are in a mode with many lines on the screen
and notice that the list does not fill the whole
screen, increase this value. Alternatively, if you
don't use the System Status Screen to view past
events, you can save a small amount of memory by
decreasing this setting.
#BIOS (0)
This determines whether Citadel will use the BIOS
for screen writes, or whether it will write
directly to video RAM. Set this to 1 to enable
BIOS calls; set it to 0 to disable BIOS calls and
use direct memory writes. Direct video writing is
much faster, but might cause "snow" to appear when
used with completely IBM-compatible CGA video
cards. (Many clone CGA, and all Monochrome, EGA,
and VGA, video cards will not produce snow with
direct screen writes.)
Even when this is set to 1, Citadel will sometimes
use direct memory access (such as when saving and
restoring the screen, or using the scroll-back
buffer), so it still will not run properly under
multitasking systems which require BIOS screen
writes, such as IBM's Top-View or Quarterdeck's
DESQview (except on 386 computers).
#DIALMACRO (none)
This defines macros to put on function keys for
use in Dial-Out mode. After the #DIALMACRO
keyword, enter the name of the function key, then
the macro to assign to that function key. You can
assign up to 48 macros (or 40 on older keyboards)
by using the Shift, Alt, and Control keys with the
function keys. Function keys are named "F1" to
"F12", "ALT_F1" to "ALT_F12", "SFT_F1" to
"SFT_F12", and "CTL_F1" to "CTL_F12". For example,
the following will assign the string "ATDT555-
1212" plus a return to Shift+F1:
#DIALMACRO SFT_F1 "ATDT555-1212\n"
#EXPIRE (15)
This is the message expiration value for
networking. It should be set to the number of days
messages stay in your message base before being
scrolled off by new ones. This can be determined
by reading forward in a regularly-used room like
Aide, and subtracting the date of the first
message found from the current date. You may want
to make it a bit smaller than that as a safety
measure, to prevent old messages from reappearing
in a room if your scroll rate changes. (This is
most likely to happen if the proportion of netted
rooms to local rooms changes significantly.)
#CIT86COUNTRY ("")
This sets the node's country for broadcast over
the Citadel-86 network, if you are connected to it
either directly or indirectly.
#CIT86DOMAIN ("")
This sets your domain for broadcast over the
Citadel-86 network. This should only be set on the
node that gateways into the Citadel-86 network. As
this only seems to be used for mail routing by
Citadel-86es and the gateway does not support
mail, this option really does nothing right now.
#DISKFREE (0)
This sets how much disk space Citadel should
attempt to keep free, in bytes. If your disk has
less free space than this on it, Citadel will no
longer accept uploads.
#FILEBUFSIZE (4096)
To speed access to the message base, Citadel creates a
buffer in memory to store parts of it. This sets
the size of this buffer, in bytes. If you feel
like experimenting, you may be able to optimize
system performance by changing this value. (If it
is too small, Citadel needs to access the disk
more often when reading messages because it cannot
hold enough of the data in the buffer at once. If
it is too big, it also has to access the disk more
often, because it tries to keep more data in the
buffer than it needs.
#NOBELLS (0)
This lets you set how Citadel treats bells when
first configured. Set to 0 to always ring the
console speaker; 1 to ring it only as part of a
chat request; or 2 to never ring it.
#NOCHAT (0)
This lets you turn chat on or off when first
configured. Set to 0 to turn chat on or 1 to turn
it off.
#AIDECHATHRS (ANY)
This lets you specify which hours the .Aide Chat
(.AC) command is active. Specify the hours allowed
as a number from 0 to 23, or use ANY to let it
always be active.
#CHATMAIL (0)
Wow.
#ADCHANCE (0)
This sets the percentage chance that an ad will be
displayed before a room prompt is displayed. Set
this as an integer from 0 to 100.
#ADTIME (0)
This sets the number of seconds to wait at a room
prompt with no activity before displaying an ad.
Use 0 to disable this feature.
#CHATWHY (0)
Wow.
#CHATFLASH (0)
This sets whether to cycle the color of the border as
part of the chat page. This can be useful to
attract attention when the bell is turned off or
otherwise inaudible. Set this to 1 to enable this
feature or 0 to disable it.
#WYSIWYG (0 0 0)
This sets how colors appear on the console screen.
The first parameter indicates how the color is set
for new blank lines when the screen scrolls: set
this to 0 to have them appear in the #ATTR color
setting (standard DragCit behavior), or set it to
1 to have them appear in the current character
color (standard ANSI.SYS behavior). The second
parameter indicates how a user's colors show up on
console: set this to 0 to always display the
colors as set by the CONFIG.CIT keywords #ATTR,
#CATTR, etc.; set it to 1 to display the colors as
set by the CONFIG.CIT keywords unless the user is
logged in on console, in which case the user's
color settings are used; or set it to 2 to have
the colors always display as the user has them
set. The third parameter indicates whether or not
colors are always displayed on console regardless
of user configuration: set it to 0 to have colors
only displayed if the user is configured to
display colors, or set it to 1 to have colors
always displayed on console.
#SPEECHON (0)
This sets whether to send output to a speech
synthesizer if an .ESD with speech synthesis is
loaded. Set this to 1 to enable speech output, or
0 to disable it. This sets the default for use
after configuring; use the Alt+F1 keystroke while
Citadel is running to toggle speech output.
#OVREMS (0)
This sets whether to store overlays in EMS memory.
When overlays are stored in memory instead of on
disk, Citadel runs faster. However, it also has
less free memory.
#OVREXT (0)
This sets whether to store overlays in extended memory.
When overlays are stored in memory instead of on
disk, Citadel runs faster. However, it also has
less free memory.
#CHECKSYSMAIL (3)
Wow.
#MEMFREE (102400)
This sets the minimum free memory (in bytes) to
allow before forcing a super-shell when shelling.
The default (100K) gives enough memory for most
commonly-used utilities.
#SHOWMOVED (1)
This sets whether to display the original room
name in a moved message's header when verbose mode
is off. (It is always displayed when verbose mode
is on.)
#ALTF3TIME (300)
#ALTF3MSG ("^A3The sysop needs the system. You have
only ^A1%m:%s^A0^A3 left.^A0")
These set how Citadel responds to the Alt+F3
keystroke. #ALTF3TIME sets the time, in seconds,
to allow the user to stay on the system after
pressing Alt+F3. #ALTF3MSG sets the message to
display to the user before every room prompt when
his time is limited by Alt+F3. The following
variables are allowed:
%m Minutes left, with no leading zero.
%s Seconds left.
%z Minutes left, with a leading zero if
one digit.
#FASTLOGIN (0)
This sets whether to use an alternate message
counting method that is sometimes faster (but
sometimes slower) when logging a user in. This
feature is only available in the Auxmem version.
Trying to describe when it has a benefit and when
it does not is more than I want to do, so just try
it if it seems to take a while to log in.
#SAVEJB (1)
This sets whether to save jump-back information
for users between calls. Saving jump-back
information takes some disk space, so you may want
to disable this feature if you are low.
#SWAPNOTE (0 in Auxmem; 1 in Regular)
This sets whether to display the "Swapping, please
wait" message when doing a Super-shell. As most
people running the Auxmem version have enough
memory that a super-shell is to memory (and
therefore quite quick), this defaults off for the
Auxmem version. Similarly, as most people running
the Regular version do their super-shells to disk
(which is quite slow), the default for them is to
display the message.
#FASTSCRIPTS (0)
This sets whether to make scripts load faster, at
a sacrifice of memory. This only affects load
time, not execution time. When this is set to 1,
then the script interpreter does not free its
memory when a script terminates, so it is ready to
go the next time a script is run. If it does free
its memory, it must take a bit of time to prepare
to run the script each time.
#NEWNODEALERT (1)
This sets whether to save a message to the Aide)
room whenever a new node is detected on the
network. This message contains the node's name,
region, country, address, and phone number, as
well as the local message number that is the
evidence of the node's existence.
Auxiliary Memory
These keywords only have an effect if you are running the
Auxmem version of Citadel. They are silently ignored by the
Regular version.
#VIRTMEM ("VMEM.TAB")
If the size of the room table exceeds the amount
of XMS and EMS memory installed in your computer,
Citadel will keep the information in a disk file.
This keyword lets you set the drive and directory
to keep this file in, as well as the name. This
lets you, for example, keep this file on a RAM
disk for speed. (If you have extended memory but
no XMS provider, for example, setting the extended
memory up as a RAM disk and writing this file to
the RAM disk will give Citadel access to this
memory.)
If you don't want Citadel to ever use virtual
memory, set this to an invalid file name.
(#VIRTMEM "" works well.) Citadel will then abort
with an error if it runs out of memory, instead of
using virtual.
Configuration
These keywords determine the default configuration for
unlogged-in users. These are also the defaults for new
users, unless overridden in the DEFUSER.CIT file. New users
are given an opportunity to change these as part of the log-
in process. Existing users can change their settings with
the .Enter Configuration (.EC) command.
#NET_PREFIX ("\^A3*\^A0")
This sets the default net prefix for new and
unlogged-in users. By default, it is displayed
before the room name of networked rooms.
#DATESTAMP ("%x %X %p")
#VDATESTAMP ("%A %x %X %p")
These set the default time/date formats for new
and unlogged-in users. #DATESTAMP is used for
message headers when reading non-verbosely;
#VDATESTAMP is used for verbose message headers,
.Read Status, and .Read Verbose Userlog.
#PROMPT ("%n\^A2%r%e")
This sets the default room prompt for new and
unlogged-in users. See the file PROMPT.BLB for
full information about setting the prompt.
#MOREPROMPT ("<More>")
This sets the default more prompt for new and unlogged-
in users. The more prompt is displayed after each
screen when screen pause is turned on and after
each message when pause-between-messages is turned
on.
System Personality
These keywords determine the "personality" of your BBS; for
example, whether it is a twitty or serious board.
#ENTER_NAME ("your name")
This allows you to configure the prompt that asks
for a new user's name. This will be appended to
"Enter " (that is the word "Enter" and a space),
so don't include "Enter " as part of the string. A
colon (":") will be appended to this string, so
don't include any ending punctuation, either.
Examples: "your name", "your handle", "your full
real name". These will be displayed as: "Enter
your name:", "Enter your handle:", and "Enter your
full real name:".
#CENSOR (0)
This determines whether or not users can use the
.Enter Configuration command to change their
ability to see censored messages.
#TWIT_FEATURES (TITLES NET_TITLES SURNAMES NET_SURNAMES
ENTER_TITLES COLORS MCI)
This turns on certain (rather frivolous) features
of the software. The features currently
implemented are:
MSG_NYMS Allows aides to change what
messages are called with the .Aide
Name messages (.AN)command. (See
#MESSAGE_NYM for the ability to set
the default name.)
BORDER_LINES Allows users to enter borders with
the .Enter Border (.EB) command.
(See #BORDER for the ability to set
default borders.)
TITLES
SURNAMES Turn on support for titles and
surnames for users. Titles are seen
before the user's name on message
headers and surnames are seen after
the name: [Title] Name [Surname].
Titles and surnames can be edited
and locked by the sysop.
NET_TITLES
NET_SURNAMES Allow titles and surnames received
over the network to be displayed on
the BBS.
ENTER_TITLES Allows users to change their title
and surname with the .Enter Surname
/ Title (.ES) command.
COLORS Allows colors in room names,
titles, surnames, user names, etc.
MCI Enables MCI features (^AN, ^AT,
etc.).
#SIGNATURE ("")
This is the signature line for your board. It is
appended to each message sent over the network
from your board. You may have as many #SIGNATURE
lines as you like; Citadel will cycle through them
in the order it finds them in the CONFIG.CIT file.
You must have them sequentially in the file for
this to work, with nothing else between the lines,
not even blank lines.
#ANONAUTHOR ("****")
This sets the author of anonymous messages.
#TWITREGION ("")
#TWITCOUNTRY ("")
These define "twit" (sometimes called
"configurable") region and country fields that are
displayed after the regular region and country
fields on verbose read. They are not used in
routing.
#MESSAGE_NYM ("message" "messages" "Saving")
This lets you define an alternate name for
messages, and what is printed when they are being
saved. The first parameter defines the singular
name, the second defines the plural name, and the
third is what you do to it when you save it. If
the MSG_NYMS feature of the #TWIT_FEATURES keyword
is enabled, then aides can change these with the
.Aide Name message (.AN) command.
#CREDIT_NYM ("credit" "credits")
This lets you define alternate names for credits.
The first parameter is the singular name, and the
second is the plural name. These are only used if
#ACCOUNTING is set to 1.
#BORDER ("")
This lets you initialize your borderlines. You can
have up to 10 #BORDER lines. This only has an
effect if BORDER_LINES is turned on in
#TWIT_FEATURES.
#POOP! (0)
This sets what users will see when they hit P or Q
at a room prompt. Valid settings are:
0 All users will see "Poop!" and "Quack!"
when they hit P and Q, respectively.
1 Only users with Helpful Hints turned off
(expert mode on) will see "Poop!" and
"Quack!" when they hit P and Q; they are
treated as unknown commands for other
users.
2 P and Q will be treated as unknown
commands for all users.
#MCI_FIRSTNAME ("")
#MCI_NAME ("")
#MCI_TIME ("")
#MCI_DATE ("")
#MCI_POOP ("")
These set what is sent out instead of the MCI
values if MCI is not turned on in #TWIT_FEATURES,
as follows:
MCI_FIRSTNAME sets what to send on ^An.
MCI_NAME sets what to send on ^AN.
MCI_TIME sets what to send on ^At.
MCI_DATE sets what to send on ^AT.
MCI_POOP sets what to send on ^AP.
#SLEEPPROMPT ("Sleeping? Call again! :-)")
This sets the prompt that is shown to users who
have been idle for too long.
#TWIRLY ("/-\\|" 10)
This sets a configurable twirly cursor string.
This is used to build the twirly cursor for users
who have it turned on. Citadel cycles through the
string, displaying one character at a time. The
optional second parameter controls speed: a larger
value produces a slower twirl.
#FUELBAR (ù #)
This allows the sysop to configure the "Building
message table" fuel bar that is displayed when
doing a full reconfiguration. The first parameter
is the character used to create the empty bar; the
second parameter is the character used to fill it.
#SOFTVERB ("")
This should be named #SOFTADJECTIVE, but we are
poopie. This specifies text to display before the
name of the program, such as when callers call the
system and it identifies itself and when the .Read
Status (.RS) command is used.
#ECTWIRLY (1)
This sets whether users may enable (or disable)
their twirly cursor with the .Enter Configuration
(.EC) command.
#ECUSERLOG (1)
This sets whether users may make their account
unlisted (or listed) with the .Enter Configuration
(.EC) command.
#ECSIGNATURE (1)
This sets whether users may set their user
signature with the .Enter Configuration (.EC)
command.
#ECCOLOR (1)
This sets whether users may turn on (or off) and
set their colors with the .Enter Configuration
(.EC) command.
#BORDERFREQ (20)
This sets how often borders are displayed to the
user. The value of this is used as a counter:
after that number of room prompts has been
displayed, a border is also displayed.
#MAXERROR
Wow.
#MUSIC (1)
This sets whether users may enable music with the
.Enter Configuration (.EC) command.
#TWITREV (1)
This sets whether the Reverse (R) option works
when you don't expect it.
#PERSONALHALLOK (1)
This sets whether the .Personal hall... (.P...)
commands are active.
#CHATBELL
Wow.
#ROOM_NYM ("room" "rooms")
This sets what to call rooms.
#HALL_NYM ("hall" "halls")
This sets what to call halls.
#USER_NYM ("user" "users")
This sets what to call users.
#GROUP_NYM ("group" "groups")
This sets what to call groups.
#FILTER (1 0 0)
This sets the action of the Alt+B keystroke. This
has three parameters: Psycho, Reverse, and Mmmm.
You can turn on any combination of these for your
desired effect. Psycho makes all characters
alternate in case as they are output; Reverse
makes all words come out backwards; and Mmmm
replaces all upper-case letters with the character
M and all lower-case letters with the character m.
Accounting
These keywords are used to set up accounting for your
system.
#ACCOUNTING (0)
This determines whether or not accounting will be
enabled for your board. It defaults to 0, which
means that accounting is disabled; set it to 1 to
enable accounting.
#UNLOGGEDBALANCE (5)
#NEWBAL (60)
#UNLOGGEDBALANCE sets the balance for users who
are not logged-in. #NEWBAL sets the balance for
new users. (Both are in minutes.)
Security
The following keywords determine security features of your
system.
#LOGIN (VERIFIED NEW_ACCOUNTS)
These keywords control how your BBS handles new-
user log-ins. There are a number of possible
events that may occur when creating a new account:
#LOGIN allows you to select any combination of
these events. Valid possibilities are:
CLOSED_SYSTEM Prints CLOSESYS.BLB and hangs up.
No account will be created, and no
message will be left alerting the
sysop that someone tried to create
an account.
NEW_ACCOUNTS This allows new accounts to be
created by callers.
VERIFIED All new users will automatically be
verified at log-in; the user does
not have to supply any information.
QUESTIONS Asks a set of questions (real name,
phone number, etc.), and has the
caller enter a message to sysop.
The answers to the questions and
the message to sysop are saved to a
file for the sysop to read later.
Do not use this option; it is
included only for backwards-
compatibility. Use the
#NEWUSERQUESTIONS keyword instead.
SYSOP_MESSAGE This has the caller leave a message
to the sysop. Don't use this with
QUESTIONS (which you shouldn't be
using anyway), or the caller will
have to enter two messages to the
sysop. This is slightly different
than the sysop-message that is part
of QUESTIONS: that message is
actually not saved to the message
base, but only the the new user
information file. This message is
actually saved to the message base.
If you include the #LOGIN keyword, you must
explicitly set VERIFIED and NEW_ACCOUNTS on if you
want them to be on. All options need to be set on
the same line. For example, the following would
allow new callers to create accounts, but they
will not be verified and Citadel will have them
leave a message to the sysop:
#LOGIN NEW_ACCOUNT SYSOP_MESSAGE
#NEWUSERAPP ("")
This sets an application to run as part of the new-
user login routine. This gives you a chance to
create an extensive questionnaire, run a call-back
verifier, or do anything else you want to do.
#NEWUSERQUESTIONS (none)
This lets you have Citadel ask questions to new
users when they first log on. Specify which
questions you want Citadel to ask in the order
that you want them asked. In addition to being
saved in the user's log entry, the responses to
these questions (except for COLORS) are saved to
the file NEWUSER.LOG in your #HOMEPATH, so you can
easily review all of your new users' answers at
once. The available questions are:
REALNAME
The user is prompted for his real name. A
response is required to continue.
PHONENUMBER
The user is prompted for his phone number. A
response is required to continue.
ADDRESS
The user is prompted for his mailing address,
which can be up to three lines long.
OCCUPATION
The user is prompted for his occupation.
BIRTHDAY
The user is prompted for his birthday.
SEX
The user is prompted for his sex. A choice of
unspecified is available (and is the
default).
WHEREHEAR
The user is prompted for where he heard about
the system.
COLORS
The user is prompted to set his colors.
TITLE
The user is prompted to enter a title.
SURNAME
The user is prompted to enter a surname.
PROTOCOL
The user is prompted to select a default file
transfer protocol.
MESSAGE
The user is prompted to leave a message to
the sysop. Before the message editor is
entered, the NEWQMSG.BLB file is displayed to
the user. This message is saved to
NEWUSER.LOG, and not to the message base.
#F6PASSWORD ("")
This keyword creates a system password to lock all
function and Alt+ keys. They are always unlocked
if a Sysop is logged-in. To unlock them at other
times, press Alt+L. Citadel will then prompt for a
password. If the password is correct, the keys
will be unlocked until they are locked again by
pressing Alt+L. When the console is locked, the
symbol of a sun is displayed in the status line.
Additionally, there are two special settings for
this: "disabled" and "f6disabled". If "disabled"
is used, then the keys are always locked unless a
Sysop is logged in on console: the Alt+L keystroke
cannot be used to unlock them. If "f6disabled" is
used, then only the F6, Control+F6, Shift+F6, and
Alt+F6 keys are locked; all other keys are
available all the time. The F6 key combinations
are only unlocked when a Sysop is logged-in: Alt+L
cannot be used to unlock them.
To disable the locking of console keys, set this
to "" (the default).
#FULLCONLOCK (0)
This sets whether to fully lock the console when the
console is locked. When fully locked, all
keystrokes except Alt+L are disabled, not just the
Alt+ and function key ones. It is very rare that
you will want to set this to 1 if #F6PASSWORD is
set to "disabled": in this situation, nothing can
be done on console other than using
Control+Alt+Del, the reset button, or the power
switch. (A sysop can call from remote then upload
and run a script that brings the system down in
this situation.)
#FORCELOGIN (1)
This determines whether Citadel will automatically
ask for initials and password when it receives a
call. If set to 0, then callers will be able to be
on-line as unlogged-in users, and their abilities
will be restricted by the #READOK and #ENTEROK
settings. (These also apply when a caller uses the
.Terminate Stay (.TS) command.)
#ENTEROK (1)
#READOK (1)
These two keywords determine whether or not
unlogged-in users may use any Read or Enter
commands. A setting of 0 for #ENTEROK means that
unlogged-in users cannot use the Enter commands; a
setting of 1 means that they can use the Enter
commands. Similarly, a setting of 0 for #READOK
means that unlogged-in users cannot use the Read
command and a setting of 1 means that they can.
#MESSAGE_ROOM (5)
This sets the maximum number of messages that a
user can enter in any single room on one call.
Aides are exempt from this restriction.
#READLLOG (1)
This determines whether or not users can use the
.Read Group-only Userlog (command. If it is set to
1, all users can use this command; if it is set to
0, only aides can.
#ROOMOK (1)
This determines whether or not non-aide users can
create rooms. If this is set to 1, all users can
make rooms in all halls. If it is set to 0, only
aides can make rooms in all halls. Users can still
make rooms in halls where the sysop explicitly
allows it.
#READALL (0)
This determines who can use the All modifier of
the .Read Messages (.RM) command. If it is set to
0, everyone can; if it is set to 1, only aides
can; if it is set to 2, only sysops can; and if it
is set to 3, nobody can.
#AIDEHALL (1)
This keyword determines whether or not aides can
use the hall changing commands .Aide Hall (.AH)
and .Aide Window (.AW). If it is set to 0, then
only sysops can use these commands; if it is set
to 1, then aides can also use them.
#MODERATE (1)
This keyword determines whether or not aides can see
moderated messages. If it is set to 0, then only
sysops can see moderated messages; if it is set to
1, then aides can also see them. Moderated
messages are messages in moderated rooms and
messages by users without network access in
networked rooms.
#NOPWECHO (48)
This determines what the user sees when typing in
initials and password. If it is set to 0, the user
sees the characters as they are typed. If it is in
the range of 48 through 57, the initials and
password will be displayed as an automatically
incrementing series of digits. Any other value
will simply echo the character with that ASCII
value in response to each character typed by the
user.
#TRAP (ALL)
This controls which events are logged to the file
specified by the #TRAP_FILE keyword. The following
parameters are available; more than one may be
specified:
ALL
This causes all events to be logged.
CARRIER
This causes carrier detect and carrier
loss to be logged.
LOGIN
This causes log-ins, log-outs, and new
users to be logged.
NEWROOM
This causes the creations of new rooms
to be logged.
ACCOUNT
This causes accounting information to be
logged.
AIDE
This causes Aide functions to be logged.
ANONYMOUS
This causes anonymous messages to be
logged.
APPLIC
This causes application executions to be
logged.
CHAT
This causes chat requests to be logged.
CRON
This causes Cron events to be logged.
DOWNLOAD
This causes file downloads to be logged.
ERROR
This causes internal system errors to be
logged.
HACK
This causes possible hack attempts to be
logged.
NETWORK
This causes network events to be logged.
PASSWORD
This causes password changes to be
logged.
PROBLEM_USER
This causes problem user messages to be
logged. Wow. I don't think this option
really exists.
SYSOP
This causes Sysop functions to be
logged.
UPLOAD
This causes file uploads to be logged.
Placing a ! before an item disables that item. For
example, the following would trap everything
except chat requests:
#TRAP ALL !CHAT
#SYSOPOK (1)
This sets whether users can be given sysop access
from remote with the .Sysop Userlog edit (.SU)
command.
#SHOWSYSOP (1)
Wow.
#NUMROOMS
Wow.
#READLOG
Wow.
#ALLOWCRYPT (1)
This sets whether message encryption is allowed.
This has three settings: 0 (message encryption is
not allowed); 1 (message encryption is allowed in
mail only); or 2 (message encryption is allowed in
any message).
#BADPWPAUSE (0)
This specifies an amount of time to wait after a
user enters a bad password and declines to log in
as a new user before providing the password prompt
again. Specify the number of seconds you wish
Citadel to pause for. Pausing at this time
discourages attempted hacking of your system by
password guessing.
#PWDAYS (0)
This sets how long people can keep their password
before Citadel prompts for them to change it.
Specify the number of days desired, or 0 to turn
off this feature.
#CALLLIMIT (0)
This limits the number of calls users can make in
a day. (A day being midnight-to-midnight, not any
24 hour period.) This can also be set for each
user with the .Sysop Userlog edit (.SU) command.
Specify the number of calls, or 0 to allow
unlimited calls. This restriction is placed in
addition to system accounting which is enabled
with the #ACCOUNTING keyword.
#NOCONSOLETRAP (0)
This sets whether to not trap anything to the trap
file that is done on console. This can be used to
save disk space if you have a secure console and
know everything that happens there. However, it
will cause statistics generators that read the
trap file to generate inaccurate information. Set
this to 0 to trap everything that happens on
console, or 1 to not.
EXTERNAL.CIT
The EXTERNAL.CIT file mostly contains information that tells
Citadel how to use external programs: message editors
(#EDITOR and #AUTO_EDITOR), user applications (#USERAPP),
archivers (#ARCHIVER), and doors (#DOOR). It also contains
other information that needs to be read whenever Citadel
loads (#HOLIDAY and #REPLACE), or sometimes throughout the
operation of the program (#DIRECTORY and #REFUSER).
The standard Citadel flags for applications as described in
Section II apply to all command lines given in this file.
#ARCHIVER "name" "view_cmd" "extract_cmd" "extension"
External archivers are used to view archive files
with the .Read Archive file (.RZ) command in
directory rooms. "name" must have a different
initial letter for each archiver; this is what
Citadel uses as the keystroke to identify the
archiver. "view_cmd" is the command line to use to
view the contents of an archive. The output should
be placed in the file README.APL in Citadel's
#APPLICPATH so Citadel can display it to the user.
Currently, "extract_cmd" is not used. "extension"
is the DOS file extension usually attributed to
the archiver (LZH for LHArc, ZIP for PKZIP, etc.).
Citadel uses this to add an extension to files if
the user does not provide one.
#AUTO_EDITOR "name" console "cmd"
Automatic editors are editors that are applied to
every message saved. "name" is the name of the
editor, which is not important or used. console is
a flag that may be set to 0 or 1. If it is set to
0, then the editor is always used. If it is set to
1, then the editor is only used when on console.
#CENSOR_AUTHOR "name"
#CENSOR_NODE "name"
#CENSOR_TEXT "word"
These set up message censoring. For a full
discussion of message censoring, see the "Message
Censoring" topic in Section II.
#DIRECTORY "dir_name"
This provides a way to keep your remote sysops from
creating directory rooms pointing to certain
directories. If a sysop calling from remote tries
to create a directory room pointing to any
directory specified in a #DIRECTORY line, the
sysop will be de-verified, Citadel will hang up
the phone, and a message will be left in the Aide)
room alerting you. #DIRECTORY lines are not
checked when a directory room is made by a sysop
on console.
Wildcards are allowed in directory names, so "C:*"
will lock out the whole C: drive, or "C:\WORK\*"
will lock out C:\WORK and any directory below it,
for example. (If the directory is specified in
quotation marks, remember that you need to double
backslashes: "C:\\WORK\\*".)
#DOOR "name" "cmd" "group" console sysop aide dir
override
Doors give you a way to connect external programs
to Citadel. Doors can either be accessed with the
.Enter Door (.ED...) command, or by a single
keystroke at the room prompt. "name" must have a
unique letter for each door, because this is the
keystroke that Citadel assigns to the door.
Additionally, if the door has same first letter of
any Citadel internal command, the door can be set
to override the internal command with the override
parameter. "cmd" is the application command line
to execute for the door. "group" sets a group to
access the door. Users must be in this group to
use the door. (This gives you a way to disable
commands by groups: make "name" override the
internal command, set "group" to the group that
you want the internal command disabled for, and
set "override" to non-zero.) The next four items
are Boolean flags: console can be set to 1 to make
door active only on console, or 0 if it can be
used from remote as well; sysop can be set to 1 to
make the door only usable by Sysops, or 0 if it
can be used by non-Sysops as well; aide can be set
to 1 to make the door only usable by Aides, or 0
if it can be used by non-Aides as well; dir can be
set to 1 to make the door only work in directory
rooms, or 0 if it should work in all rooms.
override specifies how (and if) the door overrides
internal commands. If set to 0, then it doesn't
override any commands; the .Enter Door (.ED)
command is the only way to execute the door. If
set to 1, then the door overrides the single-key
command with the same letter (for example, R at a
room prompt). If set to 2, then the door overrides
the extended command with the same letter (for
example, .R at a room prompt). If set to 3, then
the door overrides both.
#EDITOR "name" console "cmd"
Editors are optional external message editors.
These are available from Citadel's internal
message editor by going to the "Entry Command:"
prompt and typing the first letter of the "name"
field for the desired editor. For this to work,
each "name" must not only start with different
letters than the others, but they also have to be
different than the Citadel editor commands ("S"
for save, "A" for abort, etc.), otherwise Citadel
will not be able to access its internal command.
console can either be set to 0 for the editor to
work over the modem (such as an ANSI editor, or a
message filter), or 1 if the editor can only be
used when on console (such as Brief, QEdit, MS-
DOS's Edit, etc.). "cmd" is the application
command line to execute for the editor. For
example, the following command line will set up MS-
DOS 5.0's Edit command for use with Citadel as a
console editor:
#EDITOR "Edit" 1 "?edit %f"
(As this program is quite large, you may have to
use "!?edit %f" for the command line to enable
super-shelling, as described in the Applications
topic in Section II.)
#EVENT "type" "cmd"
Events cause Citadel to execute the application
"cmd" whenever an event of type "type" occurs. You
can have more than one event for each type: they
will be executed in order they are found in the
EXTERNAL.CIT file. The valid "type" settings are:
LOGIN LOGOUT CHAT DOWNLOAD
READDIR READINFO UPLOAD ROOMPROMPT
SAVEMSG READMSG BEEP READMSGS
CARRIER NEWROOM HACK PASSWORD
AIDE SYSOP ERROR NETWORK
ACCOUNT APPLIC CRON ANONYMOUS
NEWUSER STARTUP SHUTDOWN
#HOLIDAY month date week day "name"
Holidays are displayed when a date stamp has a
"%x" in it. Citadel can accept holidays as a
certain date of a certain month, or as a certain
day of a certain week of a certain month. That is,
New Year's Day is always on January 1. However,
other holidays (like President's Day) are always
on a certain day of the week (the third Monday of
February for President's Day).
If date is left at 0, then week must be set from 1
to 5 and day must be set from 1 (Sunday) to 7
(Saturday). If date is set to an actual date (1 to
31), then week and day must both be set to 0. For
example, here are the holiday settings for New
Year's Day and President's Day:
#HOLIDAY 1 1 0 0 "New Year's Day"
#HOLIDAY 2 0 3 2 "President's Day"
#NETCOMMAND "command" "script"
This sets a script to be used to process a
specific network command. command is the network
command to pass to the script (without the "#"
leading character, which is provided by Citadel).
script is the name of the script file to run to
process the command.
#REPLACE "word" "replace_phrase"
Citadel outputs to the screen and modem one word
at a time. Before it outputs a word, it checks to
see if it should replace it with another word or
phrase, as set by the #REPLACE keyword. This can
be used as a "bleep" type censor function or for
pure obnoxiousness.
For example:
#REPLACE "cat" "cute cuddly thing"
This tells Citadel to print the words "cute cuddly
thing" every time it sees the word "cat" in the
output stream.
#USERAPP "name" "outstr" "cmd" hangup
These are executed every time a particular user
logs in. "name" is the name of the user to tie the
application to. "outstr" contains any text to send
to the user before executing the application.
"cmd" is the application command line to execute.
hangup is a Boolean flag: if it is 1, then Citadel
hangs up on the user after executing the
application; if it is 0, then Citadel lets the
user into the BBS after executing the application.
NODES.CIT
The NODES.CIT file contains information telling Citadel how
to network with other nodes. When Citadel loads a NODES.CIT
entry for a node, it first loads the "DEFAULT" entry, then
loads the node's entry. For options that usually stay the
same between nodes, it is best to set the option in the
"DEFAULT" entry. If you need to change an option for a
particular node, just set it for the node. Because the
node's information is read after the "DEFAULT" node is read,
any information specific to each node will override the
contents of the "DEFAULT" entry.
#AUTOGROUP "group name" (none)
This sets a group to limit rooms created by
#AUTOROOM to. If you must use #AUTOROOM, it is a
good idea to also use #AUTOGROUP with a group that
no nodes (or no nodes other than the creating
node) belong to, to prevent net-wide spread of bad
rooms.
#AUTOHALL "hall name" (none)
This sets a hall to add rooms to that are created with
#AUTOROOM.
#AUTOROOM autoroom (0)
This sets if rooms can be automatically created.
Set to 1 to enable this feature. Note that this
will create every networked room on the other node
that your node has access to. This is usually not
a good idea.
#BAUD speed (#INIT_BAUD in CONFIG.CIT)
This specifies the speed to set the serial port at
before dialing the other node. Citadel will detect
the connect rate when a connection is made with
the other node and adjust its speed as required.
The valid values for this are:
300 600 1200 2400
4800 9600 19200 38400
57600 115200
#DIALOUT "dial string" (none)
This is the string sent to the modem to dial the phone.
This is sent after #DIAL_PREF in CONFIG.CIT is
sent and before a carriage return is sent.
#DIAL_TIMEOUT timeout (60)
This specifies the length of time (in seconds) to
wait after sending the dial string to the modem
before giving up trying to make a connection.
#FETCH fetch (0)
This sets how to fetch when on-line using Net 6.9.
The valid values are:
-1 Never do any fetching while on-line.
0 Only do a fetch when on-line and there is no
outgoing network packet for the other node in
#TRANSPATH.
1 Fetch any waiting mail and FILE69 file
transfer files (but not normal messages) even
if there is an outgoing network packet for
the other node in #TRANSPATH.
2 Do a full fetch even when there are outgoing
network packets for the other node in
#TRANSPATH.
#FETCH_TIMEOUT timeout (35)
This sets the number of minutes that Citadel will
wait for the other node to complete fetching
messages before assuming something is wrong and
hanging up.
#GATEWAY gateway (0)
If this is non-zero, then Citadel will write extra
information out to the network packet that may be
helpful for software that acts as a gateway to
other networks.
Currently, the only thing written out differently
is the time: In addition to the standard Citadel
method of writing the time, it writes the time in
a format that is easier for programs written in a
language other than C to read.
If you are running a gateway to another network,
then the documentation for the gateway software
will tell you if this setting is needed.
#GROUP "grouphere" ["groupthere"] (none)
If you want to map groups between two nodes, tell
Citadel which groups to map to each other here.
This is only used when incorporating messages: the
group status of a room is not preserved or passed
over the network.
For example, if you network with a board that has
a "Programming" group and you want to map messages
in that board's "Programming" group into your
board's "Programmers" group, set up the mapping
here:
#GROUP "Programmers" "Programming"
You need to explicitly set up a #GROUP mapping to
share groups, even if the name is the same on both
boards. However, if the name is the same, you
don't need to provide the name of the group on the
other node: Citadel will use the name of the group
on the local board for the name of the group on
the remote board if only one name is present.
If a message comes in that belongs to a group that
is not mapped, it is put into the group specified
by #MAPUNKGROUP, described below.
#LOGIN login script (none)
This is used to tell Citadel how to log onto the
other board for networking. Usually, you wait for
"initials:" from the other board, then send your
board's initials and password. Do this with the
string:
#LOGIN w "initials:" s "in;pw\r"
Take notice of the "\r" at the end of the initials
and password: this is interpreted by Citadel as a
return. If you don't include the "\r", then
Citadel will never send the return to the other
board, and you will not successfully log in, as
the other board will be waiting for your board to
finish entering its initials and password.
Also know that after Citadel has reached the end
of the #LOGIN script, it will claim that log-in
was successful. However, it does not know if it
was really able to log in, it just knows that it
got to the end of its instructions. If you have
something wrong (such as the wrong initials or
password), your BBS will think that it was able to
log in, but the other BBS will not. This is a
common cause of networking error. Have the sysop
of the other system watch the log-in process, to
verify that your BBS was indeed able to log in.
The available #LOGIN script commands are:
D "protocol key" "path" "file"
Download the file "file" into the path "path"
with the file transfer protocol with
"protocol key" as the menu key. Use an empty
string ("") if downloading with a batch
protocol.
P "seconds"
Pause for "seconds" number of seconds.
R "wait" "send" "times"
This is a complex "send while waiting"
command. This is used to get the attention of
some systems, which require you to hit the
enter key often to recognize that they got a
call. You would use this similarly to this:
R "Connected" "\r" "10"
This will cause Citadel to wait for
"Connected" (use whatever the called system
sends when it recognizes the connection) for
the amount of time specified by
#WAIT_TIMEOUT. If Citadel sees the string,
then it considers itself successful. If it
does not see the string, then it sends "\r"
(remember that Citadel interprets this as a
carriage return) to the modem, and waits
again. It repeats this process 10 times
before giving up and considering the log-in
to be a failure.
S "text"
This tells Citadel to send the text specified
by "text" out to the other system.
U "protocol key" "path" "file"
Upload the file "file" from the path "path"
with the file transfer protocol with
"protocol key" as the menu key. If a batch
protocol is used, "file" may contain
wildcards and multiple filenames separated by
spaces.
W "text"
This tells Citadel to wait for the text
specified by "text" to come in from the other
system. If it is not seen in the time
specified by #WAIT_TIMEOUT, then Citadel
considers the log-in process to be a failure.
! "cmd"
This tells Citadel to shell out to DOS and
run the application specified by "cmd". The
standard application flags (!, @, $, etc.)
may be placed at the start of the command
line to tell Citadel how to run the
application.
@ "script"
This tells Citadel to read the text file
specified by "script" and interpret it as
more of the #LOGIN command. Citadel reads
each line in this file, so it can have any
number of #LOGIN commands.
#MAPUNKGROUP "group name" ("Reserved_2")
This sets the group to place group-only messages
in that come in over the network belonging to a
group that is not explicitly mapped by the #GROUP
keyword.
#MOREINFO69 sendit (1)
This is not used yet.
#NETWORK networktype (DRAGCIT1_0)
This sets the network protocol to use for the
network. This has to be the same on both nodes.
The available network protocols are:
DRAGCIT1_0 DRAGCIT1_1 DRAGCIT1_5
DRAGCIT1_6 NET6_9 NET6_9a
HENGE CIT86
However, HENGE is not currently implemented. Wow.
It should be removed.
#NETFAIL failtrap (0)
This sets how Citadel traps network events that
fail. The available settings are:
-1 Never trap failure.
0 Trap failure as specified by #TRAP NETWORK in
CONFIG.CIT.
1 Always trap failure, even if network trapping
is not enabled in CONFIG.CIT.
#NODE "name" ["region"] (none)
This declares the start of a section for a node.
Give the node's "name" as either its full name or
its full address, or just its alias if it is in
the same region as your node.
The optional "region" parameter is the old-style
(30 character) region, and is not used for much.
#OUTPUTPACE time (0)
This sets the time to wait between each character
sent while logging in with the #LOGIN command, in
hundredths of a second. This is helpful when
logging in over some packet-switched networks that
cannot handle a full-speed transfer of data.
#PHONE
Avoid this keyword: use #DIALOUT instead.
#PREDIAL "command" (none)
This sets a command to send to the modem after
#DIAL_INIT from CONFIG.CIT and before starting to
dial the other board by sending #DIAL_PREF from
CONFIG.CIT followed by #DIALOUT from this file.
#PROTOCOL menukey (none)
This specifies the file transfer protocol that
Citadel should use for networking. For all network
types, this must be a batch protocol. For Net 6.9,
there is the additional requirement that it be a
bi-directional file transfer protocol. (Use Net
6.9a if you want to use a uni-directional file
transfer protocol).
The specified protocol must be defined in
PROTOCOL.CIT so Citadel knows how to use it.
#REDIAL attempts (0)
This sets how many times to try dialing the node
every time Citadel tries to network. A value of
either 0 or 1 results in a single attempt.
#REQUEST frequency (1)
This sets how often to send room request files to
Net 6.9 network partners. Set frequency to how
often you wish to send your room request: Citadel
will send the file after that many fetches. Use 0
to never send a room request file. In general,
this should be left at 1.
#ROOM "name here" ["name there"] (none)
When networking two boards using a network
protocol of 1.6 or earlier, you need to tell
Citadel which rooms to share with the other BBS,
and the names of the rooms both on the local
system and the remote system. Citadel then uses
this to map the messages between the two systems.
This is the biggest flaw of the earlier network
protocols, as it is easy to make a mistake here
that takes quite some time to track down: be
careful as you set up your room mapping.
If the room is named the same thing on both the
local and remote system, then you may include only
one name and Citadel will use it for both.
#ROOM lines must be the last lines of a node's
entry in NODES.CIT: after Citadel encounters the
first #ROOM line, it only reads #ROOM lines.
For Net 6.9, #ROOM lines are not used, as the
mapping is done automatically based on the Network
IDs of the rooms.
#VERBOSE verbose (FILE69IN)
This sets which error and status messages are
saved to the Aide) room when networking with the
specified node. The following parameters are
available; more than one my be specified:
FILE69IN
Alerts you when an incoming file transfer is
received.
FILE69INFULL
Alerts you when an incoming file transfer is
received, and saves the output of the command
used to extract the file from the packet.
NOACCESS
Alerts you when a node requests a room to
which it does not have access.
ROOMCREATED
Alerts you when a room is created.
ROOMNOTCREATED
Alerts you when a room is not created, though
Citadel tried.
NETIDNOTFOUND
Alerts you when a Net ID is detected on the
network that Citadel has seen before, but
that you don't carry. (Most likely because
you have deleted the room.)
NONETIDONSYSTEM
Alerts you when a Net ID is specified in a
Citadel-86 style network that does not exist
on the system.
In addition, the following shortcuts are
available:
0 Sets the default #VERBOSE.
1 Sets the default #VERBOSE and turns on
FILE69INFULL and NOACCESS.
2 Sets the default #VERBOSE and turns on
FILE69INFULL, NOACCESS, ROOMCREATED,
ROOMNOTCREATED, NETIDNOTFOUND, and
NONETIDONSYSTEM.
ALL Turns on all #VERBOSE settings. Currently,
this is the same as 2, but this may change in
the future: 2 will never turn on more than it
currently does, but ALL will always turn on
all options available.
After using any of the shortcuts, you may then
turn off any options by specifying the option
preceded by an exclamation mark (!). For example,
if you wanted to know about everything except
NOACCESS, you could specify the following:
#VERBOSE ALL !NOACCESS
#WAIT_TIMEOUT timeout (60)
This sets the number of seconds that Citadel will
wait for an incoming string with either the "W" or
"R" #LOGIN commands before declaring failure.
#ZIP "create" "extract" (see below)
This sets how to create and extract network
packets. This is not used for the DRAGCIT1_0,
DRAGCIT1_1, or HENGE network types. For
DRAGCIT1_5, DRAGCIT1_6, NET6_9, and NET6_9a, these
are command lines to pass to an archiver such as
PKZIP (thus the name #ZIP). For CIT86, these are
the filenames for the network packets.
For the "create" archiver command line, the
variable %d gives the name of the archive file to
create, and %f gives the names of the files to
archive. (This will include multiple files
separated by spaces and wildcards; make sure the
archiver you choose supports these.) In the
extract command line, the variable %d gives the
name of the archive file to extract files from.
Citadel always wants to extract all files from the
archive, so there is no %f variable for
extraction.
Both you and your network partner must agree on
how to create and extract network packets with an
archiver: you must use the correct command to
extract archives that he creates for you, and he
must use the correct command to extract archives
that you create for him. Though there is no
requirement for it, the de facto standard program
used on the Citadel network is PKZIP 2.04g.
This is used in the CIT86 network protocol as the
names of the files to create and read. For
reading, wildcards are accepted.
For use as archive command lines, there are no
defaults. For use as CIT86 network packets, the
default "create" packet name is "MSGOUT86.xxx"
(where "xxx" rotates from "000" to "999"
sequentially), and the default "extract" packet
name is "MSGIN86.*".
CRON.CIT
The CRON.CIT file defines CRON events; events that Citadel
should run after some amount of time has passed. These are
used extensively for networking, to tell Citadel when to try
to network. They have other uses, however, such as taking
the board down, turning chat on or off, performing a backup,
analyzing usage with a program that reads the trap file, or
any other use that you desire.
You have full control over when an event will execute. You
can determine how long citadel should wait between
successful executions of the event, and how long it should
wait between unsuccessful executions of the event. You can
also limit the execution of the event to specific days,
dates, months, or hours. This can be used, for example, to
tell Citadel to only try to network at night, when long
distance charges are the lowest.
Control of when the events are executed is provided by the
#IDLE_WAIT CONFIG.CIT variable, which tells Citadel how many
idle minutes are allowed before it is to try to execute a
cron event, and the variables listed below.
#DO
This tells Citadel what to do for this cron event.
After the #DO, you must specify a cron type and a
command string. The cron type is one of the
following:
NETWORK Attempt to network with a remote node.
The command string tells Citadel which
node to network with.
SHELL_1 This tells Citadel to execute an
application. The command string tells
Citadel which application to execute.
SHELL_2 This does the same exact thing as
SHELL_1. It is included only for
backwards compatibility.
SHUTDOWN This tells Citadel to quit to DOS. The
command string is the exit code to used,
which can be interpreted by the
ERRORLEVEL command in a DOS batch file.
CHAT_ON This tells Citadel to turn chat on. The
command string is ignored.
CHAT_OFF This tells Citadel to turn chat off. The
command string is ignored.
NET69_IN This incorporates any Net 6.9 packets in
the #TRANSPATH. The command string is
ignored.
NET69_OUT This executes a Net 6.9 pre-fetch for
another node. The command string tells
Citadel which node to pre-fetch for.
COMMAND This runs a Citadel script file. While a
script file can also be run with the
SHELL_1 (or SHELL_2) command, running
one in this way gives the added ability
to check the success of the command,
which is used by the #RETRY_TIME
parameter, described below. The command
string tells Citadel which script file
to run.
NET86_IN
NET86_OUT These are used for Cit-86 networking,
which is not yet fully implemented.
Don't use these; they are included here
only for completeness.
Any lines following a #DO line are considered by
Citadel to apply to the #DO line. When Citadel
reads another #DO line from CRON.CIT, it then
assumes that all subsequent lines apply to the new
#DO line.
#HOURS
This tells Citadel in which hours it is to attempt
to execute the cron event. The parameters for
#HOURS can be the word "ANY" or any numbers from 0
to 23. If it is "ANY", or there is no #HOURS line,
then Citadel will execute the cron event during
any hour. Otherwise, Citadel will only run the
command during one of the specified hours of the
day. For example, to tell Citadel to run a cron
event only between 11:00 PM and 5:00 am (for
example to only network during the cheap long
distance times of night), include the following
line:
#HOURS 23 0 1 2 3 4
Note that 5 is not specified: the 4 applies to all
times from 4:00 to 4:59:59, which brings us right
to 5:00 am.
#DAYS
This tells Citadel during which days it is to
attempt to execute the cron event. The parameters
for #DAYS can be the word "ANY" or any combination
of the days of the week, "SUN" to "SAT" or
"SUNDAY" to "SATURDAY". For example, if you want
to split long distance charges between a network
partner, you might want to call it half of the
days of the week. To do this, include the
following line:
#DAYS SUN TUE THU SAT
The other node would include the corresponding:
#DAYS MON WED FRI
Of course this only splits the calling into four
sevenths and three sevenths, but that is the
result of having a culture that was not designed
for the ease of computers. (This is not as bad as
the 28, 29, 30, or 31 day month, however...)
#MONTHS
This tells Citadel during which months it is to
attempt to execute the Cron event. The parameters
for #MONTHS can be the word "ANY" or any
combination of the months of the year, "1" to
"12", "JAN" to "DEC", or "JANUARY" to "DECEMBER".
For example, if you want to run an event only
during the month of February, you could include
the following line:
#MONTHS FEB
#DATES
This tells Citadel during which dates of a month
it is to attempt to execute the cron event. The
parameters for #DATES can be the word "ANY" or any
combination of dates, from "1" to "31". For
example, if you want to analyze your trap file on
a monthly basis, you could set #DATES as follows:
#DATES 1
This would let Citadel only execute the event on
the first day of the month. Combine this with
#REDO_TIME (see below) to make sure that the event
is only executed once during this date.
#REDO_TIME
This tells Citadel how long to wait after executing an
event before it should execute it again, in
minutes. For example, if you want to network with
another BBS every four hours, set this as follows:
#REDO_TIME 240
#RETRY_TIME
This tells Citadel how long to wait, in minutes,
after an event fails before it should attempt it
again. A common cause of a failed event is that
the other node is busy when attempting to network.
For example, to tell Citadel to attempt to network
every 5 minutes until it is successful, use the
following line:
#RETRY_TIME 5
GRPDATA.CIT
The GRPDATA.CIT file contains information that Citadel uses
for accounting. If you don't have accounting enabled, this
file is never read.
#GROUP "Group Name"
This sets the group that the next set of variables
will affect. For example, to give information
about the "Null" group, start with the following
line:
#GROUP "Null"
Citadel will then assign all the information it
finds next in the file to the "Null" group until
it finds another #GROUP line or reaches the end of
the file.
#PRIORITY 0 to 32767
When Citadel is determining the accounting for a
user, it first assigns default values for
accounting and sets the current priority level to
0. The defaults are the worst possible values,
from the user's point of view.
It then checks each group on the system. If the
user is in a group and the group is defined in
GRPDATA.CIT, Citadel checks the priority of the
group. If it is higher than the current priority
level, it resets all accounting information to the
default values, then reads that groups
information. Otherwise, it chooses either the
value already set for the user or the value set
for the group, whichever is better.
This means that, of all the groups a user belongs
to, Citadel will only look at the groups with the
highest setting of #PRIORITY, and give the user
the best deal based on the settings for those
groups.
This lets the values of certain groups override
the values of others. For example, if you have a
group for twits or users who you want to limit to
less time than the other users while still having
access to the same groups they have, you could set
this group with priority over all the other access
groups and the user would be limited to what that
group would allow, even though he is in groups
with more access.
#DAYS SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT or ANY
These set which days members of this group can log
in. If a user tries to log in during a day that he
cannot, Citadel will print NOLOGIN.BLB to the
modem then disconnect.
#HOURS 0 to 23 or ANY
These set which hours members of this group can
log in. If a user tries to log in during a hour
that he cannot, Citadel will print NOLOGIN.BLB to
the modem then disconnect.
#SPECIAL 0 to 23 or ANY
These set which hours are free for members of this
group. No time at all is charged during these
hours.
#DAY_INC 0 to any reasonable value
This sets how many minutes per 24 hour period to
add for this group. Unlike most BBS software,
which is broken, Citadel's accounting is
continuous: it is not based on silly midnight-to-
midnight days. So, if a user uses up all of his
time at 11:30PM, he will not get it all back at
midnight. If he calls back at midnight, Citadel
will see that 30 minutes have passed, calculates
that it has been one twenty-fourth of a day, and
gives the user one-twenty-fourth of #DAY_INC.
Similarly, if the user waits 36 hours to call back
(a day and a half), Citadel will give the user one
and a half times #DAY_INC minutes.
#MAX_BAL 0 to any reasonable value
This is the maximum time that users for this group
can have in their account.
#DL_MULT -32768 to 32767
#UL_MULT -32768 to 32767
These set special rates to charge for file uploads
and downloads. This lets you, for example, charge
only half the time spent uploading, or even to
give time for uploads, as a "thank-you" for
uploading.
Here you must remember that during a transfer,
time stands still in terms of accounting: no time
is charged during the transfer. #UL_MULT and
#DL_MULT are used to charge (or credit) the
account balance after the transfer is complete,
using the following formula:
ACC_BAL = ACC_BAL + (TRNS_TIME * MULT / 100)
Therefore, setting a positive value gives the user
time, and setting a negative value takes it away.
Examples of values and results are:
Value Result
-200 Charge twice the time that the transfer
took.
-100 Charge for how long the transfer took.
-50 Charge for half the time that the transfer
took.
0 Don't charge or credit any time for the
transfer. (Ignore it.)
50 Credit half the time the transfer took to
the user's account.
Sample Entry
This is a sample entry in a GRPDATA.CIT file:
#GROUP "Null"
#DAYS ANY
#HOURS ANY
#SPECIAL 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
#DAY_INC 60
#MAX_BAL 120
#PRIORITY 1
#UL_MULT 0
#DL_MULT -100
This entry will allow members of group "Null" to call on any
day at any time. From midnight until 7:59am, they have
unlimited call time. An extra 60 minutes will be added to
their accounts every 24 hours, up to a maximum of 120
minutes.
Uploads are free, and downloads are charged for the time
spent during the transfer. That is, if a user uploaded a
file taking five minutes, the account balance at the end of
the transfer will be the same as it was at the beginning.
If, however, the user downloaded a file taking five minutes,
Citadel will take five minutes out of the account after the
transfer was complete.
If a user attempts a download that takes more time than
there is in the account, Citadel will allow it, but they
will be charged time for it. This will result in negative
time, so the user will have to wait for the time in his
account to become positive before he can log in again.
DEFUSER.CIT
It is best to specify only those parameters that you want
set differently than the defaults. While no damage is done
by redundantly setting parameters to the defaults, it takes
extra time for Citadel to read the DEFUSER.CIT file. On
slower computers and hard disks, this may be a noticeable
difference. To keep things fast, it is also best to keep
extra lines in this file to a minimum.
#ADDR1
#ADDR2
#ADDR3 (none)
These set the three lines of the new user's
address. You can set each of these individually.
There is rarely a reason to give new users a
default address.
#AIDE (0)
This determines whether new users will be made
Aides. The default (0) tells Citadel not to make
new users into Aides. If set to non-zero, Citadel
will make new users into Aides. It is usually
considered a bad idea to make new users Aides.
#BLINK (Wow.)
This sets the default attribute for blinking text
for users with ANSI emulation turned on.
#BOLD (Wow.)
This sets the default attribute for bold text for
users with ANSI emulation turned on.
#BORDERS (1)
This determines whether the user can enter borders
with the .Enter Border command. The default (1)
lets users use the .Enter Border (.EB) command.
Set this to 0 to disable the command for new
users.
#CALLLIMIT (0)
This sets the calls-per-day limit for new users.
This is in addition to a global calls-per-day
limit set in CONFIG.CIT. A day is midnight-to-
midnight. Set this to 0 to allow unlimited calls
per day.
#CHECKALLCAPS (0)
This sets whether to check words in all-caps in
the spell-checker.
#CHECKAPS (0)
This sets whether to check words ending with an
apostrophe S in the spell-checker. If this is
turned off, then the apostrophe S is removed from
all words, and only the root word is checked.
#CHECKDIGITS (0)
This sets whether to check words with imbedded
digits in the spell-checker.
#CONFIRMABORT (1)
This sets whether to ask for confirmation when the
Abort command is used in the message editor and a
message has been started.
#CONFIRMEOABORT (0)
This sets whether to ask for confirmation when the
aborted message buffer is about to be cleared by
starting a new message.
#CONFIRMSAVE (0)
This sets whether to ask for confirmation when the
save command is used in the message editor.
#CREDITS (60)
This determines the number of credits to give new
users.
#DEFAULTHALL (none)
This sets the default hall for new users. It
defaults to none, which is effectively your Root
hall. (Whatever you may have renamed it to.)
#DICTWORD (none)
This adds a word to the personal dictionary used
by the spell-checker. As many words as desired may
be specified by having multiple #DICTWORD
keywords.
#DISPLAYTS (1)
This sets whether new users are configured to see
titles and signatures by default. The default (1)
sets new users to see titles and signatures. If
you don't want new users to see titles and
signatures, set this to 0.
#DSTAMP (#DATESTAMP from CONFIG.CIT)
This sets the default date stamp for new users.
This is usually not used, as a default is set in
CONFIG.CIT.
#EXCLUDEENCRYPTED (0)
This sets whether to exclude encrypted messages.
#EXPERT (0)
This sets the default expert mode for new users.
The default (0) sets new users to be non-expert.
If you want new users default to being expert, set
this to non-zero.
#FINGER (none)
This sets the finger for new users.
#FORWARD (none)
This sets a user to forward all mail to.
#FORWARDNODE (none)
This sets a node to forward all mail to.
#HALLTELL (1)
This sets whether new users see hall descriptions
by default. The default (1) sets new users to see
hall descriptions. If you don't want new users to
see hall descriptions, set this to be non-zero.
#HIDEEXCL (0)
This sets whether new users have message
exclusions hidden by default. The default (0) does
not hide message exclusions. If you want new users
to have message exclusions hidden by default, set
this to be non-zero.
#IBMANSI (0)
This sets whether new users have IBM ANSI mode turned
on by default. #AUTOANSI in CONFIG.CIT overrides
this setting. The default (0) does not turn on
ANSI emulation mode. If you want new users to have
ANSI emulation mode on by default, set this to be
non-zero.
#IBMCOLOR (0)
This sets whether new users have ANSI COLOR mode
turned on by default. #AUTOANSI in CONFIG.CIT
overrides this setting. The default (0) does not
have ANSI color turned on. If you want new users
to have ANSI color on by default, set this to be
non-zero.
#IBMGRAPH (0)
This sets whether new users have IBM extended
ASCII turned on by default. The default (0) does
not have IBM extended ASCII turned on by default.
If you want new users to have IBM extended ASCII
turned on by default, set this to be non-zero.
#IBMROOM (0)
This sets whether to display the room flags with IBM
graphics characters.
#INVERSE (Wow.)
This sets the color code for inverse text.
#KNODE (none)
This sets a node to discard messages from. You can
specify as many nodes as you wish by using
multiple #KNODE keywords.
#KREG (none)
This sets a region to discard messages from. You
can specify as many regions as you wish by using
multiple #KREG keywords.
#KTEXT (none)
This sets text check for discarding: messages
containing this text are discarded. You can
specify as many text strings as you wish by using
multiple #KTEXT keywords.
#KUSER (none)
This sets a user to discard messages from. You can
specify as many users as you wish by using
multiple #KUSER keywords.
#LFMASK (1)
This sets whether new users have linefeeds by
default. The default (1) turns linefeeds on for
new users. If you don't want linefeeds turned on
for new users, set this to 0. You should leave
this set to 1, as the vast majority of users will
be calling with computers that require linefeeds.
(Also, keep in mind that sending unnecessary
linefeeds merely makes text appear double-spaced,
but failing to send necessary linefeeds makes all
text appear on the same line.)
#LINESSCREEN (0)
This sets the number of lines per screen for new
users. The default (0) turns off full-screen
pause. If you want full-screen pause turned on for
new users, set this to the number of lines you
desire. For example, #LINESSCREEN 23 means that
screen pause defaults to on, with the pause every
23 lines.
#LOCKHALL (0)
This sets whether the default hall of new users is
locked. The default (0) does not have the default
hall of new users locked. If you want to lock the
default hall of new users, set this to be non-
zero.
#LOCKUSIG (0)
This sets whether the user signature of new users
is locked. The default (0) does not lock the user
signature of new users. If you want to lock the
user signature of new users, set this to be non-
zero.
#MINIBIN (1)
This sets whether full usage statistics are
displayed when logging in by default. The default
(1) displays full statistics. If you don't want
this to be on by default, set this to be non-zero.
#MOREPROMPT (#MOREPROMPT from CONFIG.CIT)
This sets the moreprompt for new users. This is
usually not used, as a default is set in
CONFIG.CIT. The more prompt is displayed after a
full screen of text if the user has pause-on-full-
screen turned on and after messages if the user
has pause-between-messages turned on.
#MSGCLS (0)
This sets whether the screen is cleared between
messages. (This only works if #IBMANSI is turned
on.) The default (0) does not clear the screen
between messages for new users. If you want to
clear the screen between messages for new users,
set this to be non-zero.
#MSGPAUSE (0)
This sets whether Citadel pauses between messages
for new users by default. The default (0) does not
pause between messages for new users. If you want
the default to be pause between messages, set this
to be non-zero.
#MUSIC (0)
This sets whether new users have music turned on
or not. For this to have any effect, #MUSIC in
CONFIG.CIT must be set to 1.
#NETPREFIX (#NET_PREFIX from CONFIG.CIT)
This sets the default net prefix for new users.
This is usually not used, as a default is set in
CONFIG.CIT.
#NETUSER (1)
This sets whether new users are Netusers by
default. The default (1) makes new users Netusers
by default. If you don't want new users to be
Netusers by default, set this to be 0.
#NEXTHALL (0)
This sets whether new users have auto-next hall
turned on by default. The default (0) does not
have auto-next hall enabled. If you wish to enable
auto-next hall for new users, set this to be non-
zero.
#NOACCOUNT (0)
This sets whether new users have accounting
disabled by default. The default (0) does not
disable new users' accounting. If you wish to
disable new users' accounting by default, set this
to be non-zero.
#NOCHAT (0)
This sets whether new users have chat disabled by
default.
#NODE (0)
This sets whether new users are Nodes by default.
It is not a good idea to set this to 1.
#NODOWNLOAD (0)
This sets whether new users have download
privileges disabled by default.
#NOMAIL (0)
This sets whether new users have mail disabled by
default.
#NOMAKEROOM (0)
This sets whether new users have room creation
abilities disabled by default.
#NOUPLOAD (0)
This sets whether new users have upload privileges
disabled by default.
#NULLS (0)
This sets the default number of nulls for new
users. There is no good reason to set this to
anything greater than 0; this is a hold-over from
the 1970s and early 1980s when many callers used
printing terminals that could not keep up with the
300 baud data stream from the modem.
#NUMUSERSHOW (0)
This sets the number of most-recent-caller users
to show when logging-in.
#OLDTOO (1)
This sets whether new users have last old on new
turned on by default.
#OUT300 (0)
This sets whether new users have 300 baud
simulation turned on by default.
#PERMANENT (0)
This sets whether new users are permanent by
default.
#PHONENUM (none)
This sets the default phone number of new users.
#POOP (0)
This sets the initial poopcount for new users.
#PRINTFILE (0)
This sets whether new users are trapped to the
print file by default.
#PROBLEM (0)
This sets whether new users are considered problem
users by default.
#PROMPT (#PROMPT from CONFIG.CIT)
This sets the room prompt for new users. This is
usually not used, as a default is set by #PROMPT
in CONFIG.CIT.
#PROTOCOL (none)
This sets the default file transfer protocol for
new users.
#PSYCHO (0)
This sets whether new users have psycho chicken
mode enabled by default.
#PUNPAUSES (0)
This sets whether the P key can be used to un-
pause output that has been paused by the P key.
(This also applies to Control+S, which Citadel
treats exactly the same as P.)
#REALNAME (none)
This sets the default real name for new users.
#REPLACE (none)
This sets text to replace as it is entered in the
message editor. Give two strings: first the text
to replace, then the text to replace it with.
Citadel makes an attempt to get the case right
when replacing text.
#ROOMINFO (1)
This sets whether new users see room information
lines by default.
#ROOMTELL (1)
This sets whether new users see room information
files by default.
#SEEBORDERS (1)
This sets whether new users see borders and ads by
default.
#SHOWCOMMAS (1)
This sets whether new users see commas in numbers as
thousands separators.
#SIGNATURE (none)
This sets the default signature for new users.
#SIGNATURES (1)
This sets whether new users view signatures by
default.
#SPELLCHECK (Wow.)
Wow.
#SUBJECTS (1)
This sets whether new users view subjects by
default.
#SURNAME (none)
This sets the default surname for new users.
#SURNAMLOK (0)
This sets whether new users' titles and surnames
are locked by default.
#SYSOP (0)
This sets whether new users are made sysops. This
is generally not a good idea.
#TABS (0)
This determines whether or not tabs will be
converted to spaces for new and unlogged-in users.
The default is tabs off; i.e., tabs are converted
to spaces. All terminals support spaces, so this
is the safest setting.
#TITLE (none)
This sets the title for new users.
#TUSER (none)
This sets a user-tag. Give two parameters: first
the name of the user to tag, then the tag. You can
have as many user tags as you wish by specifying
multiple #TUSER keywords.
#TWIRLY (0)
This sets if new users have their twirly cursor enabled
by default.
#UCMASK (0)
This determines whether or not new and unlogged-in
users will see text in all-uppercase. 0 leaves
text in its normal case, 1 sets it to all-
uppercase.
#UNDERLINE (Wow.)
This sets the attribute of underlined text.
#UNLISTED (0)
This sets if new users have unlisted accounts by
default.
#USEPERSONAL
This sets if new users are in their personal hall
by default. Nothing would be in their personal
hall.
#VDSTAMP (#VDATESTAMP from CONFIG.CIT)
This sets the default verbose date stamp for new users.
This is usually not used, as a default is set in
CONFIG.CIT.
#VERBOSE (0)
This sets if new users have auto-verbose turned on
by default.
#VERBOSECONT (0)
This sets the verbose-continue default for new and
unlogged-in users. Setting it to 0 will set it to
off, and setting it to 1 will set it to on.
Verbose continue determines what happens when the
"Continue" command is used in the message editor.
If it is on, Citadel will print out the entire
message before accepting new input; if it is off,
Citadel prints out only the last 100 characters.
#VERBOSELOGOUT (0)
This sets if new users have verbose log-out turned
on by default.
#VERIFIED (1)
This sets if new users are verified. (If not, they
are not allowed to log in.)
#VIEWCENSOR (0)
This sets if new users are set to view censored
messages by default.
#WIDEROOM (0)
This sets if new users have wide rooms turned on
by default.
#WIDTH (80)
This sets the default screen width for new and
unlogged-in users. Values from 10 to 255 are
accepted.
#YOUAREHERE (0)
This sets if new users have You Are Here turned
on. Please never turn this on, for it is evil.
HARDWARE.CIT
Citadel reads HARDWARE.CIT to know which external hardware
drivers (if any) to load. These drivers are written to
provide support for non-standard or specialized hardware.
Appendix B contains detailed information concerning
programming drivers for any specialized hardware you may
possess. Currently, hardware drivers are available for
FOSSIL serial support and Sound Blaster support. These
drivers are documented in Appendices C and D, respectively.
The following driver types are supported:
#COMDRIVER
This provides an alternate method to communicate
with your computer's serial hardware. This can be
useful for non-IBM PC compatible computers.
Communications drivers have the extension "ECD"
for External Communications Driver.
#KBDDRIVER
This provides an alternate method to communicate
with your computer's keyboard. This can be useful
for non-IBM PC compatible computers. Keyboard
drivers have the extension "EKD" for External
Keyboard Driver.
#SNDDRIVER
This provides a method to communicate with any
sound cards in your computer. This can be
incorporated with scripts to provide sound on your
computer tied to certain events, or to add speech
synthesis to Citadel. Sound drivers have the
extension "ESD" for External Sound Driver.
To use external drivers, just create a HARDWARE.CIT which
specifies the drivers you desire, and place it in your
Citadel's #HOMEPATH (as defined in CONFIG.CIT), along with
the drivers. For example, to use the FOSSIL.ECD
communications driver, HARDWARE.CIT should have the
following line:
#COMDRIVER FOSSIL
When if a driver is loaded, you will see mention of it in
the "System Status / Debugging" section of the .Read Verbose
Status (.RVS) command. Only one driver of each type can be
loaded at a time.
PROTOCOL.CIT
The PROTOCOL.CIT file is used to define external file
transfer protocols for use with the .Upload (.U...) and
.Download (.D...) commands.
#PROTOCOL "name"
This gives the name of the file transfer protocol
being defined. All keywords up until the next
#PROTOCOL keyword define the attributes of the
protocol.
#MENU_NAME "menuname"
This sets the name of the protocol to display on
the .Upload Menu (.U?) and .Download Menu (.D?).
If this is not provided, then the #PROTOCOL name
is used.
#COMMAND_KEY "character"
This sets key used to execute the protocol. If
this is not specified, then the first character of
#MENU_NAME is used, or the first character of
#PROTOCOL if #MENU_NAME is not specified.
#BATCH batch
This sets whether the protocol can transfer more
than one file at a time. Specify 0 if the protocol
is not batch (it can only transfer a single file
at a time), or 1 if it is.
#BLOCK_SIZE size
This sets the block size used by the protocol. If
it has a varying block size, then specify 0.
#RECEIVE "command line"
This specifies the command line to use to receive
files with the file transfer protocol. See below
for variables and flags that may be used.
#SEND "command line"
This specifies the command line to use to send
files with the file transfer protocol. See below
for variables and flags that may be used.
#AUTO_UPLOAD "string"
This specifies a string of characters that Citadel
should respond to by initiating an upload with the
file transfer protocol if it sees them at the room
prompt of a directory room.
#RESPONSE_SEND "command line"
This specifies the command line to use to send
files specified in a response file with the file
transfer protocol. See below for variables and
flags that may be used.
#NET_ONLY netonly
This specifies if the protocol should be used for
networking only. Specify 0 to let the protocol be
used by users, or 1 to make the protocol only be
available for networking.
#CHECK_TRANSFER
Wow.
Command line variables and flags
With all command lines, the following variables may be used:
%a The application path, as set by the #APPLICPATH
variable in CONFIG.CIT.
%c The modem-to-modem connect speed. For high speed
modems, the actual speed of the connection from
the computer to the modem is often higher than the
actual speed that the two modems are connected at.
The %s variable is used if the file transfer
protocol needs to set the port rate to use; the %c
variable is used to let the protocol more
accurately guess the time that the transfer will
take.
%f The file being sent or received. This is not used
in the file receive string of a batch protocol:
the protocol supplies the file name. Also, this is
the name of the text file that lists the files to
be sent when used in the response file send file
command.
%l The modem port or LOCAL. This is the numeric value
1-4, depending on which serial port the modem is
connected to, or the text LOCAL if the current
user is logged in locally.
%p The serial port that is being used: 1 to 4.
%s The actual speed (baud) used to talk to the serial
port.
%u The name of the currently logged-in user, after
stripping out any color codes. If there is no user
logged-in, this passes the text "[Not logged in]".
In addition, the following flags can be put at the start of
the command line to tell Citadel how to run the application:
! This tells Citadel to "Super-shell", or swap as
much of itself as possible out of memory, thus
giving the application the most memory possible in
which to run. Citadel leaves less than 1K of
itself in memory, swapping the rest of itself to
XMS, EMS, or disk. Swapping to XMS or EMS is
nearly instantaneous, but swapping to disk takes a
few seconds.
@ This tells Citadel to not clear the screen before
running the application, and to not restore the
screen before returning. This is used to save
memory if you are not super-shelling and the
application saves and restores the screen for you:
an 80x25 text screen takes nearly 4K to save in
memory. When using the super-shell this does not
make any difference, because the memory used to
save the screen is also swapped out when shelling.
$ This tells Citadel to load COMMAND.COM (or,
actually, the program pointed to by the COMSPEC
environment variable) and tell it to process the
command. This is used to run DOS batch files or to
redirect program output to a file.
? This tells Citadel not to write out BBS
information files when shelling. Writing these
files takes some time and some disk space, but not
much. Usually, it does not matter if they are
written out when not needed. But, if you are very
tight on disk space or running on a slow machine,
this makes a difference.
* This tells Citadel that the application is a
script file, not a program. This overrides all
other flags. That is, if this flag is present then
all others are ignored. This is because the other
flags don't apply to script files. Also, when
running a script file the command line arguments
are not passed to it, since script files have no
command line parameters.
Citadel also has some internal file transfer protocols,
which can be specified by setting the command lines to
special values: "[xmodem]" for Xmodem checksum;
"[crcxmodem]" for Xmodem CRC; "[1kxmodem]" for 1K Xmodem
(sometimes incorrectly referred to as Ymodem); and
"[zmodem]" for Zmodem. The internal file transfer protocols
don't work with file queuing.
MDMRESLT.CIT
The MDMRESLT.CIT file contains all result codes your modem
may generate that Citadel needs to understand. Any number of
each type of string may be present. If this file does not
exist, then Citadel uses built-in defaults. If this file
does exist, then you must specify all possible result codes
your modem can generate that Citadel needs to know about.
#NOCARRIER "string"
A string your modem sends when it is not able to
make a connection when dialing out.
#NOANSWER "string"
A string your modem sends when there is no answer
at a telephone number it just dialed. This is
similar to #NOCARRIER.
#ERROR "string"
A string your modem sends when it doesn't
understand what the computer just told it to do.
#NODIALTONE "string"
A string your modem sends when it is not able to detect
a dial tone when dialing out.
#BUSY "string"
A string your modem sends when it detects a busy
signal after dialing a telephone number.
#RING "string"
A string your modem sends when it detects a
ringing signal on the phone line, after someone
dials your phone number.
#COMPRESSION "string"
A string your modem sends when it has negotiated a
connection with some form of data compression.
#CORRECTION "string"
A string your modem sends when it has negotiated a
connection with some form of error correction.
#CONNECT300 "string"
#CONNECT1200 "string"
#CONNECT2400 "string"
#CONNECT4800 "string"
#CONNECT7200 "string"
#CONNECT9600 "string"
#CONNECT12000 "string"
#CONNECT14400 "string"
#CONNECT16800 "string"
#CONNECT19200 "string"
#CONNECT28800 "string"
#CONNECT38400 "string"
#CONNECT57600 "string"
#CONNECT115200 "string"
#CONNECT230400 "string"
Strings your modem sends after making a connection
at the specified speed.
#CONNECT1200C "string"
#CONNECT2400C "string"
#CONNECT4800C "string"
#CONNECT7200C "string"
#CONNECT9600C "string"
#CONNECT12000C "string"
#CONNECT14400C "string"
#CONNECT16800C "string"
#CONNECT19200C "string"
#CONNECT28800C "string"
#CONNECT38400C "string"
#CONNECT57600C "string"
#CONNECT115200C "string"
#CONNECT230400C "string"
Strings your modem sends after making a connection
with data compression at the specified speed.
Citadel also assumes that there is error
correction on these connections.
#CONNECT1200E "string"
#CONNECT2400E "string"
#CONNECT4800E "string"
#CONNECT7200E "string"
#CONNECT9600E "string"
#CONNECT12000E "string"
#CONNECT14400E "string"
#CONNECT16800E "string"
#CONNECT19200E "string"
#CONNECT28800E "string"
#CONNECT38400E "string"
#CONNECT57600E "string"
#CONNECT115200E "string"
#CONNECT230400E "string"
Strings your modem sends after making a connection
with error correction (but not data compression)
at the specified speed.
#RUNAPPLIC "string" "command line"
Result codes that your modem generates that you
want to support in some way, but that Citadel does
not know about. This tells Citadel to run an
application when it receives the result code. This
can be used to have Citadel shell to a fax program
if it gets a FAX result code, for example.
ROUTE.CIT
The ROUTE.CIT file is used for routing networked mail.
Citadel appends information to the end of this file, and
expects to be able to read it back. Because of how the
standard C file reading functions work, this means that if
you edit this with a text editor, be sure that it does not
append a Control+Z character on the end. (As if this was
CP/M. This is MS-DOS. This is such an advanced operating
system that it actually keeps track of the length of files,
so it doesn't need Control+Zs at the end of files. Text
editors that always append Control+Zs to the end are stupid.
People who configure their text editors to do so when there
is a choice are equally stupid, and should be forced to use
CP/M like they evidently want to do.)
#ADDRESS "address" "name" "region"
This specifies the address, name, and region of a
node on the network. Citadel adds valid #ADDRESS
lines as new nodes are detected on the network.
However, as there is no way to know when a node
goes down, you are responsible for deleting
#ADDRESS lines if you care. If not, then your
users will be able to easily send messages to
nodes that don't exist.
#ROUTE "routed system" "through system"
This lets you specify an explicit route for
network mail to take to get somewhere. In general,
it is best not to do so, and let Citadel deliver
it as it sees best fit to do. However, it is
possible (if you try hard enough) to design a
network topology such that mail will not
automatically get through. If you do this, it is
your own fault. Neener. So it is your
responsibility to fix the network topology (no, I
am not going to tell you what is wrong with it),
or at least force a route with this keyword. This
can also be used to add more security to mail
routing, if you know what you are doing. No, I am
not going to tell you what this means, either.
Cope. Basically, what I am doing here is
discouraging you from using this keyword, as it is
truly evil and only still exists for extreme
cases.
MAILLIST.CIT
The MAILLIST.CIT file is used for creating mailing lists.
Citadel needs to edit this file occasionally, and it removes
any non-command lines from it as it does so (since it
doesn't know what they are). Therefore, if you put comments
in it, they might go away.
The available keywords are:
#MAILLIST "name"
This creates a mailing list. All keywords after
this until the next #MAILLIST define the
attributes of the mailing list.
#USER "name [@ {node|address}[, region[, country]]]"
This gives the routing information for a
subscriber to the mailing list. (In the same
format as you would address a message to the user
manually.) Each subscriber has a #USER entry. For
example, the following entries might exist:
#USER "Bob"
#USER "Sally @ Another BBS"
#USER "Jane @ bbs.sea"
#USER "Fred @ Yet another BBS, Somewhere"
#MAYSUBSCRIBE maysub
This sets whether users may subscribe to the
mailing list. The default is 0: they may not
subscribe. If users may not subscribe, then this
file has to be edited manually to add users to the
list.
#MAYTELL maytell
This sets Citadel may give out information about
the mailing list when requested by a user. The
default is 1: Citadel may tell about it.
#MAYLIST maylist
This sets whether the membership of the mailing
list is private or not. (That is, whether it may
be listed when requested by a user.) The default
is 1: the membership is not private.
#INFOLINE "infoline"
This gives an optional one-line description of the
mailing list. This is returned to users requesting
information about the mailing list if #MAYTELL is
set to 1.
#INFOFILE "full path"
This gives an optional text file description of
the mailing list. This should be the full path to
the file. This file is displayed in response to
users requesting information about the mailing
list if #MAYTELL is set to 1.
_Section V: Citadel Script Files
The internal script language in Citadel adds a high degree
of customizability to the software. With it, you can create
new commands or applications for your BBS. However, like any
programming language, learning the script language and
putting it to use can be difficult. It is not a problem if
you don't understand the script language: it is not required
to use Citadel. In fact, most sysops never use the script
language at all.
Overview
Scripts files are ASCII files (like CONFIG.CIT) that contain
commands that Citadel recognizes and acts upon. Some sample
scripts are included with Citadel. These can be used on your
system as-is to take advantage of the features they offer,
but they are intended to be used as example code to help you
understand the script language better.
Citadel reads script files into memory one line at a time.
When it reads a line, Citadel first removes any leading
spaces from it. If the first character after all spaces is a
"#", Citadel considers the line to be a script command.
Otherwise, it ignores the line and reads the next line from
the file. Therefore, any line not starting with a "#" (after
stripping of leading spaces) is effectively a comment.
The lines that do start with a "#" character are parsed and
stored in memory. If Citadel is not able to parse the line,
then it displays and error, and aborts out of the script
interpreter. After all lines of a script file are read,
Citadel begins executing the script. Therefore, the only
disk access is at the start of execution. The rest of the
processing is done in memory, and is fairly quick. Beyond
memory that Citadel allocates for the script interpreter's
use, the amount of memory used by a script file is usually
not much. By watching the display of the System Status
Screen (Press F4 while running Citadel to see this screen),
you can determine how much memory your script file takes.
All script commands are contained in functions. Citadel
initiates execution of a script file by calling the _Main
function. When this function returns, Citadel releases the
memory used by the script and continues with what it was
doing before it loaded the script. If this is the only
executing script (that is, it was not called by another
script), then it also releases the memory used by the
interpreter unless #FASTSCRIPT in CONFIG.CIT is set to 1.
Results from functions or script commands that generate
results are available in the special variable _Result. Use
this variable quickly if you need it; the next command or
function will probably overwrite it. To be safe, don't use
_Result as a parameter to a command that generates a
_Result; the results may be unpredictable, and may change in
future versions of Citadel. It is safe to use _Result in an
#ASGN, #IF, #LOOP, #WHILE, #IFNOT, #LOOPNOT, or #WHILENOT
command.
In the interest of speed, there is very little run-time
checking to ensure that the script does not overwrite memory
that it does not own, or that enough parameters are passed
to functions. When writing a script, it is best to do it on
a test system, to ensure that you don't corrupt your main
board. Be especially sure to test any script thoroughly
before releasing it to other sysops.
How script files are called
Script files can be called in one of three ways: with the
.Sysop Run script (.SR) command, with the COMMAND cron type,
or as an application. Because applications can be tied to
many things (see the Applications topic in the User's Guide
section), script files can be used many places within
Citadel.
Variables
Script variables can be either local or global. Local
variables can only be accessed in the function that they are
declared in. Global variables are available to all
functions, so they are good for storing global configuration
information that many functions might need to access. A
warning about local variables: they are all static. This
means that you shouldn't make functions recursive, unless
you take care not to have variable conflicts. (Actually, you
also shouldn't make functions recursive because doing so
will cause loops to act strangely.)
Local variables are declared with the #LVAR script command,
and global variables are declared with the #GVAR script
command. After the command, Citadel expects a variable type
followed by the variable's name.
The type can be Boolean, Integer, UInteger, Long, ULong, or
String[length] . Boolean variables can hold a value of TRUE
or FALSE; Integer variables can hold an integer in the range
of -36,768 to 36,767; UInteger variables can hold an integer
value in the range of 0 to 65,535; Long variables can hold
an integer value in the range of -2,147,483,648 to
2,147,483,647; ULong variables can hold an integer value in
the range of 0 to 4,294,967,295; and String variables can
store a string of characters of some length. String
variables need a length, so Citadel knows how much memory to
set aside for holding the string. Most strings in Citadel
can be held in 30 characters, so String30 is a common
length. The minimum allowed is String1 and the maximum
allowed is String255. There are no floating point variables
in script files (or anywhere else in Citadel).
All variables must start with the underscore character ("_")
and may contain any ASCII characters other than white space
(space, tab, linefeed, etc.). They are not case sensitive.
For example, the following lines in a script file would
define a local Integer variable named _Total and a global
String variable that can hold up to 30 characters named
_Name:
#LVAR Integer _Total
#GVAR String30 _Name
It does not matter where global variables are declared, and
the only restriction placed on the declaration of local
variables is that they must be declared in a function
definition, so Citadel knows which function owns the
variable. They can be used before they are declared, because
Citadel sets aside space for the variables when it loads the
script: by the time it is running, all variables that will
ever exist already exist.
When using variables, Citadel automatically converts their
type as appropriate for how you are using them. For example,
if you assign an Integer variable with the value 30 to a
String variable, the string will contain the text "30".
Similarly, if you assign a String variable containing the
text "130" to an Integer variable, then the Integer variable
will contain the value 130.
Functions
Script functions have a name, can take parameters, and
return a value. Like variables, all functions defined in a
script file must begin with the underscore ("_") character.
They may take up to five parameters, passed either by value
or by reference. The type of value returned can be any of
the types allowed for variables, or an additional type Void
which means that it returns no value. The return value is
placed in the _Result variable.
Functions are declared with the #FUNC script command. This
is followed by the function name, its return type, then any
parameters the function uses, the type followed by the name.
Parameters are passed by value by default. If you wish to
pass parameters by reference, append a _R to the end of the
parameter's type.
For example, the following line in a script file would
declare a function _Myfunc that returns an integer, and
takes a long value passed by value named _Param1 and a
Boolean value passed by reference named _Param2:
#FUNC _MyFunc Integer Long _Param1 Boolean_R _Param2
When calling a function that takes a parameter by reference,
you must call it with a variable: trying to pass it an
immediate value will generate a run-time error, as Citadel
cannot pass these by reference (as there is no variable to
reference).
Return from functions using the #RET script command,
followed by the value to return. If the function has no
return value (that is, it was declared as Void), use "#RET
Void" to return from the function. Though it is not
required, you may end a function's definition using the
#ENDFUNC type. It is not required because Citadel ends a
function automatically at the end of the file, or when it
finds a new function defined with the #FUNC command. It just
looks cleaner to have the end defined.
In addition to functions that are be defined in a script
file, Citadel provides many internal functions that allow
script files to get and set Citadel's settings, communicate
with the user, manipulate files, etc. These functions don't
start with an underscore ("_") character, and never take
parameters by reference. They are detailed later in the
"Citadel internal functions" topic.
Script keywords
The following is an alphabetical list of all the keywords
used in the script files, and what they do:
#ASGN _variable value
This is used to assign a value to a variable.
_variable is any user-defined variable that is in
scope. value is any value you wish to assign to
it, either an immediate value or another variable.
Citadel automatically casts value to _variable's
type. This means, for example, that you can assign
an integer variable to a string variable; Citadel
internally converts the integer variable to a base
10 string representation of the variable and
assigns that value to the string.
#ADD value1 value2 [value3 ...]
This adds all the values together and assigns the
sum to _Result. All the values are interpreted as
longs, and the result is given as a long.
#AND value1 value2 [value3...]
This performs a Boolean AND on all specified values
(interpreted as Boolean values) and assigns the
result to _Result. A Boolean AND returns TRUE if
all parameters are TRUE; it returns FALSE if any
one of the parameters are FALSE.
#CALL function [param1 ...]
This calls a function, which can be either a
function defined in the script file or a Citadel
internal function. If the function takes
parameters, they should be placed after the
function's name.
#CHAIN script
This executes the script specified by the string
value script. When the other script returns,
execution ceases in the current script.
#DIV value1 value2 [value3 ...]
This divides value1 by value2, and divides the
quotient by value3 if it exists, then divides that
quotient by value4 if it exists, etc. All values
are interpreted as longs, and the resulting
quotient is assigned to _Result as a long.
#DO
This begins a #DO... #LOOP or #DO...#LOOPNOT loop.
The #DO is just a place holder, and does no
processing by itself. When the associated #LOOP or
#LOOPNOT command is encountered, Citadel returns
to this #DO command if it is appropriate; see
#LOOP and #LOOPNOT.
#ELSE
This begins an #ELSE block of an #IF... #ELSE...
#ENDIF or #IFNOT...#ELSE...#ENDIF command block.
Any commands from this #ELSE to the #ENDIF are
executed if the #IF expression evaluates to FALSE
or the #IFNOT expression evaluated to TRUE; see
#IF and #IFNOT.
#ENDFUNC
This command ends a function definition. As
explained in the "Functions" section, this is not
required, it just looks neater.
#ENDIF
This ends an #IF... #ELSE... #ENDIF or
#IFNOT...#ELSE...#ENDIF command block. Processing
continues after this command as normal.
#EQ value1 value2
This tests value1 for equality with value2. At
least one of the two values must be a variable
expression, so Citadel knows what type to evaluate
them as. (Besides, comparing two constants is just
silly.) If both values are variables, Citadel
evaluates them both as the type of the first
variable. This command assigns _Result a Boolean
value of TRUE (if the values are equal) or FALSE
(if they are not).
#EXIT result
This exits the script immediately and returns
control to Citadel. result is evaluated as a
Boolean value and is passed back to Citadel.
Citadel only looks at this value if it was called
as a #DO COMMAND cron type; if result is TRUE,
then Citadel considers the event to be a success,
else it considers it a failure.
#FUNC _name rettype [type1 _name1... type5 _name5]
This marks the beginning of a function definition.
The function's name is given by _name, and must
start with an underscore ("_") character. rettype
must be Boolean, Integer, UInteger, Long, ULong,
String[length], or VOID. The function can take up
to five parameters. Any parameters must have a
type and a name, which must start with the
underscore ("_") character. Parameters are passed
by value by default; to pass them by reference,
append a _R to their type. (For example, Integer_R
will pass an Integer type by reference.)
#GE value1 value2
This tests if value1 is greater than or equal to
value2. At least one of the two values must be a
variable expression, so Citadel knows what type to
evaluate them as. (Besides, comparing two
constants is just silly.) If both values are
variables, Citadel evaluates them both as the type
of the first variable. This command assigns
_Result a Boolean value of TRUE (if value1 is
greater than or equal to value2) or FALSE (if it
is not).
#GOTO label
This transfers control to the #LABEL command
corresponding to label. This jump cannot be
between functions.
#GT value1 value2
This tests if value1 is greater than value2. At
least one of the two values must be a variable
expression, so Citadel knows what type to evaluate
them as. (Besides, comparing two constants is just
silly.) If both values are variables, Citadel
evaluates them both as the type of the first
variable. This command assigns _Result a Boolean
value of TRUE (if value1 is greater than value2)
or FALSE (if it is not).
#GVAR type _name
This creates a global variable called _name of
type type. _name must start with an underscore
character ("_") and type must be one of: Boolean,
Integer, UInteger, Long, ULong, or String[length].
Global variables can be accessed anywhere in the
script file.
#IF expression
This initiates an #IF... #ELSE... #ENDIF command
block. expression is interpreted as a Boolean
value. If it is TRUE, then execution starts at the
command following the #IF and continues until an
#ELSE or #ENDIF is found. If expression is FALSE,
then execution starts at the command following an
#ELSE or #ENDIF.
#IFNOT expression
This initiates an #IFNOT... #ELSE... #ENDIF
command block. expression is interpreted as a
Boolean value. If it is FALSE, then execution
starts at the command following the #IFNOT and
continues until an #ELSE or #ENDIF is found. If
expression is TRUE, then execution starts at the
command following an #ELSE or #ENDIF.
#LABEL label
This is a place holder for the #GOTO command. It
is named label, which is that same label to give
the #GOTO command to jump to this location; see
#GOTO.
#LOOP expression
This ends a #DO... #LOOP loop. expression is
evaluated as a Boolean value. If it is TRUE, then
execution loops back to the #DO that started the
loop. If it is FALSE, then execution passes to the
command following the #LOOP command.
#LOOPNOT expression
This ends a #DO... #LOOPNOT loop. expression is
evaluated as a Boolean value. If it is FALSE, then
execution loops back to the #DO that started the
loop. If it is TRUE, then execution passes to the
command following the #LOOPNOT command.
#LE value1 value2
This tests if value1 is less than or equal to
value2. At least one of the two values must be a
variable expression, so Citadel knows what type to
evaluate them as. (Besides, comparing two
constants is just silly.) If both values are
variables, Citadel evaluates them both as the type
of the first variable. This command assigns
_Result a Boolean value of TRUE (if value1 is less
than or equal to value2) or FALSE (if it is not).
#LT value1 value2
This tests if value1 is less than value2. At least
one of the two values must be a variable
expression, so Citadel knows what type to evaluate
them as. (Besides, comparing two constants is just
silly.) If both values are variables, Citadel
evaluates them both as the type of the first
variable. This command assigns _Result a Boolean
value of TRUE (if value1 is less than value2) or
FALSE (if it is not).
#LVAR type _name
This creates a local variable called _name of type
type. _name must start with an underscore
character ("_") and type must be one of: Boolean,
Integer, UInteger, Long, ULong, or String[length].
Local variables can only be accessed in the
function that they are defined in.
#MOD value1 value2 [value3 ...]
This divides value1 by value2, and divides the
remainder by value3 if it exists, then divides
that remainder by value4 if it exists, etc. All
values are interpreted as longs, and the resulting
remainder is given as a long.
#MUL value1 value2 [value3 ...]
This multiplies all the values together and
assigns the product to _Result. All the values are
interpreted as longs, and the result is a long.
#NE value1 value2
This tests value1 for inequality with value2. At
least one of the two values must be a variable
expression, so Citadel knows what type to evaluate
them as. (Besides, comparing two constants is just
silly.) If both values are variables, Citadel
evaluates them both as the type of the first
variable. This command assigns _Result a Boolean
value of TRUE (if the values are not equal) or
FALSE (if they are).
#OR value1 value2 [value3...]
This performs a Boolean OR on all specified values
(interpreted as Boolean values) and assigns the
result to _Result. A Boolean OR returns TRUE if
any one the parameters is TRUE; it returns FALSE
if all parameters are FALSE.
#RET [value]
This returns from a function. If the function has
a return type, value gives the value to return,
and is evaluated as the type that the function is
defined to return. If the function does not have a
return type, use Void as value.
#RUN script
This executes the script script. When the other
script returns, execution continues in the current
script with the next instruction.
#STR code string1 [string2 ...]
The action of this command depends on code, which
can be one of the following:
B Return the sub-string of string1 starting at
character position string2 (interpreted as an
integer, not a string) and going for string3
(interpreted as an integer, not a string)
characters.
U Return string1 as all upper case.
L Return string2 as all lower case.
C Concatenate all strings.
S Return the size allocated to string1.
E Return the length of string1.
PR Pad string1 to string2 (interpreted as an
integer, not a string) characters with spaces
on the right.
PL Pad string1 to string2 (interpreted as an
integer, not a string) characters with spaces
on the left.
#SUB value1 value2 [value3 ...]
This subtracts value2 from value1, then subtracts
value3 from the difference if it exists, then
subtracts value4 from that difference if it
exists, etc. All values are interpreted as longs,
and the resulting difference is given as a long.
#VERSION version
This checks the version of Citadel that is
running. If version specifies a version newer than
the running version, then Citadel will not execute
the script. This is checked at load-time, so it
does not matter where #VERSION is placed in the
file: if it is found, then the script will never
begin execution. version is a numeric
representation of the version of Citadel that is
running generating by multiplying the version
number and 1000 then adding the compile number.
#WEND
This ends a #WHILE... #WEND or #WHILENOT...#WEND
loop. If the expression given in the #WHILE
command is TRUE or the #WHILENOT command is FALSE,
command execution returns to the command after the
#WHILE or #WHILENOT command, else it continues
with the command after the #WEND.
#WHILE expression
This begins a #WHILE... #WEND loop. If expression
evaluates to be TRUE, command execution continues
to the command after the #WHILE command. If it is
FALSE, then command execution jumps to the command
after the #WEND command.
#WHILENOT expression
This begins a #WHILENOT... #WEND loop. If expression
evaluates to be FALSE, command execution continues
to the command after the #WHILENOT command. If it
is TRUE, then command execution jumps to the
command after the #WEND command.
#XOR value1 value2 [value3...]
This performs a Boolean XOR on all specified
values (interpreted as Booleans) and assigns the
result to _Result. A Boolean XOR returns TRUE if
one and only one the parameters is TRUE; it
returns FALSE if either no parameter is TRUE or if
more than one parameter is TRUE.
Debugging
The script interpreter provides a source-level debugger with
integrated profiler. To run a script with the debugger
active, append an asterisk to the end of the file name when
giving Citadel the name of the script to execute. You may
also activate the debugger on a currently running script by
placing Citadel in debug mode (this can be done almost any
time when Citadel is running by using the Alt+D keystroke).
Note that Citadel has to be placed into debug mode while the
script is running; if Citadel is already in debug mode when
the script starts, it will not load the debugger. If you
want to start using the debugger in this case press Alt+D
twice, to turn it off and then back on.
When the debugger first starts, it gives you the main
debugger message window. Citadel places all debugging
messages into this window. (It uses a window so it does not
interfere with the output of the script, in the main TTY
window.) The debugger has two other windows that it can
display if you tell it to: a watch window (which keeps track
of the values of any variables you tell it to) and a source
window (which displays your script file, and tells which
line is currently being executed).
Like all of Citadel's windowing functions, you can tell if a
window has focus (that is, will receive any keyboard
commands you provide) by looking at its border: if there is
a double line, then it has focus. If there is no window with
a double line, and the cursor is visible in the TTY window,
then no window has focus, and all keyboard commands will be
sent to the TTY window. To switch between TTY and window
modes, use Ctrl+F2 (or just click in the desired area with
the mouse, if you have one). This is important with the
script debugger because you must make sure that a debugger
window has the input focus before you try to use a debugger
command, else the keystrokes will be sent to the script for
processing.
Before it executes a command, the debugger displays the line
number in its main window. Once it has executed the command,
it displays how many milliseconds it took, the total time it
has spent on that command while executing the script, the
total number of times the command has been executed, and the
average time it has spent executing that command.
While any of the three debugging windows has the input
focus, any of the following command keys are active:
space Single-step. If the script is currently
paused, this will execute a single instruction and
then pause the script again.
B Breakpoint. You will be prompted for a line
number. If there is currently a breakpoint set on
that line, it will be cleared. If there is not a
breakpoint set on that line, it will be added.
When the script interpreter reaches a breakpoint,
it pauses script execution, so you are able to
examine the current state of the script.
Breakpoints are identified in the source code
window by using a different color to display the
line number.
E Examine. This lets you examine the value of any
variable. You are prompted for the name of the
variable, then the debugger displays the value in
the message window.
P Pause. This pauses the currently running script.
Q Quit. This quits the debugger, leaving the script
to continue normally.
S Source. This opens a source window. The current
execution line is displayed in a different color
than the other lines. Line numbers are also given
for each line; lines with breakpoints set are in a
different color. If the script is paused, you may
use the Cursor Up and Cursor Down keys to scroll
through the source, or the Cursor Home key to
bring the current execution line into the window.
U Un-pause. This resumes the execution of a
currently paused script.
W Watch. This prompts for a variable, then adds it
to the watch window (if it is not already in it),
or removes it (if it is). If this is the first
variable added to the watch window, then the
window is created. If this is the last variable
removed from the watch window, then the window is
destroyed.
X Exit. This quits the debugger, and aborts the
script's execution. Use this if you see that your
script has worked itself into an endless loop, or
otherwise is not functioning properly.
Citadel internal functions by name
The following internal functions are currently available.
More will be added in subsequent versions of Citadel.
AddCommasToNumber number
This adds commas as thousands separators to
number. number is evaluated as a long and the
result is given as a string. If the current user
has show commas turned off in .Enter Configuration
(.EC), then this has no effect.
AddDupCheck string
This adds the string specified by the string value
string to the duplicate checking data. This
function returns a Boolean value: TRUE if it was
successful; FALSE if not (which means Citadel is
out of memory).
To use the duplicate checking functions, start by
calling StartDupCheck, which initializes the
checking data structures. Then add strings with
AddDupCheck. Use CheckForDup to see if a string
has been added. When you are finished, call
StopDupCheck to free up the memory used by the
duplicate checking.
AddNetIDToNetIDCit netid comment
This adds a Net ID to NETID.CIT. netid is a string
value specifying the Net ID to add. comment is a
string value specifying the comment to give the
Net ID. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the
Net ID could be added to NETID.CIT; FALSE if not.
AddUser username groupname
This adds a user to a group. username is a string
expression giving the user's name and groupname is
a string expression giving the group's name.
AddWatch variable
This sets a watch of variable variable in the
script debugger. This can be tricky: you cannot
merely use:
#CALL AddWatch _Variable
To add a watch of _Variable, because the value of
_Variable will be used. The trick is to use the
sub-string command, like this:
#STR B x_Variable 1 99
#CALL AddWatch _Result
This makes the value of _Result be "_Variable"
which is then passed to AddWatch.
This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the
watch could be added, or FALSE if it could not
(either because Citadel is out of memory or
because the script debugger is not currently
active; see SetDebugScript).
AppendToNetCommandReply string1 [string2...]
This adds text to the network command reply
message. This function is only valid in scripts
called in response to a network command, as set by
#NETCOMMAND in EXTERNAL.CIT; if used in any other
script, it has no effect. This appends all
specified string values to the message, with no
space in between, so be sure to include any spaces
or new lines that you wish to have in the reply
message.
ASCIIToChar asciivalue
This converts an integer to a character having
that ASCII value. asciivalue is the integer to
convert, and the result is given as a single
character long string.
AskYN prompt default
This prompts the user to answer a Yes/No (and
sometimes Abort) question. prompt is a string
expression giving the question (without a "?"
following it; that is added by AskYN). default is
an integer expression that takes the following
form:
0 Yes/No; Default no
1 Yes/No; Default yes
2 Yes/No/Abort; Default abort
3 Yes/No/Abort; Default no
4 Yes/No/Abort; Default yes
This function returns an integer result: 0 for No;
1 for Yes; and 2 for Abort.
ChangeDir pathname
This changes the current directory (and drive) to
that given by pathname. If pathname is omitted,
this changes to #HOMEPATH as set in CONFIG.CIT.
CharToASCII charvalue
This converts the first character of the string
given by charvalue to its ASCII value, and returns
that as an Integer.
Chat
This function enters into chat mode. No checking
is done whether chat is on or off or if the
current user has chat disabled.
ChatReq ring internalchat
This rings the chat bell, even if chat is disabled for
the entire system or the current user. ring is a
Boolean expression that is TRUE to ring the bell
(if bells are enabled) or FALSE to not ring the
bell (even if bells are enabled). internalchat is
a Boolean expression that is TRUE to enter
internal chat mode if the sysop responds to the
page, and FALSE to not enter internal chat mode if
the sysop responds to the page. This function
returns a Boolean result: FALSE if the sysop does
not respond, TRUE if the sysop does respond.
CheckForDup string
This checks the string specified by the string
value string to see if it has been added to the
duplicate checking data with AddDupCheck. This
function returns a Boolean value: TRUE if string
is a duplicate (that is, it has been added with
AddDupCheck); FALSE if not.
To use the duplicate checking functions, start by
calling StartDupCheck, which initializes the
checking data structures. Then add strings with
AddDupCheck. Use CheckForDup to see if a string
has been added. When you are finished, call
StopDupCheck to free up the memory used by the
duplicate checking.
CheckUserOutControl pause
Calling this lets the user use the Jump (J), Next
(N), Stop (S), and Pause (P), commands. If your
script is displaying text, then you don't need to
call this, as the text output functions handle
this for you. pause is a Boolean value: TRUE if
you want Citadel to pause for the user (and
display the more prompt), or FALSE if you just
want it to check for user input. It is a good idea
to place this in a loop where the script may be
busy for a while but not display anything to the
user, so the user can abort out of the loop. Use
the IsCanOutput function afterwards to see if the
user has tried to abort the loop: it will return
FALSE if Stop was pressed.
ClearBreakPoint lineno
This clears the breakpoint at lineno in the script
debugger. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the breakpoint could be cleared; FALSE if
it could not (it either was not set, or the script
debugger was not active; see SetDebugScript).
CloseFile filenumber
This closes a file opened by the script file.
filenumber is an integer value representing which
file to close.
CountDirectory
This counts the number of files in the last loaded
directory and returns the value as an Integer. See
GetDirectory.
DebuggingMsg message
This outputs a message given by the string value
message to the main debugging window if the script
debugger is active. If it is not active, then this
does nothing.
DecToHex number [digits]
This converts number to a string representation of the
number in hexadecimal (base 16) using capital
letters A-Z. The optional parameter digits is
interpreted as an integer and gives the minimum
number of digits to have in the hexadecimal
string; if there are fewer digits than specified,
then the string is padded on the left with zeros.
DeleteFile filename
This deletes the file specified by the string
value filename. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the file was deleted; FALSE if it
was not (most likely because the file didn't
exist).
Dial phonenum timeout
This dials the phone number given by phonenum and
waits for a connection. The user may abort the
dial by pressing a key. If no carrier is detected
within timeout seconds, the dial is aborted.
Note: phonenum can be more than just the phone number.
This is appended to #DIAL_PREF as set in CONFIG.CIT,
and output to the modem, followed by a carriage return
(ASCII 13). So, assuming a Hayes-compatible modem, if
#DIAL_PREF is set to just "AT", then phonenum has to
include a "D" in addition to the phone number. See your
modem manual for more information on modem commands.
DirectoryGetName index
This gets the name of the file in position index
(starting at 1) in the last directory read by
GetDirectory and returns it as a string value.
DirectoryGetSize index
This gets the size of the file in position index
(starting at 1) in the last directory read by
GetDirectory and returns it as a long value.
DirectoryGetTime index
This gets the time and date of the file in
position index (starting at 1) in the last
directory read by GetDirectory and returns it as a
long value.
DiskFree drive
This function checks the free disk space on a
specified drive and returns it as a long. drive is
a string expression, the first character of which
is interpreted as the disk to check. Use @ to
check the default drive.
DoCCR
This sends a CR/LF to the console, but not the
modem.
DoChat
This rings the chat bell only if chat is turned on
for the system and the current user. ring is a
Boolean expression that is TRUE to ring the bell
(if bells are enabled) or FALSE to not ring the
bell (even if bells are enabled). internalchat is
a Boolean expression that is TRUE to enter
internal chat mode if the sysop responds to the
page, and FALSE to not enter internal chat mode if
the sysop responds to the page. This function
returns a Boolean result: FALSE if the sysop does
not respond, TRUE if the sysop does respond.
DoCR
This sends a CR/LF to the console and modem.
DoNetwork node
This tells Citadel to network with the node
specified (either by name or by address) by the
string value node. This returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the network was successful, or FALSE if it
failed for any reason.
DumpDirectory
This releases the memory used by the last
GetDirectory function.
DumpF filename format
This dumps the file specified by filename to the
user. format is a Boolean value that tells Citadel
if it should apply its screen formatting to the
file.
DumpFC filename format
This dumps the file specified by filename to the
console only. format is a Boolean value that tells
Citadel if it should apply its screen formatting
to the file.
ExitCitadel resultcode
This exits Citadel. Execution of the script stops
when this function is called. (Since Citadel
itself exits, of course.) resultcode is an integer
value that sets the return code of Citadel, which
can be accessed by the ERRORLEVEL variable in MS-
DOS batch files.
FileEOF filenumber
This tests the file referenced by filenumber to
see if its end has been reached. This returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the end of the file has
been reached; FALSE if not.
FileExists filename
This tests whether the file specified by filename
exists on disk. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the file exists; FALSE if not.
FindHallByName name [partial]
This searches for a hall with the name name. The
optional partial is a Boolean value which
specifies that the search should include partial
hall names. If TRUE, then partial names are
included; if FALSE or not present, then only full
matches are accepted. If the search is successful,
then the hall index is returned as an integer
value; if it is unsuccessful, then the value -1 is
returned.
FindNodeByName name
This searches for a node with the name name. name
can be either the address or full name of the node
(no partial searches are allowed). If the search
is successful, then the log table slot of the node
is returned as an integer value; if unsuccessful,
then the value -1 is returned.
FindRoomByName roomname partial
This finds the room index of a room when given a name
to search for. roomname is a string value giving
the name of the room to search for and partial is
a Boolean value: TRUE if partial matches are
acceptable; FALSE if an exact match is desired.
The room index is returned as an integer value. If
no match is found, the return value is -1 (an
invalid room index).
FindRoomByNetID netid network
This finds the room index of a room when given a
Net ID to search for. netid is a string value
giving the Net ID to search for. network is a
Boolean value: TRUE if the room must be networked
to be considered a match; FALSE if not. The room
index is returned as an integer value. If no match
is found, the return value is -1 (an invalid room
index).
FindUserByName username partial
This finds the log table index of a user when
given a name to search for. username is a string
value giving the name of the user to search for
and partial is a Boolean value: TRUE if partial
matches are acceptable; FALSE if an exact match is
desired. The user's position in the log table is
returned as an Integer value. If no match is
found, the return value is -1 (an invalid room
index).
Note that users move around in the log table
whenever a user logs in, so you cannot rely on a
user always occupying the same location in the log
table. Also, the position in the log table does
not correspond to the position in the log file
(which does stay constant): use GetLTLogSlot to
find the position in the log file based on
position in the log table.
GetAccounting
This checks to see if accounting is enabled for
the system. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if accounting is enabled for the system,
FALSE if it is not.
GetAideChatHour hour
This checks to see if the .Aide Chat (.AC) command
is enabled for a specific hour. hour is an integer
value from 0 to 23 representing the hour to check.
This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE if
.Aide Chat is allowed for the hour specified,
FALSE if it is not.
GetAideHall
This checks to see if aides who are not sysops are
allowed to use the .Aide Hall (.AH) and .Aide
Window (.AW) commands, as specified by the
#AIDEHALL CONFIG.CIT keyword. This function
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the commands are
allowed for aides who are not sysops, and FALSE if
the are not.
GetAideModerate
This checks to see if aides who are not sysops are
allowed to moderate moderated rooms as set by the
#MODERATE CONFIG.CIT keyword. This function
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if aides who are not
sysops are allowed to moderate moderated rooms,
FALSE if they are not.
GetAlias
This function gets the current node's alias. It is
returned as a string value.
GetAnonAuthor
This function gets the #ANONAUTHOR as set in
CONFIG.CIT. It is returned as a string value.
GetApplPath
This function gets the #APPLICATIONS path as set
in CONFIG.CIT. It is returned as a string value.
GetAttr
This function gets the console default attribute
as set by #ATTR in CONFIG.CIT. It is returned as
an integer value.
GetAutoANSI
This function returns the current setting of
#AUTOANSI in CONFIG.CIT. It is returned as an
integer value.
GetBAttr
This function gets the console's border attribute
as set by #BATTR in CONFIG.CIT. It is returned as
an integer value.
GetBells
This function returns the current state of bells
on the system as an integer value. The possible
values are:
0 Bells on
1 Bells are on for the chat page only
2 Bells are never on.
GetBIOS
This function returns whether BIOS is being used
to display screen output as set by #BIOS in
CONFIG.CIT. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if BIOS is being used for screen output,
FALSE if it is not.
GetBorder number
This function returns a border, as set by the
.Enter Border (.EB) command. number is an integer
value specifying which border to get. The border
is returned as a string value. See GetMaxBorders
for the limit of number.
GetCallNo
This function returns the current call number to
the system. It is returned as a long.
GetCAttr
This function returns the attribute used in chat
mode, as set by #CATTR in CONFIG.CIT. The value is
returned as an integer.
GetChatOn
This function returns whether chat is on for the
system or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if chat is on; FALSE if it is not.
GetCheckCTS
This functions returns whether CTS is being
checked when sending characters to the modem, as
set by #CHECKCTS in CONFIG.CIT. This function
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if CTS is being
checked; FALSE if it is not.
GetCit86Country
This returns #CIT86COUNTRY as set in CONFIG.CIT.
GetCit86Domain
This returns #CIT86DOMAIN as set in CONFIG.CIT.
GetColors
This function checks to see if colors are allowed
everywhere on the system, as set by #TWIT_FEATURES
COLORS in CONFIG.CIT. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if colors are allowed
everywhere; FALSE if they are not.
GetCommentOfNetIDInNetIDCit netid
This gets the comment of a Net ID from NETID.CIT.
netid is a string value giving the Net ID to find
the comment of. This function returns a string
value: the comment of the Net ID.
GetConnectRate
This function checks the current connect rate
between the modems. The rate is returned as a
long, from 300 to 115,200.
GetConnectWait
This function checks if Citadel waits after a
connection is made before sending data to the
modem, as set by #CONNECTWAIT in CONFIG.CIT. This
function returns an integer value: the number of
seconds to wait.
GetContextSensitiveText
This returns text, which may be different
depending on when it is called. Currently, the
only possible thing to be returned is the last
string the user entered in small chat. Use it in
conjunction with #EVENT SMALLCHAT.
GetCountBeep
This function checks to see if Citadel beeps when
doing a countdown timer until hanging up, as set
by #COUNTBEEP in CONFIG.CIT. This function returns
a Boolean value: TRUE if Citadel beeps while
counting down and FALSE if it does not.
GetCreditNym
This function returns the name of a single credit
on the system, as set by #CREDIT_NYM in
CONFIG.CIT. The name is returned as a string
value.
GetCreditsNym
This function returns the name of credits on the
system, as set by #CREDIT_NYM in CONFIG.CIT. The
name is returned as a string value.
GetCurrentTime
This gets the current time and returns the value
as a long. This value is the number of seconds
since 12:00AM, January 1, 1970, GMT. (This is how
Citadel stores time.)
GetDebugSystem
This function returns whether Citadel is in debug
mode as a Boolean value: TRUE if debug mode is
active; FALSE if not.
GetDefDateStamp
This function returns the date stamp for unlogged-
in users. It is returned as a string value.
GetDefNetPrefix
This function returns the net prefix for unlogged-
in users. It is returned as a string value.
GetDefRPrompt
This function returns the room prompt for unlogged-
in users. It is returned as a string value.
GetDefVDateStamp
This function returns the verbose date stamp for
unlogged-in users. It is returned as a string
value.
GetDialMacro index
This function returns the string used for a dial
out mode keyboard macro. index gives the key to
look up, as per the following table:
index Function Key
1 - 12 F1 through F12
13 - 24 Alt+F1 through Alt+F12
25 - 36 Shift+F1 through Shift+F12
37 - 48 Control+F1 through Control+F12
The macro is returned as a string value.
GetDialPref
This returns the dialing prefix, as set by
#DIAL_PREF in CONFIG.CIT. It is returned as a
string value.
GetDialRing
This returns what is sent to the modem in response
to a RING, as set by #DIALRING in CONFIG.CIT. It
is returned as a string value.
GetDialSetup
This returns what is sent to the modem to set it
up for dialing out, either when networking or when
going into dial out mode. It is returned as a
string value.
GetDirectory path mask sortby reverse
This reads an MS-DOS directory of files. path is a
string value that gives the name of the
subdirectory to load. If path is an empty string,
then the current subdirectory is used. mask is a
wildcard expression that specifies which files to
load. UNIX-style wildcards are allowed here, not
just DOS-style, so you can specify something like
"[aeiou]*.*" to search for all files that start
with a vowel. sortby is an integer value: 0 to not
sort the directory; 1 to sort it by name; or 2 to
sort it by date. reverse is a Boolean value: FALSE
to sort from lowest to highest; TRUE to sort from
highest to lowest.
GetDirPath
This returns what path is used as a default room
path, as set by #DIRPATH in CONFIG.CIT. It is
returned as a string value.
GetDiskFree
This returns the minimum amount of space Citadel
is to try to keep free on disk, as set by
#DISKFREE in CONFIG.CIT. It is returned as a long
value.
GetDLPath
This returns what path is used for incoming Net
6.9 file transfers, as set by #DLPATH in
CONFIG.CIT. It is returned as a string value.
GetDownShift
This returns what is sent to the modem when
#DUMB_MODEM is set to 6 to go back on-line after
going into command mode and switching speeds. It
is returned as a string value.
GetDumbModem
This returns the #DUMB_MODEM value from CONFIG.CIT
which determines how Citadel is to detect and deal
with different modem speeds. It is returned as an
integer value.
GetEnterName
This returns what the user is asked for when
entering his name when first logging in, as set by
#ENTER_NYM in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
string value.
GetEnterOK
This returns whether unlogged-in users are allowed
to leave messages, as set by #ENTEROK in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a Boolean value:
TRUE if unlogged-in users may enter messages, and
FALSE if they may not.
GetEnterSur
This returns whether users may enter their own surname,
as set in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
Boolean value: TRUE if users may enter their own
surname, and FALSE if they may not.
GetExpire
This returns the current setting of #EXPIRE in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as an integer.
GetF6Pass
This returns the current F6 password as set in
CONFIG.CIT. It is returned as a string value.
GetFileBufSize
This returns the current size of the MSG.DAT file
buffer as set in CONFIG.CIT. It is returned as an
integer value.
GetForceLogin
This returns whether users are forced to log in
when they first call, as set by #FORCELOGIN in
CONFIG.CIT. It is returned as a Boolean value:
TRUE if users are forced to log in, and FALSE if
they are not.
GetForwardSys
This returns if mail to "Sysop" is forwarded to
the user specified by #SYSOP in CONFIG.CIT. It is
returned as a Boolean value: TRUE if mail is to be
forwarded, and FALSE if it is not.
GetFuelBarEmpty
This returns the character used to draw the empty
fuel bar when re-indexing MSG.DAT. This is
returned as an integer value.
GetFuelBarFull
This returns the character used to draw the full
fuel bar when re-indexing MSG.DAT. This is
returned as an integer value.
GetGrpDesc group
This returns a group's description. group is an
index specifying which group to extract the
description from. This is returned as a string
value.
GetGrpName group
This returns a group's name. group is an index
specifying which group to extract the name from.
This is returned as a string value.
GetGrpSlot name
This returns the index of the group named by name.
This is returned as an integer value. A return
value of -1 means that the named group does not
exist.
GetHallDesc hall
This returns a hall's description. hall is an
index specifying which hall to extract the
description from. This is returned as a string
value.
GetHallGroup hall
This returns a hall's group. hall is an index
specifying which hall to get the group for. The
group's index is returned as an integer. This
returns a value even if the hall is not group-
only; use IsHallGrp to check that the hall is
group-only first.
GetHallName hall
This returns a hall's name. hall is an index
specifying which hall to extract the name from.
This is returned as a string value.
GetHangUp
This returns the string sent to hang up the modem,
if #DUMB_MODEM 6 is in use. This is returned as a
string value.
GetHangupDelay
This returns the amount of time to spend after
dropping DTR to hang up the modem before raising
it again, in seconds. This is returned as an
integer value. If a 0 is returned, Citadel still
waits a half second.
GetHelpPath
This returns the help path, as set by #HELPPATH in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a string value.
GetHelpPath2
This returns the secondary help path, as set by
#HELPPATH2 in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
string value.
GetHomePath
This returns Citadel's home path, as set by
#HOMEPATH in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
string value.
GetIdleTimeout
This returns the idle time out, which is the
number of minutes that Citadel will wait while
idle before attempting to execute a Cron event.
This is returned as an integer value.
GetInitBaud
This returns the speed that Citadel uses to
initialize the modem. It is returned as an integer
value, corresponding the following table:
0 300 baud
1 1,200 baud
2 2,400 baud
3 4,800 baud
4 9,600 baud
5 19,200 baud
6 38,400 baud
7 57,600 baud
8 115,200 baud
GetLApplication
This returns the path Citadel uses to look for
applications, as set by #APPLICPATH in CONFIG.CIT.
This is returned as a string value.
GetLClosedSys
This reports if the system is closed to new
callers, as set by #LOGIN CLOSED_SYSTEM in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a Boolean value:
TRUE if the system is closed and FALSE if it is
not.
GetLCreate
This reports if new accounts are being accepted
from remote, as set by #LOGIN NEW_ACCOUNTS in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a Boolean value:
TRUE if new accounts are allowed, FALSE if they
are not.
GetLogExtDir
This returns the directory for log extensions
(LE_*.DAT files) as set by #LOGEXTDIR in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a string value.
GetLQuestionnaire
This reports if new users are asked for user
information (name, phone number, etc.) when
logging in, as set by #LOGIN QUESTIONS. This is
returned as a Boolean value: TRUE if questions are
asked, FALSE if no questions are asked.
GetLSysMsg
This reports if new users are required to send a
message to the sysop, as set by #LOGIN
SYSOP_MESSAGE in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
Boolean value: TRUE if a message to sysop is
required, FALSE if it is not.
GetLTAide index
This returns whether a user is an aide or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
log table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user is an aide, and FALSE if not.
GetLTAlias index
This returns a user's alias. index is an integer
value indexing a slot in the log table. This
function returns the alias as a string value.
GetLTCallNo index
This returns a user's last call number. index is
an integer value indexing a slot in the log table.
This function returns the last call number as a
long value.
GetLTExpert index
This returns whether a user has expert mode turned
on or not. index is an integer value indexing a
slot in the log table. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user has expert mode
turned on, and FALSE if not.
GetLTInHash index
This returns a hash of the initials of a user.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
log table. This function returns the hash as an
integer value.
GetLTInuse index
This returns whether a log slot is in use or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
log table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the slot is in use, and FALSE if not.
GetLTLFMask index
This returns whether a user has line feeds turned
on or not. index is an integer value indexing a
slot in the log table. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user has line feeds
turned on, and FALSE if not.
GetLTLogSlot index
This returns a user's location in the log file.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
log table. This function returns the location in
LOG.DAT as an integer value.
GetLTName index
This returns a user's name. index is an integer
value indexing a slot in the log table. This
function returns the name as a string value.
GetLTNetUser index
This returns whether a user has network privileges
line or not. index is an integer value indexing a
slot in the log table. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user has network
privileges, and FALSE if not.
GetLTNoAccount index
This returns whether a user has accounting turned off
or not. index is an integer value indexing a slot
in the log table. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user has accounting turned off,
and FALSE if not.
GetLTNode index
This returns whether a user is a node or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
log table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user is a node, and FALSE if not.
GetLTNoMail index
This returns whether a user has mail turned off or
not. index is an integer value indexing a slot in
the log table. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user has mail turned off, and
FALSE if not.
GetLTOldToo index
This returns whether a user is set to read the
last old message on a new messages request. index
is an integer value indexing a slot in the log
table. This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the user has last old on new turned on, and
FALSE if not.
GetLTPermanent index
This returns whether a user has a permanent
account or not. index is an integer value indexing
a slot in the log table. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user has a permanent
account, and FALSE if not.
GetLTProblem index
This returns whether a user is a problem user or
not. index is an integer value indexing a slot in
the log table. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user is a problem user, and
FALSE if not.
GetLTPwHash index
This returns a hash of the password of a user.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
log table. This function returns the hash as an
integer value.
GetLTRegion index
This returns a user's region. This only makes
since for users that are nodes. index is an
integer value indexing a slot in the log table.
This function returns the region as a string
value.
GetLTRoomTell index
This returns whether a user has room descriptions
turned on or not. index is an integer value
indexing a slot in the log table. This function
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the user has room
descriptions turned on, and FALSE if not.
GetLTSysop index
This returns whether a user is a sysop or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
log table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user is a sysop, and FALSE if not.
GetLTTabs index
This returns whether a user has tabs turned on or
not. index is an integer value indexing a slot in
the log table. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user has tabs turned on, and
FALSE if not.
GetLTUCMask index
This returns whether a user has uppercase only
turned on or not. index is an integer value
indexing a slot in the log table. This function
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the user has
uppercase only turned on, and FALSE if not.
GetLTUnlisted index
This returns whether a user has an unlisted
account or not. index is an integer value indexing
a slot in the log table. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user has an unlisted
account, and FALSE if not.
GetLVerified index
This returns whether a user is verified or not. index
is an integer value indexing a slot in the log
table. This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the user is verified, and FALSE if not.
GetMaxBorders
This returns the maximum number of borders
allowed, as set by #MAXBORDERS in CONFIG.CIT. This
is returned as an integer value.
GetMaxFiles
This returns the maximum number of files allowed,
as set by #MAXFILES in CONFIG.CIT. This is
returned as an integer value.
GetMaxGroups
This returns the maximum number of groups allowed,
as set by #MAXGROUPS in CONFIG.CIT. This is
returned as an integer value.
GetMaxHalls
This returns the maximum number of halls allowed,
as set by #MAXHALLS in CONFIG.CIT. This is
returned as an integer value.
GetMaxJumpback
This returns the maximum number of Jumpbacks
allowed, as set by #MAXJUMPBACK in CONFIG.CIT.
This is returned as an integer value.
GetMaxLogTab
This returns the maximum number of log entries
allowed, as set by #MAXLOGTAB in CONFIG.CIT. This
is returned as an integer value.
GetMaxPoop
This returns the poopcount of the current
poopuser. This is returned as a long value.
GetMaxRooms
This returns the maximum number of rooms allowed,
as set by #MAXROOMS in CONFIG.CIT. This is
returned as an integer value.
GetMCIDate
This returns the string sent in response to ^AT if MCI
is turned off. This is returned as a string value.
GetMCIFirstName
This returns the string sent in response to ^An if
MCI is turned off. This is returned as a string
value.
GetMCIName
This returns the string sent in response to ^AN if
MCI is turned off. This is returned as a string
value.
GetMCIOn
This returns whether MCI is turned on with
#TWIT_FEATURES MCI or not. This is returned as a
Boolean value: TRUE if MCI is on, FALSE if it is
not.
GetMCIPoop
This returns the string sent in response to ^AP if
MCI is turned off. This is returned as a string
value.
GetMCITime
This returns the string sent in response to ^At if
MCI is turned off. This is returned as a string
value.
GetMData
This returns the serial port that the modem is
attached to. This is returned as an integer value
ranging from 1 to 4.
GetMessageK
This returns the size of the message base as set
by #MESSAGEK in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
long value.
GetMessageRoom
This returns the maximum number of messages
allowed in a single room per call for users who
are not aides or sysops. This is returned as an
integer value.
GetMinBaud
This returns the minimum baud rate that allowed to
connect with the board. This is returned as an
integer value as per the following table:
0 300 baud
1 1,200 baud
2 2,400 baud
3 4,800 baud
4 7,200 baud
5 9,600 baud
6 12,000 baud
7 14,400 baud
8 16,800 baud
9 19,200 baud
10 38,400 baud
11 57,600 baud
12 115,200 baud
13 230,400 baud
GetModemString [length]
This gets a string from the modem. The optional
integer value length specifies the number of
characters to retrieve. If it is not specified,
255 is used. This returns when a CR (ASCII 13) or
LF (ASCII 10) is received. If more than length
characters are received, the console user presses
a key, or more than three seconds pass, then this
returns an empty string.
GetModSetup
This returns the string sent to the modem to
initialize it as set by #MODSETUP in CONFIG.CIT.
This is returned as a string value.
GetModUnsetup
This returns the string sent to the modem to
deinitialize it as set by #MODUNSETUP in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as string value.
GetMorePrompt
This returns the string sent to the screen when
pausing, either because of full screen pause or
between messages if pause between messages is
turned on. This is returned as a string value.
GetMsgCompress
This returns whether the message base is being
compressed by Citadel or not. This is returned as
a Boolean value: TRUE if Citadel is compressing
the message base, FALSE if it is not.
GetMsgNym
This function returns the name of a single message
on the system, as set by #MESSAGE_NYM in
CONFIG.CIT or the .Aide Name messages (.AN)
command. The name is returned as a string value.
GetMsgPath
This returns the path Citadel uses to store the
message file, as set by #MSGPATH in CONFIG.CIT.
This is returned as a string value.
GetMsgsNym
This function returns the name of a messages on
the system, as set by #MESSAGE_NYM in CONFIG.CIT
or the .Aide Name messages (.AN) command. The name
is returned as a string value.
GetMsgVerb
This function returns verb used to describe saving
messages, as set by #MESSAGE_NYM in CONFIG.CIT or
the .Aide Name messages (.AN) command. The name is
returned as a string value.
GetMTOldest
This returns the message number of the oldest
message in the message table. This is returned as
a long value.
GetNetCommandText
This function returns the text of the network
command message as a string value. This is only
valid in scripts called to process network
commands as set in #NETCOMMAND in EXTERNAL.CIT: if
used in any other script, this returns an empty
string. This only retrieves the first 255
characters, as that is the maximum length of a
script string.
GetNetCommandTextToFile filename
This function writes the text of the network
command message to a text file specified by the
string value filename. This returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the text could be written to the
file, FALSE if not. This is only valid in scripts
called to process network commands as set in
#NETCOMMAND in EXTERNAL.CIT: if used in any other
script, this has no effect and returns FALSE. This
is useful for processing network command text over
255 characters in length: you can read the file as
needed.
GetNetID index
This returns the Net ID of a room. index is an
integer value indexing a slot in the room table.
The Net ID is returned as a string value.
GetNetMail
This returns whether net mail is always dumped in
the Mail room, or if Citadel is to try to find the
correct room for it. This is returned as a Boolean
value: TRUE if Citadel should try to find the
correct place for networked mail, FALSE if it
always places it in the Mail room.
GetNetSurnames
This returns whether surnames are displayed on
networked messages as set by #TWIT_FEATURES
NET_SURNAMES in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
Boolean value: TRUE if they are, FALSE if they are
not.
GetNetTitles
This returns whether titles are displayed on
networked messages as set by #TWIT_FEATURES
NET_TITLES in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
Boolean value: TRUE if they are, FALSE if they are
not.
GetNewest
This returns the message number of the newest
message on the system. This is returned as a long
value.
GetNewUserApp
This returns the application run when new users
log in. This is returned as a string value.
GetNMessages
This returns the maximum number of messages that
Citadel can keep track of, as set by #NMESSAGES in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a long value.
GetNodeCountry
This returns the country of the node, as set by
#NODECOUNTRY in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
string value.
GetNodeName
This returns the name of the node, as set by
#NODENAME in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
string value.
GetNodePhone
This returns the phone number of the node, as set by
#NODEPHONE in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
string value.
GetNodeRegion
This returns the region of the node, as set by
#NODEREGION in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
string value.
GetNodeSig
This returns the current signature of the node, as
set by #SIGNATURE in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned
as a string value.
GetNoPWEcho
This returns the value of #NOPWECHO in CONFIG.CIT.
This is returned as an integer value.
GetNumberOfMessages
This returns the total number of messages in the
message table as a long value.
GetOffHook
This returns whether the modem is placed off hook when
someone logs in local. This is returned as a
Boolean value: TRUE if Citadel places the modem
off hook when a user is logged-in on console,
FALSE if it does not.
GetOffHookStr
This returns the string sent to the modem to place
it off hook as set by #OFFHOOKSTR in CONFIG.CIT.
This is returned as a string value.
GetOldCount
This returns the number of messages Citadel calls
new for first-time callers. This is returned as an
integer value.
GetOldest
This returns the message number of the oldest
message in the message base. This might be older
than the oldest message in the message table if
#NMESSAGES is not set high enough. This is
returned as a long value.
GetOneKey prompt keys default label1 label2...
This prompts the user to enter a single key.
prompt is a string value that is displayed to the
user, followed by the valid choices then a
question mark. keys is a string value that gives
the valid responses. default is a string value
that gives the default key, for if the user
presses Enter. label1, label2, etc., are string
values that describe the choices.
When the valid choices are presented to the user,
Citadel uses the current user's expert setting: if
expert mode is on, then only the valid keys are
listed; if it is off, then the full labelx string
is displayed. The choice specified by default is
then displayed in brackets.
When a valid key is pressed by the user, Citadel
displays the labelx for that choice, and returns
an integer value which is the index of the key in
keys, starting at 0. If the user presses ESC, then
the value -1 is returned.
GetParam line index
This gets an individual parameter from a line of
multiple parameters. This uses the same algorithm
that Citadel uses when reading configuration files
like CONFIG.CIT. line is a string value, which is
the line of text that is to be parsed. index is an
integer value, from 1 up, which is the parameter
that is to be returned. The specified parameter is
returned as a string value.
GetParamCount line
This returns the total number of parameters on a
line of multiple parameters. line is a string
value that is counted. The total is returned as an
integer value.
GetPoop
This returns the setting of #POOP! in CONFIG.CIT.
This is returned as an integer value.
GetPoopUser
This returns the current poopuser. This is
returned as a string value.
GetPortRate
This returns the current port rate, which is the
speed that the computer is talking to the modem
at. This is returned as a long value, ranging from
300 to 115,200.
GetPrinter
This returns the current default printer file as
set with #PRINTER in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned
as a string value.
GetPrinterPrompt
This returns whether Citadel prompts for a file
name when Alt+P is used to capture output. This is
returned as a Boolean value: TRUE if Citadel
prompts for a file name, FALSE if it does not.
GetReadAll
This returns the current value of #READALL in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as an integer value.
GetReadLUser
This returns whether users can use the .Read Group-
only Userlog (.RGU) command. This is returned as a
Boolean value: TRUE if the command is allowed, and
FALSE if it is not.
GetReadOK
This returns whether unlogged-in users may read
messages, as set by #READOK in CONFIG.CIT. This is
returned as a Boolean value: TRUE if unlogged
users can use the Read commands, FALSE if they
cannot.
GetRestoreMode
This returns whether the screen is restored after
a shell. This is returned as a Boolean value: TRUE
if Citadel forces the screen mode back to the mode
before the shell and FALSE if it uses the new mode
set while shelled.
GetRoomBypass index
This tells if a specific room has been bypassed by
the user during this call. index is an integer
value that indexes the room in the room table.
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the room has
been bypassed this call, FALSE if it has not.
GetRoomDir
This returns the directory for the current room.
This may contain a return value even if the room
is not currently a directory room; use IsRoomDIR
first to verify that this is a directory room. The
room's directory is returned as a string value.
GetRoomEntered index
This gets the number of messages entered this call
in a room. index is an integer value indexing a
slot in the room table. The number of messages
entered in the room during this call is returned
as an integer.
GetRoomGroup index
This gets the group slot for a group-only room.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
room table. The group number is returned as an
integer value. Note that this function returns a
slot even if the room is not group-only; use
IsRoomGrpOnly to determine if the room is group-
only first.
GetRoomHasMail index
This tells if a specific room contains mail
waiting for the current user. index is an integer
value indexing a slot in the room table. This
function returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the user
has mail waiting in the specified room; FALSE if
he does not.
GetRoomHasOldMail index
This tells if a specific room contains old unread
mail of the current user. index is an integer
value indexing a slot in the room table. This
function returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the user
has unread old mail in the specified room; FALSE
if he does not.
GetRoomMsgs index
This returns the number of messages visible to the
current user in a room. index is an integer value
indexing a slot in the room table. The number of
messages visible to the current user in the
specified room is returned as a long value.
GetRoomName index
This returns the name of the specified room. index
is an integer value indexing a slot in the room
table. The name of the room is returned as a
string value.
GetRoomNew
This returns the number of new messages to the
current user in a room. index is an integer value
indexing a slot in the room table. The number of
new messages visible to the current user in the
specified room is returned as a long value.
GetRoomOK
This returns whether non-aide users can create
rooms using the .Enter Room (.ER) command. This is
returned as a Boolean value: TRUE if the command
is allowed for all users, FALSE if only aides can
use it.
GetRoomPath
This returns the path that Citadel searches for
room descriptions in. This is returned as a string
value.
GetRoomTotal index
This returns the total number of messages in a
room, visible to the current user or not. index is
an integer value indexing a slot in the room
table. The number of messages in the specified
room is returned as a long value.
GetRoomVisited index
This tells whether a room has been visited during
this call. index is an integer value indexing a
slot in the room table. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the room has been visited
this call, FALSE if it has not.
GetScreenSave code
This returns information about the current
settings of the screen saver. code is an integer
value telling what to tell about, as per the
following table:
1 The number of minutes before the screen
will blank; 0 if the screen saver is
turned off. This is returned as an
integer.
2 Whether the screen save is turned off
when Citadel gets a call. This is
returned as a Boolean: TRUE if is turned
off, FALSE if it is not.
3 Whether the screen saver turns off for
the duration of the call. This is
returned as a Boolean: TRUE if the
screen saver stays turned off for the
duration of a call, FALSE if it does
not.
4 Whether a clock is displayed on the
screen, and how often it moves if it is
displayed. This is returned as an
integer: 0 if no clock is to be
displayed on the screen, otherwise the
number of seconds before it is moved.
5 Whether the cursor stays on when the
screen is blanked. This is returned as a
Boolean: TRUE if the cursor stays on
when the screen is blanked, FALSE if it
is turned off.
GetScrollColors
This tells whether colors are saved in the scroll-
back buffer or not. This is returned as a Boolean
value: TRUE if colors are saved; FALSE if they are
not.
GetScrollSize
This tells the size of the scroll-back buffer, in
lines. This is returned as an integer value.
GetScrollTimeout
This returns the scroll-back buffer time-out in
seconds. This is returned as an integer value.
GetSetCensor
This tells if users can choose to view censored
messages with the .Enter Configuration (.EC)
command or not. This is returned as a Boolean
value: TRUE if users can choose; FALSE if they
cannot.
GetSetMsgNym
This tells whether the .Aide Name messages (.AN)
command is active or not. This returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the command is active; FALSE if it
is not.
GetSleepCount
This tells how long of a countdown timer (in
seconds) is given to users before timing out on
them. This is returned as an integer.
GetSleepPrompt
This returns the string sent to users when they are
timed out on. This is returned as a string value.
GetStatNum
This returns the maximum number of system events
tracked in the Status Screen (F4), as set by
#MAXSTAT in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as an
integer value.
GetString prompt default length
This gets string input from the user. prompt is a
string value used to prompt the user. It is
appended to "Enter " to make a full sentence. If
you don't want a prompt, use an empty string ("")
for prompt. default gives the user a default
choice, which is displayed in square brackets ([])
to the user. If you don't want a default choice,
use an empty string ("") for default. length is an
integer value, which limits the length of a
responds you want from the user. The string the
user enters is returned as a string value.
GetSubHubs
This returns the setting of #SUBHUBS in CONFIG.CIT. It
is returned as an integer value.
GetSurnames
This returns whether surnames allowed on the
system as set by #TWIT_FEATURES SURNAMES in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a Boolean value:
TRUE if they are, FALSE if they are not.
GetSysBorders
This tells whether borders are active on the
system. This is returned as a Boolean value: TRUE
if borders are active; FALSE if they are not.
GetSysopName
This tells the name of the sysop as set by #SYSOP
in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a string value.
GetTempPath
This tells the temp path as set by #TEMPPATH in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a string value.
GetTimeOut
This tells the number of minutes users are allowed to
be idle before Citadel times out on them. This is
returned as an integer value.
GetTitles
This returns whether surnames allowed on the
system as set by #TWIT_FEATURES SURNAMES in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a Boolean value:
TRUE if they are, FALSE if they are not.
GetTransPath
This returns the transfer path as set by
#TRANSPATH in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
string value.
GetTrapFile
This tells the name of the trap file as set by
#TRAP_FILE in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
string value.
GetTwirly
This returns the twirly cursor string as set by
#TWIRLY in CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a
string value.
GetTwirlyPause
This returns the length of the pause between
updates of the twirly cursor as set by #TWIRLY in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as an integer value.
GetTwitCountry
This returns the board's twit country as set in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a string value.
GetTwitRegion
This returns the board's twit region as set in
CONFIG.CIT. This is returned as a string value.
GetUnlogBal
This returns the accounting balance of unlogged-in
users. This is returned as a long value.
GetUnlogTimeout
This tells the number of minutes unlogged-in users
are allowed to be idle before Citadel times out on
them. This is returned as an integer value.
GetUpDay day
This tells if the board is up during a specified
day. day is an integer value, ranging from 0
(Sunday) to 6 (Saturday). This returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the board is up for callers on that
day, FALSE if it is not.
GetUpHour hour
This tells if the board is up during a specified
hour. hour is an integer value, ranging from 0 to
23. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the
board is up for callers during that hour of the
day, FALSE if it is not.
GetUserAddr1
This returns line 1 of the current user's postal
address. This is returned as a string value.
GetUserAddr2
This returns line 2 of the current user's postal
address. This is returned as a string value.
GetUserAddr3
This returns line 3 of the current user's postal
address. This is returned as a string value.
GetUserCallNo
This returns the current user's last call number.
This is returned as a long value.
GetUserCallTime
This returns the current user's last call time.
This is returned as a long value corresponding to
Citadel's time/date functions.
GetUserCredits
This returns the number of credits that the
current user has left. This is returned as a long
value. Notice that this is a different value that
you usually see when dealing with credits: Citadel
thinks of credits internally in terms of seconds,
but converts to minutes when displaying credits to
users. This function returns the number of seconds
left.
GetUserDefHall
This returns the current default hall for the
user. The default hall is returned as a string
value.
GetUserDStamp
This function returns the date stamp for the
current user. It is returned as a string value.
GetUserFwd
This returns the user portion of the forwarding
address for the current user. This is returned as
a string value.
GetUserFwdNode
This returns the node portion of the forwarding
address for the current user. This is returned as
a string value.
GetUserIn
This returns the current user's initials. This is
returned as a string value.
GetUserLastHall
This returns the last hall the current user was in
last call. This is returned as a string value.
Citadel currently does not keep track of this, so
the returned value is meaningless.
GetUserLastPointer
This returns the newest message on the system
during the current user's last call. This is
returned as a long value.
GetUserLastRoom
This returns the last room the current user was in
last call. This is returned as a string value.
Citadel currently does not keep track of this, so
the returned value is meaningless.
GetUserLines
This returns the current user's lines per screen
setting. This is returned as an integer value.
GetUserName
This returns the current user's name. This is
returned as a string value.
GetUserNetPref
This returns the current user's net prefix. This
is returned as a string value.
GetUserNulls
This returns the current user's number of nulls.
This is returned as an integer value.
GetUserPhone
This returns the current user's phone number. This
is returned as a string value.
GetUserPoop
This returns the current user's poopcount. This is
returned as a long value.
GetUserPrompt
This returns the current user's room prompt
format. This is returned as a string value.
GetUserProto
This returns the current user's default protocol.
This is returned as a string value.
GetUserPW
This returns the current user's password. This is
returned as a string value.
GetUserRealName
This returns the current user's real name. This is
returned as a string value.
GetUserSig
This returns the current user's signature. This is
returned as a string value.
GetUserSurname
This returns the current user's surname. This is
returned as a string value.
GetUserTitle
This returns the current user's title. This is
returned as a string value.
GetUserVDStamp
This function returns the verbose date stamp for
the current user. It is returned as a string
value.
GetUserWidth
This returns the current user's screen width. This
is returned as an integer value.
GetUttr
This function gets the console underlined text
attribute as set by #UTTR in CONFIG.CIT. It is
returned as an integer value.
GetVMemFile
This gets the name of the file being used for
virtual memory. This is returned as a string
value. When not running the Auxmem version, this
function has no meaning and returns an empty
string.
GetWAttr
This function gets the console reverse video
attribute as set by #WATTR in CONFIG.CIT. It is
returned as an integer value.
Hangup
This hangs up the modem.
HexToDex hex
This converts the string of hexadecimal digits hex
to their numeric value and returns the result as a
long value.
HowLongAgoWasIt time
This generates a string telling how long ago the
time specified by the long value time was.
IChar
This waits for the user to enter a single character.
This character is echoed to the screen, and
returned as a single-character long string.
ICharNE
This waits for the user to enter a single
character. This character is not echoed to the
screen, and returned as a single-character long
string.
IsCanOutput
This checks to see if output is being displayed to
the user. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if
output is being displayed; FALSE if not (such as
when the user presses Stop or Next).
IsConsoleLocked
This returns whether the console is locked as a
Boolean value: TRUE if the console is locked;
FALSE if not.
IsFilenameLegal filename [allowspace]
This checks the legality of filename. This checks for
illegal characters and whether the name specifies
a device, not a true file. allowspace is on
optional Boolean value that specifies if spaces
should be considered legal in the filename (such
as for when multiple filenames are separated by
spaces): if TRUE, then spaces are allowed; if
FALSE or missing, then spaces are not allowed.
IsGrpAutoAdd index
This tells if a group is an auto-add group or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
group file. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if
the group is auto-add; FALSE if it is not.
IsGrpHidden index
This tells if a group is hidden or not. index is
an integer value indexing a slot in the group
file. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the
group is hidden; FALSE if it is not.
IsGrpInuse index
This tells if a group is in use or not. index is an
integer value indexing a slot in the group file.
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the group is
in use; FALSE if it is not.
IsGrpLocked index
This tells if a group is locked from aides or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
group file. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if
the group is locked from aides; FALSE if it is
not.
IsHallDesc index
This tells if a hall has a description or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
hall file. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if
the hall is described; FALSE if it is not.
IsHallEnterRoom index
This tells if a user can enter rooms in this hall
or not. index is an integer value indexing a slot
in the hall file. This returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the users can enter rooms in this hall
even if #ROOMOK in CONFIG.CIT is set to 0; FALSE
if they cannot.
IsHallGrp index
This tells if a hall is a group-only or not. index
is an integer value indexing a slot in the hall
file. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the
hall is group-only; FALSE if it is not.
IsHallInuse index
This tells if a hall is in use or not. index is an
integer value indexing a slot in the hall file.
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the hall is
in use; FALSE if it is not.
IsInGroup index
This tells if the current user is in a group or
not. index is an integer value indexing a slot in
the group file. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the current user is in the group; FALSE if he
is not.
IsLoggedIn
This tells if there is currently a user logged in
or not. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if
there is a user logged in; FALSE if not.
IsMatchWildcard string wildcard
This tests if the string value specified by string
matches the wildcard expression specified by the
string value wildcard. You can use Unix-style
wildcards in wildcard. For example, the wildcard
string "th[ea]n" matches the string "then" and
"than". Like almost everything in Citadel, this is
not case-senesitive.
IsNetIDInNetIDCit netid
This searches NETID.CIT for a Net ID. netid is a
string value specifying the Net ID to search for.
This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the
Net ID is found; FALSE if not.
IsOutputJump
This checks to see if the user has pressed the J
key to jump output. This returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user has pressed the J key; FALSE if
not.
IsOutputNext
This checks to see if the user has pressed the N
key to next output. This returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user has pressed the N key; FALSE if
not.
IsOutputStop
This checks to see if the user has pressed the S
key to stop output. This returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user has pressed the S key; FALSE if
not.
IsRoomAnon index
This tells whether a room is anonymous or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
room table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the room is anonymous, FALSE if it is not.
IsRoomApplic index
This tells whether a room has an application or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
room table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the room has an application, FALSE if it
does not.
IsRoomBIO index
This tells whether a room is BIO or not. index is
an integer value indexing a slot in the room
table. This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the room is BIO, FALSE if it is not.
IsRoomBypassed index
This tells whether a room has been bypassed during
the current call or not. index is an integer value
that specifies the room to test. This returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the room has been bypassed;
FALSE if not.
IsRoomDir index
This tells whether a room has a directory or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
room table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the room has a directory, FALSE if it does
not.
IsRoomDownOnly index
This tells whether a room is download-only or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
room table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the room is download-only, FALSE if it is
not.
IsRoomGrpMod index
This tells whether a the privileges group
moderates a room or not. index is an integer value
indexing a slot in the room table. This function
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the room is
moderated by the privileges group, FALSE if it is
not.
IsRoomGrpOnly index
This tells whether a room is group-only or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
room table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the room is group-only, FALSE if it is
not.
IsRoomInHall hall room
This returns whether the room specified by the
index room is in the hall specified by the index
hall as a Boolean value.
IsRoomInuse index
This tells whether a room is in use or not. index
is an integer value indexing a slot in the room
table. This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the room is in use, FALSE if it is not.
IsRoomModerated index
This tells whether a room is moderated or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
room table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the room is moderated, FALSE if it is not.
IsRoomWindow index
This returns whether a room is a window into other
halls or not. index is an integer value indexing a
slot in the room table. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the room is a window, FALSE
if not. In floor mode (#SUBHUBS 4 in CONFIG.CIT),
this always returns FALSE.
IsRoomPerm index
This tells whether a room is permanent or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
room table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the room is permanent, FALSE if it is not.
IsRoomPrivGrp index
This tells whether a room is has a privileges
group or not. index is an integer value indexing a
slot in the room table. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the room has a privileges
group, FALSE if it is not.
IsRoomPublic index
This tells whether a room is public or not. index
is an integer value indexing a slot in the room
table. This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the room is public, FALSE if it is not (which
means that it is hidden).
IsRoomReadOnly index
This tells whether a room is read-only or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
room table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the room is read-only, FALSE if it is not.
IsRoomShared index
This tells whether a room is shared or not. index
is an integer value indexing a slot in the room
table. This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the room is shared, FALSE if it is not.
IsRoomSubject index
This tells whether a room prompts for a subject or
not. index is an integer value indexing a slot in
the room table. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the room prompts for a subject on
all messages, FALSE if it is not.
IsRoomUpOnly index
This tells whether a room is upload-only or not.
index is an integer value indexing a slot in the
room table. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the room is upload-only, FALSE if it is
not.
IsUserAide
This tells whether the current user is an aide or
not. This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the user is an aide, FALSE if he is not.
IsUserDisplayTS
This tells whether the current user chooses to
view titles and surnames or not. This function
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the user chooses
to view titles and surnames, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserEntBorders
This tells whether the current user is viewing
borders and ads or not. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user sees borders and
ads, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserExpert
This tells whether the current user is an expert
or not. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user is an expert, FALSE if he is not.
IsUserFwdNode
This tells whether the current user is forwarding
his mail to another node or not. This function
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the user is
forwarding his mail to another node, FALSE if he
is not.
IsUserHallLock
This tells whether the current user has his
default hall locked or not. This function returns
a Boolean value: TRUE if the user has his default
hall locked, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserHallTell
This tells whether the current user sees hall
descriptions or not. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user sees hall
descriptions, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserHideExcl
This tells whether the current hides message
exclusions or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user hides messages exclusions,
FALSE if he does not.
IsUserIBMANSI
This tells whether the current user has IBM ANSI
or not. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user has IBM ANSI, FALSE if he does
not.
IsUserIBMColor
This tells whether the current user has IBM COLOR
or not. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user has IBM COLOR, FALSE if he does
not.
IsUserIBMGraph
This tells whether the current user has IBM
graphics or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user has IBM graphics, FALSE if
he does not.
IsUserInuse
This tells whether the current user is in use or
not. This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the user is in use, FALSE if it is not. If a
user is logged-in, this should always return TRUE.
If a user is not logged-in, this should always
return FALSE.
IsUserLastOld
This tells whether the current user has last old
on new turned on or not. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user has last old on
new turned on, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserLF
This tells whether the current user has linefeeds
turned on or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user has linefeeds turned on,
FALSE if he does not.
IsUserLockSig
This tells whether the current user has a locked
signature or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user has a locked signature,
FALSE if he does not.
IsUserMiniBin
This tells whether the current user has Minibin
usage statistics turned on or not. This function
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the user has
Minibin usage statistics turned on, FALSE if he
does not.
IsUserMsgCls
This tells whether the current user has clear
screen between messages turned on or not. This
function returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the user
has clear screen between messages turned on, FALSE
if he does not.
IsUserMsgPause
This tells whether the current user has pause
between messages turned on or not. This function
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the user has
pause between messages turned on, FALSE if he does
not.
IsUserNet
This tells whether the current user has network
privileges or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user has network privileges,
FALSE if he does not.
IsUserNextHall
This tells whether the current user has auto next
hall turned on or not. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user has auto next hall
turned on, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserNoAcct
This tells whether the current user has no accounting
or not. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user has no accounting, FALSE if he
does not (meaning that he does have accounting).
IsUserNoChat
This tells whether the current user has chat
disabled or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user has chat disabled, FALSE
if he does not.
IsUserNode
This tells whether the current user is a node or
not. This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the user is a node, FALSE if he is not.
IsUserNoDownload
This tells whether the current user has downloads
disabled or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user has downloads disabled,
FALSE if he does not.
IsUserNoMail
This tells whether the current user has mail disabled
or not. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user has mail disabled, FALSE if he
does not.
IsUserNoUpload
This tells whether the current user has uploads
disabled or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user has uploads disabled,
FALSE if he does not.
IsUserOut300
This tells whether the current user has 300 baud
simulation turned on or not. This function returns
a Boolean value: TRUE if the user has 300 baud
simulation turned on, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserPerm
This tells whether the current user is permanent
or not. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user is permanent, FALSE if he is not.
IsUserPrint
This tells whether the current user is trapped to the
print file or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user is trapped to the print
file, FALSE if he is not.
IsUserProblem
This tells whether the current user is a problem
user or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user is a problem user, FALSE
if he is not.
IsUserPsycho
This tells whether the current user has psycho
chicken turned on or not. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user has psycho chicken
turned on, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserRoomInfo
This tells whether the current user has room
information lines turned on or not. This function
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the user has room
information lines turned on, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserRoomTell
This tells whether the current user has room
descriptions turned on or not. This function
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the user has room
descriptions turned on, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserSeeBorders
This tells whether the current user sees borders
or not. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user sees borders, FALSE if he does
not.
IsUserSignatures
This tells whether the current user sees
signatures or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user sees signatures, FALSE if
he does not.
IsUserSubjects
This tells whether the current user sees subjects
or not. This function returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user sees subjects, FALSE if he does
not.
IsUserSurLock
This tells whether the current user has a locked
surname and title or not. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user has a locked
surname and title, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserSysop
This tells whether the current user is a sysop or
not. This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the user is a sysop, FALSE if he is not.
IsUserTabs
This tells whether the current user has tabs
turned on or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user has tabs turned on, FALSE
if he does not.
IsUserTwirly
This tells whether the current user has the twirly
cursor turned on or not. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user has the twirly
cursor turned on, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserUnlisted
This tells whether the current user has an
unlisted account or not. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user is unlisted, FALSE
if he is not.
IsUserUpOnly
This tells whether the current user has upper case
only turned on or not. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user has upper case
only turned on, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserVCont
This tells whether the current user has verbose
continue turned on or not. This function returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user has verbose
continue turned on, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserVerbose
This tells whether the current user has verbose mode
turned on or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user has verbose mode turned
on, FALSE if he does not.
IsUserVerified
This tells whether the current user is verified or
not. This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE
if the user is verified, FALSE if he is not.
IsUserViewCensor
This tells whether the current user views censored
messages or not. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user views censored messages,
FALSE if he does not.
KeyboardAdd string1 [string2...]
This adds the characters of the specified strings
to the keyboard buffer. This can be useful as the
last thing a script does before exiting, as then
Citadel will process the characters as if they
were pressed on the keyboard. In this way, a
script can execute some Citadel commands.
KeyboardFlush
This clears all keys out of Citadel's keyboard
buffer.
KillRoom [roomname]
This attempts to kill a room on the system and
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the room was
killed; FALSE if not. roomname is an optional
string value: if it is present, then this tries to
kill the room with that name; else it prompts the
user for the name of the room to kill, as would
happen if the user invoked the .Aide Kill room
(.AK) command.
KillUser [username]
This attempts to kill a user on the system and
returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the user was
killed; FALSE if not. username is an optional
string value: if it is present, then this tries to
kill the user with that name; else is prompts the
user for the name of the user to kill, as would
happen if the user invoked the .Sysop Kill user
(.SK) command.
MemoryFree
This finds the size of the largest free block of
memory and returns the number of bytes as a long
value.
ModemFlush
This flushes the input buffer of the modem: all
pending incoming characters from the modem are
discarded.
ModemInitPort
This initializes the modem port.
MsgAddComment comment
This adds a comment to the message in the script's
message buffer. comment is a string value which is
used as the comment to add. This returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the comment could be added; FALSE
if it could not (which generally means that
Citadel is out of memory).
MsgAppendText string1 [string2...]
This appends each string to the script's message
buffer.
MsgClear
This clears all information from the script's
message buffer.
MsgDump
This deletes the script's message buffer, freeing
the memory for other use.
MsgGetAuthor
This retrieves the author from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetCit86Country
This retrieves the Citadel-86 country from the
script's message buffer.
MsgGetComment index
This retrieves a comment from the message in the
script's message buffer. index is a long value
that specifies which comment to retrieve. The
comment is returned as a string value.
MsgGetCommentCount
This returns the number of comments the message in
the script's message buffer has. The count is
returned as a long value.
MsgGetCopyOfMessage
This retrieves the original message ID from the
script's message buffer, if this message is a
copy. If this message is not a copy, this returns
an empty string.
MsgGetCreationRoom
This retrieves the creation room from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetCreationTime
This retrieves the creation time from the script's
message buffer. This is returned as the number of
seconds since 12:00AM, January 1, 1970, GMT.
MsgGetDestinationAddress
This retrieves the destination address from the
script's message buffer.
MsgGetEncryptionKey
This retrieves the encryption key from the
script's message buffer.
MsgGetEZCreationTime
This retrieves the EZ creation time from the
script's message buffer.
MsgGetFilelink
This retrieves the linked file from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetForward
This retrieves the forwardee's name from the
script's message buffer.
MsgGetFromPath
This retrieves the from path from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetGroup
This retrieves the group from the script's message
buffer.
MsgGetHeadLoc
This retrieves the location of the message in
MSG.DAT from the script's message buffer.
MsgGetLocalID
This retrieves the local ID from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetOriginAddress
This retrieves the origin address of the message
in the script's message buffer as a string value.
The origin address is not always available, so a
return value of an empty string does not always
mean that the message originated on a node with no
address.
MsgGetOriginalAttribute
This retrieves the attribute of the original
message (if this message is a copy) from the
script's message buffer.
MsgGetOriginalID
This retrieves the original ID from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetOriginalRoom
This retrieves the original room from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetOriginCountry
This retrieves the origin country from the
script's message buffer.
MsgGetOriginNodeName
This retrieves the origin node name from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetOriginPhoneNumber
This retrieves the origin phone number from the
script's message buffer.
MsgGetOriginRegion
This retrieves the origin region from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetOriginSoftware
This retrieves the origin software from the
script's message buffer.
MsgGetRealName
This retrieves the real name from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetReplyToMessage
This retrieves the ID of the message this is a
reply to from the script's message buffer, if this
is a reply. If it is not, then this returns an
empty string.
MsgGetRoomNumber
This retrieves the room number from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetSignature
This retrieves the signature from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetSourceID
This retrieves the source ID from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetSourceRoomName
This retrieves the source room name from the
script's message buffer.
MsgGetSubject
This retrieves the subject from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetSurname
This retrieves the surname from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetTitle
This retrieves the title from the script's message
buffer.
MsgGetToCountry
This retrieves the destination country from the
script's message buffer, if this is networked
mail. If not, this returns an empty string.
MsgGetToNodeName
This retrieves the destination node name from the
script's message buffer, if this is networked
mail. If not, this returns an empty string.
MsgGetToPath
This retrieves the forced path from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetToPhoneNumber
This retrieves the destination phone number from the
script's message buffer, if this is networked
mail. If not, this returns an empty string.
MsgGetToRegion
This retrieves the destination region from the
script's message buffer, if this is networked
mail. If not, this returns an empty string.
MsgGetToUser
This retrieves the destination user from the
script's message buffer, if this is mail. If not,
this returns an empty string.
MsgGetTwitCountry
This retrieves the twit country from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetTwitRegion
This retrieves the twit region from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetUserSignature
This retrieves the user signature from the script's
message buffer.
MsgGetX
This retrieves the X field from the script's
message buffer.
MsgHeaderClear
This clears the message header of the script's
message buffer, but does not affect the message
text.
MsgIsCensored
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the message
is censored; FALSE if not.
MsgIsCompressed
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the message
is compressed; FALSE if not.
MsgIsEncrypted
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the message
is encrypted; FALSE if not.
MsgIsLocal
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the message
is local-only; FALSE if not.
MsgIsMadeVisible
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the message
is a released problem user or moderated message;
FALSE if not.
MsgIsMoreFlag flag
This checks whether the message in the script's
message buffer has a specified moreflag set. flag
is a string value, the first character of which
specifies the flag. This returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the specified flag is set; FALSE if not.
MsgIsReceiptConfirmationRequested
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the message
is receipt confirmation requested; FALSE if not.
MsgIsReceived
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the message is
received; FALSE if not.
MsgIsRepliedTo
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the message
is replied to; FALSE if not.
MsgIsViewDuplicate
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the message
is a duplicate; FALSE if not.
MsgLoad messageid
This loads the message with the number messageid
into the script's message buffer. This returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the message could be read;
FALSE if it could not (the message doesn't exist,
or there isn't enough memory to allocate the
message buffer).
MsgSave
This saves the message in the script's message
buffer to the message base.
MsgSaveTextToFile filename
This saves the text of the message in the script's
message buffer to the text file specified by the
string value filename. This returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if it worked, or FALSE if it didn't
(there is no message in the script's message
buffer or filename could not be opened to write
the text to).
MsgSetAuthor author
This sets the author of the script's message
buffer. author is a string value giving the author
of the message.
MsgSetCensored censored
This sets whether the message in the script's
message buffer is censored or not. censored is a
Boolean value: TRUE if the message should be
censored; FALSE if not.
MsgSetCreationRoom roomname
This sets the creation room of the script's
message buffer. roomname is a string value giving
the creation room of the message.
MsgSetCreationTime time
This sets the creation time of the script's
message buffer. time is a long value giving the
creation time of the message, in seconds since
12:00AM January 1, 1970, GMT.
MsgSetDestinationAddress address
This sets the destination address of the script's
message buffer. address is a string value giving
the destination address of the message.
MsgSetEncrypted encrypt
This sets whether the message in the script's
message buffer is encrypted or not. encrypt is a
Boolean value: TRUE if the message should be
encrypted; FALSE if not.
MsgSetEncryptionKey key
This sets the encryption key of the script's
message buffer. key is a string value giving the
encryption key of the message.
MsgSetEZCreationTime time
This sets the EZ creation time of the script's
message buffer. time is a string value giving the
EZ creation time of the message.
MsgSetFilelink filename
This sets the linked file of the script's message
buffer. filename is a string value giving the file
to link the message to.
MsgSetForward username
This sets the forwarding address of the script's
message buffer. username is a string value giving
the forwardee of the message.
MsgSetGroup groupname
This sets the group of the script's message
buffer. groupname is a string value giving the
group of the message.
MsgSetLocal local
This sets whether the message in the script's
message buffer is local-only or not. local is a
Boolean value: TRUE if the message should be local-
only; FALSE if not.
MsgSetMoreFlag flag value
This sets whether the message in the script's
message buffer has a specified moreflag set. flag
is a string value, the first character of which
specifies the flag. value is a Boolean value: TRUE
to set the flag, FALSE to clear it. This returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the specified flag could be
set or cleared; FALSE if not (for example, the
maximum number of moreflags has been set).
MsgSetOriginalRoom roomname
This sets the original room of the script's
message buffer. roomname is a string value giving
the original room name of the message.
MsgSetRealName name
This sets the real name of the script's message buffer.
name is a string value giving the real name of the
author of the message.
MsgSetReceiptConfirmationRequested requested
This sets whether receipt confirmation is
requested of the message in the script's message
buffer. requested is a Boolean value: TRUE if
confirmation is requested; FALSE if not.
MsgSetReplyToMessage messageid
This sets the message number that the message in
the script's message buffer is a reply to.
messageid is a string value giving the message
that this is a reply to.
MsgSetRoomNumber roomno
This sets the room number of the script's message
buffer. roomno is an integer value giving the room
number of this message.
MsgSetSignature signature
This sets the signature of the script's message buffer.
signature is a string value giving the signature
of the message.
MsgSetSourceRoomName roomname
This sets the source room name of the script's
message buffer. roomname is a string value giving
the source room name of the message.
MsgSetSubject subject
This sets the subject of the script's message
buffer. subject is a string value giving the
subject of the message.
MsgSetSurname surname
This sets the surname of the script's message
buffer. surname is a string value giving the
surname of the message.
MsgSetText text
This sets the text of the script's message buffer.
text is a string value giving the text of the
message.
MsgSetTitle title
This sets the title of the script's message
buffer. title is a string value giving the title
of the message.
MsgSetToPath path
This sets the to path of the script's message
buffer. path is a string value giving the to path
of the message.
MsgSetToPhoneNumber phonenum
This sets the destination phone number of the
script's message buffer. phonenum is a string
value giving the destination phone number of the
message.
MsgSetToUser touser
This sets the destination user of the script's
message buffer. This can be a user on the network,
by setting touser to something like "user @ node".
MsgSetUserSignature signature
This sets the user signature of the script's
message buffer. signature is a string value giving
the user signature of the message.
MsgSetX x
This sets the X field of the script's message
buffer. x is a string value giving the X field of
the message.
MsgShow
This displays the message in the script's message
buffer to the user.
MsgStart
This starts a new message by allocating a message
buffer for the script.
MsgTabGetAuthHash index
This returns the hash of the author of a message
as an integer value. index is a long value giving
the index of the message in the message table.
MsgTabGetCopyOffset index
This returns the offset from a copied message of
the original message as a long value. index is a
long value giving the index of the copied message
in the message table.
MsgTabGetLocation index
This returns the byte offset in MSG.DAT of the
start of a message as a long value. index is a
long value giving the index of the message in the
message table.
MsgTabGetNextRoomMsg index
This returns the message number of the next
message in the same room as a message as a long
value. index is a long value giving the index of
the message in the message table. If the specified
message is the last message in the room, then this
returns -1.
Note: This function is only valid in the Auxmem version.
If executed in the Regular version, this will always
return -1.
MsgTabGetOriginID index
This returns the low word of the Origin ID of a
message networked message as an integer value.
index is a long value giving the index of the
message in the message table.
MsgTabGetPrevRoomMsg index
This returns the message number of the previous
message in the same room as a message as a long
value. index is a long value giving the index of
the message in the message table. If the specified
message is the first message in the room, then
this returns -1.
Note: This function is only valid in the Auxmem version.
If executed in the Regular version, this will always
return -1.
MsgTabGetRoomNum index
This returns the room number of a message as an
integer value. index is a long value giving the
index of the message in the message table.
MsgTabGetToHash index
This returns the hash of the destination user of a
message as an integer value. index is a long value
giving the index of the message in the message
table.
MsgTabIsCensored index
This returns whether a message has been censored
as a Boolean value. index is a long value giving
the index of the message in the message table.
MsgTabIsCopy index
This returns whether a message is a copy of
another one as a Boolean value. index is a long
value giving the index of the message in the
message table.
MsgTabIsForwarded index
This returns whether a message is forwarded as a
Boolean value. index is a long value giving the
index of the message in the message table.
MsgTabIsInUse index
This returns whether a message table entry is in
use as a Boolean value. index is a long value
giving the index of the entry in the message
table.
MsgTabIsLimited index
This returns whether a message is group-only as a
Boolean value. index is a long value giving the
index of the message in the message table.
MsgTabIsLocal index
This returns whether a message is local-only as a
Boolean value. index is a long value giving the
index of the message in the message table.
MsgTabIsMail index
This returns whether a message is mail as a
Boolean value. index is a long value giving the
index of the message in the message table.
MsgTabIsMadeVis index
This returns whether a problem-user or moderated
message has been made visible as a Boolean value.
index is a long value giving the index of the
message in the message table.
MsgTabIsMassEMail index
This returns whether a message is mass E-Mail as a
Boolean value. index is a long value giving the
index of the message in the message table.
MsgTabIsModerated index
This returns whether a message is a moderated
message as a Boolean value. index is a long value
giving the index of the message in the message
table.
MsgTabIsNetMail index
This returns whether a message is network mail
destined for another system as a Boolean value.
index is a long value giving the index of the
message in the message table.
MsgTabIsNetworked index
This returns whether a message is from another
node on the network as a Boolean value. index is a
long value giving the index of the message in the
message table.
MsgTabIsProblem index
This returns whether a message is a problem-user
message as a Boolean value. index is a long value
giving the index of the message in the message
table.
MsgTabIsReceived index
This returns whether a message has been received
as a Boolean value. index is a long value giving
the index of the message in the message table.
MsgTabIsRepliedTo index
This returns whether a message has been replied to
as a Boolean value. index is a long value giving
the index of the message in the message table.
Net69Fetch nodename
This does a Net 6.9 pre-fetch for the node
specified by nodename.
Net69Incorporate
This does a Net 6.9 incorporation of any incoming
network packets in the transfer path.
Net69RoomReq nodename
This creates a room request file for the node
specified by the string value nodename. This has
the same effect as the .Sysop 6.9 Net Room request
(.S6R) command.
Net86Fetch nodename
This does a Citadel-86 fetch for the node
specified by nodename.
Net86Incorporate nodename
This does a Citadel-86 incorporation for the node
specified by nodename.
OpenFile filenumber name
This function opens a file. The file is created if
it does not exist, and is opened for read and
write access. filenumber is an integer from 0 to 4
which is used to reference the file later. name is
a string value giving the file's name. If there is
no path information in name, the file is opened in
#HOMEPATH as set in CONFIG.CIT. If there is
already a file referenced by filenumber open, it
is closed first. This function returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the file was opened and FALSE if it
was not for any reason.
OutStrPaced string pacing
This outputs a string to the modem, pausing
between each character. string is the string to
output to the modem, and pacing is the number of
hundredths of a second to pause between
characters. (Citadel might pause longer than this
value, but not less.)
ParseDateString datestring
This attempts to parse a date as a human may enter
it in a string. For example, this can accept
"March 13, 1995" or "3-13-95" or "3/13/1995" or
"95Mar13" and know what it means. This returns a
long value which can then be passed to any script
function that requests a time or date: the time
and date specified by the long value is 12:00 AM
on the date parsed. If Citadel cannot parse the
date, it returns the long value that specifies
January 1, 1970. Yes, this really is a stupid
error return value. If you wish to parse both a
date and a time, add the return values of
ParseDateString and ParseTimeString to end up with
a value that specifies the given time on the given
date.
ParseTimeString timestring
This attempts to parse a time as a human may enter
it in a string. For example, this can accept
"13:05:00" or "1:05pm" or "01:05 P" and know what
it means. This returns a long value which can then
be passed to any script function that requests a
time or date: the time and date specified by the
long value is the time specified on January 1,
1970. If Citadel cannot parse the time, it returns
the long value that specifies 12:00 AM. Yes, this
really is a stupid error return value. If you wish
to parse both a date and a time, add the return
values of ParseDateString and ParseTimeString to
end up with a value that specifies the given time
on the given date.
Pause delay
This causes Citadel to pause. delay gives the
length of the pause, in hundredths of a second.
Citadel might pause longer than this value, but
not less.
PauseScript
This causes the script to pause, and the script
debugger to be activated, if it is not currently
activated.
PlaySound type name
Wow.
PrintC string1 [string2 ...]
This prints all specified strings to the console
screen, one after the other.
PrintM string1 [string2 ...]
This prints all specified strings to the console
screen and modem, one after the other.
Random limit
This returns a random number in the range of 0 to
one less than limit. limit is an integer value,
and the random number is returned as an integer.
ReadAplOnExit
This tells the script interpreter to read
INPUT.APL, README.APL, MESSAGE.APL, and
CONSOLE.APL when the script exits. If you call the
WriteApl function, then you do not need to call
this function as well.
ReadBool filenumber
This reads a Boolean value from the file
referenced by the integer value filenumber and
returns it as a Boolean.
ReadChar filenumber
This reads a single character (byte) from the file
referenced by the integer value filenumber and
returns its ASCII value as an integer.
ReadInt filenumber
This reads an integer value from the file
referenced by the integer value filenumber and
returns it as an integer.
ReadLong filenumber
This reads a long value from the file referenced
by the integer value filenumber and returns it as
a long.
ReadStr filenumber
This reads a string value from the file referenced
by the integer value filenumber and returns it as
a string. The string can end with an ASCII 0
(NUL), an ASCII 10 (LF), and ASCII 13 (CR), or an
ASCII 255.
ReadUInt filenumber
This reads an unsigned integer value from the file
referenced by the integer value filenumber and
returns it as an unsigned integer.
ReadULong filenumber
This reads an unsigned long value from the file
referenced by the integer value filenumber and
returns it as an unsigned long.
RemoveNetIDFromNetIDCit netid
This removes a Net ID from NETID.CIT. netid is a
string value specifying the Net ID to remove. This
function returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the Net
ID could be removed; FALSE if not.
RemoveUser username groupname
This removed the user specified by the string
value username from the group specified by the
string value groupname.
RemoveWatch
This removes a watch of variable variable in the
script debugger. This can be tricky: you cannot
merely use:
#CALL RemoveWatch _Variable
To remove a watch of _Variable, because the value
of _Variable will be used. The trick is to use the
sub-string command, like this:
#STR B x_Variable 1 99
#CALL RemoveWatch _Result
This makes the value of _Result be "_Variable"
which is then passed to RemoveWatch.
This function returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the
watch could be removed, or FALSE if it could not
(either because the variable is not currently
being watched, or because the script debugger is
not currently active; see SetDebugScript).
RenameFile oldname newname
This attempts to rename the file given by the
string value oldname to the name given by the
string value newname. oldname and newname may
reside in different directories on the same disk
(in which case the file is moved), but not on
different disks. If the rename operation was
successful, this returns TRUE; else it returns
FALSE.
RunApplic cmdline
This runs the application given by the string
variable cmdline. cmdline is interpreted by
Citadel like any other application command line:
place a "!" at the beginning of it to tell Citadel
to super-shell to the application, etc.
SayASCII string
This only works if you have an external sound driver
loaded that support speech syntheses. This calls
that function and tells it to speak the words in
the string value string.
SeekFile file location fromwhere
This seeks to a location in a file opened by
OpenFile. file is an integer value telling which
file to perform the seeking in. location is a long
value telling where to seek to. fromwhere is an
integer value telling where to start the seek as
per the following table:
0 Seek from the beginning of the file.
1 Seek from the current location in the
file.
2 Seek from the end of the file.
SetAideChatHour hour value
This sets whether the .Aide Chat (.AC) command is
active for any hour of the day. hour is the hour,
from 0 (Midnight) to 23 (11pm). value is a Boolean
value: TRUE if the command should be enabled for
that hour; FALSE if not.
SetAideHall value
This sets whether Aides may use the .Aide Hall
(.AH) and .Aide Window (.AW) commands, or if they
are restricted to Sysops. value is a Boolean
value: TRUE if Aides are allowed to use the
commands; FALSE if not.
SetAideModerate value
This sets whether Aides may release moderated
messages, or if that power is restricted to
Sysops. value is a Boolean value: TRUE if Aides
are allowed to release moderated messages; FALSE
if not.
SetAnonAuthor author
This sets the name that Citadel prints as the
author of anonymous messages. author is a string
value giving the new name.
SetApplPath path
This sets Citadel's application path. path is a string
value giving the new path.
SetAttr attr
This sets the new attribute (color) of normal text
on console. attr is an integer value giving the
new color code.
SetAutoANSI value
This sets Citadel's automatic ANSI detection.
value is an integer value, corresponding to the
values for the #AUTOANSI CONFIG.CIT keyword.
SetBAttr attr
This sets the attribute (color) of the border
(overscan) area of the screen. attr is an integer
value giving the new color.
SetBells value
This sets how Citadel determines whether to ring
the console speaker when it encounters a Control+G
character. value is an integer value: 0 for never
ring the speaker; 1 for ring the speaker only in
response to chat requests; and 2 for always ring
the speaker.
SetBorder number string
This sets a border. number is an integer value
specifying the border to set, and string is a
string value specifying the new contents of the
border.
SetBreakPoint lineno
This sets a breakpoint in the script debugger on
the line specified by lineno. This returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the break point could be
set; FALSE if not (either because Citadel is out
of memory, or because the script debugger is not
currently running; see DebugScript).
SetCAttr attr
This sets the attribute (color) of text entered on
console during chat. This is also used for the
color of bold text. attr is an integer value
giving the new color code to use.
SetChatOn value
This turns the Chat (C) command on and off. value
is a Boolean value: TRUE if chat should be turned
on; FALSE if it should be turned off.
SetCheckCTS value
This sets whether Citadel should check the Clear
To Send (CTS) line of the serial port before
sending data to it. value is a Boolean value: TRUE
to check CTS; FALSE to ignore it. After setting
this, you should call InitPort to make the new
setting active.
SetCit86Country country
This sets the country used for Citadel-86
networking. country is a string value giving the
new country code.
SetCit86Domain domain
This sets the domain used for Citadel-86
networking. domain is a string value giving the
new domain name.
SetColors value
This sets whether Citadel should allow colors in
strings such as user names, room names, etc. value
is a Boolean value: TRUE if it should allow colors
everywhere; FALSE if not.
SetConnectWait time
This sets the length of time after a connection is
made before Citadel should start sending data to
the serial port. If you don't have an error-
correcting or data-compressing modem, you can set
this to give callers with such modems time for
their modems to determine that you don't have such
a modem. time is an integer value giving the
number of seconds to wait after a connection
before sending data to the serial port.
SetConsoleLock lock
This sets whether the console is locked. lock is a
Boolean value: TRUE to lock the console; FALSE to
unlock it.
SetCountBeep value
This sets whether Citadel should send Control+G
characters to the serial port when counting down
to hanging up (after timing out if #SLEEPCOUNT in
CONFIG.CIT is non-zero or after the user finishes
a download that he told Citadel to hang up after).
value is a Boolean value: TRUE if Control+Gs
should be sent every second; FALSE if not.
SetCreditNym name
This sets the singular name of credits on the
system. name is a string value giving the new
name.
SetCreditsNym name
This sets the plural name of credits on the
system. name is a string value giving the new
name.
SetDebugScript debug
This either turns on or off the script debugger. debug
is a Boolean value: TRUE to turn on the debugger;
FALSE to turn it off.
SetDebugSystem debug
This sets whether Citadel's debug mode is on or
not. debug is a Boolean value: TRUE to set debug
mode on; FALSE to set it off.
SetDefDateStamp dstamp
This sets the date stamp for unlogged-in users and
new users (unless overridden in DEFUSER.CIT).
dstamp is a string value giving the new date
stamp.
SetDefNetPrefix netprefix
This sets the net prefix for unlogged-in users and
new users (unless overridden in DEFUSER.CIT).
netprefix is a string value giving the new net
prefix.
SetDefRPrompt prompt
This sets the room prompt for unlogged-in users and new
users (unless overridden in DEFUSER.CIT). prompt
is a string value giving the new room prompt.
SetDefVDateStamp dstamp
This sets the verbose date stamp for unlogged-in
users and new users (unless overridden in
DEFUSER.CIT). dstamp is a string value giving the
new date stamp.
SetDialMacro index macro
This sets the string used for a dial out mode
keyboard macro. index gives the key to set, as per
the following table:
index Function Key
1 - 12 F1 through F12
13 - 24 Alt+F1 through Alt+F12
25 - 36 Shift+F1 through Shift+F12
37 - 48 Control+F1 through Control+F12
macro is a string value giving the new macro.
SetDialPref prefix
This sets the dial prefix used for dialing out.
prefix is a string value giving the new prefix.
SetDialRing command
This sets the text sent to the modem in response
to a RING signal from the modem. command is a
string value giving the new text to send.
SetDialSetup command
This sets the text to send to the modem to set it
up for dialing out. command is a string value
giving the new text to send.
SetDirPath path
This sets the path to use for the default when
creating a new directory room. path is a string
value giving the new path.
SetDiskFree bytes
This sets how many bytes that Citadel should try
to keep free on disk. When there is less than this
amount free, Citadel will stop accepting uploads.
bytes is a long value giving the new number of
bytes to be kept free.
SetDLPath path
This sets the path used to store incoming Net 6.9
file transfers. path is a string value giving the
new path name.
SetDownShift command
This sets the string sent to the modem to go back
on-line after dropping the speed when using
#DUMBMODEM 6 or #DUMBMODEM 7. command is a string
value giving the new string to send to the modem.
SetDumbModem value
This sets how Citadel should handle baud rate
detection, as explained in the #DUMBMODEM section
of CONFIG.CIT. value is an integer value giving
the new method to detect baud rate.
SetEnterName string
This sets what Citadel prompts for when asking new
users for their name. string is a string value
giving the new text to use.
SetEnterOK value
This sets whether unlogged-in users are allowed to
enter messages. value is a Boolean value: TRUE if
they are allowed to enter messages; FALSE if not.
SetEnterSur value
This sets whether users are allowed to change
their title and surname. value is a Boolean value:
TRUE if users should be allowed to change their
title and surname; FALSE if not.
SetExpire days
This sets the number of days to use for expiring
incoming network messages. days is an integer
value giving the new number of days to use.
SetF6Pass password
This sets the new F6 password. password is a
string value giving the new password to use. (Use
an empty string to turn off the password
checking.)
SetForceLogin value
This sets whether users are forced to log in when
first calling the system, or if they are given a
room prompt without logging in. value is a Boolean
value: TRUE if users are forced to log in; FALSE
if not.
SetForwardSys value
This sets whether messages to "Sysop" are
delivered to the user specified by #SYSOP in
CONFIG.CIT, or if they are left addressed to
"Sysop" (which means that any user with Sysop
access may read the message). value is a Boolean
value: TRUE if the messages should be forwarded to
#SYSOP; FALSE if not.
SetFuelBarEmpty value
This sets what Citadel should display for the
empty fuel bar when indexing the message base.
value is an integer value giving the ASCII code of
the character to use.
SetFuelBarFull value
This sets what Citadel should display for the full
fuel bar when indexing the message base. value is
an integer value giving the ASCII code of the
character to use.
SetHangup command
This sets the command used to hang up the modem
when using #DUMBMODEM 6 or #DUMBMODEM 7. command
is a string value giving the new command to use.
SetHangupDelay time
This sets the amount of time after telling the
modem to hang up before sending more data to it.
time is an integer value. If it is zero, then
Citadel will wait a half a second after hanging up
before sending more data to the modem. If it is
non-zero, then it will wait that number of seconds
before sending more data to the modem.
SetHelpPath path
This sets the path Citadel uses to look for help
files. path is a string value giving the new path
to use.
SetHelpPath2 path
This sets the alternate path Citadel uses to look
for help files. path is a string value giving the
new path to use.
SetHomePath path
This sets the path Citadel uses to look for most
of its system files. path is a string value giving
the new path to use.
SetIdleTimeout timeout
This sets the new idle time-out that Citadel uses
to determine when it can attempt a Cron event.
timeout is an integer value telling the new time-
out value, in minutes.
SetInitBaud code
This sets the speed to initialize the modem at.
code is an integer value that determines the
speed:
code speed
0 300
1 1200
2 2400
3 4800
4 9600
5 19200
6 38400
7 57600
8 115200
SetLApplication value
This sets whether Citadel runs the new user
application when a new user logs onto the system.
value is a Boolean value: TRUE to run the
application; FALSE not to run it.
SetLClosedSys value
This sets whether the system is closed (which means it
doesn't accept new users). value is a Boolean
value: TRUE to close the system; FALSE to make it
open (and thus accept new users).
SetLCreate value
This sets whether new users are allowed to create
accounts. (No, I don't know how this differs from
SetLClosedSys, either). value is a Boolean value:
TRUE to allow new users to create accounts; FALSE
not to allow it.
SetLogExtDir path
This sets the directory Citadel uses to store log
extension files. path is a string value giving the
new path to use.
SetLQuestionnaire value
This sets whether Citadel asks new users for their
real name, phone number, address, etc., when
logging on. value is a Boolean value: TRUE to ask
the questions; FALSE to not ask them.
SetLSysMsg value
This sets whether Citadel requires new users to
leave a message to the sysop when first logging
in. value is a Boolean value: TRUE to make them
leave a message to the sysop; FALSE to not do it.
SetLVerified value
This sets whether new users are automatically
verified when logging onto the system. value is a
Boolean value: TRUE to automatically verify all
new users; FALSE to not.
SetMaxFiles max
This sets the maximum number of files that Citadel
can see in a single directory. max is an integer
value giving the maximum number.
SetMCIDate string
This sets the string sent to the user when MCI is
turned off and the MCI date command (^AT) is
encountered. string is a string value giving the
new string to send.
SetMCIFirstName string
This sets the string sent to the user when MCI is
turned off and the MCI first name command (^An) is
encountered. string is a string value giving the
new string to send.
SetMCIName string
This sets the string to send to the user when MCI
is turned off and the MCI name command (^AN) is
encountered. string is a string value giving the
new string to send.
SetMCIOn value
This sets whether MCI is active or not. value is a
Boolean value: TRUE to make MCI active; FALSE to
turn it off.
SetMCIPoop string
This sets the string to send to the user when MCI
is turned off and the MCI poop command (^Ap) is
encountered. string is a string value giving the
new string to send.
SetMCITime string
This sets the string to send to the user when MCI
is turned off and the MCI time command (^At) is
encountered. string is a string value giving the
new string to send.
SetMData port
This sets the serial port that the modem is
attached to. port is an integer value in the range
of 1 to 4 to use for the serial port. After a new
port is set with this function, use the InitPort
function to make it active.
SetMessageRoom number
This sets the maximum number of messages to allow
a user to enter in a single room on a single call.
number is an integer value giving the maximum
number of messages allowed.
SetMinBaud code
This sets the minimum speed that the system will
accept callers at. code is an integer value giving
the speed:
code baud
0 300
1 1,200
2 2,400
3 4,800
4 7,200
5 9,600
6 12,000
7 14,400
8 16,800
9 19,200
10 38,400
11 57,600
12 115,200
13 230,400
SetModSetup command
This sets the string to send to the modem to set
it up. command is a string value giving the new
command to use.
SetModUnSetup command
This sets the string to send to the modem when
exiting Citadel. command is a string value giving
the new command to use.
SetMorePrompt promt
This sets the more prompt for unlogged-in users
and new users (unless overridden in DEFUSER.CIT).
prompt is a string value giving the new more
prompt.
SetMsgCompress value
This sets whether Citadel compresses messages as
it saves them. value is a Boolean value: TRUE to
compress messages; FALSE to not.
SetMsgNym name
This sets the singular name of messages on the
system. name is a string value giving the new name
to use.
SetMsgPath path
This sets the path that Citadel uses to store the
MSG.DAT file. path is a string value giving the
new path to use.
SetMsgsNym name
This sets the plural name of messages on the
system. name is a string value giving the new name
to use.
SetMsgVerb verb
This sets the verb to use when saving messages.
verb is a string value giving the new verb to use.
SetNetMail value
This sets whether Citadel should attempt to find
the original room for incoming networked mail, or
just leave it in the Mail room. value is a Boolean
value: TRUE to tell it to attempt to find the
original room; FALSE to just place it in Mail.
SetNetSurnames value
This sets whether Citadel should display surnames
on messages that come in over the network. value
is a Boolean value: TRUE to display networked
surnames; FALSE to not.
SetNetTitles value
This sets whether Citadel should display titles on
messages that come in over the network. value is a
Boolean value: TRUE to display networked titles;
FALSE to not.
SetNewUserApp app
This sets the application to run when a new user
creates an account. app is a string value giving
the application name.
SetNodeCountry country
This sets the country of the node to save to
networked messages. country is a string value
giving the new country to use.
SetNodeName name
This sets the system's name. name is a string
value giving the new name to use.
SetNodePhone phonenum
This sets the system's phone number. phonenum is a
string value giving the new phone number to use.
SetNodeRegion region
This sets the region of the node to save to
networked messages. region is a string value
giving the new region to use.
SetNoPWEcho value
This sets what to echo to the user as he enters
his password. value is an integer value,
corresponding to the values for #NOPWECHO in
CONFIG.CIT.
SetOffHook value
This determines whether to place the modem off-
hook while the system is busy doing other things.
(This makes the line busy for callers.) value is
an integer value: 0 to never place the modem off-
hook; 1 to place the modem off-hook when a user is
logged in on console or when incorporating network
packets; 2 to place the modem off-hook when a user
is logged in on console, but not when
incorporating network packets.
SetOffHookStr command
This sets the string to send to the modem to place
it off-hook. command is a string value giving the
text to send.
SetOldCount count
This sets the number of messages on the system to
make new for new users. count is an integer value
giving the number of messages to be new. (Use 0 to
make all messages new.)
SetOutImpervious
This turns off the user's ability to skip output
with the Next, Stop, or Jump commands, or to pause
it with the Pause command.
SetOutNormal
This turns on the user's ability to skip output with
the Next, Stop, or Jump commands, or to pause it
with the Pause command.
SetOutNoStop
This turns off the user's ability to skip output
with the Next, Stop, or Jump commands, but allows
it to be paused with the Pause command.
SetPoop poop
This sets the action of the Q and P keys. poop is
an integer value, which may have the same values
of #POOP! in CONFIG.CIT.
SetPortRate baud
This sets the baud rate of the serial port. If
baud is omitted, then the port is initialized to
the speed given by #INITBAUD in CONFIG.CIT. baud
can be 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400,
57600, or 115200, and Citadel will initialize the
port at that rate. Or, it could be a number from 0
to 8, and Citadel will initialize the port as
follows:
baud speed
0 300
1 1200
2 2400
3 4800
4 9600
5 19200
6 38400
7 57600
8 115200
SetPrinter filename
This sets the name of the file to send output to
when the printer capture is turned on. filename is
a string value giving the name of the file.
SetPrinterPrompt value
This sets whether Citadel prompts for a new file
name every time the Alt+P keystroke is used to
start capturing text. value is a Boolean value:
TRUE to prompt for a new filename every time;
FALSE to just use the filename set by #PRINTER in
CONFIG.CIT.
SetRandom
This reinitializes the random number generator.
SetReadAll value
This sets who may use the .Read All... (.RA...)
commands. value is an integer value, with the same
settings as #READALL in CONFIG.CIT.
SetReadLUser value
This sets if the .Read Group-only Userlog (.RGU)
command is allowed or not. value is a Boolean
value: TRUE to allow the command; FALSE to not.
SetReadOK value
This sets whether unlogged-in users may read
messages. value is a Boolean value: TRUE to allow
them to read; FALSE to not.
SetRestoreMode value
This sets whether Citadel restores the screen mode
after returning from a shell if it has changed.
value is a Boolean value: TRUE to restore the
screen mode; FALSE to not.
SetRoomBypassed index bypass
This sets whether a room has been bypassed during
the current call or not. index is an integer value
that specifies the room to set the bypass flag
for. bypass is a Boolean value: TRUE to set the
flag; FALSE to clear it.
SetRoomInHall hall room inhall
This sets whether the room specified by the index
room is in the hall specified by the index hall.
inhall is a Boolean value: TRUE to place the room
in the hall; FALSE to remove it.
SetRoomOK value
This sets whether non-Aides are allowed to create
rooms in halls not explicitly set that users may
create rooms. value is a Boolean value: TRUE if
non-Aides may create rooms in any halls; FALSE if
they may only create rooms in halls that have been
explicitly set to allow it.
SetRoomPath path
This sets the path to store room description files
in. path is a string value giving the new path to
use.
SetScreenSave code value
This sets the behavior of the screen saver. code
is an integer value telling what to set, as per
the following table:
1 The number of minutes before the screen
will blank. value is an integer value;
use 0 to turn the screen saver off.
2 Whether the screen saver is turned off
when Citadel gets a call. value is a
Boolean value: TRUE to turn it off,
FALSE to leave it on.
3 Whether the screen saver stays turned
off for the duration of the call. value
is a Boolean value: TRUE to make the
screen saver stay turned off for the
duration of a call, FALSE to let it turn
back on during a call.
4 Whether a clock is displayed on the
screen, and how often it moves if it is
displayed. value is an integer value:
the number of seconds to wait before
moving the clock; use 0 to turn off the
display of the clock.
5 Whether the cursor stays on when the
screen is blanked. value is a Boolean
value: TRUE to make the cursor stay on
when the screen is blanked, FALSE to
turn it off.
SetScrollTimeout time
This sets the amount of time the scroll-back
buffer is displayed with no keyboard activity
before turning it off. time is an integer value
giving the number of seconds.
SetSetCensor value
This sets whether users are allowed to set if they
wish to view censored messages or not. value is a
Boolean value: TRUE to allow users to set this;
FALSE to not.
SetSetMsgNym value
This sets whether Aides are allowed to change the
name of messages with the .Aide Name messages
(.AN) command. value is a Boolean value: TRUE to
allow Aides to change the name of messages; FALSE
to not.
SetSleepCount value
This sets whether to initiate a count-down when
users time-out. value is a Boolean value: TRUE to
initiate a count-down; FALSE to just hang-up.
SetSleepPrompt prompt
This sets the text to display to the user when he times
out. prompt is a string value giving the text to
display.
SetSubHubs value
This sets how Citadel handles sub-hubs. value is
an integer value with the same meaning as #SUBHUBS
in CONFIG.CIT.
SetSurnames value
This determines if surnames are allowed on the
system. value is a Boolean value: TRUE to allow
surnames; FALSE to not.
SetSysopName name
This sets the user name of the main sysop on the
system. name is a string value giving the name of
the sysop.
SetTempPath path
This sets the path Citadel uses for temporary
files. path is a string value giving the name of
the new path to use.
SetTimeOut time
This sets the amount of time users may be idle on
the system before they are timed out on. time is
an integer value giving the number of minutes to
wait.
SetTitles value
This determines if titles are allowed on the
system. value is a Boolean value: TRUE to allow
titles; FALSE to not.
SetTransPath path
This sets the path used for transient network
files. path is a string value giving the new path
to use.
SetTrapFile filename
This sets the name of the trap file. filename is a
string value giving the new filename to use.
SetTwirly string
This sets the string used to create the twirly cursor.
string is a string value used to set the twirly
cursor. The cursor is created by sending each
character of the string out one at a time.
SetTwirlyPause time
This sets the amount of time to wait between
sending each character of the twirly cursor out.
time is an integer value giving the number of
hundredths of a second to wait.
SetTwitCountry country
This sets the twit country to use for networked
messages. country is a string value giving the new
twit country.
SetTwitRegion region
This sets the twit region to use for networked
messages. region is a string value giving the new
twit region.
SetUnlogBal credits
This sets the number of credits to assign to unlogged-
in users. credits is a long value giving the
number of seconds to give to the user.
SetUnlogTimeout time
This sets the amount of time that unlogged-in
users may be idle before the system times out on
them. time is an integer value giving the number
of minutes.
SetUpDay day value
This sets whether the system is up on the
specified day. day is an integer value ranging
from 0 (Sunday) to 6 (Saturday) specifying the day
to set. value is a Boolean value: TRUE to make the
system active on that day; FALSE to make it
inactive.
SetUpHour hour value
This sets whether the system is up during the
specified hour. hour is an integer value ranging
from 0 (Midnight) to 23 (11 PM) specifying the
hour to set. value is a Boolean value: TRUE to
make the system active during that hour; FALSE to
make it inactive.
SetUserCredits credits
This sets the currently logged-in user's credits
to the long value credits. Remember that Citadel
thinks of credits internally in terms of seconds,
not minutes, so this value is the number of
seconds, not minutes, to assign to the user.
SetUttr attr
This sets the attribute (color) to use for
underlined text on console. attr is an integer
value giving the color code to use.
SetWattr attr
This sets the attribute (color) to use to display
the status line (and all other reverse text) on
console. attr is an integer value giving the color
code to use.
SFormat formatstring codes [var1...var10]
This gives replaceable parameters in a format string,
formatstring. In addition to standard text, this
string contains special codes denoting replaceable
parameters: the percent symbol ("%") followed by a
single letter. codes includes all letters that are
valid in formatstring. var1 through var10 give
what to replace the codes with. (You don't need
all varx parameters: use only as many as you need.
You cannot use more than 10, however.)
For example, the following call:
#CALL SFormat "Testing %a %b %a %c" "abcd"
"string1" "string2" "string3" "string4"
Would result in the following string:
"Testing string1 string2 string1 string 3"
As you can see, you can re-use format codes
several times in formatstring, and you don't need
to use all the codes. If you want the percent
symbol itself to appear in the result string, use
two in a row in formatstring: "This is 100%%
complete."
StartDupCheck
This readies the duplicate checking data for use.
Call it before using AddDupCheck.
To use the duplicate checking functions, start by
calling StartDupCheck, which initializes the
checking data structures. Then add strings with
AddDupCheck. Use CheckForDup to see if a string
has been added. When you are finished, call
StopDupCheck to free up the memory used by the
duplicate checking.
StartMessageEditor room
This loads the message in the script's message
buffer into the message editor and lets the
current user edit and save (or abort) it. room is
an integer value that specifies the room the
message should be entered into, or -1 if it should
go to the current room. This returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the message was saved, FALSE if not
(either because the user chose Abort or Citadel
ran out of memory).
StopDupCheck
This frees up all memory used for duplicate
checking. Call it when you are done duplicate
checking.
To use the duplicate checking functions, start by
calling StartDupCheck, which initializes the
checking data structures. Then add strings with
AddDupCheck. Use CheckForDup to see if a string
has been added. When you are finished, call
StopDupCheck to free up the memory used by the
duplicate checking.
StrfTime formatstring time length
This outputs a time formatted like other time
strings in Citadel. (See the Time/Date Format
Strings section for a full explanation.)
formatstring is the string used to format the
output, time is the time to format (given as the
number of seconds since 12:00AM January 1, 1970,
GMT), and length is the maximum allowed length of
the resulting string. As a short-cut, you can use
the number 0 for time to have Citadel format the
current time.
StringIsAddress string
This returns whether the string specified by
string is a valid address on the Citadel network.
This does not check for the existence of the
address, only if it has a valid format for one.
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the string
is a valid address; FALSE if not.
StrPos
Wow.
TellFile filenumbner
This returns the current position of the file
pointer in the file given by the integer
expression filenumber. The position is returned as
an unsigned long value.
ThisRoom
This returns the current room as an index into the
room table. This is returned as an integer value.
UserAddKillNode nodename
This adds a node-based message exclusion for the
user in the script user buffer. nodename is a
string value giving the name of the node to
exclude. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the
exclusion could be added; FALSE if not.
UserAddKillRegion region
This adds a region-based message exclusion for the
user in the script user buffer. region is a string
value giving the region to exclude. This returns a
Boolean value: TRUE if the exclusion could be
added; FALSE if not.
UserAddKillText text
This adds a text-based message exclusion for the user
in the script user buffer. text is a string value
giving the text to exclude. This returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the exclusion could be added; FALSE
if not.
UserAddKillUser username
This adds a user-based message exclusion for the
user in the script user buffer. username is a
string value giving the name of the user to
exclude. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the
exclusion could be added; FALSE if not.
UserAddWordToDictionary word
This adds a word to the personal dictionary of the
user in the script user buffer. word is a string
value giving the word to add.
UserClear
This clears the script user buffer, setting all
values to their defaults.
UserDump
This releases the memory used by the script user
buffer.
UserGetAlias
This returns the alias of the user in the script
user buffer as a string value.
UserGetBirthDate
This returns the birth date of the user in the
script user buffer as a long value (the time of
midnight on the user's birth date).
UserGetCallLimit
This returns the call-per-day limit of the user in
the script user buffer as an integer value. If
this returns a 0, then there is no limit for the
user.
UserGetCallNumber
This returns the call number of the user in the
script user buffer as a long value.
UserGetCallsToday
This returns the number of calls during one day
(midnight to midnight) of the user in the script
user buffer as an integer value. Note that this
will return a non-zero number even if the user has
not called today: it returns the number of calls
the user made during the last day he called. Use
UserGetCallTime to determine which day that was.
UserGetCallTime
This returns the time of the last call of the user
in the script user buffer as a long value.
UserGetCredits
This returns the number of credits of the user in
the script user buffer as a long value. Note that
Citadel internally stores credits as seconds, not
minutes.
UserGetDateStamp
This returns the date stamp of the user in the
script user buffer as a string value.
UserGetDefaultHall
This returns the default hall of the user in the script
user buffer as a string value.
UserGetDefaultProtocol
This returns the default file transfer protocol of
the user in the script user buffer as a string
value. Note that only the menu-key letter of the
protocol is returned, not the full name.
UserGetDefaultRoom
This returns the default room of the user in the
script user buffer as a string value. Note that
the default room is not currently in use.
UserGetDL_Bytes
This returns the number of bytes the user in the
script user buffer has downloaded as a long value.
Note that this is not currently in use.
UserGetDL_Num
This returns the number of files the user in the
script user buffer has uploaded as an integer
value. Note that this is not currently in use.
UserGetFirstOn
This returns the time of the first call of the
user in the script user buffer as a long value.
UserGetForwardAddr
This returns the user mail to the user in the
script user buffer is forwarded to as a string
value.
UserGetForwardAddrNode
This returns the node mail to the user in the
script user buffer is forwarded to as a string
value.
UserGetForwardAddrRegion
This returns the region of the node mail to the
user in the script user buffer is forwarded to as
a string value.
UserGetInitials
This returns the initials of the user in the script
user buffer as a string value.
UserGetKillNode index
This returns a node-based message exclusion of the
user in the script user buffer as a string value.
index is an integer value giving the exclusion
number to extract.
UserGetKillRegion index
This returns a region-based message exclusion of
the user in the script user buffer as a string
value. index is an integer value giving the
exclusion number to extract.
UserGetKillText index
This returns a text-based message exclusion of the
user in the script user buffer as a string value.
index is an integer value giving the exclusion
number to extract.
UserGetKillUser index
This returns a user-based message exclusion of the user
in the script user buffer as a string value. index
is an integer value giving the exclusion number to
extract.
UserGetLastHall
This returns the last hall the user in the script
user buffer was in last call as a string value.
UserGetLastMessage
This returns the message number of the last
message on the system during the last call of the
user in the script user buffer as a long value.
UserGetLastRoom
This returns the last room the user in the script
user buffer was in last call as a string value.
UserGetLinesPerScreen
This returns the lines per screen of the user in
the script user buffer as an integer value.
UserGetLocID
This returns the Location Identifier of the user in the
script user buffer as a string value.
UserGetLogins
This returns the number of times the user in the
script user buffer has logged in as an unsigned
integer value.
UserGetMailAddr1
This returns the first line of the mailing address
of the user in the script user buffer as a string
value.
UserGetMailAddr2
This returns the second line of the mailing
address of the user in the script user buffer as a
string value.
UserGetMailAddr3
This returns the third line of the mailing address
of the user in the script user buffer as a string
value.
UserGetMorePrompt
This returns the more prompt of the user in the
script user buffer as a string value.
UserGetName
This returns the name of the user in the script
user buffer as a string value.
UserGetNetPrefix
This returns the net prefix of the user in the
script user buffer as a string value.
UserGetNulls
This returns the number of nulls of the user in
the script user buffer as an integer value.
UserGetNumKillNode
This returns the number of node-based message
exclusions the user in the script user buffer has
defined as a long value.
UserGetNumKillRegion
This returns the number of region-based message
exclusions the user in the script user buffer has
defined as a long value.
UserGetNumKillText
This returns the number of text-based message
exclusions the user in the script user buffer has
defined as a long value.
UserGetNumKillUser
This returns the number of user-based message
exclusions the user in the script user buffer has
defined as a long value.
UserGetNumUserShow
This returns the number of users to show on log-in
of the user in the script user buffer as an
integer value.
UserGetOccupation
This returns the occupation of the user in the
script user buffer as a string value.
UserGetPassword
This returns the password of the user in the
script user buffer as a string value.
UserGetPasswordChangeTime
This returns the time the user in the script user
buffer last changed his password as a long value.
UserGetPhoneNumber
This returns the phone number of the user in the
script user buffer as a string value.
UserGetPoopcount
This returns the poopcount of the user in the
script user buffer as a long value.
UserGetPosted
This returns the total number of messages the user
in the script user buffer has posted as a long
value.
UserGetPromptFormat
This returns the room prompt format string of the user
in the script user buffer as a string value.
UserGetRead
This returns the total number of messages the user
in the script user buffer as read as a long value.
UserGetRealName
This returns the real name of the user in the
script user buffer as a string value.
UserGetRoomNewPointer index
This returns the message pointer of the user in
the script user buffer as a long value. index is
an integer value giving room to get the message
pointer of.
UserGetSex
This returns the sex of the user in the script
user buffer as an integer value. This is 0 if the
sex has not been specified, 1 if male, or 2 if
female.
UserGetSignature
This returns the signature of the user in the
script user buffer as a string value.
UserGetSpellCheckMode
This returns the spell check mode of the user in
the script user buffer as an integer value.
UserGetSurname
This returns the surname of the user in the script
user buffer as a string value.
UserGetTitle
This returns the title of the user in the script
user buffer as a string value.
UserGetTotalTime
This returns the total amount of time (in seconds)
the user in the script user buffer has spent on
the system as a long value.
UserGetUL_Bytes
This returns the total number of bytes the user in the
script user buffer has uploaded to the system as a
long value. Note that this is not currently in
use.
UserGetUL_Num
This returns the total number of files the user in
the script user buffer has uploaded to the system
as an integer value. Note that this is not
currently in use.
UserGetUserDefined code
This returns user-defined data for the user in the
script user buffer as a string value. code is a
string value giving a code used to distinguish the
data. With user-defined data, your script can
easily store information in each user's data files
on disk. Just be sure to pick a unique code so
your script does not conflict with other people's
scripts. code can be any string up to 30
characters long, so you can do something like use
your name followed by a number ("Brent Bottles 1"
for example) and be reasonably assured of
uniqueness.
UserGetVerboseDateStamp
This returns the verbose date stamp of the user in
the script user buffer as a string value.
UserGetWhereHear
This returns where the user in the script user
buffer heard about the BBS as a string value.
UserGetWidth
This returns the terminal width of the user in the
script user buffer as an integer value.
UserIsAccounting
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has accounting turned on as a Boolean
value.
UserIsAide
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is an aide as a Boolean value.
UserIsAutoNextHall
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has auto-next-hall turned on as a Boolean
value.
UserIsAutoVerbose
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has auto-verbose turned on as a Boolean
value.
UserIsChat
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer can use the Chat (C) command as a Boolean
value.
UserIsCheckAllCaps
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has spell-checking of words in all caps
turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsCheckApostropheS
This returns whether the user in the script user buffer
has spell-checking of words that end in "'s"
turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsCheckDigits
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has spell-checking of words containing
digits turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsClearScreenBetweenMessages
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has clear screen between messages turned on
as a Boolean value.
UserIsConfirmNoEO
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has confirm no .EO when there is an aborted
message turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsDefaultHallLocked
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has his default hall locked as a Boolean
value.
UserIsDownload
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer may download as a Boolean value.
UserIsDungeoned
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is dungeoned as a Boolean value. Note that
this is not currently in use.
UserIsEnterBorders
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer may enter borders as a Boolean value.
UserIsExcludeEncryptedMessages
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has exclusion of encrypted messages turned
on as a Boolean value.
UserIsExpert
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is an expert as a Boolean value.
UserIsForwardToNode
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has forwarding-to-node turned on as a
Boolean value.
UserIsHideMessageExclusions
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has hiding of message exclusions turned on
as a Boolean value.
UserIsIBMANSI
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has IBM ANSI turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsIBMColor
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has IBM color turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsIBMGraph
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has IBM graphics characters turned on as a
Boolean value.
UserIsIBMRoom
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has IBM room prompt characters turned on as
a Boolean value.
UserIsInGroup index
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is in a group as a Boolean value. index is
the group's index.
UserIsInRoom index
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is in a room as a Boolean value. index is
the room's index.
UserIsInuse
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is in use as a Boolean value.
UserIsKillNode nodename
This returns whether a node is subjected to node-based
message exclusion by the user in the script user
buffer as a Boolean value. nodename is the name of
the node to test.
UserIsKillRegion region
This returns whether a region is subjected to
region-based message exclusion by the user in the
script user buffer as a Boolean value. region is
the of the region to test.
UserIsKillText text
This returns whether text is subjected to text-
based message exclusion by the user in the script
user buffer as a Boolean value. text is the text
to test.
UserIsKillUser username
This returns whether a user is subjected to user-
based message exclusion by the user in the script
user buffer as a Boolean value. username is the
name of the node to test.
UserIsLinefeeds
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has linefeeds turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsMail
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer may send mail as a Boolean value.
UserIsMainSysop
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is the main sysop as set by #SYSOP in
CONFIG.CIT as a Boolean value.
UserIsMakeRoom
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer may make rooms as a Boolean value.
UserIsMinibin
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has Minibin usage statistics turned on as a
Boolean value.
UserIsMusic
This returns whether the user in the script user buffer
has music turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsNetUser
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has network privileges as a Boolean value.
UserIsNode
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is a node as a Boolean value.
UserIsOldToo
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has last old on new turned on as a Boolean
value.
UserIsOut300
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has 300 baud output simulation turned on as
a Boolean value.
UserIsPauseBetweenMessages
This returns whether the user in the script user buffer
has pause-between-messages turned on as a Boolean
value.
UserIsPermanent
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is permanent as a Boolean value.
UserIsPrintFile
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has automatic trap-to-print file turned on
as a Boolean value.
UserIsProblem
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is a problem user as a Boolean value.
UserIsPsycho
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has psycho chicken turned on as a Boolean
value.
UserIsPUnPauses
This returns whether the user in the script user buffer
has P Unpauses turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsRoomExcluded index
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has a room excluded as a Boolean value.
index is an integer value specifying which room to
check.
UserIsRoomInPersonalHall index
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has a room in his personal hall as a
Boolean value. index is an integer value
specifying which room to check.
UserIsSurnameLocked
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has his title and surname locked as a
Boolean value.
UserIsSysop
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is a Sysop as a Boolean value.
UserIsTabs
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has tabs turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsTwirly
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has the twirly cursor turned on as a
Boolean value.
UserIsUnlisted
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is not listed in the userlog as a Boolean
value.
UserIsUpload
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer may upload files as a Boolean value.
UserIsUpperOnly
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has upper case only turned on as a Boolean
value.
UserIsUsePersonalHall
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer is using his personal hall as a Boolean
value.
UserIsUserDefined code
This returns whether user-defined data for the
user in the script user buffer has been defined as
a Boolean data. code is a string value giving a
code used to distinguish the data. With user-
defined data, your script can easily store
information in each user's data files on disk.
Just be sure to pick a unique code so your script
does not conflict with other people's scripts.
code can be any string up to 30 characters long,
so you can do something like use your name
followed by a number ("Brent Bottles 1" for
example) and be reasonably assured of uniqueness.
UserIsUserSignatureLocked
This returns whether the user in the script user buffer
has his signature locked as a Boolean value.
UserIsVerboseLogOut
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has verbose log-out turned on as a Boolean
value.
UserIsVerified
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has been verified as a Boolean value.
UserIsViewBorders
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has the display of borders turned on as a
Boolean value.
UserIsViewCensoredMessages
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has the display of censored messages turned
on as a Boolean value.
UserIsViewCommas
This returns whether the user in the script user buffer
has the display of commas as thousands separators
in number turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsViewHallDescription
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has the display of hall description files
turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsViewRoomDesc
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has the display of room description files
turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsViewRoomInfoLines
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has the display of room information lines
turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsViewSignatures
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has the display of signatures turned on as
a Boolean value.
UserIsViewSubjects
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has the display of subjects turned on as a
Boolean value.
UserIsViewTitleSurname
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has the display of titles and surnames
turned on as a Boolean value.
UserIsWideRoom
This returns whether the user in the script user
buffer has wide rooms turned on as a Boolean
value.
UserIsWordInDictionary word
This returns whether a word is in the personal
dictionary of the user in the script user buffer
as a Boolean value. word is the word to check.
UserIsYouAreHere
This returns whether the user in the script user buffer
has you are here turned on as a Boolean value.
UserLoad index
This loads a user off disk into the script user
buffer. index is an integer value that specifies
which user to load. This returns a Boolean value:
TRUE if the user could be loaded; FALSE if not.
UserRemoveKillNode nodename
This removes a node-based message exclusion from
the user in the script user buffer. nodename is a
string value giving the name of the node to stop
excluding. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if
the node could be removed; FALSE if not (most
likely, the node wasn't excluded).
UserRemoveKillRegion region
This removes a region-based message exclusion from
the user in the script user buffer. region is a
string value giving the name of the region to stop
excluding. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if
the region could be removed; FALSE if not (most
likely, the region wasn't excluded).
UserRemoveKillText text
This removes a text-based message exclusion from
the user in the script user buffer. text is a
string value giving the text to stop excluding.
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the text
could be removed; FALSE if not (most likely, the
text wasn't excluded).
UserRemoveKillUser username
This removes a user-based message exclusion from
the user in the script user buffer. username is a
string value giving the name of the user to stop
excluding. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if
the user could be removed; FALSE if not (most
likely, the user wasn't excluded).
UserRemoveUserDefined code
This removes user-defined data from the user in
the script user buffer. code is a string value
giving a code used to distinguish the data. With
user-defined data, your script can easily store
information in each user's data files on disk.
Just be sure to pick a unique code so your script
does not conflict with other people's scripts.
code can be any string up to 30 characters long,
so you can do something like use your name
followed by a number ("Brent Bottles 1" for
example) and be reasonably assured of uniqueness.
This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the data
could be removed; FALSE if not (most likely, the
data wasn't defined).
UserRemoveWordFromDictionary word
This removes a word from the personal dictionary
of the user in the script user buffer. word is a
string value giving the word to remove from the
dictionary. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if
the word could be removed; FALSE if not (most
likely, the word was not in the user's personal
dictionary).
UserSave index
This saves the user in the script user buffer to disk.
index is the position in the log files to save the
user. This returns a Boolean value: TRUE if the
user could be saved; FALSE if not.
UserSetAccounting accounting
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has accounting turned on. accounting is a
Boolean value: TRUE to turn accounting on; FALSE
to turn it off.
UserSetAide aide
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer is an aide. aide is a Boolean value: TRUE
to make the user an aide; FALSE to make the user
not an aide.
UserSetAlias alias
This sets the alias of the user in the script user
buffer. alias is a string value giving the new
alias.
UserSetAutoNextHall autonexthall
This sets whether the user in the script user buffer
has auto-next-hall turned on. autonexthall is a
Boolean value: TRUE to turn it on; FALSE to turn
it off.
UserSetAutoVerbose autoverbose
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has auto-verbose turned on. autoverbose is
a Boolean value: TRUE to turn it on; FALSE to turn
it off.
UserSetBirthDate date
This sets the birth date of the user in the script
user buffer. date is a long value giving the time
of midnight on the morning of the user's birth
date.
UserSetCallLimit limit
This sets the call-per-day limit of the user in
the script user buffer. limit is an integer value
giving the new limit. Use 0 to remove the limit.
UserSetCallNumber number
This sets the last call number of the user in the
script user buffer. number is a long value giving
the new call number.
UserSetCallsToday calls
This sets the number of calls the user in the
script user buffer made during the last day that
the user called. calls is an integer value giving
the number of calls.
UserSetCallTime time
This sets the time the user in the script user
buffer last called. time is a long value giving
the time of the last call.
UserSetChat maychat
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has access to the Chat (C) command. maychat
is a Boolean value: TRUE to let the user chat;
FALSE to not.
UserSetCheckAllCaps checkcaps
This sets whether the user in the script user buffer
has checking of words in all-caps turned on in the
spell checker. checkcaps is a Boolean value: TRUE
to turn on checking of all-caps; FALSE to turn it
off.
UserSetCheckApostropheS check
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has apostrophe s checking turned on in the
spell checker. check is a Boolean value: TRUE to
turn on checking; FALSE to turn it off.
UserSetCheckDigits check
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has digit checking turned on in the spell
checker. check is a Boolean value: TRUE to turn on
checking; FALSE to turn it off.
UserSetClearScreenBetweenMessages cls
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has clear-screen-between-messages turned on
or not. cls is a Boolean value: TRUE to turn it
on; FALSE to turn it off.
UserSetConfirmNoEO confirm
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has confirm not .EO turned on or not.
confirm is a Boolean value: TRUE to turn it on;
FALSE to turn it off.
UserSetCredits credits
This sets the number of credits the user in the
script user buffer has in his account. credits is
a long value giving the new number of credits.
(Remember that Citadel thinks of credits
internally in terms of seconds, not minutes.)
UserSetDateStamp stamp
This sets the date stamp of the user in the script
user buffer. stamp is a string value giving the
new date stamp.
UserSetDefaultHall hallname
This sets the default hall of the user in the
script user buffer. hallname is a string value
giving the name of the new default hall.
UserSetDefaultHallLocked locked
This sets whether the default hall of the user in
the script user buffer is locked or not. locked is
a Boolean value: TRUE if the hall is to be locked;
FALSE if not.
UserSetDefaultProtocol protocol
This sets the default file transfer protocol of
the user in the script user buffer. protocol is a
string value, the first letter of which gives the
menu command for the file transfer protocol to be
used as default.
UserSetDefaultRoom roomname
This sets the default room of the user in the
script user buffer. roomname is a string value
giving the name of the room to make the default
room. Note that the default room is not currently
in use.
UserSetDL_Bytes bytes
This sets the number of bytes downloaded by the
user in the script user buffer. bytes is a long
value giving the new number of bytes downloaded.
UserSetDL_Num files
This sets the number of files downloaded by the
user in the script user buffer. files is an
integer value giving the new number of files
downloaded.
UserSetDownload maydownload
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer may download files. maydownload is a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user may download;
FALSE if not.
UserSetDungeoned dungeoned
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer is dungeoned or not. dungeoned is a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user is dungeoned; FALSE if
not. Note that dungeoning currently has no effect.
UserSetEnterBorders mayenter
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer may enter (change) borders. mayenter is a
Boolean value: TRUE if the user may enter borders;
FALSE if not.
UserSetExcludeEncryptedMessages exclude
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer excludes encrypted messages or not. exclude
is a Boolean value: TRUE to exclude encrypted
messages; FALSE to not.
UserSetExpert expert
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer is an expert or not. expert is a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user is an expert; FALSE if
not.
UserSetFirstOn time
This sets the time the user in the script user
buffer was first on the system. time is a long
value giving the time.
UserSetForwardAddr username
This sets the forwarding address of the user in
the script user buffer. username is a string value
giving the name of the user to forward messages
to.
UserSetForwardAddrNode nodename
This sets the node of the forwarding address of
the user in the script user buffer. nodename is a
string value giving the name of the node to
forward messages to.
UserSetForwardAddrRegion region
This sets the region of the forwarding address of
the user in the script user buffer. region is a
string value giving the region of the node to
forward messages to.
UserSetForwardToNode fwd
This sets whether to forward mail to the user in
the script user buffer to another node or not. fwd
is a Boolean value: TRUE to forward the mail to
another node; FALSE to not.
UserSetHideMessageExclusions hide
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer hides messages exclusions or not. hide is a
Boolean value: TRUE to hide the message
exclusions; FALSE to not.
UserSetIBMANSI ibmansi
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has IBM ANSI turned on or not. ibmansi is a
Boolean value: TRUE to set it on; FALSE to set it
off.
UserSetIBMColor ibmcolor
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has IBM color ANSI turned on or not.
ibmcolor is a Boolean value: TRUE to set it on;
FALSE to set it off.
UserSetIBMGraph ibmgraph
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has IBM graphics characters turned on or
not. ibmgraph is a Boolean value: TRUE to set them
on; FALSE to set them off.
UserSetIBMRoom ibmroom
This sets whether to use IBM graphics characters
in room prompts for the user in the script user
buffer. ibmroom is a Boolean value: TRUE to use
them; FALSE to not.
UserSetInGroup group ingroup
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer is in a group. group is an integer value
giving the index of the group. ingroup is a
Boolean value: TRUE to place the user in the
group; FALSE to remove him.
UserSetInitials initials
This sets the initials of the user in the script
user buffer. initials is a string value giving the
new initials.
UserSetInRoom room inroom
This sets whether the user in the script user buffer is
in a room. room is an integer value giving the
index of the room. inroom is a Boolean value: TRUE
to place the user in the room; FALSE to remove
him.
UserSetInuse inuse
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer is in use or not. inuse is a Boolean value:
TRUE to make the user in use; FALSE to not.
UserSetLastHall lasthall
This sets the last hall the user in the script
user buffer was in during the last call. lasthall
is a string value giving the name of the hall.
UserSetLastMessage msgnumber
This sets the last message on the system during
the user in the script user buffer's last call.
msgnumber is a long value giving the number of the
message.
UserSetLastRoom lastroom
This sets the last room the user in the script user
buffer was in during the last call. lastroom is a
string value giving the name of the room.
UserSetLinefeeds linefeeds
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has linefeeds turned on or not. linefeeds
is a Boolean value: TRUE to turn on linefeeds;
FALSE to not.
UserSetLinesPerScreen lines
This sets the number of lines on the screen of the
user in the script user buffer. lines is an
integer value giving the number of lines. Use 0 to
turn off pause-on-full-screen.
UserSetLocID locid
This sets the Location Identifier of the user in
the script user buffer. locid is a string value
giving the new Location Identifier. (This is
generally used only for nodes.)
UserSetLogins number
This sets the number of times the user in the script
user buffer has logged into the system. number is
an integer value giving the number of log-ins.
UserSetMail mail
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer may leave mail. mail is a Boolean value:
TRUE if he may leave mail; FALSE if not.
UserSetMailAddr1 addr1
This sets the first line of the mailing address of
the user in the script user buffer. addr1 is a
string value giving the line.
UserSetMailAddr2 addr2
This sets the second line of the mailing address
of the user in the script user buffer. addr2 is a
string value giving the line.
UserSetMailAddr3 addr3
This sets the third line of the mailing address of
the user in the script user buffer. addr3 is a
string value giving the line.
UserSetMakeRoom makeroom
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer may make rooms or not. makeroom is a
Boolean value: TRUE to allow room creation; FALSE
to not.
UserSetMinibin minibin
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has Minibin usage statistics turned on or
not. minibin is a Boolean value: TRUE if the
statistics are on: FALSE if not.
UserSetMorePrompt prompt
This sets the more prompt of the user in the
script user buffer. prompt is a string value
giving the new more prompt.
UserSetMusic music
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has music turned on or not. music is a
Boolean value: TRUE if music is on; FALSE if off.
UserSetName name
This sets the name of the user in the script user
buffer. name is a string value giving the new name
to use.
UserSetNetPrefix prefix
This sets the net prefix of the user in the script
user buffer. prefix is a string value giving the
new net prefix.
UserSetNetUser netuser
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer is a net user or not. netuser is a Boolean
value: TRUE to make the user a Netuser; FALSE to
not.
UserSetNode node
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer is a node. node is a Boolean value: TRUE to
make the user a node; FALSE to not.
UserSetNulls nulls
This sets the number of nulls for the user in the
script user buffer. nulls is an integer value
giving the number of nulls.
UserSetNumUserShow number
This sets the number of users to show on log-in
for the user in the script user buffer. number is
an integer value giving the number of users to
show.
UserSetOccupation occupation
This sets the occupation of the user in the script
user buffer. occupation is a string value giving
the occupation.
UserSetOldToo oldtoo
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer sees the last old message when reading new
messages. oldtoo is a Boolean value: TRUE to view
last old on new; FALSE to not.
UserSetOut300 out300
This sets whether the user in the script user buffer
has 300 baud simulation turned on or not. out300
is a Boolean value: TRUE to turn it on; FALSE to
not.
UserSetPassword password
This sets the password of the user in the script
user buffer. password is a string value giving the
new password to use.
UserSetPasswordChangeTime time
This sets the time the user last changed his
password. time is a long value giving the time.
UserSetPauseBetweenMessages pause
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has pause-between-messages turned on or
not. pause is a Boolean value: TRUE to pause;
FALSE to not.
UserSetPermanent permanent
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer is permanent or not. permanent is a Boolean
value: TRUE to make the user permanent; FALSE to
not.
UserSetPhoneNumber phonenum
This sets the phone number of the user in the
script user buffer. phonenum is a string value
giving the user's phone number.
UserSetPoopcount poopcount
This sets the poopcount of the user in the script
user buffer. poopcount is a long value giving the
new poopcount.
UserSetPosted number
This sets the number of messages posted by the
user in the script user buffer. number is a long
value giving the total number of messages posted.
UserSetPrintFile printfile
This sets whether automatic capture to print file
is turned on for the user in the script user
buffer. printfile is a Boolean value: TRUE to turn
on automatic capture; FALSE to not.
UserSetProblem problem
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer is a problem user or not. problem is a
Boolean value: TRUE to make the user a problem
user; FALSE to not.
UserSetPromptFormat prompt
This sets the room prompt format for the user in
the script user buffer. prompt is a string value
giving the new room prompt format.
UserSetPsycho psycho
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has psycho chicken turned on or not. psycho
is a Boolean value: TRUE to turn it on; FALSE to
turn it off.
UserSetPUnPauses punpauses
This sets whether the P key un-pauses for the user
in the script user buffer. punpauses is a Boolean
value: TRUE to make it un-pause; FALSE to not.
UserSetRead number
This sets the total number of messages read by the
user in the script user buffer. number is a long
value giving the number of messages read.
UserSetRealName name
This sets the real name of the user in the script
user buffer. name is a string value giving the new
real name.
UserSetRoomExcluded room excluded
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has a room excluded or not. room is an
integer value giving the room index to set.
excluded is a Boolean value: TRUE to exclude the
room; FALSE to not.
UserSetRoomInPersonalHall room inhall
This sets whether a room is in the personal hall
of the user in the script user buffer. room is an
integer value giving the room index to set. inhall
is a Boolean value: TRUE to place the room in the
hall; FALSE to remove it.
UserSetRoomNewPointer room pointer
This sets the new message pointer for the user in
the script user buffer in a particular room. room
is an integer value giving the room index to set.
pointer is a long value, giving the message number
of the last old message in the room
UserSetSex sex
This sets the sex of the user in the script user
buffer. sex is an integer value: 0 to make the sex
unspecified; 1 to set the sex as male; or 2 to set
the sex as female.
UserSetSignature signature
This sets the user signature of the user in the
script user buffer. signature is a string value
giving the new signature.
UserSetSpellCheckMode mode
This sets the spell checker mode of the user in
the script user buffer.
UserSetSurname surname
This sets the new surname for the user in the
script user buffer. surname is a string value
giving the new surname to use.
UserSetSurnameLocked locked
This sets whether the title and surname of the
user in the script user buffer is locked or not.
locked is a Boolean value: TRUE to lock the title
and surname; FALSE to unlock them.
UserSetSysop sysop
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer is a sysop or not. sysop is a Boolean
value: TRUE to make the user a sysop; FALSE to
not.
UserSetTabs tabs
This sets whether the user in the script user buffer
has tabs turned on or not. tabs is a Boolean
value: TRUE to turn tabs on; FALSE to turn them
off.
UserSetTitle title
This sets the title of the user in the script user
buffer. title is a string value giving the new
title.
UserSetTotalTime time
This sets the total time spent on the system by
the user in the script user buffer. time is a long
value giving the total time in seconds.
UserSetTwirly twirly
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has the twirly cursor turned on or not.
twirly is a Boolean value: TRUE to turn the twirly
cursor on; FALSE to turn it off.
UserSetUL_Bytes bytes
This sets the number of bytes uploaded by the user in
the script user buffer. bytes is a long value to
use as the new number of bytes uploaded.
UserSetUL_Num files
This sets the number of files uploaded by the user
in the script user buffer. files is an integer
value to use as the new number of files uploaded.
UserSetUnlisted unlisted
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has an unlisted account or not. unlisted is
a Boolean value: TRUE to set the account as
unlisted; FALSE to set it as listed.
UserSetUpload mayupload
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer may upload or not. mayupload is a Boolean
value: TRUE if the user may upload; FALSE if not.
UserSetUpperOnly upperonly
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has uppercase-only turned on. upperonly is
a Boolean value: TRUE to set uppercase-only on;
FALSE to set it off.
UserSetUsePersonalHall userpersonal
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer is set to use his personal hall or not.
usepersonal is a Boolean value: TRUE to use the
personal hall; FALSE to not.
UserSetUserDefined code data
This sets user-defined data for the user in the
script user buffer. code is a string value giving
a code used to distinguish the data. data is a
string value which is the actual data to set. With
user-defined data, your script can easily store
information in each user's data files on disk.
Just be sure to pick a unique code so your script
does not conflict with other people's scripts.
code can be any string up to 30 characters long,
so you can do something like use your name
followed by a number ("Brent Bottles 1" for
example) and be reasonably assured of uniqueness.
UserSetUserSignatureLocked lock
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has a locked user signature or not. lock is
a Boolean value: TRUE to lock the signature; FALSE
to unlock it.
UserSetVerboseDateStamp stamp
This sets the verbose date stamp for the user in
the script user buffer. stamp is a string value to
use as the new verbose date stamp.
UserSetVerboseLogOut vlogout
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has verbose log-out turned on or not.
vlogout is a Boolean value: TRUE to turn it on;
FALSE to turn it off.
UserSetVerified verified
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer is verified or not. verified is a Boolean
value: TRUE to verify the user; FALSE to deverify
him.
UserSetViewBorders viewborders
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer views borders and ads or not. viewborders
is a Boolean value: TRUE to view borders; FALSE to
not.
UserSetViewCensoredMessages viewcensored
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer views censored messages or not.
viewcensored is a Boolean value: TRUE to view
censored messages; FALSE to not.
UserSetViewCommas commas
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer views commas as a thousands separator in
numbers or not. commas is a Boolean value: TRUE to
view them; FALSE to not.
UserSetViewHallDescription desc
This sets whether the user in the script user buffer
views hall descriptions or not. desc is a Boolean
value: TRUE to view hall descriptions; FALSE to
not.
UserSetViewRoomDesc desc
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer views room descriptions or not. desc is a
Boolean value: TRUE to view room descriptions;
FALSE to not.
UserSetViewRoomInfoLines info
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer views room information lines or not. desc
is a Boolean value: TRUE to view room information
lines; FALSE to not.
UserSetViewSignatures signatures
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer views signatures or not. signatures is a
Boolean value: TRUE to view signatures; FALSE to
not.
UserSetViewSubjects subjects
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer views message subjects or not. subjects is
a Boolean value: TRUE to view message subjects;
FALSE to not.
UserSetViewTitleSurname titlesurname
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer views titles and surnames or not.
titlesurname is a Boolean value: TRUE to view
titles and surnames; FALSE to not.
UserSetWhereHear wherehear
This sets where the user in the script user buffer
heard about the system. wherehear is a string
value to use as where he heard about it.
UserSetWideRoom wideroom
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has wide rooms turned on or not. wideroom
is a Boolean value: TRUE to turn on wide rooms;
FALSE to turn it off.
UserSetWidth width
This sets the terminal width of the user in the
script user buffer. width is an integer value of
the new width of his terminal.
UserSetYouAreHere youarehere
This sets whether the user in the script user
buffer has you are here on or not. youarehere is a
Boolean value: TRUE to turn on you are here; FALSE
to turn it off.
UserStart
This allocates a buffer for the script to load,
edit, and save users. This returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the buffer could be allocated;
FALSE if not (Citadel is out of memory). If there
is already a script user buffer, this clears it
and sets all values to their default.
UserUseCurrentUser
This is a short-cut to load the current user into
the script's user buffer, instead of having to
find the user's index and call UserLoad.
WaitFor text timeout
This waits for the text given by text to come in
over the modem. timeout is the number of seconds
to wait before giving up. This returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the text was found; FALSE if not
(Citadel timed-out).
WriteApl code value
This writes something to INPUT.APL. This is a
quick-and-dirty way to make a change in Citadel:
after the script is finished running, Citadel
checks for INPUT.APL and uses the data in it to
change its configuration. See the Applications
section for full information on this file. code is
the INPUT.APL code to write and value is the value
to write for the code. This returns a Boolean
value: TRUE if the file could be updated; FALSE if
it couldn't.
WriteBool filenumber value
This writes the Boolean value value to the file
referenced by the integer value filenumber.
WriteChar filenumber value
This writes a character with the ASCII value
specified by the integer value value to the file
referenced by the integer value filenumber.
WriteInt filenumber value
This writes the integer value value to the file
referenced by the integer value filenumber.
WriteLong filenumber value
This writes the long value value to the file
referenced by the integer value filenumber.
WriteStr filenumber value terminate
This writes the string value value to the file
referenced by the integer value filenumber. The
string is terminated according to the value of the
integer variable terminate:
0 Don't write anything after the string.
1 Write ASCII 0 (NUL) after the string.
2 Write an ASCII 13 (CR) followed by an
ASCII 10 (LF) after the string.
WriteUInt filenumber value
This writes the unsigned integer value value to
the file referenced by the integer value
filenumber.
WriteULong filenumber value
This writes the unsigned long value value to the
file referenced by the integer value filenumber.
Citadel internal functions by function
Following is a list of internal functions grouped by
function. See the previous topic for details of the
functions. Dial.
Configuration
Debugging
AddWatch
ClearBreakPoint
DebuggingMsg
Files
ChangeDir
CloseFile
CountDirectory
DeleteFile
Messages
Networking
AddNetIDToNetIDCit
AppendToNetCommandReply
Users
AddUser
Rooms
Halls
Groups
AddUser
User interaction
AskYN
Chat
ChatReq
CheckUserOutControl
DecToHex
Dial
String duplication checking
AddDupCheck
CheckForDup
Miscellaneous
AddCommasToNumber
ASCIIToChar
CharToASCII
_Appendix A: Customization
If you wish to change the messages that appear when running
Citadel, or the dictionary, you will need the Citadel
Customization Kit, available from The Anticlimactic
Teleservice at (206)562-9792. This section explains how to
use the Kit.
Note: This section might be too technical for some
users. If you don't understand what is being said,
please don't attempt to change things, unless you have
a backup of everything. By modifying the files
described in this document in the wrong way, you can
easily make Citadel not run properly or not run at all.
If you have any questions, please ask before trying
anything.
Usually, Citadel reads string information (what it displays
to the user) from CTDL.EXE. However, it first looks for a
file named CTDL.DAT. If it finds this file, it uses it to
load its strings out of. By creating a specialized CTDL.DAT,
you can give your board its own special look. However, be
warned that doing this once does not mean that you have done
it for good: future revisions of Citadel will be looking for
different information in the CTDL.DAT file. While most of
the strings we add will go after the existing strings, there
is no guarantee that we will not change the order of
strings. We will not go out of our way to change the data,
but we also will not avoid doing it to further enhance
Citadel's memory usage.
What this means is that you might have to do some extra work
next time you update your Citadel software if you want to
keep your changes to CTDL.DAT changed. If you make more
changes, you will have more work to do when updating than if
you don't make as many changes.
If you add words to Citadel's spell checker by modifying ENG-
AM.DAT, please send us your new dictionary, so we can update
the distribution dictionary as well. There are 115,756 words
in the dictionary, which includes most of the common words
in the English language, but there might be some missing. We
don't have the time to add more words, so would appreciate
any help we can receive.
The CTDL.DAT File
Citadel loads various parts of CTDL.DAT into memory when it
needs to do certain tasks. For example, a section is loaded
into memory when you enter the sysop "Privileged Function"
menu, from either F6 or the .Sysop (.S...) command. This
section includes all the text of the sysop commands. When
you abort out of this menu, the memory is released for other
use.
Allowing the strings to be in a separate file like this
gives two benefits: it lets users modify strings without
needing source code to the CTDL.EXE program itself, and it
saves memory by not keeping more strings than are needed in
memory at a time. (The same memory management is in effect
if not running with a CTDL.DAT file: Citadel knows to read
only part of CTDL.EXE at a time, just as it reads part of
CTDL.DAT at a time.)
Citadel refers to different sections in the file by number,
and different sub-sections in a section by number. You must
have all sections Citadel expects: there is no error
checking done when loading data from CTDL.DAT, and a
corrupted file or missing sections will cause Citadel to
crash (or at least look really funky).
For speedy lookup and loading, CTDL.DAT is a binary file.
That is, one that you cannot easily edit. A program in the
customization kit, CTDLDAT.EXE, reads in a text file (that
is, one that you can easily edit) and turns it into
CTDL.DAT. This is the same program that we use to create a
CTDL.DAT that is combined with CTDL.EXE and distributed as
Citadel.
Using CTDLDAT.EXE
To run CTDLDAT.EXE, you must first have the text file for it
to read. By default, this file is called CTDLDATA.DEF, but
it can be named anything you desire, by specifying the name
on the CTDLDAT command line. That is, to create CTDL.DAT
from the CTDLDATA.DEF file, use the following command:
C:\CIT>ctdldat
If your data is kept in a different file, such as
MYCTDL.DEF, then just enter that name on the command line,
as follows:
C:\CIT>ctdldat myctdl.def
CTDLDAT will then read information out of MYCTDL.DEF, not
CTDLDATA.DEF.
As it runs, CTDLDAT will display exclamation marks and
periods, which indicate new sections and sub-sections,
respectively. Once all data is read, it reports how much
memory is free, then starts writing the data, again
displaying exclamation marks and periods. Because much of
the data in this file, it takes a while to write it. Any
line in the input file that is not understood will simply be
ignored by CTDLDAT, and an error message will be displayed
to the screen. If you have any of these errors, fix them
before trying to run Citadel with the resulting CTDL.DAT
file, or it will probably crash.
The CTDLDATA.DEF file
The general format for the CTDLDATA.DEF file is as follows:
VERSION x
ENTRY
SUBENTRY TYPE
DATA
ENDSUB
ENDENT
Any number of SUBENTRY blocks can be in an ENTRY block, and
any number of ENTRY blocks can be in a file. But, of course,
Citadel expects a certain number of each.
The VERSION is a number used by Citadel to check that you
are using the correct version of CTDL.DAT. Citadel expects
this number to be 1000 times its major version number plus
its minor version number. Therefore, Citadel+/065.106
expects this to be 65106. That is, the following line should
be in CTDLDATA.DEF:
VERSION 65106
Note: Your version of Citadel is not 65.106: use
whatever version number that comes with your
customization kit.
As explained earlier, Citadel refers to entries in CTDL.DAT
by number, and subentries within entries by number. This
number is the location of the entry block in CTDLDATA.DEF.
This means that the order of this file is important, so
don't re-order the contents.
The currently-defined SUBENTRY types are STRING, STRCMP,
STRCMPA, STRCMPK, STRCMPT, STRCMPX, and RAWDATA. STRING and
STRCMPx types are tables of strings used by the program (the
various STRCMPx types are strings compressed with various
algorithms), and RAWDATA is just a list of defined bytes. In
future releases of Citadel, more subentry types might be
added as needed.
There are two basic types of data compression available for
strings: STRCMP and STRCMPX. The other types are just
slightly modified versions of STRCMP. STRCMPX does not
compress as well as the rest, but it decompresses almost
instantaneously. Therefore, it is used for sections that are
read often while the program is in use. The others are used
for data that is not used as often. STRCMPA is optimized for
alphabetic characters only; STRCMPK is optimized for
characters used in keywords (#, A-Z, 0-9, _, and !); and
STRCMPT is optimized for general text (letters, numbers,
punctuation, etc.).
There are two valid DATA lines for the various STRING
subentries: STRING and STRFILE. STRING data lines are
written to CTDL.DAT string by string. STRFILE entries tell
CTDLDAT to read in a text file, and output each line of the
file as a separate string.
There are also two valid DATA lines for RAWDATA subentries:
DB (Define Byte) followed by a list of numbers showing the
value of each byte, and DW (Define Word) followed by a list
of numbers showing the value of each word (two bytes).
What Citadel expects
This is the order of entries and subentries that
Citadel+/065.106 expects to find in CTDL.DAT, and thus
should be in CTDLDATA.DEF:
1. The first entry is used when configuring, and has
the following subentries:
1. Messages used in configuration.
2. CONFIG.CIT keywords.
3. Trap types, for the #TRAP CONFIG.CIT keyword.
4. Default new-user keywords, for the #USER
CONFIG.CIT keyword. This section is no longer
used, as the #USER keyword has been
discontinued. However, it must still exist,
as a place holder.
5. System setting keywords, for the #LOGIN
CONFIG.CIT keyword.
6. Twit feature keywords, for the #TWIT_FEATURES
CONFIG.CIT keyword.
7. Function key names, for the #DIALMACRO
CONFIG.CIT keyword.
8. GRPDATA.CIT keywords.
9. EXTERNAL.CIT keywords.
10. Event keywords, for the #EVENT EXTERNAL.CIT
keyword.
11. PROTOCOL.CIT keywords.
12. MDMRESLT.CIT keywords.
2. The second entry for general purpose messages, and
has the following two subentries:
1. All general-purpose messages.
2. Messages for the F4 screen "doing" message.
3. Messages for writing to the trap file.
3. The third entry is used by the script language
interpreter, and has the following subentries:
1. All script language keywords.
2. All internal script functions.
3. Status/error messages used when running
scripts.
4. The names of the script commands.
4. The fourth entry is for time/date information, and
has the following subentries:
1. Short month names.
2. Long month names.
3. Short day names.
4. Long day names.
5. What to call AM and PM.
Note: The month and day names are not only used for
output. They also tell Citadel what the names days and
months are when reading configuration files, such as
CRON.CIT. If you change these subentries, then you will
also have to change your configuration files to reflect
the different names.
5. This entry is used for networking, and has only
one subentry:
1. Messages used when networking.
6. This entry is used for the F6 "Privileged
Function" menu, and has only one subentry:
1. Messages used when in the sysop menu.
7. This entry is defined for miscellaneous strings.
1. The command line usage display.
2. The note explaining why you need to run
Citadel with the -C command-line parameter.
8. These are the menus used in the Control+F6 console
sysop interface. The menus are:
1. The main menu.
2. The hall menu.
3. The hall-room menu.
4. The room menu.
5. The user menu.
6. The group menu.
7. The help menu.
8. Help files menu.
9. DOS menu.
9. This entry is used for setting default user
settings. It has only one subentry:
1. All the default user keywords.
10. This entry is used when loading the CRON.CIT file
(and, actually, in the .SCL (Sysop Cron List)
command.) It has the following two subentries:
1. Cron types, for the #DO CRON.CIT keyword.
2. All CRON.CIT keywords.
11. This entry is used for loading NODES.CIT.
1. All NODES.CIT keywords.
2. The #NETWORK types.
3. Messages used when reading NODES.CIT.
4. The #VERBOSE types.
12. The built-in menus.
1. The #ENTOPT menu.
2. The #KNOWN menu.
3. The #READOPT menu.
4. The #GRPGLOB menu.
5. The #EDIT menu.
6. The #TERMINATE menu.
7. The #SYSNET menu.
8. The #SYSGROUP menu.
9. The #SYSHALL menu.
10. The #SYSENTER menu.
11. The #AIDE menu.
12. The #AIDEQUEUE menu.
13. The #MAINDOT menu.
14. The #DOOR menu. Note that as doors are set up
by individual sysops, the default #DOOR menu
just alerts the user that the sysop has not
set up the #DOOR menu in his CTDL.MNU file.
15. The #CRON menu.
16. The #SYSOP menu.
17. The #MAINOPT menu.
18. The #VOLKSWAGEN menu.
19. The #BULLETINS menu. As this is an optional
menu, this is not used, and is only a place-
holder.
20. The #INVITE menu.
21. The #FILEQUEUE menu.
22. The #HELP menu. As this is an optional menu,
this is not used, and is only a place-holder.
23. The #PERSONAL menu.
24. The #PERSONALADD menu.
25. The #FINGER menu.
26. The #EDITTEXT menu.
27. The #SYSTABLE menu.
28. The #READWC menu.
29. The #ENTERWC menu.
13. This is used when processing network commands.
1. Messages used when processing network
commands.
2. Network command names.
14. The built-in blurbs.
1. BULLETIN.BLB.
2. CHAT.BLB.
3. CLOSESYS.BLB.
4. ENTRY.BLB.
5. GOODBYE.BLB.
6. HELLO.BLB.
7. LOGOUT.BLB.
8. NEWMSG.BLB.
9. NEWQUEST.BLB.
10. NEWROOM.BLB.
11. NOCHAT.BLB.
12. NOLOGIN.BLB.
13. PASSWORD.BLB.
14. TEXTUP.BLB.
15. TOOLOW.BLB.
16. USERINFO.BLB.
17 VERIFIED.BLB
18. WARNING.BLB.
19. WCDOWN.BLB.
20. WCUP.BLB.
21. NOROUTE.BLB.
22. CHATTED.BLB.
23. CENSOR.BLB.
24. RESUME.BLB.
25. DISCLAIM.BLB.
26. AD.BLB.
27. NOANSWER.BLB.
28. TOOMANY.BLB.
29. MOREPRMP.BLB.
30. REALNAME.BLB.
31. PHONENUM.BLB.
32. ADDRESS.BLB.
33. NETPREFX.BLB.
34. TIME.BLB.
35. PROMPT.BLB.
36. MSGNYM.BLB.
37. COLORS.BLB.
38. ENTERNYM.BLB.
39. ENCRYPT.BLB.
40. WOWCOUNT.BLB.
41. CALLIMIT.BLB.
42. WIDTH.BLB.
43. LENGTH.BLB.
44. NULLS.BLB.
45. NUMUSERS.BLB.
46. UNLINK.BLB.
15. The built-in help files.
1. ACCOUNT.HLP.
2. AIDE.HLP.
3. ANSI.HLP.
4. CONFIG.HLP.
5. DOHELP.HLP.
6. DOORS.HLP.
7. DOTCMDS.HLP.
8. ENTER.HLP.
9. FILES.HLP.
10. GROUPS.HLP.
11. HALLS.HLP.
12. HELP.HLP.
13. INTRO.HLP.
14. KNOWN.HLP.
15. LOGIN.HLP.
16. MEMBERS.HLP.
17. MESSAGES.HLP.
18. NETWORK.HLP.
19. POLICY.HLP.
20. QUEUE.HLP.
21. READ.HLP.
22. ROOMS.HLP.
23. ROOMSYS.HLP.
24. SPECIAL.HLP.
25. SPELL.HLP.
26. SURNAMES.HLP.
27. SYSOP.HLP.
16. This is the Huffman tree data used for message
compression.
1. The Huffman tree data. Don't change this
unless you are sure you know what you are
doing.
17. Sample .CIT files.
1. EXTERNAL.CIT.
2. NODES.CIT.
3. GRPDATA.CIT.
4. CRON.CIT.
5. MDMRESLT.CIT.
6. PROTOCOL.CIT.
18. Used for ;; commands.
1. An index to all the ;; commands: each
subentry following this tells what to display
for the ;; commands. After the index, a
string with just "#" denotes the end.
2-x The text of the ;; commands. In general, just
place the text of the command, then a string
with "-end-" at the end tells Citadel that it
has come to the end. However, there are two
special output types: the looping entry, and
the random entry.
For the looping entry, place a "#" string.
When Citadel gets to this string, it will
jump back to the beginning of the entry, and
start displaying again. The only way out of
this is for the user to use the Stop (S)
command. See the ;;GREMCIT entry for an
example.
For the random entry, start the first line
with an asterisk ("*") followed by the number
of entries to choose from. Each entry starts
with an exclamation mark ("!") as the first
character of the line, and goes on until the
next line that starts with an exclamation
mark. After the last entry, make a string of
just "!" to end it. See the ;;GOLTAR entry
for an example.
19. Used for the .Volkswagen (.V) command.
1. xxx.
The ENG-AM.DAT File
As with CTDL.DAT, the ENG-AM.DAT file is a binary file, so
Citadel can search it quickly. However, Citadel itself
includes the ability to create this file, with either the -o
command line parameter or the Configuration option of the
main menu of the Control+F6 sysop interface. Choose Compile
Dictionary from the menu, and then enter the name of the
file to use as the input. Citadel will then compile the
dictionary file.
For the input file, use ENG-AM.TXT that comes with the
customization kit, or create your own file. This file is an
alphabetized listing of words, each on its own line
separated by CR/LF combinations. If there is some word out
of alphabetical order, Citadel will alert you to this, and
stop the compilation.
_Appendix B: External drivers
Note: This section is not required for using Citadel. If
you have unusual hardware, and experience writing
assembly routines to access it, you can create external
drivers that tell Citadel how to access your hardware.
Currently, external driver support exists for serial
communication, keyboard access, and sound card support.
Support for video drivers is planned, but not yet
implemented.
Citadel's external hardware drivers are actual machine code
that access the hardware being supported. Therefore, to
create an external hardware driver, you need some method to
create machine code. The examples and discussion that
follows uses Borland's Turbo Assembler, but you may be able
to use other development tools if they are able to create a
file of the format needed by Citadel.
The driver file must be smaller than 64K, as Citadel loads
it into a segment. No segment fix-ups are performed on the
file as it is loaded, so don't rely on the file being in any
specific segment. The CS register will, naturally, point to
the segment Citadel loaded the driver into, and can be used
to initialize the DS register to access any memory used by
the driver.
The general format of the files are as follows:
Offset Length Data
0 32 Description. This is a NUL
terminated ASCII string that
defines the driver in English.
This description is displayed as
part of the .Read Verbose Status
(.RVS) command when the driver
is loaded.
32 256 Function offsets. Citadel
expects function offsets in this
part of the file, two bytes per
function. The order of these
offsets is defined by what type
of driver this is, as explained
below. Don't put anything else
in this area of the driver, as
it may cause unpredictable
results in future versions of
Citadel. (If, that is, you call
a system crash "unpredictable".)
288 variable This is the actual
driver code and data, which (of
course) is different from driver
to driver.
All functions should conform to the C calling standard, as
is used by Borland C++ 3.x. That is, parameters are passed
left to right on the stack, and the calling function is
responsible for cleaning up the stack. Integer return values
should be placed in the AX register, and long integer return
values should be placed in the DX:AX register pair, with DX
being the MSW and AX being the LSW. All pointers, both
passed and returned, are far pointers.
A minimal driver, as coded in Borland's Turbo Assembler,
would look like this:
; skeleton hardware driver for citadel
ideal
model large, c
codeseg
org 0
desc db 'Skeleton Hardware Driver'
db 32 - ((offset $ - offset desc)) dup(0)
; filler for alignment
dw offset function ; our function
dw 127 dup (0) ; 128 total entries reserved
proc function
ret
endp
end
This shows all the major components of a Citadel hardware
driver: the description string, a function offset, space for
up to 128 offsets total, and a function. This skeleton is
essentially unchanged for all drivers.
What does change from driver to driver is, of course, the
functions. Perhaps the best way to show the functions of the
different drivers is with example source code. The following
code implements a skeleton driver for serial communications,
a full driver for use with the IBM PC keyboard, and a full
driver for use with the Sound Blaster sound card.
In the serial driver, the only non-obvious part is the
parameters for the init_port function, which are as follows:
Port (0 to 3)
0 = COM1 1 = COM2 2 = COM3 3 = COM4
Baud (0 to 11 (0Bh))
0 = 110 1 = 150 2 = 300 3 = 600
4 = 1200 5 = 2400 6 = 4800 7 = 9600
8 = 19200 9 = 38400 A = 57600 B = 115200
Stops (0 to 1)
0 = 1 stop bit 1 = 2 stop bits
Parity (0 to 3)
0 = none 1 = odd 2 = none 3 = even
Len (0 to 3)
0 = 5 bits, 1 = 6 bits, 2 = 7 bits, 3 = 8
bits
cCTS
0 = no check 1 = check CTS on output
; skeleton com driver for citadel
ideal
model large, c
codeseg
org 0
desc db 'Skeleton Com Driver'
db 32 - ((offset $ - offset desc)) dup(0)
; filler for alignment
dw offset init_port ; open port with params
dw offset close_port ; close port
dw offset ring_detect ; is the RI line active?
dw offset have_carrier ; is the CD line active?
dw offset mi_ready ; do we have stuff waiting?
dw offset ib_flush ; flush the input buffer
dw offset get_input ; get the next thing waiting
dw offset put_output ; send this character...
dw offset set_dtr ; raise or drop it
dw offset ob_flush ; flush output buffer
dw 118 dup (0) ; 128 total entries reserved
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc init_port port:word, baud:word, stops:word,
parity:word, len:word, cCTS:word
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc close_port
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc ring_detect
xor ax, ax
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc have_carrier
xor ax, ax
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc mi_ready
xor ax, ax
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc ib_flush
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc get_input
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc put_output char:byte
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc set_dtr setit:word
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc ob_flush
ret
endp
end
In the keyboard driver, the init_kbd and close_kbd are often
not used. get_kbd returns ASCII 0 to 255 for normal key
presses. For extended key presses, it sets the LSB to 0 and
the MSB to the IBM keyboard scan code for the key. sp_press
is used only to turn off the screen blanker when a special
key is pressed. If you cannot support the function with your
hardware, don't worry; it is not needed for the operation of
Citadel.
; skeleton kbd driver for citadel
ideal
model large, c
codeseg
org 0
desc db 'Skeleton Keyboard Driver'
db 32 - ((offset $ - offset desc)) dup(0)
; filler for alignment
dw offset init_kbd ; open kbd
dw offset close_kbd ; close kbd
dw offset stat_kbd ; are there keys waiting?
dw offset get_kbd ; get key
dw offset sp_press ; special (alt, shift, ctl)
pressed?
dw 123 dup (0) ; 128 total entries reserved
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc init_kbd
ret ; Nothing special for IBM PC
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc close_kbd
ret ; Nothing special for IBM PC
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc stat_kbd
mov ah, 1 ; read keyboard status
int 16h ; BIOS keyboard service
jnz Char ; is there a character?
xor ax, ax ; no character, return zero
ret
Char: mov ax, 1 ; character, return non zero
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc get_kbd
mov ah, 0 ; read keyboard character
int 16h ; BIOS keyboard service
or al, al ; extended character?
je Extended
xor ah, ah ; no, zero high byte
Extended:
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc sp_press
xor ax, ax
mov es, ax
mov di, 417h
mov ax, [es:di]
and ax, 0f00fh
ret
endp
end
Sound card support is, obviously, not integral to BBS
software. Because of this, the sound options in Citadel are
mostly supported only through script files. The only
exception to this is speech synthesizer support, which can
be toggled on for anything being output by Citadel.
The reason for including this driver's source code is to
provide sample code for a somewhat complex driver, which
might be beneficial for generating ideas of how to implement
some other driver. There are a few tricks in this driver
that might not be totally obvious, but are helpful when
developing drivers.
While many more functions are implemented in the Sound
Blaster driver, the only ones currently used by Citadel are
init_sound, close_sound, play_sound, and say_ASCII. The
format for future sound drivers may have different or
changed functions. The reason for this is that the current
driver specification is very much tailored to one specific
sound card: the Sound Blaster. If a sound driver is written
for another card, the specification may need to be changed
slightly to support it. If you want to implement a driver
for some other sound hardware, and find that you need to
change the specification for it to work well, contact
Anticlimactic Teleservices. We can then work with you to
provide services in Citadel that work with your driver. Even
if you don't need to change the driver format, it would be
best to contact Anticlimactic Teleservices if you plan to
implement a sound driver, to be sure that it has not changed
since this documentation was written.
; sound blaster sound driver for citadel
; -- sbsim is used for interface to hardware
ideal
model large, c
codeseg
org 0
desc db 'Citadel Soundblaster 1.00'
db 32 - ((offset $ - offset desc)) dup(0)
; filler for alignment
dw offset init_sound ; init driver
dw offset close_sound ; close driver
dw offset get_version ; get sbsim version
dw offset query_drivers ; which are loaded?
dw offset query_status ; which are currently active?
dw offset start_snd_src ; wow
dw offset play_sound ; wow
dw offset stop_sound ; wow
dw offset pause_sound ; wow
dw offset resume_sound ; wow
dw offset read_snd_stat ; wow
dw offset set_midi_map ; wow
dw offset get_src_vol ; wow
dw offset set_src_vol ; wow
dw offset set_fade_pan ; wow
dw offset strt_fade_pan ; wow
dw offset stop_fade_pan ; wow
dw offset pse_fade_pan ; wow
dw offset res_fade_pan ; wow
dw offset read_fade_pan ; wow
dw offset get_pan_pos ; wow
dw offset set_pan_pos ; wow
dw offset say_ASCII ; wow
dw 105 dup (0) ; 128 total entries reserved
talk db 0
talkadr dd 0
talkbuf dd 0
proc do_int near
db 0cdh ; int
dvr_int db 0
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc init_sound
cmp [dvr_int], 0 ; already initialized?
jne is_ret
mov bx, 7fh * 4 ; offs of first sbsim int - 1
xor ax, ax ; segment of ivt
wrong_int:
add bx, 4 ; next int offset
cmp bx, 0c0h * 4
jae no_int
mov es, ax ; and segment
mov dx, [es:bx+2] ; segment in dx
mov es, dx ; then es... [es:103h] is
signature
cmp [word ptr es:103h], 'BS'
jne wrong_int
cmp [word ptr es:105h], 'IS'
jne wrong_int
cmp [byte ptr es:107h], 'M'
jne wrong_int
shr bx, 1
shr bx, 1
mov [dvr_int], bl
jmp short sbtalker
no_int: mov [dvr_int], 0
; look for sbtalker
sbtalker:
mov [talk], 0
mov dx, [es:0bch] ; int 2f segment
or dx, dx
jz is_ret
mov es, dx
mov ax, 0fbfbh
int 2fh
or ax, ax
jnz is_ret
mov ax, [es:bx+4]
mov dx, [es:bx+6]
mov [word ptr talkadr], ax
mov [word ptr talkadr+2], dx
add bx, 20h
mov [word ptr talkbuf], bx
mov [word ptr talkbuf+2], es
mov [talk], 1
is_ret: mov al, [dvr_int]
mov ah, 0
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc close_sound
mov [dvr_int], 0
mov [talk], 0
xor ax, ax
ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc get_version
xor ax, ax
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je gv_ret
xor bx, bx
call do_int
gv_ret: ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc query_drivers
xor ax, ax
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je qd_ret
mov bx, 1
call do_int
qd_ret: ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc query_status
xor ax, ax
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je qs_ret
mov bx, 3
call do_int
qs_ret: ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc start_snd_src which:byte, what:dword
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je sss_ret
mov bh, [which]
mov bl, 0
mov ax, [word ptr what]
mov dx, [word ptr what+2]
push ds
mov ds, dx
call do_int
pop ds
sss_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc play_sound which:byte
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je ps_ret
mov bh, [which]
mov bl, 1
call do_int
ps_ret: ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc stop_sound which:byte
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je ss_ret
mov bh, [which]
mov bl, 2
call do_int
xor ax, ax
ss_ret: ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc pause_sound which:byte
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je pse_ret
mov bh, [which]
mov bl, 3
call do_int
xor ax, ax
pse_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc resume_sound which:byte
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je rs_ret
mov bh, [which]
mov bl, 4
call do_int
xor ax, ax
rs_ret: ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc read_snd_stat which:byte
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je rss_ret
mov bh, [which]
mov bl, 5
call do_int
rss_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc set_midi_map map:word
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je smm_ret
mov bx, 0506h
mov ax, [map]
call do_int
xor ax, ax
smm_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc get_src_vol which:word
xor ax, ax
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je gsv_ret
mov bx, 0400h
mov ax, [which]
call do_int
gsv_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc set_src_vol which:word, vol:word
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je ssv_ret
mov bx, 0401h
mov ax, [which]
mov dx, [vol]
call do_int
ssv_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc set_fade_pan fps:dword
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je sfp_ret
mov bx, 0410h
mov ax, [word ptr fps]
mov dx, [word ptr fps+2]
call do_int
sfp_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc strt_fade_pan
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je bfp_ret
mov bx, 0411h
call do_int
bfp_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc stop_fade_pan which:word
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je tfp_ret
mov bx, 0412h
mov ax, [which]
call do_int
tfp_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc pse_fade_pan
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je pfp_ret
mov bx, 0413h
call do_int
pfp_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc res_fade_pan
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je rfp_ret
mov bx, 0414h
call do_int
rfp_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc read_fade_pan which:word
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je dfp_ret
mov bx, 0415h
mov ax, [which]
call do_int
dfp_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc get_pan_pos which:word
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je gpp_ret
mov bx, 0416h
mov ax, [which]
call do_int
gpp_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc set_pan_pos which:word, pos:word
mov ax, -1
cmp [dvr_int], 0
je spp_ret
mov bx, 0417h
mov ax, [which]
mov dx, [pos]
call do_int
spp_ret:ret
endp
; ----------------------------------------------------------
------------
proc say_ASCII uses si di, what:dword, len:byte
mov ax, -1
cmp [talk], 0
je sa_ret
mov es, [word ptr talkbuf+2]
mov di, [word ptr talkbuf]
mov al, [len]
stosb
push ds
mov ds, [word ptr what+2]
mov si, [word ptr what]
mov cl, al
mov ch, 0
rep movsb
pop ds
mov ax, 707h
call [talkadr]
xor ax, ax
sa_ret:
ret
endp
end
If you do create a driver for some specialized hardware, we
would like to distribute it with future releases of Citadel.
This way, we can support a wider variety of hardware than we
currently do. Of course, full credit will be given to you as
the author of the driver.
_Appendix C: FOSSIL support
Citadel's internal serial support is quite robust, so most
people will not need to use FOSSIL drivers. If, however, you
have non-standard serial hardware, or some other desire to
use FOSSIL drivers, support is provided through Citadel's
external hardware drivers.
The driver, called FOSSIL.ECD, is loaded by creating a
HARDWARE.CIT file in Citadel's #HOMEPATH (as set in
CONFIG.CIT) which contains the following line:
#COMDRIVER FOSSIL
You will also need to place the FOSSIL.ECD driver in
#HOMEPATH. Citadel will then use the routines in the FOSSIL
driver for serial I/O, beginning with the next time Citadel
is loaded.
When running with the FOSSIL driver, there is at least one
limitation. While Citadel's internal serial routines can
handle up to 115,200 baud, the FOSSIL standard is limited to
38,400 baud. This is usually not a problem, but something to
be aware of. If you tell Citadel to initialize the port at
115,600 baud or 57,800 baud, it will think it was
successful; the FOSSIL driver hides the 38,400 baud limit
from Citadel. Nothing will go wrong, you will just have a
slower port rate.
If Citadel does not seem to be using your FOSSIL driver,
first use the .Read Verbose Status (.RVS) command in
Citadel. In the "System Status / Debugging" section, it
should mention that you are using the FOSSIL External
Communications Driver. If it does not, then the problem is
either in the HARDWARE.CIT file, or the FOSSIL.ECD file is
not in Citadel's #HOMEPATH. If the driver is being loaded,
then you should check your FOSSIL driver's configuration.
_Appendix D: Sound Blaster
If you wish to have Sound Blaster support on the console
system, you will need the Citadel Sound Blaster Extensions,
available from The Anticlimactic Teleservice at (206)562-
9792. This section explains how to use the Extensions.
Sound capabilities are enabled in Citadel by loading an
External Sound Driver (.ESD) driver. This is specified in
the HARDWARE.CIT file. To add the Sound Blaster driver,
include the following line:
#SNDDRIVER SB
In addition, Creative Lab's SBSIM driver must be loaded to
use the Sound Blaster support provided through the SB.ESD
driver.
As sound support is not integral to a BBS, there are no
hooks in Citadel specific to using the Sound Blaster. The
only support for sound is through Citadel's script language.
By linking script files to play certain sounds with system
events with the #EVENT keyword in EXTERNAL.CIT, you can have
a fair amount of control over sounds on console. The #EVENT
keyword tells Citadel to run an application every time a
specific system event occurs.
The EXTADD.TXT file contains the #EVENT lines to add to your
EXTERNAL.CIT file. The .VOC files contain the sounds to be
played and should be placed in Citadel's #HOMEPATH as set in
CONFIG.CIT. The .CSF files are the Citadel Script Files that
are referenced by the #EVENT lines in EXTADD.TXT and call
the various .VOC files. They should also be placed in
#HOMEPATH.
After making these changes, start Citadel, and sounds should
start working. If no sound is generated, first check the
obvious problems (sound on the Sound Blaster is turned down,
the speakers are not turned on or plugged in, etc.). If
everything looks good, use the .Read Verbose Status (.RVS)
command in Citadel. In the "System Status / Debugging"
section, it should mention that you are using the External
Sound Driver for Sound Blaster. If it does not, then the
problem is in the HARDWARE.CIT file, or that the SB.ESD file
is not in #HOMEPATH.
If Citadel says that it is using the Sound Blaster driver,
then it may be that you forgot to load the SBSIM driver that
comes with the Sound Blaster. This driver is required for
the SB.ESD driver to work.
_Appendix E: Citadel BBSes
Like any BBS list, this list is incomplete, and probably
somewhat inaccurate. It is not meant as an absolute
reference of boards, but a sampling of BBSes that you can
call to see Citadel+ in action. Anticlimactic Teleservices
does not necessarily recommend any BBSes by inclusion on
this list. It is for informational purposes only, and
opinions of individual sysops and users are not necessarily
those of Anticlimactic Teleservices. We were not able to
verify the existence of nodes marked with a "?" character.
Name Phone Number Speed Hours
Amber (206)861-7829 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
The Anticlimactic Teleservice (206)562-9792 300-9600 v.32
24 hours
?The Asylum (206)244-2350 300-14.4 v.32bis?
?
The Basement (206)488-6337 300-2400 24
hours
Black Mountain (206)599-0903 ??? 24 hours
Blain's World (Not!) (206)380-2236 300-2400
9:30pm-7am PT
Blind Man's Bluff (206)823-3744 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
Bypass' Sideband Alley (206)243-8977 300-2400 24
hours
Cave Bear's Laire (206)630-9863 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
A Clockwork Orange (206)486-6527 300-2400 24
hours
?Cod's World (206)939-5857 300-1200 24
hours
?The Coffee Connection (206)367-6443 300-14.4
v.32bis 24 hours
Columbia Crest (206)786-9248 300-2400 24
hours
?Desolation Row (410)730-0231 ? ?
Digital Free America (816)563-6810 300-14.4
v.32bis 24 hours
?The Dragon's Laire (509)925-5745 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
The Dream Realm (214)436-3881 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
?Dystopia ][ (206)734-4636 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
Fort Blatherskite (206)542-2774 300-14.4 v.32bis?
24 hours
Gateway to Reality (206)547-2331 300-2400 24
hours
The Ghetto (206)364-2514 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
?The Hermitage (206)347-7306 ? 24 hours
The Institute (916)635-1453 300-2400 24
hours
Isles of Ether (206)725-1048 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
?Line Noize (206)384-4133 ??? 24 hours
Lost Archives (206)366-5102 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
The Lost Ideas (916)452-1332 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
?Masquerade (206)485-8463 1200-2400 24
hours
Memory Alpha (206)859-6200 1200-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
Miscellaneous Debris (916)773-2417 1200-2400 24
hours
the Modern Imagination BBS (916)349-9352 1200-14.4
v.32bis 24 hours
Mostly Harmless (206)883-1383 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
The Netherworld (403)329-8905 ? 8p-6a MT
?The Oasis (206)534-9928 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
The Ocean (916)368-7661 300-2400 24
hours
Outsider's (301)587-5922 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
Palace of Miniken (206)820-8424 300-2400 24
hours
The Raft (206)861-9936 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
Simple Treasures (206)939-3998 300-2400 7p-
7a; 24 Sun & Holidays PT
Slumberland (206)547-2629 300-9600 v.32
24 hours
St. Dismas' Infirmary (301)434-0867 ? 24 hours
Star Fleet Academy (206)491-9605 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
Starship Inconnu (206)661-3664 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
Succulent Shrimp BBS (214)503-1772 ? 24 hours
?Suck My Duck (206)475-8399 300-2400 24
hours
This Twilight Garden (206)488-4371 300-14.4
v.32bis 23 hours
Too Dark Park (206)869-3809 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
Toys in the Attic (206)582-7476 ??? 24 hours
Vulgar Display of Power (206)882-0551 300-2400 24
hours
?Your Name Here (206)564-5303 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
?The Wall (206)255-4682 300-14.4 v.32bis
24 hours
?The Wind (206)589-1733 300-2400 24
hours
_Appendix F: Credits
Citadel has been worked on by many people over several
years, so it is impossible to give credit to everybody who
has made a contribution to this program; memories fade, and
not everything is written down. So, this list is not at all
a complete list of people who have played a role in bringing
the software to where it is today. But, it is nice to give
some credit to people who played a part in Citadel's
history.
A historically minded person may wish to study the various
Citadel history documents that can be found lurking on many
Citadel user's hard disks, or stored on some forgotten
floppy disk. However, I am not such a person, so I have not
spent time verifying the accuracy of this information; it is
just a list of a few people who have been involved, as I
remember it, from either being there or reading one of the
various Citadel history documents. This history ends with a
brief description of the people currently working on
Citadel.
The first person that should be mentioned, of course, is
Cynbe ru Taren, the original author of Citadel. His version
was quite a bit less powerful than modern versions of
Citadel, and much rougher around the edges, but it is thanks
to him that Citadel was written in the first place. Though
there is probably not much of his original code left, it is
ideas that make a program what it is, not code. His idea of
a simple interface to a message oriented board is still what
drives Citadel development today.
It is hard to decide if David Bonn or Hue A. White, Jr., is
the next name that should be mentioned here. David Bonn
worked on a program derived from Citadel called Stonehenge,
which was a commercial program that met limited success in
the Seattle area in the mid-1980s. This program introduced
many of the ideas that exist in Citadel now, halls and
groups being the most noticeable.
However, Citadel is not based, code-wise, on David Bonn's
Stonehenge code; it derives from Hue A. White's Citadel-86
code. Matt Pfleger used Citadel-86 as a launching point in
his effort to clone Stonehenge in a free BBS. His version of
Citadel cloned almost every feature in Stonehenge, and added
quite a few of its own. It also implemented many features
that were in Stonehenge in a better way.
The only feature not cloned by Matt was networking.
Stonehenge networking had some conceptual errors in it, so
he did not want to copy it exactly. He also did not like
Citadel-86's networking protocol, which he had long since
removed from Citadel. He was trying to develop a better
method of networking, but never did finish.
In the late 1980s, he abandoned Citadel development when
Peter Torkleson (The Dragon) started active development with
an older version of Matt's source code. This program was
developed into the very early 1990s, and was named Dragon's
Citadel. Major enhancements added during this time include
networking, ANSI support, and applications.
But, like many Citadel authors before him, Peter abandoned
Citadel. At this point, Matt Pfleger almost immediately took
Peter's latest source code, and started development on it
again.
Matt is currently joined by four other people. The current
people working on Citadel in one form or another are (in
reverse alphabetical order) Matt Pfleger, Elisabeth Perrin,
Don Kimberlin, Richard Finegold, and Brent Bottles.
The five of us have been involved in computers, BBSes, and
Citadel for several years and bring a wide variety of
backgrounds to the project. This combination of talent and
vision comes together to bring you the best Citadel BBS in
existence.
_Appendix G: Data Files
Citadel stores information it needs to run in two different
types of files: data files and table files. Data files have
the extension .DAT and table files have the extension .TAB.
Table files change often, and even between the Auxmem
version and Regular version of the program. Because of this,
and because there is little reason to know what is in a
table file, we will not go into the specifics of tables.
Data files change too, but in predictable ways. This is how
Citadel is able to convert data files when you upgrade to a
new version.
All multi-byte integers are stored in Intel-standard format;
that is, least significant byte first, most significant byte
last. All strings are stored in C-standard format; that is a
string of ASCII characters followed by a nul (ASCII 0) byte.
Bit fields are stored in whatever direction that Borland C++
stores them; I don't know what order they are stored in, but
I do know that it allocated 16 bits at a time. Time is
stored as the UNIX standard: the number of seconds since
12:00:00 AM, January 1, 1970. GMT.
In general, the data files start with a four-byte long
integer that tells how long each record in the file is, in
bytes. After this, each record is saved to the file in
sequential order. This does not hold true to the secondary
data files (those with a number in their names), the message
file (MSG.DAT), or log extension files (LE*.DAT).
When Citadel loads, it looks at this value, and uses it to
ensure that the data files are the proper length. If the
record size stored to the data file is too small, Citadel
converts the file by adding the correct number of bytes to
the end of each record, all cleared to 0. If the record size
stored in the data file is too big, Citadel removes that
many bytes from the end of each record. Because of this,
Citadel can convert data files from previous versions to the
current version, and from future versions back to the
current version. Also, because of this, new fields are added
to data files only at the end of the records.
Some data files are split into many parts. (The log file,
for example, is in six parts.) This is to facilitate
automatic resizing of data files when values are changed in
CONFIG.CIT: the LOG6.DAT file, for example, depends on both
#MAXLOGTAB and #MAXROOMS to set how big it is. Citadel can
look at the size of LOG.DAT and ROOM.DAT to see the previous
settings of #MAXLOGTAB and #MAXROOMS, respectively, and use
that to resize LOG6.DAT correctly.
What follows are the specifics of each data file, correct as
of Version 65 alpha 77.
The userlog files
The userlog is split into six parts, with each user also
having a possible log extension file. LOG.DAT stores the
bulk of the information for each user; LOG2.DAT stores which
groups each user is a member of; LOG3.DAT stores which rooms
each user has access to; LOG4.DAT stores which rooms each
user has excluded; LOG5.DAT stores the last-message-read
pointer for each room; LOG6.DAT stores which rooms are in
each user's personal hall; and the log extension files store
things that might change in number, such as words in the
personal dictionary, message exclusion, and the like.
LOG.DAT
The LOG.DAT file starts with a four-byte long integer
that stores the length of each record, as
explained above. After that, each record is saved
sequentially, which is as follows:
Offset Length Name Description
0 31 UserName Name of the user.
31 31 Initials Initials used to
log in.
62 31 Password Password used to
log in.
93 31 ForwardAddr Name to
forward mail to.
124 31 ForwardNode Node to
forward mail to. (See FwdToNode,
below.)
155 31 Surname User's surname.
186 31 Title User's title.
217 1 Reserved_0 Set to 0.
218 2 Reserved_1 Set to 0.
220 1 Nulls Number of nulls
to send.
221 1 Width Terminal width.
222 4 CallTime Time of last
call.
226 4 CallNumber Caller
number of last call.
230 4 Credits Number of seconds
left in the user's account. Note
that this is not what Citadel
displays: it converts to minutes
first.
234 4 LastPointer The newest
message at the time of the last
call.
238 4 Reserved_2 Set to 0.
242 1 LinesPerScreen For screen
pause; 0 for off.
243 1 AttrNormal Attribute
for Normal text.
244 1 AttrBlink Attribute for
Blinking.
245 1 AttrInv Attribute for
Inverse.
246 1 AttrBold Attribute for
Bold.
247 1 AttrUnderline Attribute
for Underline.
248 1 DefProtocol First letter
of default protocol.
249 64 PromptFmt Room prompt
format string.
313 64 TimeStamp Time stamp format
string.
377 64 VTimeStamp Verbose time
stamp format string.
441 91 Signature User's signature.
532 31 NetPrefix User's net
prefix.
563 31 Address1 First line of
user's mailing address.
594 31 Address2 Second line of
user's mailing address.
625 31 Address3 Third line of
user's mailing address.
656 4 Alias User's alias.
660 5 Region User's region.
665 1 Reserved_3 Set to 0.
666 4 DLBytes Number of bytes
downloaded. (Not in use.)
670 4 ULBytes Number of bytes
uploaded. (Not in use.)
674 2 DLNumber Number of files
downloaded. (Not in use.)
676 2 ULNumber Number of files
uploaded. (Not in use.)
678 31 ForwardRegion Region to
forward mail to. (Might not be
in use.)
709 80 MorePrompt User's
"more" prompt.
789 31 Occupation What's the
user's job is. (Not in use.)
820 2 NumUserShow Number of
users to show on login.
822 4 Birthdate Midnight on day
of birthdate. (Not in use.)
826 4 FirstOn Time of first
call to system.
830 2 Male 1 if male, 0 if
female.
832 4 TotalTime Total number of
seconds on the system.
836 4 Logins How many times
have logged into the system.
840 4 Posted Total number of
messages posted on the system.
844 4 Read Total number of
messages read on the system.
848 4 PWChange The last time the
user's password was changed.
852 2 CallsToday The number
of calls today. (Midnight to
midnight, not 24 hours.)
854 2 CallLimit Number of calls
allowed per day. (0 for
unlimited.)
856 80 WhereHear Where did you
hear about the BBS?
936 16 Reserved_4 Set to 0.
952 31 LastRoom Room they were
last in on last call.
983 31 LastHall Hall they were
last in on last call.
914 31 DefaultRoom Default
room. (Not in use.)
945 31 DefaultHall Default
hall.
976 4 Poopcount The user's
Poopcount.
980 2 Bitmap_1 Bitmapped flags,
as follows:
InUse Is slot in use.
UCMask Upper case only.
LFMask Send linefeeds.
Expert Expert mode.
Aide Is user an Aide?
(Note: if this is cleared, but
Sysop (below) is set, the user
is considered to be an Aide.)
Tabs Send tabs?
OldToo Send last old
message on new message request.
Problem Is user a twit?
(Note: Even if this is set, the
user is not considered a twit if
he is an Aide (see above).)
Unlisted Unlisted userlog
entry.
Permanent Permanent userlog
entry.
Sysop Is user sysop.
Node Is user a node.
NetUser Is user a
netuser.
NoAccount Is accounting
disabled.
NoMail Is mail disabled.
RoomTell Does user view
room descriptions.
982 2 Bitmap_2 More bitmapped
flags as follows:
Dungeoned Is user
dungeoned? (Not in use.)
MsgAide Message-only
aide. (Not in use.)
FwdToNode Mail forwarded to
a node.
AutoNextHall Auto next
hall.
FileAide File-only aide.
(Not in use.)
EnterBorders Can user
change borders.
UnVerified Is user
unverified.
SurnameLock Is user's
title and surname locked?
LockHall Is user's default
hall locked?
Psycho Is user psyco-
chickened?
DisplayTS Display titles
and surnames to user?
Subjects Display subjects?
Signatures Display
signatures?
IBMGraph Display IBM
graphic characters?
IBMANSI Use ANSI?
IBMCOLOR Use color ANSI?
984 2 Bitmap_3 More flags:
Twirly Show twirly
cursor.
Verbose Auto verbose.
MsgPause Pause between
messages.
Minibin Show Minibin
login stats.
MsgCLS Clear screen
before message.
RoomInfo Display room info
lines.
HallTell Display hall
descriptions.
VerboseCont Continue in
the message editor in the icky
verbose way.
ViewCensor View
censored messages.
SeeBorders Display
borders.
Out300 Simulate 300 baud
output.
LockSignature Lock user's
signature.
HideExclusions Hide message
exclusions. (Don't tell the user
when messages are excluded.)
NoDownload User may not
download.
NoUpload User may not
upload.
NoChat User may not
chat.
986 2 Bitmap_4 More flags...
PrintFile Turn on printfile
when user logs in.
SpellCheck Two bits: 00
for terse, 01 for regular, 10
for verbose, 11 for automatic.
NoMakeRoom User may not
use .ER command.
VerboseLogOut Log user out
verbosely.
ConfirmSave Ask for
confirmation before saving
message.
NoConfAbort Don't ask
for confirmation before aborting
message.
ConfirmNoEO Confirm
entering a message when one is
aborted.
UsePersonal Use personal
hall.
YouAreHere Use
YouAreHere.
IBMRoom Show room prompt
with IBM graphic characters.
WideRoom Show room lists
widely.
Music User can hear it.
CheckAPS Check apostrophe
Ses in the spell checker.
CheckAllCap Check words
in all-caps in the spell
checker.
CheckDigits Check words
with digits in them in the spell
checker.
988 1 Reserved_5 Set to 0.
989 31 RealName The user's real
name.
1020 31 PhoneNumber The user's
phone number.
1051 1 Reserved_6 Set to 0.
1052 2 Bitmap_5 Even more
flags...
ExcludeCrypt Exclude
encrypted messages.
HideCommas Don't show
commas in numbers.
PUnPauses The P key
unpauses text output.
Reserved_7 13 bits: set
all to 0.
1054 4 LastCalledVer Version of
Citadel running during last
call. Major version times 1000
plus minor version. (65077 for
65 alpha 77, for example.)
LOG2.DAT
The LOG2.DAT file stores the groups that each user
has access to. There is no leading four-byte
integer as in LOG.DAT. Each user gets #MAXGROUPS/8
bytes: one bit per group. Access to group 0 is
governed by the LSB of the first byte; access to
group 7 is governed by the MSB of the first byte;
access to group 8 is governed by the LSB of the
second byte; etc.
LOG3.DAT
The LOG3.DAT file stores the rooms that each user
has access to. There is no leading four-byte
integer as in LOG.DAT. Each user gets #MAXROOMS/8
bytes: one bit per room. Access to room 0 is
governed by the LSB of the first byte; access to
room 7 is governed by the MSB of the first byte;
access to room 8 is governed by the LSB of the
second byte; etc.
If a user does not have a bit set for a room, then
the user may not go to the room unless it is a
hidden room and the user knows the name of the
room. New users are given access to all public
rooms when they log in, but not BIO or hidden
rooms.
LOG4.DAT
The LOG4.DAT file stores the rooms that each user
has excluded. There is no leading four-byte
integer as in LOG.DAT. Each user gets #MAXROOMS/8
bytes: one bit per room. Room 0 is governed by the
LSB of the first byte; Room 7 is governed by the
MSB of the first byte; Room 8 is governed by the
LSB of the second byte; etc.
LOG5.DAT
The LOG5.DAT file stores the last message read for
each user for each room. There is no leading four-
byte integer as in LOG.DAT. Each user gets
#MAXROOMS four-byte integers: one for each room.
Room 0 is governed by the first four-byte integer;
Room 1 is governed by the second four-byte
integer; etc.
LOG6.DAT
The LOG6.DAT file stores the rooms that each user
has added to his personal hall. There is no
leading four-byte integer as in LOG.DAT. Each user
gets #MAXROOMS/8 bytes: one bit per room. Room 0
is governed by the LSB of the first byte; Room 7
is governed by the MSB of the first byte; Room 8
is governed by the LSB of the second byte; etc.
LE*.DAT
Each user may also have a Log Extension file,
which stores information that cannot be expressed
in the structured data files above. The name of
the file is LE then the number of the user in the
LOG.DAT file, then the .DAT extension. If there is
no data for a user to put in the log extension
file, it is not created. In general, the file
consists of a keyword (starting with the character
#), white space, then the keyword's value in one
or more quoted strings followed by a CR/LF
combination (ASCII 13 followed by ASCII 10). The
two exceptions to this are the #MESSAGE and
#FINGER log extensions, as described below. All
log extensions other than #MESSAGE and #FINGER may
show up multiple times: all occurrences of the
extensions are loaded into memory.
Keyword Description
#KILLUSER The name of a user to exclude messages from.
#KILLTEXT Message text to exclude.
#KILLNODE The name of a node to exclude messages from.
#KILLREG The name of a region to exclude messages
from.
#DICTWORD The words of the user's personal dictionary.
#TAGUSER Two strings: first the name of the user,
second the user's tag.
#JB Jump-back information, stored as five
numbers: first, the newpointer for the room;
second the number of new messages in the
room; third, the hall to jump back to;
fourth, the room to jump back to; and fifth,
whether the room was bypassed.
#MESSAGE A message to resume next call; saved if
carrier is lost when entering a message.
Immediately after the #MESSAGE, a CR/LF
combination is stored to the file. Then the
binary data of the message is saved, similar
to the format of MSG.DAT (explained below).
After the last byte of the message, a CR/LF
combination is saved.
#FINGER The user's information, set and viewed by the
.Finger... commands. Immediately after the
#FINGER, a CR/LF combination is stored to the
file. After that, the finger data is stored,
as a nul-terminated string. After that,
another CR/LF combination is stored to the
file.
The room files
The room database is split into two parts. ROOM.DAT stores
the bulk of the information for each room; ROOMPOS.DAT
stores the logical order of the rooms.
ROOM.DAT
The ROOM.DAT file starts with a four-byte long
integer that stores the length of each record, as
explained above. After that, each record is saved
sequentially, which is as follows:
Offset Length Name Description
0 2 Bitmapped_1 This stores
the room's flags, as follows:
Inuse Whether the room
is in use.
Public Whether the room
is public (non-hidden).
Directory Whether the room
is a directory room.
Permanent Whether the room
is permanent.
GroupOnly Whether the room
is group-only.
ReadOnly Whether the room
is read-only.
DownloadOnly Whether the
room is download-only.
Shared Whether the room
is shared (networked).
Moderated Whether the room
is moderated.
Application Whether the
room has an application.
BIO Whether the room is By-
Invitation-Only.
UploadOnly Whether the
room is upload-only.
PrivGrp Whether the room
has a privileged group.
Anonymous Whether the room
is anonymous.
AskSubject Whether to
ask for a subject for messages
in the room.
GrpModerated Whether the
group is moderated by the
privileged group.
2 2 Bitmapped_2 This stores
more flags, as follows:
ArchiveMsgs Whether to
archive all messages saved in
the room.
BoolGroup Whether access to
the room is based on a Boolean
expression.
Unused_1 14 bits: set all
to 0.
4 31 Name Name of room.
35 64 DirName Name of the
room's directory.
99 13 RoomTell File name of
room's description.
102 13 ApplicName File name of
room's application.
115 1 Unused_2 Set to 0.
116 2 GroupNumber Number of
owning group.
118 4 Unused_3 Set to 0.
122 2 PrivGrpNum Number of
privileged group.
124 2 Bitmapped_3 More flags,
as follows:
AutoApp Run room's
application automatically when
entering the room for the first
time on a call.
NoExclude Users may not
exclude room.
Unused_4 14 bits: set all
to 0.
126 80 InfoLine Room's info line.
206 31 NetID Network ID of
room.
237 13 ArchiveFile File name
for archiving.
250 13 Dictionary File name
for dictionary, if using custom
dictionary for room.
263 31 Moderator Name of the
room's moderator. (Not in use.)
294 31 ExclNetPartner Exclusive
net partner. (Not in use.)
325 1 Unused_5 Set to 0.
326 50 BoolGroup Used for Boolean
group access.
ROOMPOS.DAT
This is a list of each room's logical position.
Each room gets a two-byte integer for its
location. The first room gets the first two bytes,
the second room the next two, etc. Locations are
expressed starting with 0 and ending with one less
than the maximum number of rooms on the system.
The hall files
The hall database is split into three parts. HALL.DAT stores
the bulk of the information for each room; HALL2.DAT stores
the other two parts: which rooms are in each hall, and which
rooms are windowed into each hall.
HALL.DAT
The HALL.DAT file starts with a four-byte long
integer that stores the length of each record, as
explained above. After that, each record is saved
sequentially, which is as follows:
Offset Length Name Description
0 31 Name The name of the hall.
31 1 GroupNumber The hall's
group number.
32 2 Bitmapped Flags, as
follows:
Inuse Whether the hall
is used.
Owned Whether the hall
is group-only.
Described Whether the hall
has a description file.
Unused_1 Set to 0.
EnterRoom May users enter
rooms?
BoolGroup Use the Boolean
expression for group access?
Unused_2 10 bits: set all
to 0.
34 1 Unused_3 Set to 0.
35 13 DescriptionFile Name of
hall's description file.
48 50 GroupExpr Boolean group
access expression.
HALL2.DAT
HALL2.DAT stores which rooms are in each hall, and
which rooms are windowed into each hall. There are
two parts to this file: first the rooms in each
all, then the rooms windowed into each hall. In
each part, each hall gets #MAXROOMS/8 bytes: one
bit for each room. For each section, Room 0 is
governed by the LSB of the first byte for the
hall; Room 7 is governed by the MSB of the first
byte for the hall; Room 8 is governed by the LSB
of the second byte for the hall; etc.
The group file
There is only a single file for group storing the group
database, GRP.DAT.
GRP.DAT
The GRP.DAT file starts with a four-byte long
integer that stores the length of each record, as
explained above. After that, each record is saved
sequentially, which is as follows:
Offset Length Name Description
0 31 Name Name of the group
31 1 Reserved_1 Set to 0.
32 80 Description Group's
description.
122 2 Bitmapped Flags, as
follows:
Inuse Whether group is
used.
Locked Whether group is
locked from aides.
Hidden Whether group is
hidden.
AutoAdd Whether new users
are added to the group when they
log in.
Reserved_2 12 bits: set
all to 0.
The borders file
Borders are saved in a single file, BORDERS.DAT.
BORDERS.DAT
Each border is saved as an 81 byte string. There are as
many of these as there are borders.
The message file
The message base is saved as a single file, MSG.DAT. Other
than the log extension files, this is the most "free-form"
of the data files. There is not any set limit of the number
of messages in the file, the first byte of the file might
not be the first byte of a message, not all bytes in the
file are usually used by messages, and messages don't have
any set length in the file.
The first byte of a message is ASCII 255 (0xFF hex), which
Citadel uses as a key to the start of a message. This is the
only byte that is allowed to have this value in the message
base.
After the 0xFF that starts the message, the next byte is the
message's attribute byte. This is a bitmapped byte, with
each bit having the following value:
Bit Name Description
0 (LSB) Received Only used for mail: if
the message was received.
1 Replied Only used for mail: if
the message was replied to.
2 MadeVis Only used for
moderated and problem user
messages: whether the message
has been made visible. (Note
that when a message is released,
a copy of the message is also
made. How this all works is
somewhat complicated.)
3 Compressed If the message
has been compressed.
4 Censored If the message is
censored.
5 BigRoom If two bytes are used
to save the message's room
number. (See below for full room
number information.)
6 More If there is a second
attribute byte.
7 (MSB) Reserved Must always be 0, to
avoid making this be 0xFF.
If the More bit is set in this attribute byte, there is a
second attribute byte, of which currently only the LSB is
used. This is set to indicate a local message. The other 7
bits must all be set to 0.
After the one or two attribute bytes, the room number is
saved. If the room number is less than or equal to 254, it
is saved as a single byte. If the room number is 255 or
greater, it is saved as two bytes, and the BigRoom attribute
bit is set. Additionally, to avoid the possibility of 255
being written as part of the room number, if the room is
being saved in two bytes, it is first multiplied by two.
This way the least significant bit of the least significant
byte is always a 0, and it can never be a 255. As the limit
to the number of rooms in Citadel is 13683, the most
significant bit of the most significant byte of the room
number is also always 0, even after multiplying by two.
After the room number, the message number is written as an
ASCII string, followed by a nul (ASCII 0) byte. Message
numbers are assigned sequentially.
After this, the following fields might be saved in any
order. They are written by first writing the field's code as
a single character, then the ASCII information of the field,
then a nul (ASCII 0) byte. All numbers are written out as a
base 10 ASCII number. Not all fields are saved to all
messages. For example, if the message's author has no
surname defined, there will be no surname field present.
Code Name Description
A Author The message's author.
B Subject The message's subject.
C Copy Message number of message
this is a copy of.
D Date The time the message was
created.
d EZTime The time saved in an
easier method to read. Only
saved to networked messages, and
only if #GATEWAY in NODES.CIT is
set for the other node.
F Forward User mail is being
forwarded to. Note that if this
is a message forwarded over the
network, this field will
actually contain the name of the
user the mail was originally
written to, and the "ToUser"
field ("T") will contain the
name of the forwardee. There is
a reason for this. Try to figure
it out yourself if you want a
challenge.
G Group The name of the group
that this message belongs to.
H OriginPhone This is the phone
number of the node the message
was first written on.
h DestinationPhone This is the
phone number of the node the
message is being sent to. If
this was used at all, which it
is not, it would only be used in
mail.
I ReplyToMessage This is the
message number that this message
is a reply to.
J TwitRegion This is the
message's twit region.
j TwitCountry This is the
message's twit country.
L FileLink This is the file the
message is linked to.
l ApplLink This is the
application the message is
linked to.
N Title This is the title of
the message's author.
n Surname This is the surname of
the message's author.
O OriginNodeName The name of the
system the message was first
written on.
o OriginNodeRegion This is the
region of the system the message
was first written on.
P FromPath This is the path the
message took to get to the
current system.
p ToPath This is the path that
the message will follow. Only
used in mail.
Q OriginCountry This is the
country of the system the
message was first written on.
q ToCountry This is the country
that the message is destined to.
Only used in mail.
R CreationRoom This is the name
of the room that the message
first came to the current board
in.
r OriginalRoom This is the name
of the room on the system that
the message was first written
on.
S SourceID The message number on
the system the message was first
written on.
s SourceSoftware This is the name
and version of the software that
first generated this message.
T ToUser This is the name of
the user that the message is
addressed to. Only used in mail.
U Cit86Country This is the
message's country as defined by
the Citadel-86 network.
X X This field is "Y" if the
message is a problem user
message, and "M" if it is
moderated.
Z ToNodeName This is the node
that the message is being sent
to. Only used in mail.
z ToRegion This is the region
that the message is being sent
to. Only used in mail.
. Signature This is the message's
signature.
_ UserSignature This is the
signature of the user who left
the message.
! RealName This is the real name
of the author of the message.
> DestAddress This is the
address of the system that the
message is being sent to. Only
used in mail.
# MoreFlags This text string
contains any number of
characters, each of which is a
flag that signifies something.
Currently, the only two flags
that have been defined are:
R Receipt confirmation
requested.
E Encrypted.
% Comment There may be any
number of comments.
other unknown Citadel will store and
pass through the network any
field, even if it does not
recognize the field's code. The
only limit is that it will only
store the first 255 characters
of each field.
After this information, which makes the header, one last
field is written: the message's text. This is written
starting with a "M" character, followed by the text of the
message, followed by a nul (ASCII 0) character. This is
usually ASCII text, but it is not guaranteed to be: if the
message is compressed or encrypted, this will be binary
data. The only two guarantees are that there is no 0xFF
character (as that would violate the rule about the only one
of those allowed being the start of the message) and there
is no 0x00 character (as that would mark the end of the
message).
Each message is written to the file right after the previous
one. When the end of the MSG.DAT file is reached (which is a
static size set in CONFIG.CIT), writing continues at the
start of the file. A single message might be located at the
end and beginning of the file. Citadel keeps track of 0xFF
characters, and as each is written over, it knows that that
message is no longer valid. There is usually some slack
between the end of the last message and the start of the
first.
_Appendix H: Other files
Queued file transfers
Citadel uses a temporary file named FILEQTMP.CIT for queued
file transfers. When it calls the external file transfer
protocol, it first writes out each file to transfer to this
file, then uses the #RESPONSE_FILE transfer command in
PROTOCOL.CIT to transfer each of these files. This file is
then deleted when the transfer is finished.
Abnormal termination
When Citadel detects a problem that prevents further
execution, it creates a file named CRASH.CIT with an
explanation of the problem in it. The possible problems are:
Allocating system tables twice.
Citadel's trying to do something that it should't.
Try to remember what you did to cause this to
happen, and see if it can be re-produced. Then
report your findings to The Anticlimactic
Teleservice at (206)562-9792.
Auxmem corrupted!
Report the circumstances of this error appearing
to The Anticlimactic Teleservice at (206)562-9792.
Bad auxmem request! slot : number, size number (number)
Citadel tried to access memory that does not
exist. Report the circumstances of this error
appearing to The Anticlimactic Teleservice at
(206)562-9792.
Bad bad.
Report the circumstances of this error appearing
to The Anticlimactic Teleservice at (206)562-9792.
Bad bad memory stuff.
Report the circumstances of this error appearing
to The Anticlimactic Teleservice at (206)562-9792.
Cannot allocate file buffer for filename
Citadel is most likely out of memory. See if you can
remove any memory resident utilities or extra
device drivers, or otherwise increase the amount
of conventional memory available to Citadel. If
this is not possible, try setting the system size
in CONFIG.CIT to be smaller.
Cannot allocate space for accounting information
Citadel is most likely out of memory. See if you
can remove any memory resident utilities or extra
device drivers, or otherwise increase the amount
of conventional memory available to Citadel. If
this is not possible, try setting the system size
in CONFIG.CIT to be smaller.
Cannot allocate space for file buffer
Citadel is most likely out of memory. See if you
can remove any memory resident utilities or extra
device drivers, or otherwise increase the amount
of conventional memory available to Citadel. If
this is not possible, try setting the system size
in CONFIG.CIT to be smaller.
Cannot allocate space for tables
Citadel is most likely out of memory. See if you
can remove any memory resident utilities or extra
device drivers, or otherwise increase the amount
of conventional memory available to Citadel. If
this is not possible, try setting the system size
in CONFIG.CIT to be smaller.
Cannot find any messages.
When Citadel tried to build its index to MSG.DAT,
it was not able to find any valid messages in the
whole file. Citadel needs to be able to find at
least one message to run successfully, and creates
one when it creates MSG.DAT. This most likely
means that your MSG.DAT got highly corrupted, and
you probably need to restore from a back-up.
Cannot read filename!
Most likely, a disk error occurred when trying to
read the specified file.
Cannot write filename!
Citadel is not able to write some information to one of
its data files. This probably indicates that you
are out of disk space; delete any extra files that
you have on the disk.
Cannot write size of file: filename
Citadel is not able to write some information to
one of its data files. This probably indicates
that you are out of disk space; delete any extra
files that you have on the disk.
Could not create filename file!
Citadel was not able to create a file that is
essential to the operation of the program. Check
that you have enough FILES set in CONFIG.SYS, and
try to create the file yourself, to see if there
is something blocking Citadel from doing it.
EMS->heap error #number
The EMS driver was not able to copy some of
Citadel's data from EMS to conventional memory.
number indicates the EMS error that occurred.
Error allocating free chunck
Citadel is most likely out of memory. See if you
can remove any memory resident utilities or extra
device drivers, or otherwise increase the amount
of conventional memory available to Citadel. If
this is not possible, try setting the system size
in CONFIG.CIT to be smaller.
Error allocating logTab
Citadel is most likely out of memory. See if you
can remove any memory resident utilities or extra
device drivers, or otherwise increase the amount
of conventional memory available to Citadel. If
this is not possible, try setting the system size
in CONFIG.CIT to be smaller.
Error allocating msgTab
Citadel is most likely out of memory. See if you
can remove any memory resident utilities or extra
device drivers, or otherwise increase the amount
of conventional memory available to Citadel. If
this is not possible, try setting the system size
in CONFIG.CIT to be smaller.
Error allocating roomTab
Citadel is most likely out of memory. See if you
can remove any memory resident utilities or extra
device drivers, or otherwise increase the amount
of conventional memory available to Citadel. If
this is not possible, try setting the system size
in CONFIG.CIT to be smaller.
Error allocating msgTab (number)
Citadel is most likely out of memory. See if you
can remove any memory resident utilities or extra
device drivers, or otherwise increase the amount
of conventional memory available to Citadel. If
this is not possible, try setting the system size
in CONFIG.CIT to be smaller.
Error allocating roomTab (number)
Citadel is most likely out of memory. See if you
can remove any memory resident utilities or extra
device drivers, or otherwise increase the amount
of conventional memory available to Citadel. If
this is not possible, try setting the system size
in CONFIG.CIT to be smaller.
filename file missing! (errorcode)
Citadel cannot find a file that it needs to
continue operation. Check that FILES is set high
enough in CONFIG.SYS, and that the file actually
exists.
filename resize failed
Citadel was not able to resize one of its data
files. Check that you have enough memory and disk
space free to accomplish the resize.
Freeing system tables twice.
Citadel's trying to do something that it should't.
Try to remember what you did to cause this to
happen, and see if it can be re-produced. Then
report your findings to The Anticlimactic
Teleservice at (206)562-9792.
functionname - not enough memory
Citadel was not able to allocate enough memory to
accomplish some essential task. For most things,
Citadel is able to abort out of the task if it
cannot allocate enough memory to complete it.
However, it cannot do this with all tasks. See if
you can remove any memory resident utilities or
extra device drivers, or otherwise increase the
amount of conventional memory available to
Citadel. If this is not possible, try setting the
system size in CONFIG.CIT to be smaller.
Heap is corrupted.
Something has corrupted memory. Report the
circumstances of this error appearing to The
Anticlimactic Teleservice at (206)562-9792.
Heap->EMS error #number
The EMS driver was not able to copy some of
Citadel's data from conventional memory to EMS.
number indicates the EMS error that occurred.
Heap->XMS error #number
The XMS driver was not able to copy some of Citadel's
data from conventional memory to XMS. number
indicates the XMS error that occurred.
Heap->Virtual error
Citadel was not able to copy some of its data from
conventional memory into virtual memory.
Lost auxmem block!
Report the circumstances of this error appearing
to The Anticlimactic Teleservice at (206)562-9792.
Message::ReadHeader: bad HowToRead
Report the circumstances of this error appearing
to The Anticlimactic Teleservice at (206)562-9792.
Message::Store: bad HowToSave
Report the circumstances of this error appearing
to The Anticlimactic Teleservice at (206)562-9792.
No auxmem chain!
Report the circumstances of this error appearing
to The Anticlimactic Teleservice at (206)562-9792.
not enough memory for cron table
Citadel is most likely out of memory. See if you
can remove any memory resident utilities or extra
device drivers, or otherwise increase the amount
of conventional memory available to Citadel. If
this is not possible, try setting the system size
in CONFIG.CIT to be smaller.
Room missing in table!
A room could not be found in the table of logical
room ordering. You can delete the ROOMPOS.DAT
file, and Citadel will create a valid new one. You
will lose any logical room ordering you have
created with the .Aide Move room (.A- and .A+)
commands.
Super secret error #x14h-22a!!
If we told you, then it wouldn't be a secret,
would it?
Unknown required keyword: keyword
Report the circumstances of this error appearing to The
Anticlimactic Teleservice at (206)562-9792.
Virt->heap error
Citadel was not able to copy some of its data from
virtual memory into conventional memory.
XMS->heap error #number
The XMS driver was not able to copy some of
Citadel's data from XMS to conventional memory.
number indicates the XMS error that occurred.
Networking files
Citadel creates several files for the purpose of networking.
Most of these are temporary files, which are just
transferred to the other node then deleted. The other node
reads the files, then deltes them.
The NETID.CIT file
One file that is used for networking that is not a temporary
file is NETID.CIT. This file stores the Net IDs of all
networked rooms created on the system with #AUTOROOM. This
keeps track of which node the room came from, and also keeps
rooms from being created with #AUTOROOM that you have
killed: before createing a room, Citadel checks this file to
see if the Net ID has already been used. If so, then it does
not recreate the room.
In general, you should never edit this file. However, it is
user-editable, in case some circumstance comes up that
warrents editing of it. The file is simply a text file with
lines following this general format:
#NETID "Net ID" "Original Node"
Where "Net ID" is the Net ID and "Original Node" is the name
of the system that the room came from.
Net 1.0/1.1 network packets
Wow.
Net 1.5/1.6 network packets
Wow.
Net 6.9 network packets
In the Net 6.9 protocol, everything is included in a single
packet. The packet is created with some archiver program
(usually PKZIP) and contains several different files. The
name of this packet is important: it is the destination
board's alias plus the string "69" plus the creating board's
alias, with a serial number as an extension. (The
extension's contents is not important: it just is used to
make sure that the packets have unique names over a
reasonable amount of time. Citadel+ assigns a number from
000 to 999 as the serial number, incrementing it each time a
packet is created for the other node. After 999, the counter
restarts at 000.) For example, the first packet created for
a node with the alias SKY on a board with the alias TGI
would be SKY69TGI.000; the second would be SKY69TGI.001; the
thousanth would be SKY69TGI.999; etc.
The following files may be found in a packet (any number of
them may be included; there are no required files):
Filename Contents
MSG.69 Messages in rooms.
MESG.TMP Mail.
ROOMREQ.(alias) Room request file.
FILE69.(alias) Network file transfers.
MSG.69 format
The MSG.69 file contains the messages to be incorporated
into various rooms. The first thing in the file is the full
address (or, previously, name) of the originating node,
followed by a NUL (ASCII 0). The receiving node uses this
information to determine where the packet came from.
After this are the messages for any number of rooms (even
zero). First, there is the Network ID of the room, followed
by a NUL (ASCII 0). Following this are the messages in
standard Citadel format. (The only message attributes that
should be included are Received and Replied, in the interest
of backwards compatibility.) The room number is not
important, but must be included. Following the last message
in the room, there is the Network ID of the next room or the
end of the file. (Citadel knows the difference between
Network IDs and messages because messages all start with
ASCII 255, which is an invalid character in a Network ID.)
MESG.TMP format
The MESG.TMP file contains all mail destined for the node,
either as a final destination or for routing. The file
simply consists of the messages, in standard Citadel format.
(The only message attributes that should be included are
Received and Replied, in the interest of backwards
compatibility.) The room number is not important, but must
be included.
ROOMREQ.(alias) format
The ROOMREQ.(alias) file contains the Network IDs of the
rooms that the creating node wishes to receive from the
destination node. The (alias) that is the extension of the
file is the alias of the creating node. This file is simply
a list of Network IDs, separated by a CR/LF (ASCII 13 and
ASCII 10) combination.
Note: The <cr><lf> combination is used for readability
and editability. Net 6.9 will accept Null/0xFF/CR/LF or
any mix or combination of those characters as
separators.
FILE69.(alias) format
The FILE69.(alias) file is an archive file created with the
archiver specified by #ZIP in the NODES.CIT entry for the
other node. The other node uses the extract command to
extract all of the files from FILE69.(alias). It extracts
all files to its #DLPATH as set in CONFIG.CIT. After
extracting the archive file, the receiving node checks for
the existence of any FILE69.(alias) files in #DLPATH, and
moves any found to #TRANSPATH as set in CONFIG.CIT. This
allows for multiple hop file transfers.
CALLINFO.BBS. format
The CALLINFO.BBS information we have is incomplete, so
Citadel might not write this file completely correctly. This
file is a text file, with each field taking a line followed
by a carriage return/line feed (ASCII 13 and ASCII 10)
combination. The information that Citadel writes is:
User's Name The name of the currently logged in
user, with all color codes removed.
Speed The number 0 for 2400 baud, 1 for 300
baud, 2 for 1200 baud, 3 for 9600 baud,
or 5 for console or other speed.
City The last line of the user's mailing
address that has data in it, or blank if
no lines have data.
Security Level The number 5 for problem users, 30 for
normal users, 80 for Aides, and 100 for
Sysops.
Time left The time left in the user's accounts, in
minutes. In an attempt to keep from
overflowing other software's limits, no
value larger than 546 minutes is
written.
ANSI Color The word "COLOR" if the current user has
ANSI color enabled or "MONO" if he does
not.
Password The current user's password (but not
initials).
Userlog Number The current user's slot in LOG.DAT. (Not
that this means anything to Citadel.)
Time used The number of minutes this call has
lasted. If there is no user logged in,
the number 0.
Unknown Citadel writes nothing out. Our
information lists this field as being
"01:23".
Unknown Citadel writes nothing out. Our
information lists this field as being
"01:23 01/02/90".
Unknown Citadel writes nothing out. Our
information lists this field as being
"ABCDEFGH".
Unknown Citadel writes nothing out. Our
information lists this field as being
"0".
Unknown Citadel writes nothing out. Our
information lists this field as being
"99".
Unknown Citadel writes nothing out. Our
information lists this field as being
"0".
Unknown Citadel writes nothing out. Our
information lists this field as being
"9999".
Phone number The current user's phone number.
Unknown Citadel writes nothing out. Our
information lists this field as being
"01/01/90 02:34".
Expert The word "EXPERT" if helpful hints are
turned off or "NOVICE" if they are on.
File transfer protocol The name of the user's default
file transfer protocol, or a blank line
if none is specified.
Unknown Citadel writes nothing out. Our
information lists this field as being
"01/01/90".
Times on The number of times the current user has
logged onto the system.
Lines per screen The number of lines per screen, or
0 if the current user has screen pause
turned off.
Last message read The new message pointer for the
current room.
Total uploads The total number of files the user has
uploaded.
Total downloads The total number of files the user
has downloaded.
Idiotically Stupid!!! The text "8 { Databits }".
(There are two spaces between the "8"
and the "{".)
User's location The text "LOCAL" if logged in on
console, or "REMOTE" if logged in over
the modem.
Port The text "COM" followed by the serial
port number of the modem. (For example,
"COM1" if the modem is on the first
serial port.)
Speed The number 0 for 2400 baud, 1 for 300
baud, 2 for 1200 baud, 3 for 9600 baud,
or 5 for other speed. No attention is
paid to whether the user is on console
or not.
Unknown Citadel writes nothing out. Our
information lists this field as being
"FALSE".
Another stupid thing The text "Normal Connection".
Unknown Citadel writes nothing out. Our
information lists this field as being
"01/02/94 01:20".
Task number Citadel writes the number 0.
Door number Citadel writes the number 1.
CHAIN.TXT. format
The information regarding the format for this file came from
a post to alt.bbs by Paranoid@f102.n514.z17.mtlnet.org dated
September 28, 1993. This message consisted of a file created
by Mr. Bill (or perhaps MrBill), WWIVnet Address 1 @ 7300
[MrBill's Abode 703-369-6140], or CompuServe address
71001,1101. CHAIN.TXT is a text file, with each field taking
a line followed by a carriage return/line feed (ASCII 13 and
ASCII 10) combination. The information that Citadel writes
is:
User Number The current user's slot in LOG.DAT. (Not
that this really means anything on
Citadel.)
User's Alias The user's name, with color codes
removed.
User's Name The user's real name, with color codes
removed.
Ham radio call sign Citadel writes nothing out.
User's age Calculated from the user's birthdate. If
the user has not specified a birthdate,
the number 21.
User's sex The letter "M" if the user is a male, or
"F" if the user is a female, or hasn't
specified his sex.
User's gold The number of seconds left in the user's
account. (Limited to 32,767 to avoid
overflowing other software.)
Last logon date The date the user last logged on
before the current call. Written in the
form "01/01/95".
Columns The user's terminal width.
Lines per screen The user's lines per screen, or 0
if screen pause is turned off.
Security level The number 5 for problem users, 75 for
normal users, 200 for Aides, and 250 for
Sysops.
Co-Sysop The number 1 if the current user is an
Aide, or 0 if not.
Sysop The number 1 if the current user is a
Sysop, or 0 if not.
ANSI The number 1 if the current user has
ANSI turned on, or 0 if not.
Remote The number 1 if logged in remotely, or 0
if on console.
Time left The number of seconds left in the
current user's account, limited to
32,767 to avoid overflowing other
software.
GFILES directory #DIRPATH as set in CONFIG.CIT with
a trailing back-slash.
DATA directory #HOMEPATH as set in CONFIG.CIT with a
trailing back-slash.
System log of the day Citadel writes the text
"wow.log"
User baud rate The connect rate if there is a
connection or the port rate if there is
no connection.
Serial port The number 1, 2, 3, or 4.
System name #NODENAME as set in CONFIG.CIT with any
color codes removed.
System sysop #SYSOP as set in CONFIG.CIT with any
color codes removed.
User login time The time that the current user
logged in (or the current time if there
is no user logged in), written as
seconds after midnight.
Time used The number of seconds used this call (or
0 if there is no user logged in).
Uploaded K The number of kilobytes uploaded by the
user. (Citadel stores this for each
user, but does not track this
currently.)
Uploaded files The number of files uploaded by the
user. (Citadel stores this for each
user, but does not track this
currently.)
Downloaded K The number of kilobytes downloaded by
the user. (Citadel stores this for each
user, but does not track this
currently.)
Downloaded files The number of files downloaded by
the user. (Citadel stores this for each
user, but does not track this
currently.)
Data format The text "8N1" as this is the only data
format supported by Citadel.
Port rate The current speed of the serial port.
WWIVnet node Citadel writes the number 0.
CONSOLE.APL. format
CONSOLE.APL is a text file that Citadel displays to the
console after it returns from a shell. After it displays
this file, Citadel deletes it.
DOOR.SYS. format
The format for DOOR.SYS comes from a March 14, 1988 release
by "Limited Release Software Group" (and apparently written
by Rick Greer, who is nowhere to be found), amended March
21, 1988, October 22, 1988 (by Kenny Gardner), July 7, 1990
(by Kenny Gardner for Raymond Clements), and July 14, 1991
(by Jim Harrer of Mustang Software, who can't program).
DOOR.SYS is a text file, with each field taking a line
followed by a carriage return/line feed (ASCII 13 and ASCII
10) combination. The information that Citadel writes is:
Com port "COMx:" where "x" is replaced by the
serial port number, or 0 if the current
user is logged in on console.
User speed The connect speed if carrier is present,
or the port speed if no carrier is
present.
Parity The number "8".
Node number The number "1".
DTE Rate The port speed.
Screen display The text "N" if the screen saver is
active, or "Y" if it is not.
Printer status The text "Y" if text is being captured
with Alt+P, or "N" if it is not.
Page bell The text "Y" is the speaker is activated
for the Chat command, or "N" if it is
not.
Caller alarm The text "Y".
User name The current user's name, with color
codes removed.
Calling from The last line of the current user's
address with data in it, or blank if
there is no address information at all.
Home phone The current user's phone number.
Work/Data phone The current user's phone number.
Password The current user's password (but not
initials).
Security level The number 5 for problem users, 30 for
regular users, 80 for Aides, and 100 for
Sysops.
Total times on The number of times the current user has
logged onto the system.
Last date called The date that the current user last
called before this call, in the format
"01/01/95".
Seconds remaining Number of seconds left in the
current user's account, limited to
32,767 to avoid overflowing other
software.
Minutes remaining Number of minutes left in the
current user's account, limited to 546
to avoid overflowing other software.
Graphics mode The text "GR" if the current user has
IBM Graphics characters turned on, or
"NG" if not.
Page length The screen length of the current user,
or 0 if screen pause is turned off.
Expert mode The text "N" if helpful hints are turned
on, or "Y" if they are off.
Forums registered in Citadel writes a blank line.
Current conference The index of the current room in
ROOM.DAT.
User expiration date The text "12/31/99".
User number The index of the current user in
LOG.DAT. (Not that this means anything
in Citadel.)
Default protocol The command key that represents the
current user's default file transfer
protocol.
Number of uploads The number of files the current
user has uploaded. (Citadel stores this
information, but does not currently
track it.)
Number of downloads The number of files the current
user has downloaded. (Citadel stores
this information, but does not currently
track it.)
Daily K downloaded The number "0".
Daily K limit The number "999,999".
Birthdate The current user's birthdate, written in
the form "01/01/95".
MAIN directory #HOMEPATH as set in CONFIG.CIT.
GEN directory #DIRPATH as set in CONFIG.CIT.
Sysop's name #SYSOP as set in CONFIG.CIT with all
color codes removed.
Alias name The current user's name, with color
codes removed.
Event time Citadel writes a blank line.
Error correction The text "Y" if the modems are
communicating with an error-correcting
protocol, or "N" if not.
ANSI in no graphics The text "N".
Use record locking The text "N".
BBS Default color The color as set by #ATTR in
CONFIG.CIT.
Time in minutes The time left in the current user's
account, in minutes. The highest number
written is 546, to avoid overflowing
other software.
Last new file scan The date of the user's last call,
in the format "01/01/95".
This call time The time that the user called (or the
current time if there is no user logged
in) in the form "00:00".
Last call time The time that the user last called in
the form "00:00".
Max files available The number "99".
Files d/l today The number "0".
Total K uploaded The total kilobytes uploaded by the
current user. (Citadel stores this
information for each caller, but does
not currently track it.)
Total K downloaded The total kilobytes downloaded by
the current user. (Citadel stores this
information for each caller, but does
not currently track it.)
User comment The current user's signature.
Total doors opened The number "0".
Total messages left The total number of messages posted
by the current user.
DORINFO1.DEF. format
DORINFO1.DEF is a text file, with each field taking a line
followed by a carriage return/line feed (ASCII 13 and ASCII
10) combination. The information that Citadel writes is:
Node name The name of the system, with color codes
removed.
Sysop's first name The text of #SYSOP as set in
CONFIG.CIT with color codes removed, up
to the first space.
Sysop's last name The text of #SYSOP as set in
CONFIG.CIT with color codes removed,
following the first space.
Com port The serial port the modem is connected
to, or 0 if logged in on console.
Baud rate The current port rate.
Networked The number "0".
User's first name The current user's name with color
codes removed, up to the first space.
User's last name The current user's name with color
codes removed, following the first
space.
City The last line of the current user's
address that has data in it, or a blank
line if there is no address information.
Terminal type The number "0" if TTY, or "1" if ANSI.
Security level The number 5 for problem users, 30 for
regular users, 80 for Aides, and 100 for
Sysops.
Minutes remaining The number of minutes left in the
current user's account, limited to 546
to keep from overflowing other software.
FOSSIL The number "-1" if using an external
serial driver or "0" if using internal
serial routines.
INPUT.APL. format
INPUT.APL is read by Citadel after it returns from a shell,
and the data in it is used to change Citadel's current
settings. This is a text file, with each line starting with
a character that serves as a flag specifying what is on the
line, followed by text that specifies the data. After the
data, the line is either ended by a carriage return/line
feed (ASCII 13 and 10) combination, or just a single line
feed (ASCII 10). Not all data is required to be in
INPUT.APL: just write what you desire to change. Also,
Citadel ignores any field it does not know about. The
following data types are defined by Citadel:
Flag Name Data
33 Surname The current user's surname.
34 Title The current user's title.
35 Sysop Whether the current user is a
Sysop - 1 or 0.
36 Aide Whether the current user is an Aide
- 1 or 0.
37 Twit Whether the current user is twitted
- 1 or 0.
38 Expert Whether the current user is in
expert mode (that is, helpful hints are
turned off) - 1 or 0.
39 Credits The number of minutes left in
the current user's account.
40 Permanent Whether the current user has a
permanent account - 1 or 0.
41 NetUser Whether the user has net
access - 1 or 0.
42 NoMail Whether the user cannot send
mail - 1 or 0.
43 Verified Whether the user is a verified
user - 1 or 0.
48 RealName The current user's real name.
50 Nulls The number of nulls the
current user is configured for.
51 Linefeed Whether the current user has
linefeeds turned on - 1 or 0.
52 Uppercase Whether the current user is
configured for an uppercase-only
terminal - 1 or 0.
54 Columns The number of columns the
current user is configured for.
55 Lines The number of lines on screen
the current user is configured for, or 0
if screen pause is turned off.
56 Unlisted Whether the current user has
an unlisted userlog entry - 1 or 0.
73 Hall The name of the hall the user is
currently in.
74 Room The name of the room the user is
currently in.
95 Transmitted The number of characters
sent by Citadel to the currently logged-
in user.
96 Received The number of characters
received by Citadel from the currently
logged-in user.
97 SysReq Whether the system has been
requested (F3 or Alt+F3) -1 or 0.
99 StatusScreen Whether the system status
screen (F4) is displayed or not - 1 or
0.
100 Chat Whether Chat is enabled or not - 1
or 0.
101 Bells Whether bells are enabled or
not - 1 or 0.
102 Printing Whether output is being
trapped (Alt+P) or not - 1 or 0.
111 GroupAdd Specifies the name of a group
to add the current user to.
112 GroupRemove Specifies the name of a
group to remove the current user from.
200 MsgAuthor Specifies the name to use for
the author of the message created by
MESSAGE.APL. (If this field is not
specified but MESSAGE.APL exists, the
node's name is used as the message
author.)
201 MsgToUser Specifies the user to use for
the recipient of the message created by
MESSAGE.APL. (If this field is not
specified but MESSAGE.APL exists, the
message is not sent to anybody; it is
made to be a public message.)
202 MsgGroup Specifies the group to use for
the message created by MESSAGE.APL. (If
this field is not specified but
MESSAGE.APL exists, the message is not
made to be group-only; it is made to be
a public message.)
203 MsgRoom Specifies the room to place
the message created by MESSAGE.APL in.
(If this field is not specified but
MESSAGE.APL exists, the message is
placed in the current room.)
MESSAGE.APL. format
MESSAGE.APL is used to create a message when returning from
a shell. This file contains the text of the message.
(Remember that Citadel messages can only be 8K long. If this
file is longer than 8K, it will be truncated to 8K in the
message.) You can set certain fields in INPUT.APL to control
some aspects of the message, such as its author and group.
OUTPUT.APL. format
OUTPUT.APL is created by Citadel before it shells to another
application, to let the other application know about the
operating environment of Citadel. This is a text file, with
each field being on a line by itself. The first character of
the line is a flag telling what data is on the line. After
the flag is the data, then a carriage return/linefeed (ASCII
13 and 10) combination to end the line. Applications that
read OUTPUT.APL should know to ignore flags not defined
here: more may be added in the future. Also, applications
should be able to operate with reasonable defaults if they
cannot find data in this file: fields may be removed in the
future (though this is not likely). The following data types
are defined by Citadel:
Flag Name Data
32 Name The current user's name.
33 Surname The current user's surname.
34 Title The current user's title.
35 Sysop Whether the current user is a
Sysop - 1 or 0.
36 Aide Whether the current user is an Aide
- 1 or 0.
37 Twit Whether the current user is twitted
- 1 or 0.
38 Expert Whether the current user is in
expert mode (that is, helpful hints are
turned off) - 1 or 0.
39 Credits The number of minutes left in
the current user's account.
40 Permanent Whether the current user has a
permanent account - 1 or 0.
41 NetUser Whether the user has net
access - 1 or 0.
42 NoMail Whether the user cannot send
mail - 1 or 0.
43 Verified Whether the user is a verified
user - 1 or 0.
44 DLMult The percentage of time that is
charged for downloads by the current
user.
45 ULMult The percentage of time that is
charged for uploads by the current user.
46 Initials The current user's initials.
47 Password The current user's password.
48 RealName The current user's real name.
49 ConnectRate The speed that the modem
is talking to the other modem at: 300,
600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 7200, 9600,
12000, 14400, 16800, 19200, 21600,
24000, 26400, 28800, 38400, 57600,
115200, or 230400.
50 Nulls The number of nulls the
current user is configured for.
51 Linefeed Whether the current user has
linefeeds turned on - 1 or 0.
52 Uppercase Whether the current user is
configured for an uppercase-only
terminal - 1 or 0.
54 Columns The number of columns the
current user is configured for.
55 Lines The number lines on screen the
current user is configured for, or 0 if
screen pause is turned off.
56 Unlisted Whether the current user has
an unlisted userlog entry - 1 or 0.
57 MData Which serial port the system
is using; 1, 2, 3, or 4.
58 Baud Old port rate index. Do not use
this as it is included only for
backwards compatibility; use PortRate
(68) instead. The possible values are: 0
(300 bps), 1 (600 or 1200 bps), 2 (2400
bps), 3 (4800 bps), 4 (9600 bps), 5
(19200 bps), 6 (38400 bps), 7 (57600
bps), or 8 (115200 bps).
62 TRMNormal The string to send to change
the current user's terminal to normal
text.
63 TRMBold The string to send to change
the current user's terminal to bold
text.
64 TRMInvr The string to send to change
the current user's terminal to inverse
text.
65 TRMBlink The string to send to change
the current user's terminal to blinking
text.
66 TRMUnder The string to send to change
the current user's terminal to
underlined text.
67 EffBaud Old connect rate index. Do not
use this as it is included only for
backwards compatibility; use ConnectRate
(49) instead. The possible values are: 0
(300 bps), 1 (600 or 1200 bps), 2 (2400
bps), 3 (4800 bps), 4 (7200 bps), 5
(9600 bps), 6 (12000 bps), 7 (14400
bps), 8 (16800 bps), 9 (19200 bps), 10
(21600 bps), 11 (24000 bps), 12 (26400
bps), 13 (28800 bps), 14 (38400 bps), 15
(57600 bps), 16 (115200 bps), and 17
(230400 bps).
68 PortRate The speed that Citadel is
talking to the modem at: 300, 600, 1200,
2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600,
or 115200.
69 Country The country of the system, as
set by #NODECOUNTRY in CONFIG.CIT.
70 NodeName The name of the system, as set
by #NODENAME in CONFIG.CIT
71 Region The region of the system, as
set by #NODEREGION in CONFIG.CIT
72 Version Citadel's version string, such
as "/065".
73 Hall The name of the hall the user is
currently in.
74 Room The name of the room the user is
currently in.
75 TempPath The path specified by
#TEMPPATH in CONFIG.CIT.
76 ApplPath The path specified by
#APPLICPATH in CONFIG.CIT.
77 HelpPath The path specified by
#HELPPATH in CONFIG.CIT.
78 HomePath The path specified by
#HOMEPATH in CONFIG.CIT.
79 RoomPath The path specified by
#ROOMPATH in CONFIG.CIT.
80 MsgPath The path specified by #MSGPATH
in CONFIG.CIT.
81 PrintFile The full name of the printer
output file as specified by #PRINTER in
CONFIG.CIT.
82 TrapFile The path specified by
#TRAP_FILE in CONFIG.CIT.
83 Accounting Is accounting turned on
for the system.
84 TransPath The path specified by
#TRANSPATH in CONFIG.CIT.
85 Software The name of the currently
running software. (For example,
"Citadel+".)
90 Attr The value of #ATTR in CONFIG.CIT.
91 WAttr The value of #WATTR in
CONFIG.CIT.
92 CAttr The value of #CATTR in
CONFIG.CIT.
93 Uttr The value of #UTTR in CONFIG.CIT.
94 BAttr The value of #BATTR in
CONFIG.CIT.
95 Transmitted The number characters
sent by Citadel to the currently logged-
in user.
96 Received The number of characters
received by Citadel from the currently
logged-in user.
97 SysReq Whether the system has been
requested (F3 or Alt+F3) -1 or 0.
98 ConLock Whether the system console is
locked - 1 or 0.
99 StatusScreen Whether the system status
screen (F4) is displayed or not - 1 or
0.
100 Chat Whether Chat is enabled or not - 1
or 0.
101 Bells Whether bells are enabled or
not - 1 or 0.
102 Printing Whether output is being
trapped (Alt+P) or not - 1 or 0.
103 SysopName The value of #SYSOP in
CONFIG.CIT.
PCBOARD.SYS. format
The information used to create this file came from the
FeatherNet PRO! 1.01 documentation, page 44.15. PCBOARD.SYS
is a fixed-width field file with a truly evil file format.
Information noted as being written out as an "integer" is
written in two bytes, MSB followed by LSB. Other fields are
written as ASCII, padded out to the field length shown with
spaces. The information written out by Citadel is:
Offset Length Name Description
0 2 Unknown The text "-1"
2 2 Unknown The text " 0"
(note the leading space).
4 2 Chat on The text "-1" if
chat is on or " 0" (note the
leading space) if chat is off.
6 2 User in file The text "-
1".
8 1 Expert mode The text "Y"
if helpful hints are turned off,
or "N" if they are on.
9 2 Error correction The
text "-1" if an error-correcting
protocol is in use by the modem,
or " 0" if not (note the leading
space).
11 1 Graphics mode The text "Y"
if ANSI is turned on, or "N" if
not.
12 1 Unknown The text "A".
13 5 DTE Rate The port rate,
padded with spaces on the left.
115,200 is written out as
"11520". I think.
18 5 DCE Rate The connect rate,
padded with spaces on the left.
115,200 is written out as
"11520" and 230,400 is written
out as "23040". I think. If
there is no carrier, the word
"Local" is written.
23 2 User number The position
of the current user in LOG.DAT
written as an integer.
25 15 User's first name The
current user's name with color
codes removed, up to the first
space or 15 characters,
whichever comes first. Padded
with spaces on the right.
40 12 User's password The
current user's password, up to
the first 12 characters, padded
with spaces on the right.
52 2 Time logged on The time the
current user logged on (or the
current time if there is no user
logged on) expressed as minutes
since midnight, written as an
integer.
54 2 Time on The time the
current user has been on the
system (or 0 if there is no user
on the system) expressed in
minutes as an integer.
56 5 Time logged on The time the
current user logged on (or the
current time if there is no user
logged on) expressed in "12:34"
format.
61 2 Time allowed The total
time allowed on the system in
minutes, calculated by adding
the time already spent on system
to the time left in the current
user's account, expressed in
minutes as an integer.
63 2 D/L limit The number "99"
written out as an integer.
65 1 Conf last joined The LSB
of the current room's room
number.
66 5 Areas been in All bits set
(0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF).
71 5 Areas scanned All bits set
(0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF).
76 2 Unknown The number "0"
written as an integer.
78 2 Unknown The number "0"
written as an integer.
80 4 Unknown Four spaces.
84 25 Full name The first 25
characters of the user's name
after removing color codes.
109 2 Time left The time left on
the system in minutes (limited
to 546 to avoid overflowing
other software) written as an
integer.
111 1 Node on The ASCII
character 0x00.
112 5 Event time The text
"00:00".
117 2 Event active The text "
0" (note the leading space).
119 2 Unknown The text " 0"
(note the leading space).
121 4 Unknown All bits cleared
(0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00).
125 1 Com port The number "1"
through "4" written as ASCII
characters. (0x31 through 0x34)
or the ASCII character "0"
(0x30) if on console.
126 2 File transfer type The
keystroke used for the current
user's default file transfer
protocol, written twice.
128 1 ANSI mode 0x01 if ANSI is
active, or 0x00 if not.
129 13 Unknown Filled with
spsaces (ASCII 0x20).
142 2 Last area in The current
room's index in ROOM.DAT,
written as an integer.
README.APL. format
README.APL is a text file that Citadel displays to the user
after returning from a shell. After Citadel displays the
file, it deletes it.
TRIBBS.SYS. format
TRIBBS.SYS is a text file, with each field taking a line
followed by a carriage return/line feed (ASCII 13 and ASCII
10) combination. The information that Citadel writes is:
User's record number The index of the current user
in LOG.DAT (not that this means anything
with Citadel).
User's name The name of the current user, after
color codes have been removed.
User's password The current user's password (but
not initials).
Security level The current user's security level: 5 for
problem user, 75 for regular users, 200
for Aides, and 250 for Sysops.
Expert mode The text "Y" if helpful hints are turned
off, or "N" if they are on.
ANSI mode The text "Y" if ANSI is turned on, or
"N" if not.
Minutes left The number of minutes left this call,
limited to 546 to keep from overflowing
other software.
Phone number The current user's phone number.
City and State The last line of the current user's
address, or blank if there is no address
data.
Birthdate The current user's birthdate, written in
the form "01/01/95".
Node number The text "1".
Serial port The port, from "1" to "4".
Baud rate The current connect rate, or 0 if the
user is on local.
Port rate The current port rate.
RTS/CTS The text "Y" if #CHECKCTS in CONFIG.CIT
is set to 1, or "N" if set to 0.
Error correction The text "Y" if the modem is using
an error-correcting protocol, or "N" if
not.
Board's name The name of the system with color codes
removed.
Sysop's name The name of the sysop as set by #SYSOP
in CONFIG.CIT with color codes removed.
User's alias The name of the current user with color
codes removed.
RIP Script support The text "N".
USERINFO.DAT . format
USERINFO.DAT is a text file, with each field taking a line
followed by a carriage return/line feed (ASCII 13 and ASCII
10) combination. The information that Citadel writes is:
User's name The current user's name with color codes
removed.
Connect rate The current connect rate, or the text
"LOCAL" if there is no carrier.
Data bits The text "8"
ANSI The text "Y" if the current user has
ANSI enabled, or "N" if not.
MNP Connection The text "N".
Time/date of call The time and date of the current
call (or the current time and date if
there is no user logged in) written in
the form "00:00 01/01/95".
Current time/date The current time and date written
as "00:00 01/01/95".
Minutes remaining The number of minutes left in the
current user's account, limited to 546
to avoid overflowing other software.
Start with cmd line The text "N".
Current conference The index of the current room in
ROOM.DAT.
Active menu number The text "0" ("Main" in Wildcat!
speak).
Security level name Citadel writes a blank line.
Banked time The text "60".
Door number The text "1".
Alias name The current user's name with color codes
removed.
Hang up in door The text "N".
Files downloaded The number of files the current use
has downloaded. (Citadel stores this
information for each user, but currently
does not track it.)
K downloaded The total kilobytes downloaded by the
current user. (Citadel stores this
information for each user, but currently
does not track it.)
_Appendix I: Legal
The only copyright on Citadel is one that Borland (the
makers of our compiler) told us to put on it. Challenge
yourself: find the notice in the program. However, we didn't
add any copyright to it. You are free, and actually
encouraged, to copy and distribute it as much as you want
for any purposes that you want. Honor dictates that you
don't call it your own, or try to sell it for a profit, or
change the files in any way, but there is nothing really
keeping you from doing it. (Other than the thought of little
pixies pricking you in your sleep for the rest of your
life.) (Challenge yourself again, and look for that message
in Citadel.)
A possible problem arises, however, if you distribute the
program outside of the United States of America. I don't
know if the message encryption in Citadel is good enough to
bother the government, but there are certain restrictions on
exporting data encryption technology from the United States.
Our government is so paranoid that this technology falls
under the same classification as nuclear warheads: a weapon
of war. (You cannot export nuclear warheads, either.) I am
sure than a good mathematician specializing in cryptology
can find a way to break the encryption without too much
difficulty, but there may be a problem anyway. I have not
looked into the laws, so I don't know much more than this.
Also note that we cannot, of course, warrant the program's
operation in any way. We test it thoroughly and run it
ourselves, but even with the safety precautions we go
through, some potentially dangerous bug may exist, which
could cause data loss or equipment failure. This is not
likely, and we will try to fix any such bugs brought to our
attention, but we cannot give any guarantee that such bugs
don't exist, or can be fixed.
Source code is generally not available to the public. If you
require source code for some reason, call The Anticlimactic
Teleservice at (206)562-9792. We will make a decision to
release code on an individual basis. Be aware, however, that
code releases are not common.
_Index
CHAIN.TXT. See Shell Files
_#_ Citadel-86
#CONFIG.CIT MSGADD, 36, 43
#DUMB_MODEM, 85 MSGOUT, 36, 43
COMMAND.COM, 22, 23, 130
_A_ Commands
Accounting, 11 .Aide
ANSI Colors, 13 Attributes (.AA), 64
Applications, 22 Chat (.AC), 64
Auxmem version, 1, 51, 64, Copy message to old-
82, 92, 93, 173, 188, 267 buffer (.A<), 66
Edit room (.AE), 9, 25,
_B_ 39, 48, 57, 65, 66, 79
Basic Usage, 4 File set (.AF), 65
BL@, 27 Group (.AG), 9, 65
BLB, 27 Hall (.AH), 65
Insert (.AI), 73
_C_ Insert message (.AI), 65
CALLINFO.BBS. See Shell Jump to Aide) and
Files Maintenance (.AJ), 65
Kill room (.AK), 65
List group (.AL), 9, 62,
6 Set file information
Menu (.A?), 66 (.AS), 66
Move file (.AM), 65 Unlink (.AU), 30, 66
Move room back (.A-), 66 Window room (.AW), 66
Move room forward (.A+), .Aide (.A...), 61, 64
66 Edit room (.AE), 86
Name message (.AN), 65 Hall (.AH), 100
Name messages (.AN), 29, Name messages (.AN), 94,
164, 169, 203 95
Queue (.AQ...), 65 Window (.AW), 100
Auto mark/kill/censor .Bypass (.B), 57
toggle (.AQA), 65 .Bypass (.B...), 70
Clear (.AQC), 65 .Chat (.C), 66
Insert (.AQI), 65 .Download (.D...), 22,
Kill (.AQK), 65 66, 129
List (.AQL), 65 Menu (.D?), 32, 33, 129
Menu (.AQ?), 66 .Enter (.E...), 66
Move (.AQM), 65 Application (.EA), 22,
Room mark (.AQR), 65 25, 66
Sort (.AQS), 66 Border (.EB), 67, 94,
Verbose (.AQV), 66 120
Rename file (.AR), 66 Configuration (.EC), 6,
7, 12, 13, 28, 29, 30, Exclusive message (.EE),
31, 34, 44, 48, 67, 67
71, 72, 86, 93, 96, File-linked (.E*), 68
148, 169 Group-only (.EG), 67
Message Editor options Hall (.EH), 67
(E), 6, 7, 48, 71, 72 Local (.EL), 67
Confirm Abort (A), 6, Menu (.E?), 32, 68
71 Message (.EM), 9, 67
Confirm Save (S), 7, Name (.EN), 28, 67
72 Old (.EO), 6, 66, 67, 71
Verbose Continue (V), Password (.EP), 67
6, 71 Room (.ER), 9, 67, 168
Terminal settings (T), Surname / Title (.ES),
13 67, 94
ANSI color (C), 13 Text file (.ET), 67
ANSI mode (A), 13 With protocol (.EW...),
Attributes (R), 13 5, 67
Door (.ED), 105 Menu (.EW?), 32, 67
Door (.ED...), 22, 24, .Expert toggle (.X), 70
67, 104 .Finger (.F...)
Menu (.ED?), 32 Menu (.F?), 32
Exclude room (.EX), 68 .Goto (.G), 57
.Goto (.G...), 68 Exclusive message (.KE),
.Help 69
Menu (.H?), 33 Group-only (.KG), 68
.Help (.H), 34 Halls (.KH), 68
.Help (.H...), 68 Hidden (.K)), 69
.Invite Local (.KL), 69
Menu (.I?), 33 Menu (.K?), 69
.Invite (.I...), 70 New (.KN), 69
List users (.IL), 70 Number of messages
Menu (.I?), 70 (.K#), 69
Room list (.IR), 70 Old (.KO), 69
User (.IU), 70 Permanent (.KP), 68
.Jumpback (.J), 68 Room information (.KI),
.Known 69
Menu (.K?), 33 Rooms (.KR), 68, 69
.Known (.K...), 68 Shared (.KS), 69
Anonymous (.KY), 68 This hall only (.KT), 69
Application (.KA), 68 Verbose (.KV), 69
BIO (.KB), 69 Window (.KW), 69
Directory (.KD), 68 .Login (.L...), 69
Empty (.K0), 69 .Mal serach (.M), 69
Excluded (.KX), 69 .Menu (.?), 33, 71
.Personal hall (.P...) Configuration (.RC), 58,
Add 63
Menu (.PA?), 33 Directory (.RD), 5, 59
Menu (.P?), 33 Exclusive (.RE), 59
.Queue (.Q...), 70 Forward (.RF), 59
Add (.QA), 70 Group-only (.RG), 10, 59
Clear (.QC), 70 Messages (.RGM), 10
Download (.QD), 70 Group-only (.RG...)
Download (.QD?), 33 Userlog (.RGU), 100
List (.QL), 71 Halls (.RH), 59
Menu (.Q?), 32, 71 Header scan (.R!), 58
Remove (.QR), 71 Info file (.RI), 5, 59,
.Read (.R), 57 62
.Read (.R...), 58 Keyword search (.RK), 58
All (.RA), 58 Local (.RL), 59
All (.RA...), 100 Menu (.R?), 33, 60
Archive file (.RZ), 59, Messages (.RM), 58, 100
60, 104 New (.RN), 59
By date (.R&), 58 Number (.R##), 58
By message number (.R#), Old (.RO), 59
58 Public (.RP), 59
By user (.RB), 58 Reverse (.RR), 59
Status (.RS), 59, 78, 96 Abort (.SA), 60
Text file (.RT), 59 Aide function (.SF), 61
Userlog (.RU), 58, 59 Auxmem memory status
Verbose (.RV...), 59 (.S^), 64
Status (.RVS), 128, Config file (.SE), 61
245, 259, 261 Create PATH.DAT (.S>),
With protocol (.RW...), 60
5, 60 Cron (.SC...), 60
Menu (.RW?), 33, 60 All done (.SCA), 60
.Sysop (.S...) Done (.SCD), 60
6.9 net command Enter (.SCE), 60
(.S6...), 42, 64 Force (.SCF), 61
Build address (.S6@), List (.SCL), 61
64 Menu (.SC?), 32, 61
Fetch (.S6F), 42, 64 Next event set (.SCN),
Generate room request 61
(.S6R), 64 Pause (.SCP), 61
Incorporate (.S6I), Reset event (.SCR), 61
42, 64 Set success time
Menu (.S6?), 34, 64 (.SCS), 61
Room request (.S6R), Zap event toggle
42 (.SCZ), 61
Date set (.SD), 61 membership (.SGG), 62
Enter config file Kill (.SGK), 9, 62
(.SE...) List (.SGL), 9, 62
All (.SEA), 61 Menu (.SG?), 33, 62
CONFIG.CIT (.SEC), 61 New (.SGN), 9, 62
CRON.CIT (.SET), 60, Operator-specific
61 membership (.SGO), 62
EXTERNAL.CIT (.SEE), User-specific
61 membership (.SGU), 62
GRPDATA.CIT (.SEG), 61 Hall (.SH...), 62
MCI.CIT (.SEI), 61 Edit (.SHE), 9, 62
MDMRESLT.CIT (.SEM), Force access (.SHF),
61 62
Menu (.SE?), 33, 61 Global room (.SHG), 62
PROTOCOL.CIT (.SEP), Kill (.SHK), 62
61 List (.SHL), 62
Exit Citadel (.SX), 63 Menu (.SH?), 33, 62
Full path file download Move hall backward
(.S%), 64 (.SH-), 62
Group (.SG...), 61 Move hall forward
Edit (.SGE), 9, 61 (.SH+), 62
Group-specific New (.SHN), 9, 62
Info file reset (.SI), (.S+...), 63
62 Menu (.S+?), 34
Journal room (.SJ), 63 Message (.S+M), 63
Kill user (.SK), 63 Room (.S+R), 64
Login enable (.SL), 63 Userlog edit (.SU), 11,
Mass delete (.SM), 63 12, 27, 30, 36, 63,
Menu (.S?), 34, 64 102
New user verify (.SN), Node (O), 36
63 Zap empty rooms (.SZ),
Off hook (.SO), 61 63
Purge userlog (.SP), 63 .Terminate (.T...), 70
Read by message number Menu (.T?), 34, 70
(.S#), 64 Quit-also (.TQ), 70
Reset Maintenance hall Stay (.TS), 70, 100
(.S1), 60 Verbose (.TV), 70
Run script (.SR), 63, .Upload (.U...), 22, 70,
138 129
Shell to DOS (.S!), 63 Menu (.U?), 34, 129
Show user (.SS), 63 .Volkswagen (.V...)
Super-shell to DOS Menu (.V?), 34
(.S@), 63 Console-only, 73
Table debugging Accounting toggle
(Alt+A) Ignore up-time toggle
Aide toggle (Alt+F6), 74 (Alt+U), 75
Bells toggle (F7), 74 Less time (PgDn), 11, 76
Chat mode (F8 or Alt+C), More time (PgUp), 11, 76
74 Printing toggle (Alt+P),
Chat toggle (F9), 74 75
Clear screen (Alt+F1), Repeat event (Alt+R), 75
74 Request (F3), 74
Console / Modem mode Request with an attitude
(F5), 74 (Alt+F3), 74
Console lock (Alt+L), 75 Reset (F2), 74
Console sysop (Ctrl+F6), Screen saver (Alt+S), 75
74 Scroll-back buffer
Debug toggle (Alt+D), 75 (Alt+K), 75
Event time-out (Alt+E), Second status line
75 toggle (Alt+F10), 75
Exit (Alt+X or Alt+F4), Shutdown (F1), 73
75 Speech toggle (Ctrl+F1),
Filter toggle (Alt+B), 73
75 Status line toggle
Force event (Alt+F), 75 (Sft+F10), 75
Help (F10 or Alt+H), 75 Status screen (F4), 74
Sysop function (F6), 74 76
Sysop toggle (Sft+F6), Super-shell (Alt+S), 76
74 Menu (?), 32, 33
Time-out (Alt+Z), 75 Multiple-key (extended),
Toggle input focus 57
(Ctrl+F2), 74 Output commands, 73
Twit toggle (Alt+T), 75 Header scan (!), 73
Verified toggle (Alt+V), Jump (J), 73
75 Kill (K), 73
Dial-out, 76 Mark (M), 73
Debug toggle (Alt+D), 76 Next (N), 73
Duplix toggle (Alt+P), Pause (P), 73
76 Reverse (R), 73
Exit dial-out mode Stop (S), 73
(Alt+Q), 76 Verbose toggle (V), 73
Hang-up (Alt+H), 76 Single-key, 55, 56
Macros (Fkeys), 76 Small chat (, 57
Scroll-back (Alt+K), 76 Aide edit room (A), 56,
Shell (Alt+E), 76 65
Slow down (PgDn), 76 Auto verbose (V), 60
Speed up (PgUp), 76 Auto verbose toggle (V),
Status screen (Alt+V), 57
Bypass (B), 55, 57, 70, Next room (+), 57
87 Old messages (O), 56
Chat (C), 55, 64, 66, Previous hall (<), 56,
74, 193, 212, 219 67
Download (D), 5, 56 Previous room (-), 57
Enter exclusive (M), 57 Reverse messages (R), 56
Enter message (E), 4, 5, Terminate (T), 5, 56
55, 56 Upload (U), 5, 57
Exclude (X), 57 Sysop (.S...), 60, 74,
Forward messages (F), 55 233
Goto new messages (G), Window, 76
4, 5, 55, 56, 57, 70, COMSPEC, 22, 130
87 CONFIG.CIT, 78, 107, 120
Help (H), 55 #ACCOUNTING, 11, 95, 97,
Information (I), 35 102
Introduction (I), 56 #ADCHANCE, 27, 91
Jumpback (J), 55, 68 #ADDRESS, 79
Known rooms (K), 56 #ADTIME, 27, 91
Login (L), 57 #AIDECHATHRS, 64, 91
Menu (?), 56 #AIDEHALL, 65, 66, 100,
New messages (N), 4, 56 153
Next hall (>), 5, 56, 67 #ALLOWCRYPT, 6, 71, 102
#ALTF3MSG, 92 #CHECKSYSMAIL, 49, 91
#ALTF3TIME, 92 #CIT86COUNTRY, 90, 154
#ANONAUTHOR, 95, 153 #CIT86DOMAIN, 90, 154
#APPLICPATH, 23, 39, 79, #CONNECTWAIT, 86, 155
80, 104, 130, 159 #CONSOLETIMEOUT, 89
#ATTR, 81, 153 #COUNTBEEP, 89, 155
#AUTOANSI, 85, 122, 153, #CREDIT_NYM, 11, 95, 155
193 #DATESTAMP, 44, 93, 121
#BADPWPAUSE, 102 #DIAL_INIT, 84, 111
#BATTR, 81, 153 #DIAL_PREF, 84, 107, 111,
#BAUDPAUSE, 86 151, 156
#BIOS, 47, 89, 154 #DIAL_RING, 84, 85, 86
#BORDER, 94, 95 #DIALMACRO, 76, 90, 236
#BORDERFREQ, 96 #DIALRING, 156
#CALLLIMIT, 30, 102 #DICTIONARY, 48, 80
#CATTR, 81, 154 #DIRPATH, 80, 156
#CENSOR, 12, 94 #DISKFREE, 90, 156
#CHATBELL, 97 #DLPATH, 41, 80, 156
#CHATFLASH, 91 #DOWNSHIFT, 84
#CHATMAIL, 28, 91 #DUMB_MODEM, 83, 84, 85,
#CHATWHY, 91 156, 158
#CHECKCTS, 85, 154 #ECCOLOR, 96
#ECSIGNATURE, 96 34, 79, 80, 158
#ECTWIRLY, 96 #HELPPATH2, 34, 79, 158
#ECUSERLOG, 96 #HOMEPATH, 16, 77, 78,
#ENTER_NAME, 94 79, 80, 98, 128, 149,
#ENTER_NYM, 157 158, 190, 259, 261
#ENTEROK, 100, 157 #IDLE_WAIT, 83, 86, 114
#EXPIRE, 90, 157 #INIT_BAUD, 83, 84, 107
#F6PASSWORD, 60, 64, 74, #LEXPATH, 48, 80
75, 88, 99 #LOGEXTDIR, 80, 159
#FASTLOGIN, 92 #LOGIN, 28, 29, 63, 97,
#FASTSCRIPTS, 92 98, 159, 235
#FILEBUFSIZE, 90 CLOSED_SYSTEM, 28, 97,
#FILTER, 75, 97 159
#FORCELOGIN, 57, 100, 157 SYSOP_MESSAGE, 29, 98,
#FORWARD, 79, 88 159
#FUELBAR, 96 #MAXBORDERS, 82, 162
#FULLCONLOCK, 74, 99 #MAXERROR, 96
#GROUP_NYM, 97 #MAXFILES, 82, 162
#HALL_NYM, 97 #MAXGROUPS, 82, 162, 271
#HANGUP, 84, 85 #MAXHALLS, 82, 162
#HANGUPDELAY, 85 #MAXJUMPBACK, 89, 162
#HELPPATH, 27, 31, 33, #MAXLOGTAB, 81, 82, 162,
2 #MSGPATH, 80, 164
#MAXROOMS, 81, 82, 162, #MUSIC, 96, 123
267, 271, 272, 274 #NET_PREFIX, 93, 123
#MAXSTAT, 89, 169 #NETMAIL, 86
#MCI_DATE, 95 #NEWBAL, 97
#MCI_FIRSTNAME, 95 #NEWNODEALERT, 92
#MCI_NAME, 95 #NEWUSERAPP, 25, 98
#MCI_POOP, 95 #NEWUSERQUESTIONS, 29, 98
#MCI_TIME, 95 #NMESSAGES, 81, 82, 88,
#MDATA, 78 165
#MEMFREE, 92 #NOBELLS, 91
#MESSAGE_NYM, 94, 95, 164 #NOCHAT, 91
#MESSAGE_ROOM, 100 #NOCONSOLETRAP, 103
#MESSAGEK, 81, 82, 163 #NODECOUNTRY, 78, 165
#MIN_BAUD, 83 #NODENAME, 78, 165
#MINBAUD, 30 #NODEPHONE, 78, 165
#MODERATE, 100, 153 #NODEREGION, 78, 165
#MODSETUP, 83, 84, 85, #NOPWECHO, 101, 165, 200
86, 163 #NUMROOMS, 102
#MODUNSETUP, 83, 163 #OFFHOOK, 85
#MOREPROMPT, 93, 123 #OFFHOOKSTR, 85, 165
#MSGCOMPRESS, 81, 88 #OLDCOUNT, 86
#OVREMS, 91 #SHOWMOVED, 92
#OVREXT, 91 #SHOWSYSOP, 102
#PERSONALHALLOK, 96 #SIGNATURE, 94, 165
#POOP!, 95, 166, 201 #SLEEPCOUNT, 89, 194
#PRINTER, 80, 166, 201 #SLEEPPROMPT, 89, 96
#PROMPT, 93 #SOFTVERB, 96
#PWDAYS, 102 #SPEECHON, 91
#READALL, 100, 166, 202 #SUBHUBS, 55, 87, 169,
#READLLOG, 100 203
#READLOG, 102 #SWAPNOTE, 92
#READOK, 100, 167 #SYSOP, 19, 79, 89, 157,
#RESTORE_MODE, 89 170, 196, 214
#RLMPATH, 80 #SYSOPOK, 102
#ROOM_NYM, 97 #TEMPPATH, 80, 170
#ROOMOK, 100, 174 #TIMEOUT, 89
#ROOMPATH, 79 #TRANSPATH, 41, 42, 64,
#ROOMTELL, 79, 86 80, 107, 108, 114, 170
#SAVEJB, 92 #TRAP, 101, 102, 110, 235
#SAVERMSG, 88 #TRAP_FILE, 80, 101, 170
#SCREENSAVE, 87, 88 #TWIRLY, 96, 170
#SCRIPTPATH, 79 #TWIT_FEATURES, 15, 65,
#SCROLL_BACK, 46, 75, 88 67, 94, 95, 154, 162,
164 #DO, 25, 114, 115, 142,
BORDER_LINES, 95 237
#TWITCOUNTRY, 95 CHAT_OFF, 114
#TWITREGION, 95 CHAT_ON, 114
#TWITREV, 96 COMMAND, 114, 138, 142
#UNLOGGEDBALANCE, 11, 97 NET69_IN, 42, 114
#UNLOGTIMEOUT, 89 NET69_OUT, 42, 114
#UP_DAYS, 75, 84, 86 NET86_IN, 115
#UP_HOURS, 75, 84, 86 NET86_OUT, 115
#USER_NYM, 97 NETWORK, 36, 114
#UTTR, 81, 173 SHELL_1, 25, 114
#VDATESTAMP, 44, 93, 126 SHELL_2, 25, 114
#VIRTMEM, 93 SHUTDOWN, 114
#WATTR, 81, 173 #HOURS, 115
#WYSIWYG, 91 #MONTHS, 115
Modem keywords, 83 #REDO_TIME, 116
CONSOLE.APL. See Shell #RETRY_TIME, 114, 116
Files CRON.TAB, 77
CRASH.CIT, 279 CTDL.DAT, 233, 234, 235,
CRON.CIT, 114 243
#DATES, 116 CTDLDAT.EXE, 234
#DAYS, 115 CTDLDATA.DEF, 234, 235
#DSTAMP, 44, 121
_D_ #EXCLUDEENCRYPTED, 121
daylight saving time, 44 #EXPERT, 121
DEFUSER.CIT, 120 #FINGER, 121
#ADDR1, 120 #FORWARD, 121
#ADDR2, 120 #FORWARDNODE, 121
#ADDR3, 120 #HALLTELL, 121
#AIDE, 120 #HIDEEXCL, 121
#BLINK, 120 #IBMANSI, 122, 123
#BOLD, 120 #IBMCOLOR, 122
#BORDERS, 120 #IBMGRAPH, 122
#CALLLIMIT, 120 #IBMROOM, 122
#CHECKALLCAPS, 120 #INVERSE, 122
#CHECKAPS, 120 #KNODE, 122
#CHECKDIGITS, 120 #KREG, 122
#CONFIRMABORT, 120 #KTEXT, 122
#CONFIRMEOABORT, 121 #KUSER, 122
#CONFIRMSAVE, 121 #LFMASK, 122
#CREDITS, 11, 121 #LINESSCREEN, 123
#DEFAULTHALL, 121 #LOCKHALL, 123
#DICTWORD, 121 #LOCKUSIG, 123
#DISPLAYTS, 121 #MINIBIN, 123
#MOREPROMPT, 123 #PROBLEM, 125
#MSGCLS, 123 #PROMPT, 125
#MSGPAUSE, 123 #PROTOCOL, 125
#MUSIC, 123 #PSYCHO, 125
#NETPREFIX, 123 #PUNPAUSES, 125
#NETUSER, 123 #REALNAME, 125
#NEXTHALL, 123 #REPLACE, 125
#NOACCOUNT, 124 #ROOMINFO, 125
#NOCHAT, 124 #ROOMTELL, 125
#NODE, 124 #SEEBORDERS, 125
#NODOWNLOAD, 124 #SHOWCOMMAS, 125
#NOMAIL, 124 #SIGNATURE, 125
#NOMAKEROOM, 124 #SIGNATURES, 125
#NOUPLOAD, 124 #SPELLCHECK, 125
#NULLS, 124 #SUBJECTS, 125
#NUMUSERSHOW, 124 #SURNAME, 126
#OLDTOO, 124 #SURNAMLOK, 126
#OUT300, 124 #SYSOP, 126
#PERMANENT, 124 #TABS, 126
#PHONENUM, 124 #TITLE, 126
#POOP, 124 #TUSER, 126
#PRINTFILE, 125 #TWIRLY, 126
#UCMASK, 126 ETC.TAB, 77
#UNDERLINE, 126 EXTERNAL.CIT, 104
#UNLISTED, 126 #ARCHIVER, 24, 60, 104
#USEPERSONAL, 126 #AUTO_EDITOR, 24, 104
#VDSTAMP, 44, 126 #CENSOR_AUTHOR, 12, 104
#VERBOSE, 126 #CENSOR_NODE, 12, 104
#VERBOSECONT, 126 #CENSOR_TEXT, 12, 104
#VERBOSELOGOUT, 127 #DIRECTORY, 64, 104
#VERIFIED, 127 #DOOR, 24, 67, 104
#VIEWCENSOR, 127 #EDITOR, 24, 104, 105
#WIDEROOM, 127 #EVENT, 22, 25, 105, 155,
#WIDTH, 127 236, 261
#YOUAREHERE, 127 #HOLIDAY, 45, 104, 106
DOOR.SYS. See Shell Files #NETCOMMAND, 106, 149,
DORINFO1.BBS. See Shell 164
Files #REFUSER, 104
DOS PATH, 39, 79 #REPLACE, 104, 106
DragCit, 36, 37, 38 #USERAPP, 25, 104, 106
_E_ _F_
EMS, 1, 22, 46, 51, 63, 64, File Transfer Protocols
88, 91, 93, 130, 280, 281 1K Xmodem, 5, 131
Xmodem, 5, 131 Meta-groups
Xmodem CRC, 5, 131 *AIDE, 10
Ymodem, 131 *NETWORK, 10
Zmodem, 5, 131 *NODE, 10
FILE69, 41, 42, 107, 283, *NOMAIL, 10
284 *PERMANENT, 10
FILEINFO.DAT, 62 *SYSOP, 10
FILEQTMP.CIT, 279 *TWIT, 10
FOSSIL, 259 *UNLISTED, 10
Null, 10, 117, 118, 119
_G_ Reserved_2, 10, 110
Groups, 9, 11 GRPDATA.CIT, 11, 117
Auto-add, 9 #DAY_INC, 118
Boolean Expressions #DAYS, 117, 118
AND, 10 #DL_MULT, 118
Begin group ((), 10 #GROUP, 117, 118
End group ()), 10 #HOURS, 117, 118
NOT, 10 #MAX_BAL, 118
OR, 10 #PRIORITY, 117, 118
XOR, 10 #SPECIAL, 117, 118
Hidden, 9 #UL_MULT, 118
Lock from aides, 9
_H_
Hard disk, 1 ENTERNYM.BLB, 28, 240
HARDWARE.CIT, 128 ENTRY.BLB, 28, 239
#COMDRIVER, 128, 259 GOODBYE.BLB, 28, 239
#KBDDRIVER, 128 HELLO###.BLB, 28
#SNDDRIVER, 128, 261 JOKE####.BLB, 28
Help Files, 27 LENGTH.BLB, 29, 240
Blurbs LOGOUT##.BLB, 29
AD######.BLB, 27 MOREPRMP.BLB, 29, 240
ADDRESS.BLB, 27, 240 MSGNYM.BLB, 29, 240
BULLETIN.BLB, 27, 31, NETPREFX.BLB, 29, 240
239 NEWMSG.BLB, 29, 239
CALLIMIT.BLB, 27, 240 NEWQUEST.BLB, 29, 239
CENSOR.BLB, 12, 27, 240 NEWROOM.BLB, 29, 239
CHAT####.BLB, 27 NOANSWER.BLB, 29
CHATTED.BLB, 28, 240 NOCHAT##.BLB, 29
CLOSESYS.BLB, 28, 97, NOCHAT.BLB, 55, 74, 239
239 NOLOGIN.BLB, 29, 117,
COLORS.BLB, 28, 240 239
DIALOUT.BLB, 28 NOROUTE.BLB, 29, 240
DISCLAIM.BLB, 12, 28, NULLS.BLB, 29, 240
240 NUMUSERS.BLB, 30, 241
ENCRYPT.BLB, 28, 240 PASSWORD.BLB, 30, 239
PHONENUM.BLB, 30, 240 FILES.HLP, 35, 241
PROMPT.BLB, 30, 93, 240 GROUPS.HLP, 35, 241
REALNAME.BLB, 30, 240 HALLS.HLP, 35, 241
RESUME.BLB, 30, 240 HELP.HLP, 35, 241
TEXTUP.BLB, 30, 239 INTRO.HLP, 35, 56, 241
TIME.BLB, 30, 240 LOGIN.HLP, 35, 241
TOOLOW.BLB, 30, 83, 239 MESSAGES.HLP, 35, 241
TOOMANY.BLB, 30, 240 NETWORK.HLP, 35, 241
UNLINK.BLB, 30, 241 QUEUE.HLP, 35, 241
USERINFO.BLB, 30, 239 ROOMS.HLP, 35, 241
VERIFIED.BLB, 30, 239 ROOMSYS.HLP, 35, 241
WCDOWN.BLB, 31, 240 SPECIAL.HLP, 35, 241
WCUP.BLB, 31, 240 SPELL.HLP, 35, 242
WIDTH.BLB, 31, 240 SYSOP.HLP, 35, 242
WOWCOUNT.BLB, 31, 240 Menus, 31
Help Files, 34 #AIDE, 31, 238
ACCOUNT.HLP, 34, 241 #AIDEQUEUE, 31, 238
AIDE.HLP, 34, 241 #BULLETINS, 31, 238
ANSI.HLP, 34, 241 #CRON, 32, 60, 238
CONFIG.HLP, 34, 241 #DOOR, 32, 238
DOHELP.HLP, 34, 241 #DOWNLOAD, 32
DOORS.HLP, 34 #EDIT, 32, 238
#EDITTEXT, 32, 239 #TERMINATE, 34, 238
#ENTERWC, 32, 239 #UPLOAD, 34
#ENTOPT, 32, 238 #VOLKSWAGEN, 34, 238
#FILEQUEUE, 32, 238 CTDL.MN@, 31
#FINGER, 32, 239 CTDL.MNU, 27, 31, 79,
#GRPGLOB, 33, 238 238
#HELP, 33, 238
#INVITE, 33, 238 _I_
#KNOWN, 33, 238, 241 IBM AT, 1
#MAINDOT, 33, 238 IBM PC, 1, 78, 81, 128, 246
#MAINOPT, 33, 238 INPUT.APL. See Shell Files
#PERSONAL, 33, 238
#PERSONALADD, 33, 239 _M_
#READOPT, 33, 238 MAILLIST.CIT, 135
#READWC, 33, 239 #INFOFILE, 135
#RESPONSEDOWNLOAD, 33 #INFOLINE, 135
#SYSENTER, 33, 238 #MAILLIST, 135
#SYSGROUP, 33, 238 #MAYLIST, 135
#SYSHALL, 33, 238 #MAYSUBSCRIBE, 135
#SYSNET, 34, 238 #MAYTELL, 135
#SYSOP, 34, 238 #USER, 135
#SYSTABLE, 34, 239
MDMRESLT.CIT, 132 #CONNECT230400C, 133
#BUSY, 132 #CONNECT230400E, 133
#COMPRESSION, 132 #CONNECT2400, 132
#CONNECT115200, 132 #CONNECT2400C, 133
#CONNECT115200C, 133 #CONNECT2400E, 133
#CONNECT115200E, 133 #CONNECT28800, 132
#CONNECT1200, 132 #CONNECT28800C, 133
#CONNECT12000, 132 #CONNECT28800E, 133
#CONNECT12000C, 133 #CONNECT300, 132
#CONNECT12000E, 133 #CONNECT38400, 132
#CONNECT1200C, 133 #CONNECT38400C, 133
#CONNECT1200E, 133 #CONNECT38400E, 133
#CONNECT14400, 132 #CONNECT4800, 132
#CONNECT14400C, 133 #CONNECT4800C, 133
#CONNECT14400E, 133 #CONNECT4800E, 133
#CONNECT16800, 132 #CONNECT57600, 132
#CONNECT16800C, 133 #CONNECT57600C, 133
#CONNECT16800E, 133 #CONNECT57600E, 133
#CONNECT19200, 132 #CONNECT7200, 132
#CONNECT19200C, 133 #CONNECT7200C, 133
#CONNECT19200E, 133 #CONNECT7200E, 133
#CONNECT230400, 133 #CONNECT9600, 132
#CONNECT9600C, 133 71
#CONNECT9600E, 133 Find and replace (F), 4,
#CORRECTION, 132 6, 7, 71, 72
#ERROR, 132 Insert file (<), 8, 72
#NOANSWER, 132 Link application (!), 7,
#NOCARRIER, 132 25, 72
#NODIALTONE, 132 Location (L), 7, 71
#RING, 132 Menu (?), 8, 73
#RUNAPPLIC, 133 Print formatted (P), 4,
Menus. See Help Files 7, 72
Message Censoring, 12 Replace (R), 4, 7, 72
Message Command Interpreter Save (S), 4, 7, 72
(MCI) Commands, 15 Signature (I), 7, 71
Message editor, 6, 71 Special delivery options
Abort (A), 6, 71 (#), 7, 72
Address message (@), 7, Subject (U), 7, 72
72 Verify spelling (V), 4,
Allow ESC (~), 7, 72 7, 48, 72
Change name (*), 8, 73 Word count (W), 7, 72
Continue (C), 4, 6, 71 MESSAGE.APL. See Shell
Delete buffer (D), 6, 71 Files
Encrypt message (E), 6, Modem, 1
#GROUP, 38, 108, 110
_N_ #LOGIN, 25, 37, 38, 108,
NETID.CIT, 40, 41, 148, 109, 110, 112
154, 175, 191, 283 Download (D), 37, 109
Networking, 36 Pause (P), 37, 109
Protocols Repeat (R), 37, 109
Citadel-86 compatible, Script (@), 38, 110
43 Send (S), 37, 109
DragCit 1.0/1.1, 36 Shell (!), 38, 109
DragCit 1.5/1.6, 38 Upload (U), 37, 109
Net 6.9, 39 Wait (W), 37, 109
NODES.CIT, 107 #MAPUNKGROUP, 108, 110
#AUTOGROUP, 41, 107 #MOREINFO69, 110
#AUTOHALL, 41, 69, 107 #NETFAIL, 110
#AUTOROOM, 40, 41, 69, #NETWORK, 37, 39, 40,
107, 283 110, 237
#BAUD, 37, 84, 107 CIT86, 110, 113
#DIAL_TIMEOUT, 37, 107 DRAGCIT1_0, 110, 112
#DIALOUT, 107, 110, 111 DRAGCIT1_1, 37, 110, 112
#FETCH, 42, 107 DRAGCIT1_5, 39, 110, 112
#FETCH_TIMEOUT, 108 DRAGCIT1_6, 39, 110, 112
#GATEWAY, 108, 276 HENGE, 110, 112
NET6_9, 40, 110, 112 ROOMCREATED, 112
NET6_9a, 40, 110, 112 ROOMNOTCREATED, 112
#NODE, 37, 110 #WAIT_TIMEOUT, 37, 109,
Default, 40 112
#OUTPUTPACE, 110 #ZIP, 24, 25, 39, 41, 112
#PHONE, 37, 110
#PREDIAL, 111 _O_
#PROTOCOL, 37, 40, 111 OUTPUT.APL. See Shell Files
#REDIAL, 111
#REQUEST, 41, 111 _P_
#ROOM, 38, 39, 40, 111 PCBOARD.SYS. See Shell
#VERBOSE, 40, 41, 111, Files
112, 238 PROTOCOL.CIT, 129
0, 112 #AUTO_UPLOAD, 129
1, 112 #BATCH, 129
2, 112 #BLOCK_SIZE, 129
ALL, 112 #CHECK_TRANSFER, 130
FILE69IN, 111 #COMMAND_KEY, 129
FILE69INFULL, 112 #MENU_NAME, 129
NETIDNOTFOUND, 112 #NET_ONLY, 129
NOACCESS, 112 #PROTOCOL, 24, 32, 129
NONETIDONSYSTEM, 112
#RECEIVE, 129 Functions, 140
#RESPONSE_SEND, 129 Recursion, 139
#RESPONSEDOWNLOAD, 70 Internal functions, 148
#SEND, 129 Keywords, 141
Pseudonyms, 30 #ADD, 141
#AND, 141
_R_ #ASGN, 138, 141
RAM, 1, 82, 89, 93 #CALL, 141, 148, 191,
README.APL. See Shell Files 205
Receipt confirmation #CHAIN, 141
requested, 7, 72, 185 #DIV, 141
Regular version, 1, 64, 82, #DO, 141, 142, 143
92, 93, 188, 267 #ELSE, 141, 142, 143
Room editing, 53 #ENDFUNC, 140, 142
ROUTE.CIT, 134 #ENDIF, 141, 142, 143
#ADDRESS, 134 #EQ, 142
#ROUTE, 134 #EXIT, 142
#FUNC, 140, 142
_S_ #GE, 142
Script files, 137 #GOTO, 142, 143
Debugging, 146 #GT, 142
#GVAR, 139, 143
#IF, 138, 141, 142, 143 Overview, 138
#IFNOT, 138, 141, 142, Variables, 139
143 Types
#LABEL, 142, 143 Boolean, 139
#LE, 143 Integer, 139
#LOOP, 138, 141, 143 Long, 139
#LOOPNOT, 138, 141, 143 String, 139
#LT, 143 UInteger, 139
#LVAR, 139, 144 ULong, 139
#MOD, 144 Scroll-Back Buffer, 46
#MUL, 144 Setup, 1
#NE, 144 Shell Files
#OR, 144 CALLINFO.BBS, 22, 25
#RET, 140, 144 CHAIN.TXT, 22, 25
#RUN, 144 CONSOLE.APL, 26
#STR, 144, 148, 191 DOOR.SYS, 22, 25
#SUB, 145 DORINFO1.BBS, 22, 25
#VERSION, 145 INPUT.APL, 25, 228
#WEND, 145 MESSAGE.APL, 25
#WHILE, 138, 145 OUTPUT.APL, 22, 25
#WHILENOT, 138, 145 PCBOARD.SYS, 22, 25
#XOR, 145 README.APL, 25, 104
TRIBBS.SYS, 22, 25 123, 184, 187, 225, 227
USERINFO.DAT, 22, 25 USERINFO.DAT. See Shell
Sound Blaster, 128, 246, Files
250, 261
Source code, 285 _V_
Spell checker, 4, 7, 35, Virtual memory, 1, 46, 51,
48, 72, 80, 219, 225, 233 88, 93, 173, 282
Status line and screen, 49
System requirements, 1 _W_
Wow., 18, 19, 21, 32, 36,
_T_ 38, 39, 43, 44, 45, 52,
Time and Date Formatting, 53, 54, 62, 64, 66, 68,
44 70, 74, 76, 82, 83, 84,
Time zones, 44 85, 91, 96, 97, 102, 110,
TRIBBS.SYS. See Shell Files 120, 122, 125, 126, 130,
TZ environment variable, 44 190, 206, 283, 284
_U_ _X_
User configuration, 52 XMS, 1, 22, 46, 51, 63, 64,
User editing, 54 88, 93, 130, 281, 282
User signature, 7, 71, 96,