Display Codes

Using display codes in Maximus BBS

Maximus NG supports display codes — short sequences embedded in prompts, display files, menu titles, and language strings that are replaced at runtime with colors, user data, formatted text, or terminal commands.

If you have used display codes on Mystic BBS, Renegade, or similar systems, you will feel right at home. Maximus uses the same | (pipe) prefix for colors and information codes, and the same $ prefix for formatting operators.

Related pages: Theme Colors covers the semantic color system in depth. Language Files (TOML) explains how display codes interact with language strings and parameter substitution.

How Display Codes Work

A display code starts with a pipe character (|) followed by two characters that tell Maximus what to display. Codes are case-sensitive.

For example, if you place this in a prompt or display file:

Welcome to the BBS, |UN!

Maximus replaces |UN with the current user’s name at runtime:

Welcome to the BBS, Kevin Morgan!

Display codes can be used in:

Display files (.bbs / ANSI art)
Menu titles and option descriptions (in TOML menu configs)
Language strings (in english.toml)
MEX scripts (via print())

Code Categories

Each category has its own reference page with full tables, examples, and usage notes:

Color Codes — pipe color codes (|00–|31) for foreground, background, and blink; plus semantic theme color codes (|xx) that map to named slots in colors.toml.
Info Codes — two-letter uppercase codes (|UN, |BN, |TL, etc.) that expand to live user, system, area, and date/time data.
Terminal Control — screen clear, cursor movement, save/restore, and other terminal manipulation codes.
Format Operators — $-prefix operators for padding, alignment, trimming, and character repetition.
Positional Parameters — |!N (early) and |#N (deferred) parameter slots used in language strings.

Contexts Where Codes Are Disabled

Display codes are automatically disabled in certain contexts to prevent user-authored content from being interpreted as codes:

Message editor — text you type in the full-screen or line editor
Input fields — bounded text input prompts
Message display — message body text from other users
File descriptions — uploaded file descriptions

System prompts, menus, status bars, and display files continue to process all display codes normally.

Quick Reference Card

Category	Syntax	Example	Result
Foreground	`\\|##`	`\\|14`	Yellow text
Background	`\\|##`	`\\|17`	Blue background
Theme color	`\\|xx`	`\\|pr`	Theme prompt color
User info	`\\|XY`	`\\|UN`	User’s name
System info	`\\|XY`	`\\|BN`	BBS name
Right-pad	`$R##`	`$R20\\|UN`	Name padded to 20 chars
Center	`$C##`	`$C40\\|BN`	BBS name centered in 40
Repeat char	`$D##C`	`$D40-`	40 dashes
Fill to column	`$X##C`	`$X80.`	Dots to column 80
Clear screen	`\\|CL`	`\\|CL`	Clears the screen
Goto column	`[X##`	`[X01`	Cursor to column 1
Early param	`\\|!N`	`\\|!1`	Early-expanded parameter
Deferred param	`\\|#N`	`$R20\\|#1`	Format-op-wrapped param
Literal pipe	`\\|\\|`	`\\|\\|`	Displays `\\|`
Literal dollar	`$$`	`$$`	Displays `$`

Compatibility Notes

Maximus NG display codes are designed to be broadly compatible with the conventions established by Mystic BBS and Renegade:

Pipe color codes (|00–|31) follow the same numbering as Mystic and Renegade.
Information codes use two-letter Mystic-style mnemonics (|UN, |BN, |TL, etc.) rather than the older MECCA [token] syntax or ENiGMA½ percent-prefix (%UN) syntax.
Formatting operators ($C, $R, $L, $D, $X, $T, $c, $l, $r, |PD) match Mystic’s formatting system.
Cursor codes use bracket-prefix syntax ([X##, [Y##, [A##–[D##) consistent with Mystic.

Legacy Maximus MECCA display codes (compiled .bbs files using AVATAR bytecodes) continue to work. The new pipe-based codes are an additional layer that operates on plain-text strings at runtime.

Maximus BBS

Documentation for Maximus BBS — Next Generation