DialSoft HotKeys

HotKeys is a keyboard shortcut module for The Major BBS v10. It intercepts user keystrokes system-wide and maps them to BBS commands, with no message file recompilation required for configuration changes.

Originally written by Richard Iglar / DialSoft in 1997 for MajorBBS 6.x and Worldgroup 1.x–3.x. Ported to The Major BBS v10 and released as open source by Sysop Network.

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Features

• System hotkeys — Up to 15 sysop-defined shortcuts mapped to Ctrl+key combinations (Ctrl-C through Ctrl-Y, excluding reserved keys).
• Personal hotkeys — Each user can define up to 10 personal shortcuts triggered by Shift+number (!, @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, (, )).
• Color input — Users with ANSI enabled can cycle foreground color (Tab / Ctrl-F) and background color (Ctrl-B) while typing.
• Built-in commands — Ctrl-Z (help), Ctrl-L (clear screen), Ctrl-R (redraw input), Ctrl-A / Esc (abort input).
• NO MSG design — All configuration is stored online in the Btrieve NOMSG record. No MSG recompilation is needed to change settings.
• Global commands — Configurable command names for enable, disable, list, and help (defaults: /HOTON, /HOTOFF, /HOTLIST, /HOTKEYS).
• Key access control — Separate access keys control who can use hotkeys, personal hotkeys, and color input.
• Sysop-hidden hotkeys — Prefix a hotkey description with @ to hide it from regular users; sysop-key holders see it in the help display.

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Requirements

• The Major BBS v10
• Windows (32-bit or 64-bit) — MBBS v10 is a 32-bit server process and runs on 64-bit Windows via WOW64; the module DLL is compiled Win32 and works on both

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Installation

1. Copy the files from DIST\2.7\ to your MBBS modules directory:

   File	Purpose
   DIALHOT.DLL	Module binary
   DIALHOT.MDF	Module description file
   DIALHOT.MSG	Message source file
   DIALHOT.DAT	Btrieve database (empty, initialized on first run)
   DIALHOT.VIR	Virtual information record

2. Register the module in your MBBS configuration.

3. Start (or restart) the BBS. HotKeys will initialize and write default settings to the NOMSG record on first run.

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Configuration

Configuration is done online — no downtime required.

Online config screen

Type CONFIG from the HotKeys module prompt (sysop access required) to open the full-screen configuration panel. From there you can set:

• LGN — Show a hotkey advertisement message at logon (YES / NO)
• SYS — Access key required to access the sysop config screen
• HOT — Access key required to use hotkeys
• PKY — Access key required to use personal hotkeys
• CLR — Access key required to use color input
• HLP — Command name for the help screen (default: /HOTKEYS)
• ENBL — Command to enable hotkeys (default: /HOTON)
• DSBL — Command to disable hotkeys (default: /HOTOFF)
• LST — Command to list personal hotkeys (default: /HOTLIST)

System hotkeys

From the HotKeys module prompt, type S (sysop access required) to open the system-key editor. Each of the 15 slots maps a Ctrl+key to a description and a BBS command.

Prefix a description with @ to make it visible only to users with sysop-level access (hidden from the public help listing).

Personal hotkeys

Users type P from the HotKeys module prompt to open their personal hotkey editor (access controlled by the PKY key). Each slot maps a Shift+number key to any BBS command sequence. Use ~ as a separator to chain multiple commands.

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Building from Source

See BUILDING.MD for full build instructions.

Summary: Open DIALHOT.sln in Visual Studio 2022, select Release | Win32, and build. The MBBS v10 SDK must be installed and the MBBSSDKDIR environment variable set to its path.

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License

MIT License — see LICENSE for the full text.

Copyright © Sysop Network

Original source code copyright © Richard Iglar / DialSoft, 1997.