enigma-bbs/docs/menu_system.md

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# Menu System
ENiGMA½'s menu system is highly flexible and moddable. The possibilities are almost endless!
This document and others will refer to `menu.hjson`. This should be seen as an alias to `yourboardname.hjson` (or whatever you reference in `config.hjson` using the `menuFile` property — see below). By modifying your `menu.hjson` you will be able to create a custom experience unique to your board.
The default `menu.hjson` file lives within the `mods` directory. It is **highly recommended** to specify another file by setting the `menuFile` property in your `config.hjson` file:
```hjson
general: {
/* Can also specify a full path */
menuFile: yourboardname.hjson
}
```
You can start by copying the default `mods/menu.hjson` to `yourboardname.hjson`.
## The Basics
Like all configuration within ENiGMA½, menu configuration is done in [HJSON](https://hjson.org/) format.
Entries in `menu.hjson` are objects defining a menu. A menu in this sense is something the user can see or visit. Examples include but are not limited to:
* Classical Main, Messages, and File menus
* Art file display
* Module driven menus such as door launchers
Each entry in `menu.hjson` defines an object that represents a menu. These objects live within the `menus` parent object. Each object's *key* is a menu name you can reference within other menus in the system.
## Example
Let's look a couple basic menu entries:
```hjson
telnetConnected: {
art: CONNECT
next: matrix
options: { nextTimeout: 1500 }
}
```
The above entry `telnetConnected` is set as the Telnet server's first menu entry (set by `firstMenu` in the Telnet server's config).
An art pattern of `CONNECT` is set telling the system to look for `CONNECT<n>.*` where `<n>` represents a optional integer in art files to cause randomness, e.g. `CONNECT1.ANS`, `CONNECT2.ANS`, and so on. If desired, you can also be explicit by supplying a full filename with an extention such as `CONNECT.ANS`.
The entry `next` sets up the next menu, by name, in the stack (`matrix`) that we'll go to after `telnetConnected`.
Finally, an `options` object may contain various common options for menus. In this case, `nextTimeout` tells the system to proceed to the `next` entry automatically after 1500ms.
Now let's look at `matrix`, the `next` entry from `telnetConnected`:
```hjson
matrix: {
art: matrix
desc: Login Matrix
form: {
0: {
VM: {
mci: {
VM1: {
submit: true
focus: true
items: [ "login", "apply", "log off" ]
argName: matrixSubmit
}
}
submit: {
*: [
{
value: { matrixSubmit: 0 }
action: @menu:login
}
{
value: { matrixSubmit: 1 },
action: @menu:newUserApplication
}
{
value: { matrixSubmit: 2 },
action: @menu:logoff
}
]
}
}
}
}
}
```
In the above entry, you'll notice `form`. This defines a form(s) object. In this case, a single form by ID of `0`. The system is then told to use a block only when the resulting art provides a `VM` (*VerticalMenuView*) MCI entry. `VM1` is then setup to `submit` and start focused via `focus: true` as well as have some menu entries ("login", "apply", ...) defined. We provide an `argName` for this action as `matrixSubmit`.
The `submit` object tells the system to attempt to apply provided match entries from any view ID (`*`). Upon submit, the first match will be executed. For example, if the user selects "login", the first entry with a value of `{ matrixSubmit: 0 }` will match causing `action` of `@menu:login` to be executed (go to `login` menu).