Contents

zMUD allows you to connect to and play MUDs on the Internet, and provides you many useful tools, such as aliases, actions, macros, keys, buttons, scripts, maps, etc, to make your MUD life easier and more profitable.

zMUD was designed based upon ideas from various versions of TINTIN, the popular UNIX MUD client. I have tried to provide compatibility with TINTIN so that users of that client will feel at home. However, since I have never actually used TINTIN myself, I cannot promise full compatibility. Concepts, functions, and syntax are similar, but may differ. Of course, the graphical environment of Windows allows functions that were not possible in the text-based UNIX world, giving MUD players even more power.

zMUD has been optimized for use on DIKU and LP combat MUDs. Since I don’t play the social MUDs, zMUD may or may not be useful in those cases. However, in combat MUDs, zMUD excels, providing many mechanisms for outlaws, robots, etc.

Features

Getting Started

Advanced Topics

Menu Reference

Command Reference

Function Reference

Registering

This dialog is used to enter your registration information. See the zMUD web page for information on how to register and how much it costs. Once you have received your registration information, enter your registration name and registration ID into the boxes provided and click OK. If you have any problem entering your registration information, contact the author of zMUD

Features

zMUD has unique features for both beginning MUD players, as well as for power wizards builders and coders accustom to clients like TINTIN. Here is a list of major features:

Macro keys

Aliases

Triggers

Variables

Functions

Buttons

Paths

Mapper

Multiple Chars

Spam protection

ANSI

VT100

Telnet

Multimedia

Scripts

Character Database

Tab completion

History

Logging

Timer

Status line

Customizeable

Settings files

Online Help

Command Wizard

Connection Wizard

Compatability

WinSock

Fast

GUI

Windows 95

Getting Started

The very first time you start zMUD, you will need to read and accept the licensing terms. If you have not registered your copy of zMUD, you will then see the registration dialog. Registration can be done by either running the REGISTER.EXE program provided with zMUD and following its instructions, or by using your Web Browser. If you want to register using a credit card, click the URL shown in the Register dialog and your Web Browser will be connected to the proper Internet site (only tested with Netscape and Internet Explorer – does not work on Windows 3.x).

After the registration dialog, you are presented with zMUD’s main welcome dialog. Behind this dialog you can see the texture-mapped background of the main window, with a menu bar along the top, and the command input window along the bottom of the screen. As you connect to MUDs, individual MUD windows will be displayed on top of the main window’s background.

The steps in getting started with zMUD are:

Quick Start

The easiest way to get started quickly with zMUD is using the Connection Wizard. Either press the Connection Wizard button in the welcome dialog, or select Connection Wizard from the File menu.

The Connection Wizard will display a list of most known MUDs on the Internet, sorted by their name. You can press keys to scroll quickly to the MUD name that begins with the key you press. As you select MUDs from the list, or scroll through the list, the details of the MUD will be shown in the fields on the right. You can also edit the information on the right if you desire. When you find the MUD you want to connect to, simply press the Connect button. Press cancel to exit the wizard.

The Connection Wizard can read three popular mud listing file formats from the Internet. The first two lists come from the Internet MUD Connector. The short list is the smallest of the files, while the Big List contains long descriptions of each MUD. To update any of these lists, you can click the World button in the upper right corner of the window. Then click on one of the URLs shown to launch your Web Browser and retrieve the new file. (Note, on Win 3.x systems zMUD cannot automatically launch your browser, so the URL will just be copied into the clipboard). This file should be stored in your zMUD directory to take immediate effect.

zMUD will attempt to connect to the MUD that you have selected. Once connected, the MUD will normally ask for your username, followed by your password. Once you have entered this information, zMUD will ask if you want to create an auto-login trigger for this MUD. If you select Yes, auto-login triggers will be created, and your character name and password will be saved to the character database. Be sure and save your settings file before you exit so that this login trigger will get saved.

That’s all there is to it! You are now connected and playing a MUD. You can continue through this help section for more information to help you get started with zMUD.

Creating a Character

To create a new character, click the Character button from the welcome dialog, or select the Another Character option from the File menu. The Character Database dialog will be displayed. zMUD keeps track of all of your MUD characters in this database. To start with, the database will be empty. To create a new character, click the New button.

The New Character dialog has several fields for you to enter data. The cursor is initially placed in the ID field. Enter a unique short name for this character -- this field is used for the title of the window, and is used in the #SESSION command (it can also be used as a parameter to zMUD to automatically launch this character when you start zMUD). Next, enter the title or name of the MUD you will be connecting to into the Title field. This is not necessarily the Internet name or address, but is a more description name. Press <TAB> to move to the Host field. Enter the Internet host name or host address of the machine you wish to connect to. Press <TAB> again and enter the port number that the MUD is running on. Now, click the Connect button to connect to the MUD.

If you leave the character Name and Password fields blank, zMUD will attempt to auto-detect these values and set up an auto-login trigger for you. If you don’t want zMUD to create an auto-login trigger, go ahead and enter values into the Character and Password fields.

Associated with each MUD character is a file containing all of your preferences, colors, triggers, aliases, macro keys, buttons, etc. This file is called your Settings File. zMUD will automatically choose a setting file name based upon the title of the MUD. However, you can change this by clicking the Settings tab in the Character Database.

Here, you will see two file names: the primary settings file, and the inherited settings file. zMUD actually loads three settings files for each MUD character. First, the DEFAULT.MUD settings file is loaded. This file is used to set overall program defaults, such as default colors, fonts, etc. Next, the Inherited Settings file is loaded. Typically you will have an Inherited file related to the type of MUD (LP, DIKU, MUSH, etc) that you are playing. Finally, the Primary Settings file is loaded, which contains the triggers, macros, etc specific to this character. In several preferences dialogs you will see options for using Inherited Settings, or using the Primary Settings. Note that you can normally only edit the contents of your Primary file. To edit an Inherited File or to edit the Default file, open an Empty window (using the Empty button in the Character dialog), and use the Settings/Load menu to load the file you wish to edit. Then make your changes and save this file.

Another field in this dialog allows you to set the number of days since you last connected to a character that the character is considered old. Old characters are shown in red in the Character Database to remind you to connect to them and prevent them from being deleted. The default value for this setting is 10 days.

The drop down box to the right of the MUD Title allows you to specify the type of MUD you will be connecting to. Currently, this is not used for anything other than for your own information. The Comment field is a place for a short comment (like the class, race, or level of your character). By clicking the Notes tab, you can enter free-form text. This allows you to keep miscellaneous notes about the MUD and character you are playing.

Character Database

In the Character Database, accessed by selecting Character from the main splash screen, or by selecting Another Character from the File menu, you create and manage all of your MUD characters. To create a new character, click the New button. To edit an existing character, select the character by clicking on one of the lines, and changing the information shown to the right. To delete a character, select it by clicking on it, then click the Delete button. You can also make a copy of a character by selecting it and clicking the Copy button.

To connect to the MUD associated with a character, select the character by clicking on it, then click the Connect button. A TELNET connection will be made between your computer and the computer listed in the Host field for your character. Several attempts to connect are made. If your computer is unable to connect to the host a Cannot Connect dialog will be shown. It is possible that the Host MUD is currently unavailable. You should also check your network connection to make sure it is working.

If you want to work on your settings while disconnected from the network, select the desired character and click the Offline button. This will load the settings and open the MUD window, but no text we be sent to or from the network. If you click the Empty button, a blank MUD window will be opened. This is useful for loading and editing individual settings files in order to edit them.

Basic Usage

Once you are connected to the MUD, you will typically be prompted for your character name and password. zMUD tries to auto-detect this, and will pop-up a dialog with your character name and password and ask if you want zMUD to create an auto-login trigger for you. If you click OK, then the next time you log-in, zMUD will automatically enter your character name and password. If you click Cancel, this trigger will not be created for you. Of course, the next time you log in, zMUD will ask about creating the trigger again. If you want to stop zMUD from auto-detecting your login process, simply go into the character database and fill in a value for your character name.

Note that the text you type appears in the bottom Command Line entry field. When you press <Enter>, the text in this field is sent to the MUD. It is also echoed to your text window if you have the Echo flag enabled (default is enabled) using the current command color (changeable in the Color preferences).

When you enter your password, it will also be echoed to the screen. To prevent this, use the #PW command. Type #PW and press <Enter>. The password for this character that you entered in the Character Database will be sent to the MUD, but it will not be echoed to the text window. Also note that # is the default command character and you can change this in the Preferences dialog as described later.

Once you have entered your character name and password, answer any other questions displayed by the MUD. All of the text that you type will be shown in the command line. You can use the <Backspace> key to edit this line. You can also move the insertion point within the command line by clicking the mouse at the point you want to start typing. If you have a separate set of arrow keys on your keyboard, you can use the right and left arrow to move within the command line. Note that the keys on the numeric keypad have macros assigned to them by default so they cannot be used as arrow keys. When you press <Enter>, the text in the command entry field is sent to the MUD. If the Echo flag is enabled, it will be shown in the large text window in the current command color

You can scroll the main MUD window by clicking the scrollbars to the right and below the main window. You can also use the PgUp and PgDn keys on the keyboard (but again, not the number pad). When you scroll the window, the screen is split, with the scrollback shown above and the live text from the MUD shown at the bottom. The split bar can be dragged to any position to see as much or as little live text as desired. Once the screen is split, the Shift-Up and Shift-Down arrows can be used to move line by line, or the PgUp and PdDn keys can be used to scroll a page at a time. You can still type commands in the command line and send them to the MUD while the screen is split. To unsplit the window and automatically return to the bottom of the scroll buffer, click the Pause button in the lower right corner of the window, or press the Ctrl-Z key, or press the ScrollLock key, or select the Split command from the Window menu, or type #FREEZE on the command line. You can also unsplit the window by dragging the scroll bar to the bottom.

You can search for text in the output window using the Find command in the Edit menu, or by pressing Ctrl-F. You can search backwards (default) and forwards through the buffer. Since this buffer can grow quite large, especially in the 32-bit version of zMUD, the Find command is very handy for rapidly locating past text. The screen is automatically split when the text is found so that you can view the scrollback buffer and the live text at the same time.

You can also copy text from the output window and paste it into other programs. When you highlight text with the mouse (click the left button at the starting location, drag the mouse with the left button still held, then release the mouse button at the end location) the screen is automatically frozen to prevent scrolling from disturbing your selection. When you release the mouse button, the text is automatically copied to the clipboard. You can select large portions of text (more that a screenful) by left clicking the start location, the left clicking while holding the Shift key at the end location. If you double-left-click, the word under the mouse is highlighted then copied to the clipboard. If you left-click in the narrow margin to the left of a line, the entire line will be selected.

Introduction to Macros

One of the first ways to make zMUD do more than just a dumb TELNET client is to assign commands to keys on your keyboard.

To assign a command to a key, press Control-K, or select Define Key from the Action menu. You will be prompted to press the key combination that you wish to assign a command to. Almost any key on the keyboard can be assigned a command, in combination with the Shift, ALT, and Ctrl keys. You cannot override any of the zMUD command keys (like Control-K). If you assign a command to a Windows key (like F10, or Alt-A), your command will work and the Windows function will be disabled - be careful. Also, note that zMUD automatically activates the NUMLOCK mode to allow you to assign macros to the keypad. If NUMLOCK is off, the keypad functions as the cursor keys. Since the cursor keys are used to edit the command buffer and recall from the command history, you should refrain from assigning macros to the arrow keys (although you can if you want).

If you want the text assigned to the macro key to be put into the Command Line rather than sent directly to the MUD, put a tilde (~) at the end of the text assigned to the key. Then, when you press the macro key, the text will be added to the command line and your cursor will be placed right after the text so that you can complete the command and press return.

You can also chain macros using the above feature. When you press the macro key that has the tilde at the end, the text is placed into the command line. If you then press a normal macro key, the text is added to the command line and the finished command is sent to the MUD.

Introduction to Aliases

Aliases are another way to simplify your life of MUD playing. Basically, aliases allow you to assign any command to a shortcut abbreviation.

You can edit all of your aliases using the View/Aliases menu command. This brings up the alias dialog. All of your aliases (like fs from the above example) are displayed in the list on the left. As you click on these aliases you can edit them on the right. To define a new alias, click the New button and enter the name and commands for the alias. You can copy an existing alias using the copy button, and delete an alias using the button with the picture of a trash can on it.

This is an example of a standard zMUD Preferences dialog. It has a list on the left with edit controls on the right. The OK, Cancel and Help buttons are along the button. Along the top of the dialog is a menu strip that lets you access the other preferences such as macros, triggers, etc. To the left of the menu strip is a button with a stick pin on it. When you click this button, the window will stick to the top of the screen and not get covered up by other windows. This button toggles so if you click it again the dialog returns to a normal window that can be obscured by other windows. Note that the status of the stick button and the position of the dialog is saved in your ZMUD.INI file. Along the bottom of the dialog is a help bar that displays information about the field that the mouse is positioned over.

Introduction to Variables

There are also several predefined system variables that are maintained by the system. These variables all begin with the parameter (%) character. Changing temporary variables does not change the modified status of your settings file, so you aren't prompted to save your settings when you exit. These system variables are used just like regular variables, except with the % character instead of the @ character.

Introduction to Paths/Speedwalking

Paths are a very powerful feature that allow you to save the directions to a location and then replay these directions at high speed at a later time. This is also called speed walking in other MUD clients. Not only is this useful for getting to common areas within the MUD, but the directions are replayed fast enough to get you past some aggressive monsters (agros). This is not fool-proof as some MUDs have high aggressive monsters that will hit you anyway. Also, when leading a party, sometimes the monster will still hit one of your other party members. However, it works most of the time and you will find yourself using Paths quite a bit.

Introduction to Triggers

Triggers can be tricky, but are also the most powerful feature of zMUD. Triggers (called actions on other MUD clients) allow you to execute a command whenever a particular string of text is received from the MUD. While this sounds simple, it has powerful implications.

Introduction to Buttons

Combining the concepts of aliases, triggers, and variables are Buttons. Buttons not only make it easier for novice users to use these features, but provides significant functionality to power users that is not found in text-based clients such as TINTIN. Buttons can be clicked to execute a command, their caption can display the value of a variable, and they can act as a toggle to turn a feature (like triggers) on and off easily.

To define a button, right click on the button you wish to edit, or select Make Button from the Action menu. There are currently two types of buttons: push buttons and toggle buttons. A push button is clicked to execute a command and releases as soon as you release the mouse. A toggle button changes between being off (up) or on (down). The type of button is controlled by the Variable field. If you assign the name of a variable to this field, the button will be a toggle button, and the variable will contain the state of the button (0 for up/off, 1 for down/on).

In the Off Caption, enter the text you wish to display on the face of the button when the button is in its normal, off position. The next field is for the caption to be displayed when the button is pressed in, or on (this field is grayed out if the button is not a toggle button). If you leave the On Caption blank, it will use the same value as the Off Caption. You should limit captions to about 10 characters so that they fit on the button face. The value of the caption fields are evaluated, so you can put an expression containing variables and the result will be displayed on the button.

We'll skip the Value field for a moment, and move to the On Command field. Enter the command you wish to execute when the button is pressed (from Off state to On state). In the Off Command field, enter the command you wish to execute when then button is released (from On state to Off state).

The Value field is used to externally control the state of the button. You can do this with just the variable (e.g. if you assign 1 to the variable in the Variable field, the button will activate itself, if you assign 0 to this variable the button will deactivate itself). However, the Value field allows greater control as to whether the button is pressed or not. If the expression in the Value field is true, the button is in the On state (pressed). If the expression in the Value field is false, the button is in the Off state (released).

In the advanced settings tab you can control many attributes of your buttons. You can set the color of the button, change the size or location, and assign a graphic (BMP file format) to the button. This allows you to create button bars that can be very complex.

Introduction to Multiplaying

If you connect to more than one character or more than one MUD (using the Another Character menu command or the Connection Wizard), zMUD will put each character into a different window. This allows you to control multiple characters at once (called multiplaying and is banned on many MUDs).

The commands that you type in the command box are sent to the character window that currently has the focus. This is usually the window on top. You can change the currently focused window in several ways: select the window from the list given in the Window menu, select it from the "tablist" of windows shown at the bottom of the screen (just above the command line) when more than one window is open. You can also cycle through the open windows using the Ctrl-N or Ctrl-Tab keys.

Each window has a name associated with it. The default name for a window is the ID of your MUD character. You can change this name using the #NAME command.

eat;zugg:drink

zugg:eat;drink

:zugg:eat;drink

zugg:eat;::drink

When you have more than one window open, each window is listed along the bottom of the screen in a "tab bar". Each tab shows the name of the window. If you move your mouse over the tab, more information about the window, such as the MUD name and character name will be shown. To activate a window, just click on a tab. This is the same as clicking on the window itself, or selecting it from the list in the Window menu.

To the right of the window name in each tab is an activity indicator. When the indicator is a simple circle, that indicates the current window that has focus. Other status indicators include:

Introduction to Mapping

The Shareware versions of zMUD have a mapping module built-in that allows you to create maps of your MUDs. These maps are interactive and in addition to simply giving you a visual picture of your MUD, allow you to speedwalk anywhere based upon room names, prevent you from entering dangerous rooms, keep track of the location of mobs and objects, and much more. The automapper adds a whole new perspective on MUDding, both for new users as well as advanced users.

While the mapper is very useful for new players, setting up the mapper to work properly on your MUD can be a challenge. If the information in this section is above your head, ask around on your MUD to see if someone else has configured their mapper settings already.

Here are some of the basic features of the mapper:

Select one of the help topics below, or press the Next button to go to the next mapper topic:

Configuring the Mapper

Because every MUD is different, it is impossible to pre-configure zMUD to automatically start mapping the MUD you play. Before you can start using the mapper, you must tell it some things about your MUD so that it can figure out what a room description looks like, and how your MUD displays the exits from a room.

zMUD makes extensive use of the exit information displayed by a MUD. Because of this, make sure you have turned on any option or flag necessary on your MUD to see the exits from a room. Also, at this time zMUD does not handle exits that are displayed as part of your prompt, or exits that take up more than one line. Support for these types of MUDs is planned in a future version of zMUD.

The automapper is intimately tied with the Direction codes used by the speedwalking module. If you are not using the standard DEFAULT.MUD default settings file that is supplied with zMUD, make sure you edit your Direction Codes so that they are tied to the proper map directions. Ifyou don’t know what this means, assume you are using the proper default file and continue reading.

To configure the mapper, make sure you are connected to your MUD, then open the Automapper from the Windows menu. Before doing anything else, select the Preferences from the Edit menu of the mapper window. You might also want to click the "Stick Pin" button in the upper left corner of the mapper window to keep it on top of your other windows so that you can see it all the time.

You will see several tabs in the Mapper Preferences. Here is what each tab is for:

Select the Full Parsing tab. Room exits are usually shown with full words (like north, south, east, etc) or in a condensed format like NSEW. Select the type of exits used by your MUD using the radio button on the Full Parsing tab. If your exits are displayed different in Brief Mode or by the Look Command, select the appropriate tab and change the exit type on that tab. Next, you must enter a trigger pattern to allow the mapper to detect the room exits. This is a full pattern of the same type used by zMUD Triggers. In general, just enter the text displayed by your MUD before the actual exits are displayed. You probably want to start the pattern with a ^ character to match the beginning of a line. Also, keep in mind that you have to "escape" any special zMUD pattern characters like [], (), or {} with the escape character (~). The part of the string after what is matched by the trigger is used as exit info. Or, if you want to get fancy, the first parameter (%1) returned by the pattern is used to parse the exit information. If your room exit information is displayed in your prompt, click the Prompt option.

Here’s a simple example:

Your MUD displays exits like:

There are obvious exits: north, south, up

Here’s a more complicated example:

Your MUD displays exits like:

[ Exits: north, south, west ]

Now that you have told the mapper how to recognize the room exits, you must now give instructions on how to recognize the room name and description. There are three preference tabs to control this: Full, Brief, Look. They all work the same way. In the Look tab there is a setting to tell the mapper to use the same instructions as the Full tab, and this is set by default. Thus, most people only need to set the instructions in the Full Parsing tab.

When you click on this tab you will see a set of instructions for the mapper in a box on the left, and a bunch of buttons on the right indicating the type of line that your MUD sends. To change the instructions, simply drag a button from the right into the proper position in the box on the left. You can also select instruction lines in the box on the left by clicking on them. Once selected, you can move them up or down, or delete them using the buttons below the box.

Here is what each of the buttons listed on the right do:

Room name

Room description

Room exits

Blank line

Skip line

An instruction list of

works on most standard DIKU MUDs. Note that only lines received from the MUD are examined when using these instructions to find the room name, etc. Lines that you enter at the keyboard and send to the MUD are ignored. Also, any lines that are gagged (using the #GAG command) or filtered (using the #NOMAP command) are ignored by the parser.

The Room Trigger is only used in very rare situations. It allows you to capture room names and room exits from a single line. Here you specify a trigger pattern with two parameters. The value of parameter 1 (%1) is used as the room name, and the optional value of parameter 2 (%2) is used to parse room exit information.

Map Configuration Examples

In this section I will list some common MUD output formats and give you the settings needed by the mapper in each case.

Arcanus Way

Sturdy branches rise from the trees on either side of the road

and extend towards each other tentatively, criss-crossing and caressing

like young lovers. Arcanus Lane ends abruptly to the east at Midwitch,

and the Magic

Shoppe lies to the south.

Exits: east south west

Use a Full Parse table of:

with full-word exits and an exit trigger of:

The Temple Square

You are standing on the temple square. Huge marble steps lead up to

the temple gate. The entrance to the Clerics Guild is to the west, and

the old Grunting Boar Inn, is to the east. Just south of here you see

the market

square, the center of Glen Finin.

[Exits: n e s w u ]

An oozing green gelatinous blob is here, sucking in bits of debris.

Use a Full Parse table of:

with full-word exits and an exit trigger of:

A long road going through the village. There is a hole leading down.

The road continues to the west. To the north is the shop, and to the

south is the adventurer’s guild. The road runs towards the shore to

the east.

There are five obvious exits: north, south, east, west, and down.

LPMUDs are tricky because only the room description is given in full mode, and only the room name is given in brief mode. Also, the exit line varies. If there is only one exit, the line reads:

So, use a Full Parse table of:

and a Brief Parse table of:

Then, use full-word exits with an exit trigger of:

Then you will have to map once in brief mode to get all the names, then go back in full mode to fill in the descriptions.

Break in the Path

[Exits: east south up]

The path here takes a noticeable step upward as you continue to the

west. An animal trail leading into the thick brush is evident to the

south, showing tracks from many of the local fauna. The main path

continues to the east, where the faint sound of waves on a shore can

be heard.

A mangy mutt scrounges for some food.

A beast of burden trudges along the path.

A mangy mutt scrounges for some food.

Use a Full Parse table of

Use full-word exits with an exit trigger of:

Basic Map Usage

Now that you have the mapper configured, let’s use it to create a simple map. First, we will work offline (in case you didn’t get the configuration correct yet) to play with some of the basic map features. Thus, if you are connected to your MUD, close your connection and window. Then, from the Character Database, select the Empty option to get an empty window, then open the Automapper from the Windows menu.

The mapper window consists of a main window (currently displaying a single small square with a blue dot in it), a speed-button bar along the top, just under the menu, and a button bar along the right side (call the View Panel). The button bar along the top and the View Panel on the right can be turned off in the General mapper settings.

Beneath the main window is a status bar to display the name of the current room (currently it is blank). To the right are two pull-down boxes: the first shows the name of the current "zone" (currently "untitled") and lets you edit the zone name and select a new zone; the second pulldown list displays all the specially marked rooms and portals on the current map.

The File menu allows you to manipulate your "Master Map" file. A master map file is a list of all of the "zones" that make up the complete map, along with their filenames. Each zone is stored as a separate file on the disk. Think of a map "zone" the way you think of "areas" in the MUD you play. You have a zone for the main town, and a zone for each special area on the MUD. The names of these zones and the filenames associated with them are stored in your Master Map.

Right now, a blank Master Map has been created for us, and a zone called "untitled" has been created containing a single room shown in the middle of the map.

The easiest way to create a map is to just start walking around. Click on the main zMUD window (if the map window disappears, select it again from the Windows menu, then click the red "Stick Pin" icon in the upper left corner of the window to keep it on top of your other windows). From the main zMUD window, start entering direction commands (like north, south, etc), or press the keys on the keypad to move in these directions.

If you enter the "north" command (or press the 8 key on the keypad), a new room will be created to the north, and automatically linked to the previous room. If you now go south, you will be back where you started. Move in a few directions to create some rooms.

If you try to move to a room where there isn’t a line connecting the two, you will be asked if you want to "Link" the two rooms. If you click Yes, a line will be added linking the two rooms. If you click No, one room will be moved out of the way so that a new room can be inserted. Notice that when a room is moved, all the rooms connected to that room also move, and the connecting lines are stretched. You can manually move rooms using the Move function in the Edit menu. When you are connected to the MUD, the mapper will not ask you if you want to Link two rooms. Instead, the mapper will rely on the name of the room and its description to determine if the rooms are identical or not. This works in most cases, but sometimes you will have to edit the mistakes that the mapper makes when it gets messed up.

There is no hard-coded limit on the size of zones. You can create a zone as big as you want as long as it can fit in memory.

Now that you have some rooms on the screen, left-click on one of the rooms. Notice that the red border moves to select the room you clicked on, but the blue dot remains where it was. The blue dot indicates your position on the MUD. You can left-click on other rooms to view them without disturbing your location. However, if you right-click on a room, notice that both the red selection box as well as your blue location move. Right-clicking is useful if the mapper gets confused about where you are (such as when you Flee a room) and you need to tell it where you really are.

With a room selected, click the down-arrow button in the lower right corner of the window to reveal the edit panel. In the edit panel you can set lots of characteristics for the room you selected. You can enter its name and description (usually filled in automatically for you when you are online), enter Notes about the room, and control many advanced settings. For now, close the edit panel by clicking on the arrow button again (now it is an up-arrow). This will collapse the edit panel and hide it again.

To automatically speedwalk to any location on the map, simply double-left-click on the desired location. The commands needed for the shortest possible path to that destination will be displayed in your main window, and your location on the map will immediately update.

When you are connected online, the map position is only updated when the name of each room along the path is displayed by the MUD. If you havn’t filled in the names of the rooms, you will not be able to speedwalk with the mapper. Also, you cannot speedwalk from one zone to another. You can only speedwalk within the current zone (this is because only one zone is kept in memory at a time).

Instead of speedwalking by double-clicking on the map, you can also mark a location on the map, give it a name, then speedwalk to that named location from anywhere else in the zone. To do this, select the room you want to name by left-clicking on it. Expand the edit panel by clicking the down-arrow in the lower right corner. In the box for the short room name, enter a short name (such as "temple"). Then close the edit panel. Click the right-most pull-down arrow along the status panel. You should now see a list with one item (called "temple"). If you select this item with the mouse you will automatically speedwalk to the room you marked no matter where you were in the zone.

In addition to named rooms, exits to other zones will also be displayed in this list so that you can more easily walk from zone to zone.

Now that you have played with the basic functions of the mapper, connect to your favorite MUD and open tha automapper from the Window menu. Make sure your mapper has been configured as described in the previous help sections.

Again, a blank window showing a single room in the middle will be displayed. The first thing you need to do is capture the name and description of this room. Click the button with the picture of binoculars (the look button) on the mapper button bar. This should send the look command to the MUD and capture the name, descriptions, and room exits. If someone gossips or chats the moment you do this, the mapper might get confused. Use the look button again until you get the proper room name displayed in the status bar. If this isn’t working then your mapper isn’t configured properly, so return to the previous section to configure it.

Now walk in a direction and you’ll see the room added to your map, and the room name, description, and exits captured. When you are initially creating your map, make sure that there is a valid name for each room. If the name gets captured improperly, click the look button to update it.

The Zoom panel contains buttons to manipulate the mapper display. You can zoom in or zoom out on the map, fit the map into the window, or select a default zoom setting. There are also arrow buttons to move up and down to view different levels. Each level is a plane of rooms that exists above and below other levels. If a room on one level gets moved, any rooms connected to it on other levels will move also. Think of levels as a stack of paper with the highest levels on top, and the lowest levels on the bottom. You can renumber levels using the Renumber function in the Edit menu.

Understanding Map Zones

A map zone is like an area on your MUD. A zone can contain as many rooms on as many different levels as you want. Zones are linked together with special rooms called portals. When you enter a portal room on the map, the current zone is saved, and the zone linked to by the portal is opened.

When you want to create a new zone, select the room you want to become the portal to the new zone, and select Create Portal from the edit menu. A list of current zones stored in the Master Map will be displayed.

You can create a portal to an existing zone by selecting the zone and clicking OK. You will then be asked to select the room in the other zone you want to link to. Left click on the desired room and a portal to that room will be created.

From the zone list, you can also create a New Zone. A blank zone will be created and the portal to it will automatically be created. A portal leading back to your original zone will also be automatically created in the proper place. You will be asked to name your new zone.

Another powerful feature of the mapper is "templates". Many similar areas/zones exist on different MUDs. For example, many DIKU MUDs have an area called Thalos (or Old Thalos). You can take advantage of work done by someone else in creating a map by loading it as a template. From the zone list, select the New Zone from Template button. You will first be asked for the file containing the template (a template for Thalos is included in the zMUD distribution). Next, the template will be shown and you will be asked for a name for it. Then you will be asked for a new file to save the zone to. Do not use the same name as the template or you will overwrite and lose the template. Then, the template will be shown and you will be asked to select the room you want to link to by clicking on it. When you do this the portal to this new zone is created! Template zones are specially marked so that the first time you enter a room, the name and description from the template will be replaced by the actual description from your MUD. Keep in mind that areas on MUDs are similar, but rarely exactly the same. Use templates as a guide, but keep an eye out for changed.

From the zone list you can also delete a zone if you no longer want it or you want to recreate it again.

Advanced Mapping

The mapper in zMUD is very powerful and can be used to recreate almost any area you might encounter on a MUD. However, the "auto" part of the mapper is fairly primitive and easily confused. For example, you will not be able to "automatically" map a maze on a MUD. However, using the advanced editing tools you can tweak your map. Once you have it correct it will prove very useful for navigating that maze in the future.

In order to explore all the editing functions, start working with an Empty window offline. This will allow us to focus on the editing functions and not on the MUD itself.

Select the Edit mode from the Mode menu. This opens the edit panel and displays other buttons in the speedbar. Move around to create a few rooms on the map.

You can move a room by selecting it, then pressing one of the arrow buttons in the top speed bar. Or, select the Move option from the Edit menu. You can only move a room one square at a time. This is because of the complex algorithm used to move rooms that are connected, or to move other rooms out of the way. Play around with moving rooms till you get the hang of it.

Moving a room away from another will stretch the line connecting them. Moving a room on top of another will ask you if you want to "Merge" the two rooms. Merging two rooms makes them into one single room.

You can also add rooms to the map by selecting the Add Room function from the Edit menu, then clicking on the map where you want the room created. Rooms can be deleted using the Delete Room or Delete Link functions in the Edit menu. The Delete Room function removes the room, by leaves the links (described below). The Delete Link function removes the room and all associated links. The Erase button on the button bar is assigned to the Delete Room function.

Links are used to connect rooms together. There is a big distinction between links and the lines you see on the map. When a link is created, the proper lines are automatically added to the map display. However, the lines are for looks only and are not related to the actual link between rooms. Take a look at the links by clicking on the Link tab of the edit panel. In a "compass rose" diagram, each link is shown as a button. On the button is the room number that the link is connected to. Click on various rooms on your map and you will see the links displayed. If you move the cursor over one of the link buttons, the actual name of the room will be displayed if you are working online.

To add a link, click one of the link buttons, then click on the room you want to link to. A small line is added to the map to show the link, but you can link to any room on the map, not just the rooms adjacent. These links are the heart of the map and are used for speedwalking and traveling on the map. This is very important: the lines on the map are ignored, only the actual links are used.

To delete a link, click on the link button you want to delete, then right-click on the map, or click on the Checkmark button in the status line.

You can also create "unknown" links. Unknown links are used to specify a room in a particular direction, but not which room it actually is. These links are used by the mapper when the exits of a room are automatically detected. An unknown link is placed in each location so you can keep track of which places you have been. An unknown link is shown on a link button as a question mark (?) and displayed on the map with a short line segment. To create an unknown link, click on the link button you want to change, then click on the Question-mark button that is displayed in the status bar.

To delete a link, select the Delete Link function in the edit menu, then click on the line segment on the map you want deleted. Both the line segment and any links associated with it are deleted. If you select Delete Link and click on a room, the room and all its connecting links are deleted. Beware: there is no undo function currently in the mapper. Once you delete a room or link, it is gone.

Remember that line segments and links are different. You can edit and add line segment independently of the actual underlying room links.

You can add new lines to the map using the Add line function in the Edit menu (or the Line button on the button bar). If you then click on the map, a line segment will be added (although it might not look like what you want yet). If you want to add multiple lines, hold down the Shift key when you click on the map and the Add Line function will remain selected.

To edit a line segment to look the way you want, click on it. In the edit panel, a box showing a blow-up of the line segment will be shown. You can click in this box to add or remove segments from the line. This lets you make corners, diagonals, and lines that bend.

There is one problem with lines you add manually: if you start moving rooms around you’ll notice that these lines don’t generally move with the rooms. The mapper has no knowledge of connections when it comes to extra lines -- they are there just for looks. Thus, you should only add lines once your room layout is the way you want it.

If you create a line segment next to a room and there is no link defined in that direction, a one-way link is displayed. This is just a visual indicator to help you understand that even though there is a link there, it doesn’t go anywhere.

Advanced Topics

zMUD is a very complex program. The combination of triggers, variables, and aliases combine to form a powerful event-driven programming language. To enhance this language are functions, introduced in this section.

Also, zMUD isn’t just for players. It includes many features designed for world builders and MUD coders. One of these is the ANSI editor window which allows you to send more than one line to the MUD, and imbed ANSI color sequences.

The following topics are covered in more detail:

Advanced Editing

In addition to the single line of input that you can send from the command input window, zMUD contains a full-window ANSI editor for composing long messages. To open this editor window, select Editor from the Window menu, or press Ctrl-Enter.

The command editor works like most editors. You can type text, use the arrow keys (or mouse) to move around, cut, copy, and paste text within the editor, or copy text from the MUD output window and paste it into the editor window. Lines can be any length, and you can use the scroll bars to display other parts of the window. The size of the editor is the same as the output window. In the 16-bit version, this limit is 16,000 lines.

The menu in the editor window allows you to load text from a file, or save the current contents to a file. The Import command inserts a file at the current cursor position, rather than replacing the buffer contents with the file. The Send command sends the contents of the editor to the MUD, and can also be activated by pressing Ctrl-Enter. Using the Prefix string to the right of the speed buttons, or by selecting Strings in the Options menu, you can change the string of text that preceeds each line as it is send to the MUD. You can also change how blank lines are sent to the MUD. Normally, each line is parsed for commands before being sent to the MUD. You can send the text verbatim by pressing the Parse speedbutton to toggle command parsing.

The Capture command allows you to take the last N lines from the MUD output window and insert them into the editor. The #CAPTURE command can be used in triggers to send MUD output to the editor window. The Capture Toggle speed button can be used to turn off capturing while you are editing.

In the Text menu, you can change the bold attribute, or the color of your text. Standard ANSI color sequences are used, and note that most MUDs filter ANSI sequences that you send (although this might change when more people using zMUD demand this colorful feature). If you have defined a color syntax for your MUD, zMUD can convert the ANSI color in this window to the color commands used by your MUD if the Color Syntax is enabled.

The buttons along the speedbar replicate the Open, Save, Capture, Send, Bold, Color, Capture Toggle, and Parse toggle menu commands. To close the window, select Close from the File menu, or press <ESC>.

Note that the text is not only sent to the MUD, but it is also parsed and executed just as if you entered it line by line into the single line buffer. Thus, you can load a script from a text file, and execute it using the Send command, or by pressing Ctrl-Enter. If you turn off the Parse option (using the speed button or menu command), then text will be sent to the MUD verbatim - it will not be parsed for commands. You can also edit the string that is sent as a prefix to each line, and control what is sent in place of blank lines.

Advanced Programming

In the section on variables and triggers you learned the basics about programming in zMUD. However, zMUD is a powerful event-driven programming language, and you have barely touched the surface of what is possible. In this section, a more detailed explanation of command parsing will be presented, and functions will be introduced. If you fully understand how zMUD parses its commands, you will find that zMUD is capable of doing most anything you desire.

Every time you enter a command and press Enter, the command text is parsed. This parsing several steps:

For example, the #VAR command takes a String parameter, which is expanded, so

#VAR hp {100/@temp}

However, the #MATH command takes an Expression which is evaluated, so

#MATH hp 100/@temp

The #FUNC command takes a Literal which is left alone, so

#FUNC hp 100/@temp

In addition to variables, zMUD allows you to define functions. Think of functions as variables with parameters. Parameters are used much like they are with aliases, except that since they are expanded within a command string, the syntax for calling a function is a bit different.

To add more power to zMUD, several predefined functions are supplied. They provide the tools necessary for some very powerful trigger processing. By using the predefined functions in combinations with your own functions, the sky is the limit!

Menu Reference

Click on the menu command that you want help on.

File

Edit

View

Settings

Actions

Window

Help

Aliases

This dialog allows you to view and edit all of your aliases. In the main list is each alias, with the name of the alias shown to the left, and the command assigned shown to the right. Click on an alias, and the shortcut name is copied into the Alias field, and the command is copied into the Command field. You can then edit the command by editing the Command field, or change name of the alias by editing the Alias field.

To create a new alias, click the New button. To delete the currently selected alias, click the Delete key. To make a copy of the selected alias, click the Copy button. Close the dialog by clicking the OK button. Display this help screen by clicking the Help button.

Along the top is the standard Preferences banner containing a menu bar to select other Preferences dialogs, and a stick-pin button that can be used to keep this dialog at the top of the screen when pressed in. The position of this dialog and the status of the stick button are stored in your ZMUD.INI file.

Auto Login

The first time you log into a new MUD, zMUD tries to automatically detect your character name and password information in order to create triggers to log you in automatically the next time.

If the information shown in this dialog is correct, click Yes and zMUD will create the autolog triggers for you. If the information is wrong, click No. If you just created a new character on this MUD, the prompts are different than those given when you log in with an existing character, so click No and let zMUD detect the information again when you log in the next time.

If you want to prevent this dialog from appearing, enter a value in the Character Name field in the Character Database.

Colors

The system tab displays the colors used for zMUD for various text. To edit one of these text colors, click the button to the right of the sample text and select the foreground and background colors from the dialog.

The Foreground tab allows you to specify the foreground color displayed for the 16 ANSI color values. The actually color displayed by each color index is shown in the boxes on the screen. Click on one of these boxes to change the actual color. This allows you to take full advantage of all the colors of your video card. Buttons are provided to set all of these colors to either normal (dim) or bright colors. The upper 8 colors are only used if you select the Use Highlight Color option on the right, otherwise the Bold font is used rather than the upper colors.

The Background tab is similar to the Foreground in that it lets you specify the mapping for the 8 background ANSI colors.

The Syntax tab allows you to enter a color syntax command language used by your MUD. Some MUDs have special ways that you can change the color of your tell and gossip commands. Next to each color, enter the letter or number used by your MUD to represent that color. Then, in the command sections on the right, enter the syntax used by your MUD and use F to represent the code of the foreground color, and B for the code of the background color. Also enter the syntax used by your MUD to return to the default color. This syntax, if enabled, is used to translate copied color text from the output window into the command line, and for text sent from the Command editor.

In the Window tab you can control the look of the background window. The background window can be a solid color, or a bitmap texture. If you disable the Use Bitmap option, the color shown will be the solid background color (you change it by clicking on the color box). If you enable textures, then the bitmap specified will be used for the background. If you leave the name of the BMP filename blank, the internal marble texture will be used. A sample of the texture is shown below the name of the BMP file. Changes to background color or texture do not take effect until you restart zMUD.

Command Editor Options

This dialog allows you to set several options used by the Command Editor. The Line Prefix contains a list of strings that can be sent at the beginning of each line by the editor. It is also accessed from the main editor window.

The Blank Line Replacement option determines what is sent to the MUD instead of sending a blank line.

Finally, the word wrap settings control word wrapping within the editor window.

Command Example

You can get an example of how to use the command currently in the command line by selecting this function. You can also press ALT-F1 (as long as you have not assigned any macros to this key).

Command Help

You can get help on the command currently in the command line by selecting this function. You can also press Control-H or F1 (as long as you have not assigned any macros to those keys).

Command Wizard

This dialog shows the commands or functions used by zMUD. Select a command from the list on the left, and a brief description of the command along with the parameters will be shown. You can enter values for the parameter, and the command or function syntax will be displayed in the status line. If you click OK, the text in the status line will be transferred to the command line.

If you want more help on the command that is selected, click the "More Help" button. To see an example of the command’s usage, click the "Example" button. Note that the Function wizard does not have these additional buttons at this time.

Directions

This dialog allows you to view and edit all of your direction definitions. These definitions are used in conjunction with the path features. In the main list is each direction, with the character defining the direction shown to the left, and the typed commands for the direction shown to the right. Click on a direction, and the defining character is copied into the Char field, the typed command is copied into the Input field, and the character used to reverse the direction is copied into the Reverse Char field. You can then edit these fields as desired.

To create a new direction, click the New button. To delete the currently selected direction, click the Delete key. To make a copy of the current direction, click the Copy button. Close the dialog by clicking the OK button. Display this help screen by clicking the Help button.

Feedback

This dialog allows you to send feedback to the author of zMUD. It is very important that you enter a proper email address or the author will not be able to send a reponse back to you. Enter your email address, the subject of the email, and the text of the email, then click the Send button. Information about your registration status, zMUD version, and Windows version will be sent along with your message automatically to help the author debug your problem.

Fonts

This dialog allows you to change the command input font, or the output font of the current window. The default font is Courier 10pt. Note that zMUD does not perform wordwrapping properly if you select a font that is not fixed-pitch, or in which the bold font has a different size than the regular font. Courier has this problem, for example, so bold text doesn’t word wrap properly. True-type fonts work better, but Courier was chosen over Courier New because more lines can be fit on the screen, and there is better compatibility with Windows 3.1.

To change the font, just click on either the input or output box. A standard Windows font change dialog box will be shown. Select the desired font and size and click OK to save your change. Changes to fonts take effect immediately. Note that style changes (bold/italic) to the Input font are currently ignored.

Importing Settings

This dialog allows you to import settings from another MUD file. The settings in the file being imported are shown on the left. The settings to be imported into memory are shown on the right. You can highlight items in either list, the click one of the arrow buttons in the middle to copy it from one side to another. The settings that you have copied to the list on the right are imported into memory when you click the Import button.

The filter list below the left window selects the type of information being imported. You can import aliases, triggers, buttons, macros, variables, paths, colors, etc.

Macro Keys

This dialog allows you to view and edit all of your macro keys. In the main list is each macro, with the name of the key shown to the left, and the command assigned shown to the right. Click on a key definition, and the key value is copied into the Key field, and the command is copied into the Macro field. You can then edit the command by editing the Macro field, or change the key by clicking the Key button and pressing the new key combination.

To create a new macro, click the New button. To delete the currently selected macro, click the Delete key. You can copy the selected macro using the Copy button. Close the dialog by clicking the OK button. Display this help screen by clicking the Help button.

Along the top is the standard Preferences banner containing a menu bar to select other Preferences dialogs, and a stick-pin button that can be used to keep this dialog at the top of the screen when pressed in. The position of this dialog and the status of the stick button are stored in your ZMUD.INI file.

Make Alias

You are prompted to name an alias created from the following text:

Note that any expansion of variables is delayed so that two variable characters are not needed.

Make Trigger

You are prompted for the commands to be assigned to the pattern. The pattern is taken from any highlighted text in output window

Note that any expansion of variables is delayed so that two variable characters are not needed.

Preferences

The Preferences dialog is accessed via the Edit command in the Settings menu and allows you to change all of the parameters stored in a zMUD settings file. This settings file is associated with your MUD character in the Character database.

Select the tab of the dialog that you want help on:

Preferences

This dialog allows you to change some of the general system settings.

Word Wrap

Auto Clear Input

Show Triggers

Echo Commands

Connection Timer

Help Balloons

Speed buttons

Auto NumLock

a = b syntax

Gag Password

Clock

Window Tabs

Clean Scrolling

Capture Commands

Auto reconnect

Spam Count

Spam Length

Spam Command

Tick Interval

Scroll Amount

Tab Limit

Special characters are used by the zMUD parser to control various functions. You can disable parsing using the Parse option in the Setting menu, or you can change the special characters. You can also individually disable each special character function by unchecking it.

Command Char

Separator Char

Variable Char

Parameter Char

Movement Char

History Char

Focus Char

Click OK to save your changes. Click Cancel to abort. Click Help to display this help screen.

Quick Editor

The Quick Editor is used to edit long lists of commands. Each command is listed on a separate line, terminated by the command separator character (usually a semi-colon ;). When you click OK, the lines are collapsed back into a single-line definition.

Reconnect

Allows you to quickly reconnect to your current MUD session. The network link to the MUD is dropped, and then zMUD immediately tries to reconnect. If the MUD cannot be connected, a retry dialog is displayed showing a 10 second countdown. At the end of this 10 seconds, a reconnection is attempted again. You can cancel the reconnection attempt by clicking the Cancel button. You can force it to try again without waiting for 10 seconds by clicking the Retry button.

This is a great function to use after a MUD reboot to ensure that you get connected as quickly as possible.

zMUD will not allow you to change this 10 second delay. If all players using zMUD were able to attempt reconnects continuously, it would bring the poor MUD server that is trying to reboot to its knees and upset a lot of system administrators.

Speedwalking Dialog

This dialog allows you to manipulate all speedwalking and path commands. On the left is a list of all defined paths. Click on a path to move its definition into the Path Ahead field. The directions in the Path Ahead field are those that will be sent by the walking commands. The directions in the Path Behind field are those that have already been sent or recorded.

The Speed Walk button will send the directions in the Path Ahead field to the MUD quickly. Once sent, there is no way to abort them. The Slow Walk button sends the first direction in the Path Ahead field, then waits for confirmation from the MUD that the move was successful. These confirmation triggers can be set by clicking on the Settings tab. There is also a timer that can be set to abort the Slow Walk if it times out. Once confirmed, the next direction is sent, then another wait for confirmation occurs. This combination of sending a direction, then waiting for confirmation is continued till no more directions are in the Path Ahead buffer.

While Slow Walking is active, a Stop button will appear that lets you abort the Slow Walk process. The Step button moves one step in the next direction held in the Path Ahead buffer. The Backup button moves backwards one step, effectively undoing the last direction stored in the Path Behind buffer. The Turn Around button reverses the Path Ahead and Path Behind buffers.

Finally, the Start Recording button is used to start recording directions into the Path Behind buffer. The Stop Recording button terminates a recording and prompts you to save the directions in the Path Behind buffer to a named path.

Run Path

A drop-down list of saved paths is displayed. Click the down-arrow icon to drop-down the list, and click on the path you wish to run. Then click OK to run the path. You can also double-click the path name to run it. Click Cancel to abort.

Reverse Path

A drop-down list of saved paths is displayed. Click the down-arrow icon to drop-down the list, and click on the path you wish to run. Then click OK to run the path. You can also double-click the path name to run it. Click Cancel to abort.

Note that the path will be run in reverse to allow you to retrace your steps.

Save Path

Slow Walking

This dialog allows you to control the settings use to perform Slow Walking. On the left is a list of patterns received from the MUD that should confirm a successful Slow Walk step. These are turned into trigger automatically for you.

On the right you can control the Slow Walk timer. Its value is set in milliseconds (e.g. 5000 is 5 seconds). If enabled, a timeout will terminate a Slow Walk. If enabled, the step is automatically confirmed.

Sounds

This dialog allows you to enable or disable sound in zMUD. Also, you can select the sound played by the #BEEP command, and played when you start zMUD. In the input boxes, you can specify the name of a WAV file, or can enter the numeric value of the window event you wish to trigger. Window event 0 is the standard beep sound. Other sounds occur at 16, 32, 48, 64, etc.

These values are stored in the ZMUD.INI file and effect all windows.

You also specify the sounds used for connection and disconnection from the MUD in this dialog.

Speed Menu

The Speed Menu is the menu that is displayed when you right-click on the output window. You can define the items shown in this menu in this standard preferences dialog. The current menu items are shown on the left. Click New to add a new item, and enter the Item Name and associated commands in the boxes provided. You can also select which item is used as the default when you double-right-click, or whether the last selected menu item is used.

will issue the kill command to the MUD along with the word you right clicked on. Thus, if you set this as the default action, and double-right-click on the name of a mob, that mob will be killed. This beats typing in the name of the mob.

Status Window definition

This window allows you to interactively set the definition of the status bar and the status window. The status bar is displayed at the bottom of the MUD window. The status window is displayed using the Status command in the Window menu.

Status lines and windows can contain variables or functions. The status window can contain more than one line.

Tab Completion

The Tab Completion dialog shows all of the words that can be completed automatically by enter the first few characters in the command line and pressing <TAB>. Aliases and variables are automatically expanded. To expand any other text you must add it to the tab completion list shown here. The box on the left is fully editable. To add a new word, click in the box and begin typing the word, ensuring that it is on a line by itself. To delete a word, use the <Backspace> key or <Del> key to remove the word. This box acts like a regular text editor.

To save your changes to the tab list, click the OK button. To cancel your changes and close the dialog, click the Cancel button. You can load any text file into this list using the Load button. You can also save this list to a text file using the SaveAs button. The Help button displays this help screen.

A second type of tab completion is used with the Shift-<TAB> key. The last word larger than the Tab Limit (in the Preferences) that was last displayed in the output window that starts with the last character in the command line is recalled into the command line. For example, if someone with a really complicated name such as Xenafragilicious talks to you, you can enter the X character into the command line and press Shift-<TAB> to recall the entire word.

Add Tab Word

Adds a word to the tab completion list. The word is taken from

Timer Dialog

This dialog allows you to easily manipulate the tick timer commands in zMUD. The current value of the timer (counting down to zero) is shown on the right. The timer can be started and stopped using the Start and Stop buttons. The Synch button is used when a tick on the MUD actually occurs. The current tick interval will be modified to reflect the actual tick on the MUD. Note that most tick intervals vary depending upon the lag on the MUD, so don’t think this timer will save your life or anything. The Reset button resets the timer back to the tick interval.

The Tick interval can be set from this dialog to a given number of seconds. The Timeout Margin indicates the point at which the Timeout Command is executed. For example, if the Margin is 5, the Command will be executed when the timer reaches 5 seconds.

Triggers

This dialog allows you to view and edit all of your triggers. In the main list is each trigger, with the pattern shown to the left, and the command assigned shown to the right. Click on a trigger, and the class name is copied to the Name field, the pattern is copied to the Pattern field, and the command is copied to the Command field. You can then edit any of these fields as desired.

To create a new trigger, click the New button. To delete the currently selected trigger, click the Delete key. To make a copy of the selected trigger, click the Copy button. Close the dialog by clicking the OK button. Display this help screen by clicking the Help button.

At the bottom of the screen is a test area. You can enter a string of text that might be sent by the MUD and click the Test button to see if the current trigger will fire. The values of any parameters extracted from the text will also be shown. Note that zMUD will automatically create a test pattern for you based upon what you enter in the Pattern field. To prevent this, click the Lock button to the left of the test pattern.

Along the top is the standard Preferences banner containing a menu bar to select other Preferences dialogs, and a stick-pin button that can be used to keep this dialog at the top of the screen when pressed in. The position of this dialog and the status of the stick button are stored in your ZMUD.INI file.

Command Reference

Commands:

Predefined Functions

The following functions are defined within zMUD:

%abs(i)

%additem(s,list)

%alias(s)

%ansi(fore,back)

%begins(s1,s2)

%btncol(button,back,fore)

%btnimage(button,filename)

%case(i,s1,s2,s3...)

%char(i)

%color(fore,back)

%concat(s1,s2,s3..)

%copy(s,i,n)

%ddeopen(serv,topic)

%ddeclose

%dde(serv,topic,item)

%ddemacro(serv,topic,s)

%ddepoke(serv,topic,item,value)

%delete(p,i,n)

%delitem(s,list)

%ends(s1,s2)

%exec(s)

%expand(s)

%eval(p)

%format(f,a,b,c,d...)

%getglobal(name)

%grep(i,s)

%if(expression,true-value,false-value)

%insert(p,s,i)

%ismember(s,list)

%isnumber(s)

%left(s,n)

%leftback(s,n)

%len(s)

%lower(s)

%max(a,b,c,d...)

%min(a,b,c,d...)

%mod(a,b)

%null(s)

%numwords(s,d)

%number(s)

%pick(s1,s2,s3,...)

%pos(p,s)

%proper(s)

%prompt(v,p)

%random(i,j)

%read(i,rec)

%remove(p,s)

%repeat(s,n)

%replace(s,p,r)

%right(s,n)

%rightback(s,n)

%setglobal(name,value)

%time(format)

%trigger(class)

%trim(s)

%trimleft(s)

%trimright(s)

%upper(s)

%word(s,i,d)

%write(i,s,rec)

%yesno(s)

The following functions are defined to access the data in the mapper. Items in brackets [] are optional. If the room or zone parameters are omitted (or set to ‘’) then the current room or zone is used. Whenever a parameter specifies the room number, the ID (short name) of the room can be used instead.

%roomname( room, [s])

%roomdesc( room, [s])

%roomnum( room)

%roomid( room, [s])

%roomcom( room, [s])

%roomnote( room, [s])

%roomexit( room, [s])

%roomobj( room, [i])

%roommob( room, [i])

%roomcost( room, [i])

%roomkind( room, [i])

%roomflag( room, [i])

%roomlink( room, dir, [i])

%roomportal( room, s, [i], [z])

%numrooms()

%numzones()

%parsemode(I)

%walk( i)

%zonename( zone, [s])

%zonenum( zone)

Predefined Variables

The system maintained several predefined variables for you to use. Each of these variables begins with an underscore character to signify that it is a temporary variable.

Repeating Commands

Example

Repeating example

#10 kill mound

ABORT

Example

Aborts the processing of the current command line.

ABORT example

get all corpse;#ABORT;split

OK, this is somewhat contrived, but the command ‘get all corpse’ is sent, then the #ABORT stops further processing so that the ‘split’ command is ignored.

ACTION

Example

This is one of the most powerful features of zMUD. It allows you to define a command to be executed whenever the matching text is received from the MUD.

The first parameter is the text to be matched. If the text contains a space, you need to enclose it in quotes. This pattern can contain special pattern matching symbols and wildcards. The second parameter is the command to be executed when the pattern is received from the MUD. Since this command usually consists of more than one word, you must enclose it in quotes. The third parameter is optional, and is the name of the trigger action class that this action is part of. Triggers can be enabled and disabled when part of a class.

In the Preferences dialog you can also determine whether the trigger action is enabled when you first load the data file. You can also individually enable or disable triggers individually as well as by class name.

ACTION example

A simple trigger action

#AC {chats} {#COLOR red}

Triggers for automatic logins

#AC {^Username:} {#CH}

#AC {^Password:} {#PW}

Parameters in triggers

#AC {^You get (%d) coins} {split %1} autosplit

Pattern Matching

Patterns can contain several special character for wild-card matching.

To match a blank line, use the $ pattern by itself.

You can also include variables in your pattern, and the name of the variable will be replaced with its value before the pattern match is performed.

ADD

Example

This command allows you to perform simple arithmetic to variables. The value given by the amount parameter is added to the current value of the variable. If amount is not numeric, an error occurs. amount can also be a reference to another variable, adding its current value to the value of the listed variable. To subtract a value, use a negative amount.

This is the only math function currently implemented in zMUD. A full MATH command, ala TINTIN, is also available.

ADD example

#AD moves 1

#ACTION {You get (%d) coins} {#AD gold %1}

ALARM

Example

Allows you to set up a trigger based upon the time, rather than what is received from the MUD. The timepattern can contain a specific time, or can include wildcards as shown below. If preceeded with a minus (-), the connection time is used rather than the current time.

Typically, the timepattern has the format hours:minutes:seconds, although the hours and minutes are optional. If missing, the hours or minute parameter is assumed to be an asterisk wildcard. In place of a specific numeric value, you can use an asterisk to match any value, or you can list several values separated by the OR operator (|). You can also use the special wildcard *value which will match when the time MOD the value is zero. E.g. *10 matches 10, 20, 30, etc. Finally, you can put parenthesis around the wildcards to save the values matched to the %1..%9 parameters.

ALARM example

#ALARM -30:00 {save}

#ALARM 3:00:00 {gossip "Why aren’t you sleeping?"}

#ALARM -59:(55|56|57|58|59) {#SHOW 60-%1}

ALIAS

Example

If ALIAS is used with no parameters, all aliases are listed to the output window. If ALIAS is given a single parameter, the definition of aliasname will be displayed.

Aliases can also be expanded via tab completion. If the aliasname is entered into the command line and <TAB> is pressed, the aliasname will be replaced with the string assigned to that alias.

ALIAS example

Simple alias

#AL fs {fill waterskin statue}

Using delayed expansion

#AL fs {fill @container statue}

Using parameters

#AL kk {kill %1;kick %1}

Delayed expansion

#AL make {#ALIAS %1 {cast %1 %%1}}

This is a complicated alias which creates other aliases. In this case, the ‘make’ alias takes a parameter which is the name of a spell to cast. When you use the ‘make’ alias, another alias is created with a name equal to the spell name. Since each % is removed each time a command is parsed, the %%1 is delayed by one step. Thus, when you enter

make heal

the command

#ALIAS heal {cast heal %1}

is entered, which creates the new spell alias called ‘heal’

Example

Sends the specified command to all character windows.

ALL example

#ALL quit

BACKUP

Example

Remove the last direction from the currently recorded path.

BACKUP example

BEEP

Example

Plays the current beep sound. If you specify a numeric value, then the corresponding windows event is played instead. The default beep sound has a value of zero.

Note that zMUD does not pause while the sound is playing. Thus, playing two beeps in a row will only sound one beep, since the first one is still playing when you start the second. To play two beeps, use the WAIT command to insert a delay.

BEEP example

#BEEP 16

#BEEP;#WAIT 500;#BEEP

BUTTON

Example

Triggers the numbered button (from 1 to 16). This is typically assigned to a macro key. The number parameter can be a variable reference, but must evaluate to a numeric value.

BUTTON example

#BU 1

Example

Starts capturing lines and sending them to the specified window. If ‘name’ is omitted, lines are sent to the command editor (assuming capturing is enabled within the editor). Otherwise, the lines are sent to the named window. The window is created if it doesn’t exist. If the Capture Commands option is on in the preferences, then commands entered into the command line will also be captured to the window.

C+ example

#C+ temp

Example

Stops capturing text from the MUD. Opposite of C+.

C- example

#C-

CAPTURE

Example

Captures the last number lines of text, and copies them into another window. If number is missing, the last line is copied. If number is -1, all lines are copies. If ‘name’ is specified, the lines are sent to the named window (the window is created if it doesn’t exist). If ‘name’ is omitted, the lines are sent to the command editor window.

CAPTURE example

#CAP

#TRIGGER {tells you} {#CAP tell;#GAG}

CASE

Example

Allows you to select a command from a list to be executed. The index parameter determines the command to execute from the list given by command1..commandn. If index is greater then the number of commands, it wraps around. For example, if there are four commands and you ask for the fifth, the first is returned. This allows you to use the predefined variable %random to select a random command.

If the index is negative, results are undefined.

CASE example

#CASE 2 {first command} {second command} {third command}

#CASE @joincmd {join} {rescue}

#CASE %random {Hello} {Hi there} {Hiya} {Hi}

CHARACTER

Example

Returns the name of the current character from the Character Database

CHARACTER example

CLOSE

Example

Close the file given by filenum. It must have already been opened using the FILE command.

CLOSE example

#CLOSE 1

Example

Clear the screen. The scrollback buffer is uneffected. To clear the entire scrollback buffer and reclaim the memory, use the Empty menu command.

CLR example

COLOR

Example

If the pattern parameter is left out, this command changes the color of the last line received from the MUD. The color attribute can be a numeric attribute (compatible with the attribute values used by the text modes of DOS) or can be a combination of string values listed below, separated by commas.

If the pattern is included, a trigger is created to color any line matching the given pattern with the specified color.

Color values:

to make a color brighter, add 8 to the base value. For example, 9 is bright blue. To change the background color, rather than the foreground, multiply the base value by 16. For example, to get a red background, use 4*16 or 64. To make the foreground font bold, add 128 to the value.

Thus, a bold white on a blue background would be 128 + 1*16 + 15 = 159.

COLOR example

#CO red

#CO bold,red

#CO 159

#CO red {tells the group}

CONNECT

Example

Disconnects, then reconnects to the current MUD session. Save as File/Reconnect menu command.

CONNECT example

#CON

Example

Send a blank line to the MUD.

CR example

#CR

Example

If used after a successful trigger, this command will color the phrase matched by the trigger with the specified color.

CW example

#TRIGGER {Zugg} {#CW red}

Example

This command allows you to communicate with an external program via Microsoft Windows Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE). You must consult the documentation of your external program to determine the syntax of its macros, and its defined topic names. The server name is usually the name of the program itself (without the .EXE). There are also built-in functions for DDE:

%dde(server,topic,item)

%ddepoke(server,topic,item,value)

%ddemacro(server,topic,macro)

DDE example

Since DDE is somewhat obscure, I have included a bunch of useful examples:

#DDE NETSCAPE WWW_OpenURL {http://pobox.com/~~zugg/zmud.html}

#DDE ZMUD ZMUD {remove all;drop all}

%dde(Excel,’TEST.XLS’,’R1C1’)

%ddepoke(Excel,’TEST.XLS’,’R1C1’,@tank)

DEFAULT

Example

Saves your current special characters on the stack and sets the defaults. This is useful at the beginning of a script to make sure standard parse characters are used while reading the script. Use the #NODEF command at the end of the script to restore the characters.

A string can be given as an argument to specify the new values of the special characters. This is a 9 character string which must be enclosed in quotes. Each character in the string represents one of the special characters. To leave the character as the default, you can use the x character as a placeholder. The characters are:

DEFAULT example

#DEF

#DEF {xx$xxxxx }

DISCONNECT

Example

Disconnects your current session. Careful, because it doesn’t ask if you’re sure!

DISCONNECT example

#TRIGGER {You are BLEEDING} {#DI}

ECHO

Example

Echo the string to the top window. Like the SAY command, except SAY echoes to the window it was issued from. The difference is when performing trigger actions. Using SAY, the trigger will echo the string to the window that issued the trigger. Using ECHO it will echo to the window the user is currently viewing.

ECHO example

#TRIGGER {The glow fades} {#ECHO {Sanc out in window %window}}

ERASE

Example

Erases the file opened as file number filenum.

ERASE example

#FILE 1 old.log

#ERA 1

Example

Executes the specified command. Since the command can contain variables which are expanded, this command can be very powerful.

If you use this in a trigger, you open yourself up to abuse from other players that will try to set off yor triggers themselves.

EXEC example

#TRIGGER {^Zugg tells you (*)} {#EXEC %1}

FILE

Example

Open a file for reading and writing. zMUD provides 10 files. Files numbered 1-5 are text files that can be read sequentially, or appended to. Files numbered 6-10 are string record files that can be read and written randomly. If the numbered file is already opened, the previous file is closed. The filename given in name is restricted to the current directory containing ZMUD.EXE and cannot refer to a EXE, HLP, or MUD file. This protects you from accidentally modifying important files on your disk.

FILE example

#FILE 1 test.txt

FIND

Example

Finds the current location on the map. Issues the MUD Look command and compares the current MUD room description with the map database and sets the map location to the matching room.

FIND example

#FIN

FORALL

Example

FORALL example

list="sword|ring|shield"

#FORALL @list {repair %i}

FREEZE

Example

This command causes the output screen to split, displaying the scrollback buffer. Text from the MUD continues to be received, and triggers continue to execute, however, the screen does not scroll. If value is 0, the screen is unsplit, otherwise the screen is split. If value is omitted, the current split state is toggled. This command is the same as pressing Control-Z, selecting Freeze from the Window menu, or clicking in the lower right corner of the output window next to the scroll bars.

FREEZE example

#FR 1

#FR

GAG

Example

GAG example

#GA

#GA Zugg

#GA gossips

Example

Retrieves the next command from the command history. This only works if you have previously used #H- to retrieve the previous command. This command is normally assigned to the down-arrow key.

H+ example

test1

test2

#H-

#H+

Example

Returns the previous command from the command history buffer. This command is usually assigned to the up-arrow key.

H- example

test1

test2

#H-

HELP

Example

Without any parameters, this command displays the Help table of contents. If you specify a command, help on that command is displayed.

HELP example

#HELP alias

HIGHLIGHT

Example

HIGHLIGHT example

#HI

#HI Zugg

HISTORY

Example

You can also pop up an interactive history dialog by right clicking in the output window, or by left clicking on the arrow button at the left of the command input line. The dialog shows the last 20 commands. If you single-click on a line, the command is copied into the edit line at the top of the dialog. You can then edit the command and press <Enter> to execute it. If you double-click on a command, it is sent directly to the MUD without allowing you to edit it, and the history dialog will close. To close the dialog without executing a command, right click on it.

HISTORY example

#HI

!!

!3

!k

HOST

Example

Send the name of the current MUD host.

HOST example

Example

IF example

#IF @autosplit {split @gold}

#IF (@gold < 100000) {emote is poor} {emote is RICH!}

#IF (@line =~ "You receive (%d) coins") {split %1}

Expressions

zMUD implements full expressions. Expressions can contain variables, and most common operators. Parenthesis can be used to override default operator presedence. When evaluating an operation, if all parameters of the operation are numeric, then a numeric operation is used, otherwise a string operation is used. The following operators are recognized (v1 and v2 represent variables, or other expressions):

IGNORE

Example

Toggle the execution of all trigger actions.

IGNORE example

#IG

#IG

INPUT

Example

Copy the string into the current command buffer, replacing the current contents.

INPUT example

#IN get @item

KEY

Example

KEY example

#KEY F1 eat bread

<ALT-D>={drink water}

Example

Erase all macro keys, aliases, variables, triggers, tab completion words

KILLALL example

#KILLALL

LMAP

Example

LM example

#LMAP ‘3sn’ {#SHOW %roomname(%i)}

LOAD

Example

LOAD example

#LOAD dc

<F1>={#LOAD combat};<F2>={#LOAD social}

LOG

Example

LOG example

#LO test.txt

#LO

Example

Executes the MUD Look command and loads the displayed name, description, and exits into the current room on the mapper.

LOOK example

#LOOK

LOOP

Example

LOOP example

#LOO 3 north

#LOO 1,4 {get coins %i.corpse}

#LOO @num {eat bread}

Example

Add the specified direction to the current path being recorded. Also sends the location to the mapper to move you on the map

MAP example

#MAP north

#TRIGGER {%w leaves (%w)} {#MAP %1}

MARK

Example

Mark the beginning of a path. Clears the currently recorded path.

MARK example

#MA

MATH

Example

Assigns the value of the expression to the given variable. Expressions can contain numeric, logical, and text functions. Any variables in the expression are also expanded.

MATH example

#MATH test (1+3)*4

#MATH test2 @test-4

#ALIAS add {#MATH value %1+%2}

add 3 4

MEDIA

Example

Sends a command to your current multimedia device. Usually, you use this command after starting to play something with the play command. Any variables in function are expanded. Possible values of function are:

MEDIA example

#MEDIA next

MEMORY

Example

Displays the amount of Windows memory you have left. Mostly for debugging purposes.

MEMORY example

#MEM

MENU

Example

Executes the specified menu commands. Specify each menu command exactly as displayed in the menu. For submenus, each menu must be listed separated by | characters. Thus, the Exit command is specified as File|Exit. There is no way for zMUD to fill in any dialog value, this command just executes the menu command as if the user clicked on the menus.

MENU example

#MENU {File|Exit}

#MENU {Actions|Make Button}

MESSAGE

Example

Displays a small window containing the specified string as a message. The window is small and surrounded by a red border. There is a button in the window to close it. If the window is not closed within 10 seconds, it closes automatically.

MESSAGE example

#MESS Sanctuary is out!

NAME

Example

Change the name of the current window. The default name of a window is the name of the MUD character. With this command you can change the name to anything you want. This name is saved with the character.

NAME example

#NAME tank

NODEF

Example

Restores the special characters saved by the #DEFAULT command. Usually used at the end of a script to restore the previously saved values.

NODEF example

#NODEF

Example

Prevents the mapper from parsing the line that matches the specified pattern. If the pattern is omitted, then the line previous matched by a trigger is ignored by the mapper.

NOMAP example

#TRIGGER {gossips} {#NOMAP}

#NOMAP {gossips}

NOOP

Example

Does nothing! (Wow, what a powerful command)

NOOP example

You really need an example of this one???

Example

Confirms the currently pending slow walk direction. This command is typically triggered by a macro to indicate that the previous movement was successful.

OK example

#TRIGGER {^Exits} {#OK}

#TRIGGER {^It is pitch black} {#OK}

PATH

Example

PATH example

#PA

#PA magic

PICK

Example

Display a pickbox with val1, val2, val3, ... listed on each line (up to 99 values can be specified). The user can select one or more of these lines and return them. The values are returned separated by the current command separator (;) and executed as commands. If the user presses <Escape> then no commands are executed.

The PICK command recognized two special arguments. An argument of the format p:string displays the specified string as the prompt for the dialog. An argument of the form o:1 specifies that only one selection is allowed to be chosen. Also, each value can start with an asterisk * to indicate that it is selected by default when the dialog is displayed.

To display captions for each item that are different from the command, use the syntax caption:command. The caption is displayed in the list, but the command is executed.

PICK example

#PI {get all corpse} {get all.coins corpse} {sac corpse}

#PICK {p:Select an action:} {o:1} {kill @mob} {kick @mob} {*stun @mob}

#PICK {p:Select an action:} {o:1} {kill:kill @mob} {kick:kick @mob} {*stun:stun @mob}

PLAY

Example

Plays the specified multimedia file. The file type is determined from the file extension of the filename. Tested formats are WAV, MID, AVI. If filename refers to a drive (as in D:), the drive is assumed to point to a CDROM with a musical CD in it.

Note that zMUD does not pause while the media is playing. Also, only one media can be playing at any given time.

PLAY example

#PLAY start.wav

#PLAY D:

sound=ouch.wav

#TRIGGER {hits you} {#PLAY @sound}

PROMPT

Example

Pops up a dialog box to prompt you for the value of the specified alias/variable.

PROMPT example

#PR tank

Example

Sends the password of the current character to the MUD. This password is not echoed to the output window.

PW example

#PW

READ

Example

The second form of this command reads data from the nth file (opened with the FILE command). If n is 1-5, then the file is a text file and rec is the line number to read. If rec is zero or omitted, the next sequential line is read. If n is 6-10, then the file is a structured file, and the record indicated by rec is read. If rec is zero or omitted, the next record is read.

READ example

#REA mud.txt

#FILE 1 mudlist.txt

#READ 1 10

Example

Teleports you to the Start Location (recall location) on the map.

RECALL example

#RECALL

RECORD

Example

Toggles the recording of an alias. When you first enter #RECORD, zMUD starts recording all the commands you send to the MUD. You can monitor this recording by entering #RECORD again during the recording. When you are done and want to save the recording, enter the #RECORD command followed by the name of the alias you wish to create. If you use an alias value of off (#RECORD off), the recording is stopped and not saved.

RECORD example

#REC

n

w

open door

#REC

#REC temple

RESET

Example

Reset the nth file back to the beginning. The file must be opened using the FILE command.

RESET example

#RES 1

RETRACE

Example

RETRACE example

#RE magic

SAVE

Example

Saves the current settings file. If you specify a filename, the settings are saved to that file instead. Note that the name of the settings file associated with your current character is not changed by this command.

SAVE example

#SAVE new

SAY

Example

Same as the SH command. Echoes the specified text to the screen without sending it to the MUD.

SAY example

#SA You have @gold coins

#ACTION {aura fades} {#SA SANC IS OUT!!!!;#COLOR red}

SCROLL

Example

Displays all lines in the scrollback buffer that match the specified pattern. If you do not specify how many lines to display, zMUD displays all matching lines.

SCROLL example

#SC Zugg

#SC Zugg 4

SEND

Example

SEND example

#SEND notes.txt {tell zugg}

SESSION

Example

Opens a new MUD session to the specified character or host. If you enter a single parameter, it should be the ID of a character in the character database that you want to run. If you specify two parameters, the first is the host name or IP address of a MUD, and the second parameter is the port number.

SESSION example

#SES Zugg

#SES jitter.rahul.net 6666

SHOW

Example

Echoes the specified text to the screen without sending it to the MUD. Similar to SAY except that the text is processed just as if it were received from the MUD (usually for testing triggers) and it is evaluated.

SHOW example

#SH You have @gold coins

SLOW

Example

Executes the specified path in Slow Walking mode. In this mode, a single direction is sent to the MUD, then zMUD waits for confirmation before sending the next direction. Directions are confirmed with the #OK command, and aborted with #STOP. If a Slow Walk was aborted, it can be resumed with the #STEP command

SLOW example

#SL .n2es

STATUS

Example

Sets the definition used for the status line displayed beneath the output window. This line can contain variables which are expanded before the status line is displayed. The status line is updated whenever a variable is changed.

STATUS example

#ST {Gold: @gold Tank: @tank}

STEP

Example

Resumes a previous aborted Slow Walk by executing the next step in the path.

STEP example

#SLOW .n2es

#STEP

STOP

Example

Aborts the current Slow Walk. Typically used in triggers.

STOP example

#TRIGGER {A gang member is here} {#STOP;kill gang}

Example

Specifies the definition of the status window. The status window is like the status line except it can contain more than one line, and can contain %ansi color sequences. The status window can be positioned and sized anywhere on the screen (the position and sized is remembered). You can use the %CR function to insert a newline, and the %ANSI function to change the color of text. Right clicking on the status window also lets you set its definition string.

STW example

#STW { Hp: @hp %cr Exp: @exp %cr %ansi(red)Tank: @tank}

SUBSTITUTE

Example

This command is used in conjunction with triggers to change the text matched by the last trigger pattern to something else. It is useful for removing clutter on the screen.

SUBSTITUTE example

#TRIGGER {(*) tells you,} {#SUB {%1:}}

Example

T+ example

#T+ autosplit

Example

T- example

#T- autosplit

Example

Display the amount of time remaining in the timer.

T? example

#T?

TAB

Example

TAB example

#TA zugg

TELEPORT

Example

Changes your location on the map to a specific location -- your MUD position is unchanged. You can specify either a room name (the short name of a room), or room number, and you can specify either a zone name or a zone number. If the zone is omitted, the current zone is assumed.

TELEPORT example

#TE temple Midgaard

#TE 0 "New Thalos"

TIMER

Example

Toggles the timer. If the timer is off, it is turned on. If it is on, then it is turned off. Note that the amount of time left in the timer is not effected by this command.

TIMER example

#TI

TRIGGER

Example

This is one of the most powerful features of zMUD. It allows you to define a command to be executed whenever the matching text is received from the MUD.

The first parameter is the text to be matched. If the text contains a space, you need to enclose it in quotes. This pattern can contain special pattern matching symbols and wildcards. The second parameter is the command to be executed when the pattern is received from the MUD. Since this command usually consists of more than one word, you must enclose it in quotes. The third parameter is optional, and is the name of the trigger action class that this action is part of. Triggers can be enabled and disabled when part of a class.

For advanced trigger options, you must go to the Preferences dialog. In this dialog, you can determine whether the action is triggered at the end of each line received from the MUD, or if it is just triggered at the end of receiving a block of data from the MUD. Responding to MUD prompts such as Username and Password require a trigger that activates after a block of text is received since these prompts are not normally followed by a newline.

In the Preferences dialog you can also determine whether the trigger action is enabled when you first load the data file. You can also individually enable or disable triggers individually as well as by class name.

TRIGGER example

#TR {chats} {#COLOR red}

#TR {^Username:} {#CH}

#TR {^Password:} {#PW}

#TR {^You get (%d) coins} {split %1} autosplit

Example

TS example

#TS 60

#TS

TYPE

Example

If pattern is omitted, the entire contents of the numbered file are displayed on the screen (starting from the current position of the file). If pattern is given, only lines matching the pattern are displayed. Pattern can contain full pattern-matching commands.

TYPE example

#FILE 1 mudlist.txt

#TYPE 1

#TYPE 1 castle

Example

Resets the tick timer to zero but does not change its duration.

TZ example

#TZ

#TRIGGER {The sun rises} {#TZ}

UNALIAS

Example

Deleted the specified alias from memory. Careful, there is no way to get it back after you do this.

UNALIAS example

#UNA kk

UNGAG

Example

Prevents the current line from being gagged. Typically used in a trigger to undo the GAG action of a previous trigger.

UNGAG example

#TRIGGER {Zugg} {#GAG}

#TRIGGER {tells you} {#UNGAG}

UNKEY

Example

Deleted the specified key macro from memory. Careful, there is no way to get it back after you do this.

UNKEY example

#UNK <F1>

UNTIL

Example

Execute the given commands until the expression evaluates to TRUE (non-zero)

UNTIL example

#VAR A 10

#UNTIL (A = 0) {#SHOW @A;#ADD A -1}

UNTRIGGER

Example

Deleted the trigger assigned to the specified pattern from memory. Careful, there is no way to get it back after you do this.

UNTRIGGER example

#UNT {tells you}

UNVAR

Example

Deleted the specified variable from memory. Careful, there is no way to get it back after you do this.

UNVAR example

#UNV tank

Example

Automatically launch your web browser to display the specified URL. Requires that you have a Web Browser that associates itself with .HTM files and that supports the Open_URL DDE call (has been tested on Windows 95 with Netscape and Internet Explorer)..

URL example

#URL http://www.pobox.com/~~zugg/zmud.html

VARIABLE

Example

VARIABLE example

#VA coins 1000

coins = 1000

VERBATIM

Example

Toggles the parsing mode. If value is specified, then it is used to set the parsing mode. Parsing is on if the value is non-zero.

VERBATIM example

#VERB

VERSION

Example

Displays the current version and date of zMUD

VERSION example

You don’t really need an example of this, do you?

WAIT

Example

Delays processing of further commands on the line until text is received from the MUD. Sometimes command from zMUD can be executed too fast for the MUD. This command is used to slow them down.

WAIT example

west;#WA;kill citizen

#WA 2000;kill citizen

WALK

Example

Speedwalks you to the named room (short name) on the map. The same as selecting the room from the pulldown box on the right-most edge of the mapper status bar.

WALK example

#WALK temple

WHILE

Example

Execute the given commands as long as the expression evaluates to TRUE (non-zero)

WHILE example

#VAR A 10

#WHILE (A <> 0) {#SHOW @A;#ADD A -1}

WINDOW

Example

Display text in another window. If the window doesn’t exist, it is created. Note that when the window is first created, the file name.ZCR or name.MUD is loaded (ZSC is a text script file, MUD is a binary settings file). If a text string is specified, it is displayed in the window.

WINDOW example

#WIN tell

#FORALL @eqlist {#WIN status %i}

WIZLIST

Example

Display the credits for zMUD.

WIZLIST example

Try it and see!

WRAP

Example

Toggles the auto word wrap mode. If column is specified, the text is wrapped at the given column.

WRAP example

#WRAP

WRITE

Example

Write a value to the nth file. If n is 1-5 then the file is a text file, and the value is appended to the end - rec is ignored. If n is 6-10, then the file is structured, and value is written to the record given by rec. If rec is zero or omitted, value is appended to the file.

WRITE example

#WR 1 {logged onto Dark Castle}

#WR 6 {this is record 3} 3

YESNO

Example

Displays a dialog box that asks the specified question. If the Yes button is clicked, the yes-command is executed. If the No button is clicked, the no-command is executed. If <Escape> is pressed, then no command is executed.

You can customize the buttons by placing the caption you want for the button in front of the command, separated by a colon. For example {Sword:get sword} creates a button labeled "Sword" which executes the command "get sword" when clicked. Using these custom buttons, you can add as many buttons to the YESNO command as you want. If you put an asterisk * at the beginning of a button caption, that button is flagged as the default button.

YESNO example

#YESNO "Do you want to sac the corpse?" {sac corpse}

#YESNO "Where to you want to go today?" {Temple:.temple} {Guild:.guild} {*Microsoft:#URL http://www.microsoft.com}