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Wizard Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 1201

After like 5 hours of trying to explain something to someone earlier, it was asked how to make something blink. As far as I know there isn't a tag in MXP to allow this is there? I'm curious why not? I realize that blink is out the window when it comes to HTML and such due to accessibility. However, sometimes maybe you want to have something blink? I've pretty much quit using ANSI period due to it's limitations, but then here comes blink and boom only ANSI can do it...?

While I am on this topic, I went back and was reading the old MXP references. I noticed that MUDS can define their own tags. Is it possible for the user to define their own tags sort of like their own CSS stylesheet? I think that would be pretty awesome if I had more power to define how I want my text to be displayed. The current open tags are great, don't get me wrong. It's just if I wanted to create my own that I use often like the MUD can that would be even better. For instance, I normally color text with a white foreground and blue background for information messages. If I could make my own tag just to do this like <Info>, that would be awesome.

If I can do this already, then I apologize, but it is totally unclear on how it would be accomplished by reading the manual.

SubAdmin Joined: 18 Nov 2001 Posts: 5182

The #MXP command has a hidden parameter before the text. If you use "#MXP 1 {stuff}" then that parameter kicks in and 1 is used for the mode. You should also be able to do "#MXP 6" to set mode 6, which I think is the locked secure mode; then use "#MXP 0" to release it.

If you use that with an onLoad event then you can define all the elements you want and have them available every time.

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:55 am

Viji's right about using the #mxp command to define your own elements - there're a couple of threads that mention being able to do it, though I never have myself.

And I thought the exact same thing about blink as you did, presumably in the exact same thread. But then again, I don't reckon it's all that annoying to use ANSI for it, if (like me) that's the only time you do use ANSI.

Wizard Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 1201

I have no idea how that would allow me to create my own tags. Doesn't the mode just tag the line sent from the mud?

I'm reading this page http://www.zuggsoft.com/zmud/mxp.htm.

1 is secure mode

0 is open mode

6 is lock secure mode

So how would I define my own tag like instead of <color white blue>text</color> for my own information message I could create a tag called <IM>text</IM> for a shortcut. I also see on that page where you can get text to blink with MXP?

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:07 am

From that same page, oldguy2:

Wizard Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 1201

Yes I know that.

That's a sucky explanation of how a user can create their own tags client side...

So I do what?

#MXP 1 {<!ELEMENT red '<COLOR red><B>'>}

Then put that in an onLoad event?

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:19 am

That's because it's not really meant for client-side implementation. Your command there should be exactly what you want - you don't want to lock secure mode in case the MUD (or someone on your MUD whose chat channels don't eat MXP properly) starts sending naughty tags.

You could actually just define an MXP trigger for the tag, too. In fact, you could probably write your own blink tag with an mxp trigger. Before you ask how you'd go about doing that, I don't quite know. If I decide to have a play around with it at some point and come up with something, I'll let you know.

Wizard Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 1201

The only problem is it isn't working. The MUDS I play don't even use MXP. I just use it on my side, which is what I am trying to do here and create my own tags, even one that blinks!

I don't see why it would be a problem to make this much easier to do client side.

Wizard Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 1201

Well mine work, but this one doesn't work at all.

<!ELEMENT ImmChan '<FONT COLOR=Red,Blink>'>

That's the example in the reference.

Wizard Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 1201

Haha! This is pretty awesome. Now if I could figure out how to get blink to work.

Wizard Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 1201

Ok apparently I am an idiot or something. I'm trying to create my own blink tag. However, the example from the reference doesn't work. Neither has anything I have tried so far. It is probably something easy I am overlooking.

I must figure it out now that I started or I will just flip out. lol Come on anyone have an idea how to do it?

Wizard Joined: 11 Jul 2002 Posts: 1265 Location: USA

Well, I've looked too.
Admittedly probably not as thoroughly as you; and haven't been able to get it to work either.

I cannot get it to work in Zmud either.

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:08 am

As far as I'm aware, there isn't and never has been a blink option. I've never been able to get blink to work via MXP, ever, and I'm guessing that it's just a problem with the help files. Zugg can probably shed more light on it (as well as whether or not blinking MXP will ever be added). In the meantime, you could try an MXP trigger that puts %ansi(blink) after its opening tag and %ansi(none) after its closing tag. It wouldn't work perfectly (if you used it like this: <color red><blink>haddock</blink>cheese</color> then cheese would come out in the default colour) but it'd work for most purposes.