Syntax Rules for Configuration Files

This chapter describes the syntax rules for the configuration files.

The main configuration file shell.nss (or shell.shl in older installations) is located in the installation directory of Shell, depending on your installation method.

General rules

• Syntax is case-insensitive.
• Spaces around the equal (=) sign are optional and are ignored.
• The properties of static and dynamic items are separated by blank spaces or on a separate line and must be placed in parentheses ( ).
• Other configuration files can be imported using the import tag.

shell.nss structure

The global section shell{} may have the following subsections:

• Section var{} for global variables. Optional.
• Section set{} for settings. Optional.
  • As of version 1.8.0, set{} has replaced the section default{} for default values, which is now deprecated. Please use set{} for new installations.
• Section static{} with instructions on how to change existing menuitems. Optional.
  • Static items are only of one type: item.
• Section dynamic{} with definitions for new menuitems. Optional.
  • Dynamic menuitems may have one of three types: menu, item, or separator (sep).

Example

shell
{
	// global variables
	var // variables 
	{
		// variables content
		variable-name = variable-value
		...
	}

	set // settings
	{
		theme
		{
			set-name = set-value
			...
		}

		set-name = set-value
		set-name = [set-value, set-value, ...]
		...
	}

	images
	{
		id = value
		"item 1" = value
		id1,id2, id3, "item 2" = value
		....
	}

	// static items
	static
	{
		// static items content
		item ( property-name = property-value   ... )
		...
	}

	// dynamic items
	dynamic
	{
		// dynamic items content
		item ( property-name = property-value   ... )

		separator [( property-name = property-value   ... )]

		menu ( property-name = property-value   ... )
		{
		   var // local variables
		   {
				variable-name = variable-value
				...
			}
			
			item ( property-name = property-value   ... )
			...
		}
		...
	}
}

Breaking Long Lines

For best readability, users often like to avoid lines longer than 80 characters. single quotes also allow break up a line.

shell 
{
	dynamic
	{
		item(title='Command prompt'
			cmd='cmd.exe')
	}
}

Import tag

To better organise the configuration file, parts of the configuration can be saved in separate files. These are then imported using the import tag. With this method, it is also possible to import the same file as a sort of "module" into different parts of the configuration. A convenient way to include the same sub-menu in different locations..

Syntax

The general syntax is as follows:

shell
{
	[ %section% ] import %path%
}

Where

• %section% is the name of a section. Optional. If given, it must be one of
  • var
  • set
  • images
  • static
  • dynamic
  The section name is written literally, without any quotes (or the percent signs).
• %path% is a string literal, that returns the path to the config file that shall be imported. This can be a relative path to the location of the file where the import tag is used, or it can be an absolute path. Expressions are supported when using single quotes.

There are effectively two different ways this tag is applied, depending on whether the optional %section% is given:

• Import an entire section
• Import as a partial:

Import an entire section

shell
{
	// import an entire section
	%section% import %path%
}

In this case, the content of the file found at %path% will be imported into a newly created section{}. The result would then look like so:

shell
{
	// import an entire section
	section {
		/* content of the imported file goes here! Do not include
		 *
		 * section {
		 * }
		 *
		 * in your imported file!
		 */
	}
}

This syntax may be used only in the following places:

• root section shell{}: shell import %path%
• the global sections
  • var{}: var import %path%
  • set{}: set import %path%
  • images{}: images import %path%
  • static{}: static import %path%
  • dynamic{}: dynamic import %path%
• sub-sections of the set{} section:
  • set.theme{}: theme import %path%
  • set.theme.background{}: background import %path%
  • set.theme.item{}: item import %path%
  • set.theme.border{}: border import %path%
  • ...
  • set.tip{}: tip import %path%
  • set.exclude{}: exclude import %path%
  • set.static{}: static import %path%
  • set.dynamic{}: dynamic import %path%

Import as a partial

shell
{
	section {
		// some code might go here. Optional.

		// import of a partial section
		import %path%

		// some more content might go here. Optional.
	}
}

In this case, the content of the file found at %path% will be imported into the already existing section{}. The result would then look like so:

shell
{
	section {
		// some code might go here. Optional.

		// import of a partial section
		/* content of the imported file goes here! Do not include
		 *
		 * section {
		 * }
		 *
		 * in your imported file!
		 */

		// some more content might go here. Optional.
	}
}

This syntax may be used nearly anywhere:

• in any section
• in the body of menu tags

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