MASH Script (file format)

MASH Script

Screenshot of the MASHTour.MSH script being ran in the Microsoft Agent Scripting Helper.
Name	Microsoft Agent Scripting Helper Script
Extension	.MSH
Initial release	February 14th, 1998 (27 years ago)
Operating system	Microsoft Windows

A MASH Script (MSH) is a file created by the Microsoft Agent Scripting Helper which can be opened and played. They work similar to VBS scripts that utilize the Agent Control feature, with the only difference being that MSH Scripts are much more safe due to them only allowing methods related to Microsoft Agent.

Usage

MSH files are used by MASHPlay.exe, a component of the Microsoft Agent Scripting Helper that can be used with other programs to play the generated MASH scripts. A user can load directly load the .MSH file with MASHPlay.exe by navigating to it or by opening the script in the Microsoft Agent Scripting Helper and pressing the "Play" button.

Structure

A MSH file can be edited in any generic text editor and has the following structure:

[MASH Script]

This portion contains the version of MASH the file was generated with.

[Characters]

This portion contains the characters that were used in the generation of script, listing their ACS filenames.

[LanguageIDs]

This portion the language IDs for the characters used.

[Script]

All speech, animations, and other actions that are used in MASH go inside of the script section of the file. This is usually the largest part of the MASH file.

[Commands]

This portion contains any commands generated by MASH.

[CommandScript:ACO]

Special section of MASH Scripts dedicated to loading the Advanced Character Options menu.

[CommandScript:<ID>]

Special section that runs actions based on if a command is clicked on.

Trivia

• The structure of the scripts are is very similar to how the Microsoft Agent API is actually programmed in the original Visual Basic.
  • This is likely because MASH and its components utilize the Visual Basic 6.0 runtime.
• Other programs can call MASHPlay in the BellCraft directory to load MASH scripts without directly opening the Microsoft Agent Scripting Helper.
• MSH files share the same 16x16 icon with the Microsoft Agent Scripting Helper, with the higher pixel icons being different.