## ProFTPD: `Display` Files

ProFTPD supports a number of configuration directives that specify a file whose contents should be displayed to connected clients at various times:

- `DisplayConnect`
    Displayed to clients as soon as they connect

- `DisplayLogin`
    Displayed to clients once they have logged in using the `USER` and `PASS` commands

- `DisplayChdir`
    Displayed to a client whenever it changes into a directory

- `DisplayFileTransfer`
    Displayed to the client whenever a file is successfully transfer, either uploaded or downloaded

- `DisplayQuit`
    Displayed to a client when the session ends via the `QUIT` command

Note the subtle difference between `DisplayConnect` and `DisplayLogin`. A `DisplayConnect` file will be displayed to all clients; this makes it suitable for server banners, messages of the day, etc. A `DisplayLogin` file will only be displayed once the client has logged in.

The configured file paths can be either relative or absolute (except in the case of `DisplayConnect`, which always requires absolute paths). In the case of a relative path, the file is assumed to be in the starting directory a user, i.e. the `<Anonymous>` directory for anonymous logins, and the user's home directory for non-anonymous logins. Note: If `DefaultRoot` is in effect, then the file must reside inside the `chroot`ed directory. If the configured file cannot be found or accessed, no error occurs and nothing is logged or displayed to the client.

`Display` Variables
The following table contains the variables that can be used in `Display` files. Be aware that not all of these may have a rational value, depending on the context in which they are used (e.g., `%u` if `IdentLookups` are off).

Other `contrib` modules may provide additional variables for use as well; please consult their documentation for more information.

Variable | Meaning
%C | Current working directory
%E | Server admin's email address
%F | Available space on file system, in KB
%f | Available space on file system, with units
%i | The number of files uploaded (input) in this session
%K | Total number of bytes transferred
%k | Total number of bytes transferred, in units
%L | Local hostname
%M | Maximum number of connections
%N | Current number of connections
%o | The number of files downloaded (output) in this session
%R | Remote hostname
%T | Current time
%t | The number of files transferred (uploaded and downloaded) in this session
%U | Username originally used to login
%u | Username reported by ident protocol
%V | `ServerName` of virtual host, if any
%x | The name of the user's `Class`, if any
%y | Current number of connections from the user's `Class`
%z | Maximum number of connections from the user's `Class`
%{total_bytes_in} | The number of bytes uploaded (input) in this session
%{total_bytes_out} | The number of bytes downloaded (output) in this session
%{total_bytes_xfer} | The number of bytes transferred (uploaded and downloaded) in this session
%{total_files_in} | The number of files uploaded (input) in this session
%{total_files_out} | The number of files downloaded (output) in this session
%{total_files_xfer} | The number of files transferred (uploaded and downloaded) in this session
%{env:name} | The value of the environment variable name
%{time:format} | Uses format (as per the `strftime(3)` function) to format a timestamp

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: I configured a path which contains spaces for `DisplayLogin`, and it doesn't work. Why not?
Answer: If using paths/files which contains spaces, make sure that you enclose the path in quotation marks, e.g.:

      DisplayLogin "/path/to/display login.txt"

Otherwise, the configuration file parser will treat the space-separated portions of the path as separate directive parameters.

Question: I configured a `DisplayLogin` file which uses the `%F` variable, but it is not showing me the correct amount of bytes available on my system. Why not?
Answer: ProFTPD determines the available bytes for the `%F`/`%f` variables based on the filesystem containing the `Display` file.

For example, if your `Display` file is in `/etc/proftpd`,, and the `/etc` directory is mounted on a small disk, then `%F`/`%f` will only report on the bytes available in the `/etc` filesystem, not on other filesystems (e.g. not the `/home` filesystem).

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