SignBoard Minecraft Plugin
Last modified on Jun 16, 2023 in Plugins
Overview
Developing a Minecraft server tends to involve displaying useful information to players, such as rules, helpful commands, or other similar details. This can easily turn into a huge wall of signs, which may become harder to read or follow along in-game. Solving this is done through the SignBoard Spigot plugin, allowing players to simply look at a sign to receive tons of information via a scoreboard popup. Additionally, assigning commands on them is possible and can make your server have the best user-friendly experience. If signs aren’t suitable for you, then using NPCs or other living entities are supported. This is a compact and straightforward plugin to set up, but can be confusing for newcomers, especially when configuring its settings. Due to this, we’ll show you how to install and use SignBoard on your Minecraft server in this Apex Hosting tutorial.
How to Download
- Navigate to SignBoard on Spigot’s website.
- Click
Download Nowto the right-hand side of the page.
- Save this file somewhere easily accessible for later use.
Server Installation
Before installing the plugin on your server, ensure you have Spigot or Paper enabled in the Game File section. This is required to support SignBoard in-game, as Vanilla or modded types don’t have the compatibility. Once this is done, proceed to follow along below to easily upload the plugin into the server files.
- Head towards your Apex server panel, then click
FTP File Accessnear the top left. - Proceed to enter your
Passwordand press theLoginbutton to reveal the files. - Locate and select the plugins directory, then click
Uploadat the top left corner. - Drag and drop the SignBoard file into the respective area and wait until it reaches
100%. - Afterward, return to the main panel to
Restartthe server for the plugin to load.
Getting Started
Most of the plugin’s setup is done in-game once installed, but requires you to have operator privileges. This is due to everything using commands, which allows for quick sign or entity board creations. However, there is an alternative method to do the same process, creating or editing them in the config file. We’ll be showing both ways in the subsections below, along with other useful information about SignBoard. Once you’ve made a sign or entity board, you can add color codes and commands on it. This allows for more customization and possibilities in your Minecraft server.
Creating a New Board
Craft a sign and place it down with any displayed text you want. Afterward, run the /sb board new [name] command in-chat. By default, there are predefined lines for a new board. Viewing this requires you to apply it on the sign, which is done with /sb sign attach [name] while looking at it. Do this for any number of boards you want or until you’re satisfied.
The default lines in the board may be frustrating if you’re creating multiple signs, but can be removed in the plugin’s configuration. We’ll discuss this later on in the subsections below. Besides this, once everything is finished, you’ve successfully created a board that anyone can view.
Editing Lines
After creating a new board, you can begin editing its lines. There are 1-16 lines, starting from the bottom to the top. On the right-hand side of the board, you can see numbers representing the line numbers. Editing any of them requires you to use the /sb board [name] lineX [text] command. Replace the “X” with your desired line number, then begin adding text after it.
Remember, you can use color codes to change its basic appearance. If you want to have nothing in one line, then don’t add any text in the command. Do this for every line until you’re satisfied with the results, then execute /sb sign attach [board] while looking at it to save the edits.
Adding Commands
An exciting feature from SignBoard is adding commands to boards, which can be either executed by the player or console. This depends on what you want to accomplish, but is straightforward regardless of your intentions. Doing this process requires you to look at the sign, then run /sb sign [interaction] [command] in-chat. The interaction types include: before, after, onclick, onrightclick, onshiftclick, onattack, onkill.
The first two determine if the command runs before or after the board appears on the player’s screen. The others are self explanatory, such as “onrightclick” meaning a user right-clicks the sign to trigger its function. However, the last two are typically reserved for living entity boards, like an NPC or villager. If you want the command to run as the server’s console, then prefix it with _rfc_. Our example allows the player to change their gamemode to survival, only after assigning this to the sign: /sb sign onrightclick _rfc_ gamemode survival {PName}. The placeholder value at the end represents the username of the person right-clicking.
Using an Entity for Boards
Using custom boards on entities is relatively the same process, just replace “sign” with “entity” in the commands. For example, using /sb entity attach [name] saves and attaches all line changes on the target. Remember, tailor the commands to the entity rather than a sign so everything works. Whether you’re changing lines or applying functions to an NPC, the process is similar as before. However, using other plugins are likely required for you to get a standalone entity for the board, such as Citizens2. Otherwise, you can use normal passive mobs instead.
Plugin Command List
Due to the complexity of SignBoard commands, it’s encouraged to review the official Spigot page for the plugin. This provides you with detailed information about each type to use in-chat. However, we’ll review the most important ones in the table below. Additionally, there are important permission nodes to assign on players so they can use boards and possible commands. This can be done with the LuckPerms plugin, allowing you to give users these abilities.
| Command | Permission | Description |
|---|---|---|
| /sb board new [name] | signboard.board | Create a new custom board. |
| /sb board delete [name] | signboard.board | Delete an existing board. |
| /sb board clear [name] | signboard.board | Clear all content from a board. |
| /sb board list [name] | signboard.board | Lists the contents from a board. |
| /sb board [name] lineX [text] | signboard.board | Add text to any line on a board. |
| /sb sign attach [name] | signboard.sign | Attach a board to a sign. |
| /sb sign detach [name] | signboard.sign | Removes board from a sign. |
| /sb entity attach [name] | signboard.entity | Attach a board on an entity. |
| /sb entity detach [name] | signboard.entity | Removes the board from an entity. |
| /sb sign [interaction] [command] | signboard.signcmds | Add a command with player interaction on a sign. |
| /sb entity [interaction] [command] | signboard.entitycmds | Add a command with player interaction on an entity. |
| N/A | signboard.cmdrun.* | Ability to access boards, commands, and all interaction types from signs or entities. |
| /sb reload | signboard.admin | Reloads the entire plugin to apply recent changes. |
Configuration
Another way to customize your boards is editing the plugin’s boards.yml config file. This can only be used after creating one in-game, unless you want to manually create it within the code. Either way, this method can show you exactly what’s being displayed to players rather than using commands. There are other files to review too, such as tweaking the default board messages. We’ll discuss this in more detail in the next subsection below. Besides this, follow the instructions below to access and edit the boards from its hardfile.
- Navigate to the
FTP File Accessarea andLoginwith yourPassword. - Afterward, enter the following directory pathway: …/plugins/SignBoard.
- Once there, press
Editto the right of boards.yml to reveal its contents. - Make your desired changes, then click
Saveat the top. Restartthe server from the main panel to apply the edits.
Alternative: Use the /sb reload command in-game to do the same process.
Additional Files
There are lots of other SignBoard documents in the FTP panel for you to tweak, but all of them aren’t required to edit. Only a few select contain valuable information, while others store settings that shouldn’t be changed. With this in mind, check out the details below to get a better understanding of what’s possible with these files.
The config.yml file contains general options and settings that impact in-game aspects, such as the view_distance setting to determine the amount of blocks needed to activate a sign board. Others may influence what messages appear for operators or in the server’s console. There aren’t many of these options, but enough to be important to at least review once.
Inside the Locale directory from the SignBoard folder, there are language files. These determine how default messages appear in-game from the plugin, such as the command prompts. However, the most important settings are the defaultBoardLineX options since they control the basic template for all new boards. Changing these may save you lots of time if configuring multiple types in-game.
Common Issues
Sometimes, the plugin will not load on your server due to a variety of reasons. The most common one is not having Spigot or Paper enabled in the Game File section. These server types are needed to have plugin compatibility. Once this is configured, make sure SignBoard is uploaded in the …/plugins directory from the FTP panel, then Restart to load it. However, it may be possible that you’re using an incorrect Server Profile for this installation, so double-check that to ensure everything works properly.
Remember, you must have operator privileges or needed permissions assigned on your account before using any plugin commands. This can be done by entering “op [username]” in the console or using LuckPerms to permit your character to use them. Otherwise, you could be encountering an issue with the command itself, such as mistyping it or missing a required argument. Review our Plugin Command List section to understand them more, or navigate to SignBoard’s Spigot page for additional information.
If you have an issue with saving boards after restarting the server, then make sure you’re using the /sb [sign/entity] attach [name] command. This is required for the changes to be saved, even after a restart. Essentially, this applies any recent edits to the boards.yml file, thereby keeping everything you did for that board.
Useful Links
SignBoard on Spigot
How to Become a Server Operator
Installing and Using LuckPerms
Minecraft Color Code Guide
