Irc

Get started

Links

• irchelp.org

Wanted features in client

1. connect to a certain server at startup
2. connect within the server to certain channels at startup
3. identify with NickServ at startup
4. show multiple channels at the same time
   1. show these channels as detached windows you can put where you want them
   2. show these channels as windows inside the main application

Clients

I found no free irc client for Windows which supports 4.2 (show multiple channels as windows inside the main application at the SAME time).

• HexChat (looks more like a Unix Window, nice, simple, works)
• IceChat (default skin is like for kids who think they are hackers)

There are many other chat clients, but I tested these and they seemed ok. They are free, so they more than ok :-)

HexChat

• Menu/HexChat/Network List
  • select your server
  • press "Edit..."
    • "Connect to this network automatically": √
    • Login method: Custom
      • "Connect commands": "msg NickServ IDENTIFY <your password>" or put your password into "Password:" and use %p in the command
    • select "Autojoiin channels"
      • Add the channels you would like to join automatically when you connect to this server

Less trash in the chat window

• Menu/Settings/Preferences/General
  • "Hide join and part messages": √
  • "Hide nick change messages:" "Hide join and part messages": √

"Clear" for the chat window in the context menu for any user

• Menu/Settings/"User List Popup"
  • Add "Clear"/"Clear" (just the word "clear", without quotation marks, once in each of the two columns)
  • Save
• Right-click any user in the right user list
  • press "Clear"

IceChat

• Edit the server (right click the server name in the left most list)
  • Goto "Extra Settings"
    • "Connect on startup": √
    • "Nickserv password" will be used for IDENTIFY
  • Goto "AutoJoin"
    • insert into "Channel" your wanted channel and press "Add"

IceChat has one little nice extra command

/clearAll

This command will call "/clear" on each open window, meaning, each chat window AND the console window (which is the server's window). You can add this to the popup menu you get when you right click somewhere, for example into the large window when you look at a channel:

• Menu/Options/"IceChat Editor"
• PopupMenus
• Menu/Popuptype/Channel
• Add the following line: (no space behind ':', no space before "Clear", just copy paste as it is)

Clear All:/clearall

• Save
• Switch to an open channel
• right click into the large window where the chat history is seen