Tips for getting the most out of IRC!

Ever wish you had the inside track on how to get your IRC client or wav handling program to do all the cool stuff?  Or just want to be able to make your chat session more enjoyable?  On this page you can find some tips and tricks to help you navigate your programs and use the cool features that are built right in as well as troubleshooting tips for common problems!

 General tips

 mIRC tips

Having the DCC send blues?
If people are having trouble requesting files (wavs, texts, etc.) and it seems you are having trouble sending out files the problem is most likely on your end.
Eighty five percent of the time the tip below if followed in the EXACT ORDER listed will solve dcc problems on your end.
Remember to apply this in the EXACT ORDER it is written or it will not work! See you there!
IRC network.
1.) Click the first icon on the left, in the toolbar at the top, it will disconnect you from the network.
2.) Click File, click options, click the + sign next to connect ( if there is a - sign the menu is already extended proceed to next step ), click local info.
3.) Remove/Delete information in the window in Local Host and IP Address by hilighting it and hit your delete or backspace key.
4.) Remove the check marks in Local Host and IP Address boxes.
5.) Remove the dots in the radio buttons next to Normal and Server choices.
Now All Information is gone. The choices on the menu are ALL BLANK!!!
Check this and make sure and we will proceed.
6.) Leave the Local Host window box at the top EMPTY, do not put anything in there. mIRC will fill this information in by itself.
7.) Leave the IP Address window box EMPTY ( second line from top ). mIRC will fill in this information by itself.
8.) Place a check in the IP Address box at the right under "On Connect, always get:" section.
9.) Place a check in the Local Host box under "On connect, always get:" section. Now if you have done everything correctly up to this point the choice to the right, the IP Address choice will still be checked but it will be grayed out now. If this has not happened start over at the beginning.
10.) Under "Lookup Method" place a check in the Server box only.
11.) Now click OK at the bottom of the window.
12.) You are ready to reconnect to the network server and rejoin IRC now so click the first icon on the left on the toolbar ( bolt of lightning ) and you will be connected.
This tip fixes dcc send problems 85% of the time.

Nickname stuff
Do you know how to remove unwanted nicknames from your dcc send list?
Go to DCC at the top of mIRC and choose chat, there you will see the option to delete the names you wish to remove.
Simply highlight the nick and choose delete.

Here's a Hint for making nicks easier to use...
Choose a nick in the channel and type the first letter or two, then hit tab -- the whole nick will appear in the text box! (if more than one nick starts with that letter, just hit tab to scroll through them until you get the nick you want.)
Note: you can use this feature at any point in a sentence!

Using Your Desktop:
There are times when you may want to do some work in another program or read some e-mail, but it gets real confusing switching back and forth between mIRC and whatever it is you are working on.
Here is a simple way to participate in mIRC and work on your project at the same time.
At the top of the chat screen, there is a small grey box on the left side next to the room's "Title".
Click on the grey box and a pull down menu will appear,
Click on "Desktop" and the menu will close.
Click on the grey box again, and this time click on "On Top" from the pull down menu, then minimize the mIRC program.
What you should see is your desktop with your chat screen in front, now with the arrow at the bottom of the screen, drag your chat screen as small as you want it.
Open another program you would like to use and your chat screen will stay on top, giving you the freedom to work and chat at the same time!
However with the mIRC program minimized you won't be able to see things in your status screen or and query screens that might start up, only the channel you chose will be on the desktop.
Simply uncheck the "desktop" and "on top" tabs to go back to a normal mIRC screen.