EZIRC 1.2j Read Me File

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EZ IRC for OS/2 Warp

version 1.2j beta


SUMMARY of some EZirc commands

More Details Below

/m nickname your message = to send a private message to a nickname.
/msg nickname your message = to send a private message to a nickname.
/me your message Specifies an action.
/ping nickname = ping a nickname (or use the pulldown window)
/ver nickname = query a nicknames version (or use the pulldown window)
/whois nickname = query a nicknames additional data (or use the pulldown window)
/who channel = list the users on a channel (or use the pulldown window)
/nick newnickname = To change your nickname.
/join channel = joins a channel
/away : Message = The AWAY message is used either with one parameter (to set an AWAY message) or with no parameters (to remove the AWAY message)
/quit : Message = Allows you to QUIT the server, and supply a message if you want. IE Gone to Lunch. You can either disconnect from a server with the /quit, or use the disconnect in the Server Options. Note if Auto Server Connection is ON, a /quit, will be followed by ezirc trying to connect to the next server in your list.
/part channel = quit a channel.
/notice nick : message = Sends a msg to a user. The : between nick and msg is required.
/ignore nickname duration = ignores "nickname" for "duration" seconds.
/ignore (no parameters) = display the nicks currently being ignored.
/dccsend nickname file = to send a file to nickname. dccsend nick c:\file
/flood num interval restoreseconds= if num CTCP's are received in interval time, then filter out for restoreseconds
/ctcp nickname command for most other ctcp commands.

Almost all of the IRC commands specified in RFC1459 are supported.
(for a copy of RFC1459 see http://www.irchelp.org/)
Simply prefix the command with a '/'. For example.

/TOPIC #channel your topic will change the channels topic.
(or use the channel options window)
Other hot keys:
copy/paste (ctrl-insert/shift-insert or ctrl-c/ctrl-p)
hot key toggle through
channel and private windows
(ctrl-x, ctrl-tab)
retreive commands (ctrl-uparrow/ctrl-downarrow)

For Alias Commands, you set them up similar to in EZIRC.SCR, only you use EZIRC.ALS, and while you use the commands as /command, in the file you only list 'command.cmd commandstring' IE /greet would be greet.cmd greet

NOTE: These files must be in the same path as the command files they refer to. By default they are in \ezirc\script and \ezirc\alias.

Any time you edit either of these while the program is running, goto options->setup and hit 'ok'.


Files In EZirc

The only files required for operation of this program are
EZIRC.EXE = The executable file
EZIRC.INI = an INI file (optional)

Here are the basic operation and commands for PM IRC.

The first option to select is 'Connect To Server'

Once your connected into the server, you can now Join channels or execute the various commands of IRC.


Joining a Channel

To join a channel do one of the following.

  • select Channels->Join Channel
    enter the channel name.

  • In the Channel List window, click on a channel to hilight it, then click the 2nd mouse button for a pull down menu.

  • at the command line type /join #channel
    This will launch a window and join the channel.


To leave a channel

To leave a channel:

  • Press the Quit button on the window.


To leave a channel

To List Channels:

  • select Channels->List Channels.
    you will be prompted for a channel search string.

    This will list all channels that have the 'search string' in the channel name. If the search string is left blank, ALL channels will be displayed. Note, while the channel list is being sent from the server, you will not be able to send/receive other messages from users.

  • Select Channels->Preferred Channels

    This will query only the channels specified in the .ini file. See below more details.


Saving Window Positions

To Save your window positions and sizes:

  • Go to Options->Save Window Positions.


Listing Users on a Channel

To show the users on a channel:

  • From the channel list window, select a channel and press the 2nd mouse button, and select 'who is here'
    The results of this who is displayed in the 'General Window'

  • From a channel window, press the 'Who is Here' button.
    The results are displayed in a seperate window associated with this channel.


Who Is Here Window Options

Options from the channel WhoIsHere window, press the 2nd mouse button, after selecting a line.
Most of these options can be selected from ANY window now via the 2nd button after selecting a line with a nickname at the beginning:
channel options Brings up dialog window to change channel options.
(you must have operator status @ to do this)
PrivateStart a new window, messages to from this window are only sent to the nickname selected.
DCC ChatStart a private DCC chat session. (this is usually faster and more secure that normal private chat)
Whoisdoes a /whois command on the selected nickname,
results on displayed on the general window.
PingPing selected nickname
VersionQuery the nicknames version.
op/deop/kick/ban/unbanperform operation on the selected nickname.

Here is a short explaination about a few of the fields in the Who Is Here Window for the channels.

Content is:
Nick [H/G][@] ident@provider.com [#] Realname String
ie yournick H user@provider.com 0 My Real Name

What does it all mean. Well yournick is the nick of the user listed. The H means here, if the user is away, then it will read G. Also if the user is an OPerator, then there will be an @ sign after it. Next comes the IDENT string, this is similar to an email address, but the provider part, is the actual port the user is on, on their provider. The Number after that, indicates the number of HOPS from you to them, the higher the number, the more servers between you. IE a value of 0 means they are on same IRC server as you, 1 means a server directly connected, etc. And lastly, the real name string, this can be anything. When setting your string, a good choice is your First Name and City.

ie. Roger (Atlanta)

Auto refresh of the 'who is here' list, and the BAN function.

When you click the 'who is here' on a channel, it bring ups a window with the list of users, plus some additional information.

As users join, leave, or change nicks, this list is automatically updated.. BUT, only the nickname is displayed.

If you want to 'BAN' a user from the channel, and they don't have the 'additional' information, click the 'who is here' to manually refresh the list, then u can select that nick, and perform the 'BAN' function.


Font Support

Starting with 1.07, you can go to options->font to change the font. EZIRC will for the most part cut/wrap lines so they stay on the screen without having to use the horizontal scroll bar. Depending on the font you choose, the success of this wrapping changes.. I've seen cases with some proportional fonts, that they don't take advantage of the entire screen width.

DCC Commands

To send a file via DCC:

  1. Go to the menu Users->DCC Send
  2. type in the nickname of the user you want to send to
  3. select the file name.
  4. Hit send.
  5. when the transfer is complete, hit ok.
or
type at the command line
dccsend nickname filename eg. dccsend climbn c:\temp\file.txt

To start a DCC chat session.

  1. select Users->DCC chat
  2. type in the nickname.
or
on most windows,
  1. hilight the line with the users nickname.
  2. press the 2nd mouse button, and select DCC Chat

To Receive DCC files.

  1. Be sure that Receive DCC is enabled under Options->setup
  2. A dialog box will be displayed to prompt for a local filename of were to put the file.
  3. hit receive.
  4. when the transfer is complete, hit ok.

Ident

Many irc servers require that identd be supported on the client.
PM IRC automatically starts identd when connecting to a server.


INI file options

Note: The INI file never needs to be edited by hand.
go to options->setup
The following options are specified when you connect to a server.
server=irc server name = specify the name of your irc server
port=6667= irc port
nickname=yournick = The nickname or handle you will use on IRC.
realname=your real name = A Sting that is displayed when others do a whois on you. A good choice for this is 'Name (location)'
userid=your userid = Usually your ID on your ISP.
 

Setup Options

In addition to the above options, the following options are on the options->setup screen

auto_connect=no

If you want to have EZirc automatically start trying to connect to the server when you start the program. You can set this to yes (see check box in SETUP)

notify=nick1 nick2 nick3
interval=600

To get notified which of your friends are on IRC, I have a notify list. Specify a list of nicknames to be checked for. Every 10 minutes, the client will display those in this list that are currently connected in. You can change the interval by specifying the number of seconds between checks. ie 600 for 10 minutes.

preferred_channels=#channel1 #channel2 #channel3

To avoid having to do a 'List Channels' which can take a *very* long time to get the full response to, there is now a 'Preferred channels' option in the 'Channels' menu. This will only query the channels put on the preferred_channels line in the .ini file.

default_to_top_window=no
default_private_to_top_window=no
default_notice_to_top_window=no

For private messages directed to you, they will either go:

  1. to the window of the nickname or channel, (if u have one open).
  2. to the 'top' most window, if u have
    default_private_to_top_window=yes

If you have: default_to_top_window=yes
all msgs will go to the current TOP window.

Likewise, if you have: default_notice_to_top_window=yes
all notices from the server or other users will go to the current TOP window, instead of the general window.

autolaunch_private_window=yes

When this is enabled, when someone sends you a private message, it will automatically bring up a private window for that user if none exists. NOTE: Going into/outof DCC Chat, is via the existing window for that user. Unlike other IRC prgs, seperate windows are not used for regular PVT chat and DCC chat. The Header for the window will tell you which mode it is in.

beep_on_private_msg=yes

When this is Enabled, when someone sends you a private message, it will BEEP to let you know a msg has arrived. The window positions can now be saved in the .ini file. Unfortuately, there are cases where if you 'Save Window Positions' multiple times, the .ini file can get corrupted, (only slightly). I recommend that the window options be at the bottom of the .ini file. Below is the format of the lines, and how to create them under 'Options'. I intend to fix this corruption problem sometime.

disc_server_msg=>>searching for lag free servers<<
kick_msg=hee hee, here's the boot..
away_msg=On the Phone, /msg me if you want it

There are 3 msg fields you can enter here. The Kick Msg is what is sent to the nick you kick off a channel. You can only KICK if your an OPerator on a channel. The Away Msg, is what users will see when they send a PVT msg to you, when you mark yourself as away. (See the User Menu for Away and Back. Or '/away : text' to manually set a msg, or '/away' to say i'm back).

dcc_receive_enable=yes
dcc_chat_enable=yes
dcc_default_path=x:\EZirc\files\
dcc_send_size=1024

EZirc supports Dcc Chat and Dcc Send/Recv. It does not support Dcc Resume. So if you have a problem with sending a file to someone, because of a failure, or existing file of that name. Tell them to overwrite or delete the file, or disable resume on their end.

You can Enable or Disable Chat or Receive. For Receive and initial path for sends via the dialog, you can set a path. Received files will go there. (Note: TRAILING \ Required). For the dcc_send_size, you can specify a size from 512 to 2048 bytes.

Setup2 Options

log_channel=no
log_private=no
default_log_path=x:\ezirc\logs\

EZirc can create LOGS of your chat sessions. By Default, these are set to be disabled. Use the Check Boxes on the SETUP2 screen, to enable/disable them. Logs will be written to the LOGs path you enter. The default is x:\ezirc\logs\ Files will be named MAIN for the general window, or for the channel or nickname.

flood_control=0 0 0

CTCP Flood Protection can be setup. By default it is off. Use the setting on the SETUP2 screen to define the settings for flood control.

alias_path=x:\ezirc\alias
script_path=x:\ezirc\script

Paths for Scripts and Alias Commands can be defined. If you leave them blank, EZirc will look for the command files in the program directory. Why do you want to use paths? Well as you get more experienced with EZIRC, you will probably add a few scripts (or more), and this allows you to seperate them into Scripts that are triggered by strings on INCOMING text. Or Alias Commands, which are /commmands you define to extend EZirc for your needs. Seperating them, well help you know which type you are working on. While the command files can be seperated, the EZIRC.SCR and EZIRC.ALS files go in the main directory.

sound_player=ab.exe
sound_invocation=x:\ezirc\sounds\

EZirc has support for the CTCP SOUND command. When a SOUND command comes in from remote, EZIRC can play it via the MMplayer. It will assume that the SOUND is in the path you define for sound_invocation. When a sound is played, the player will come up. When finished, just click on close to get rid of the player from your screen.

EZirc has no ability to GET files you don't have automatically, or play from multiple paths. If someone plays a sound you don't have you can type '!nickname filename.ext' where nickname is the nick who sent the sound command, and filename.ext is the soundfile.

To issue SOUND commands yourself. You type:

/sound * filename.ext additionaltext

Where the * means current window (or you can type a NICKNAME or Channel) This command is an ALIAS command, see the SOUND.CMD file to see how it works. If you would like to be able to get files you don't have automatically, or have multiple paths. IE c:\mmos2\sounds\ for system sounds and d:\ezirc\sounds\ for sounds you have gotten in IRC. Then pickup the PLAYSND.CMD from the Scripts page on the Web Site.

To use PLAYSND.CMD you have to leave the player field BLANK, and add PLAYSND.CMD to the ezirc.scr file, like:

PLAYSND.CMD SOUND

What can PLAYSND.CMD do? It can:

  • Search multiple paths for the sounds and play it (You Define the paths in the playsnd.cmd)
  • If sound not found, it can notify you, or notify and request the file, using the !nickname filename command to the nickname that issued the SOUND command.
  • If it finds the SOUNDfile in the incoming path, it can move it to the sounds path for you.


SCRIPT SUPPORT

EZirc V1.2 provides the tools to allow users to

  • Start a REXX program based on a string of text received.
  • Execute an IRC command as returned by the executed REXX program.
  • Create Alias Command that execute a REXX and optionally return text that will appear as if you typed it.
The script support requires 2 types of files.
The first file specifies a list of REXX commands and search strings.


EZIRC.SCR

This file will contain lines of the following format

[filename.cmd] [search text string]

filename= REXX program to execute
search text string = when this text is received from the irc server it will execute the REXX program specified as 'filename'
Use a : in the first column for comments

Example of lines in EZIRC.SCR

             :this is a comment
             playsnd.cmd SOUND
             joinch.cmd is joining channel
This will execute the joinch.cmd REXX script when the string 'is joining channel' is seen.

EZIRC.ALS is the file that contains the list of ALIAS commands. The format is the same as EZIRC.SCR, but instead of a string, it is just a single word. IE:

: Send your greeting line.
greet.cmd greet
:send a ctcp sound command to another user or to a channel
sound.cmd sound
To use an ALIAS command, you type / and the string. You don't enter the / in the EZirc.als file, it is handled by EZirc. See examples below.

IMPORTANT:
After making a change to the EZIRC.SCR file, goto options->setup. This will cause the EZIRC.SCR file to be re-read into EZIRC so your changes will take affect.



The second type of file is the REXX scripts that are specfied in the EZIRC.SCR file.

[filename.cmd]
This is a REXX file that will have input of the following arguements.
[channel or nickname] [full line of text that was received that caused this file to get executed]

The 'return' statement at the end of the rexx program can contain any command or text that a user would normally enter on the command line in EZirc. If the return has no arguement, the script will not execute any IRC command or text.

To return multiple commands or text, use the symbol | (vertical bar) to seperate the different commands.

resultstr = 'First command or text string|Second command or text string'



Example 1 of REXX script. (issuing a command)
This REXX script is executed as a result of the text
*** MyNick is joining channel #chatzone6 ***

/* First line must be a comment line*/
parse arg channel asteriks nickname restoftext
resultstr = '/whois '||nickname||'|Welcome '||nickname||' to channel '||channel
return resultstr

             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
              first command        second command
The resultstr will be /whois MyNick to execute a /whois command on everyone who joins a channel while your there. It will also send a message to that user saying welcome to the channel.



Example 2 (playing a sound)
/*This will play a sound when some issues the                */
/* command  /CTCP channel SOUND asound.wav                   */
/* note that there is no arguement on the 'return' statement */
parse arg channel nickname ctcp sound
sound = substr(sound,1,length(sound)-1)
'start CALL play file=c:\mmos2\sounds\'sound
return

Note: Many of the examples above are from very early in the development. Included in the most current version are far more powerful scripts for some of the add on scripts, and others that can act as a guide for writing your own scripts. Examine these to see how they work.

Also look at the SCRIPTS Page for other scripts.



More notes on scripts.

  • Press the Quit button on the window.

  • Text that YOU type will NOT cause a script to get executed. This will will help prevent some nasty loops that a user might create.

    The only exception to this is /commands you define in the alias file.

  • to test your own scripts, you can /msg yourself in many cases.

  • The REXX script can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be. Be careful with scripts that are too complex as they could slow the performance.

  • Watch for 'search strings' that are too generic or will cause the rexx script to get executed more than desired. This can also cause performance degradation.

  • If calling another rexx program from within this rexx program, you need to use the 'call' command. In some cases I use the 'start' command so that this rexx script can return control back to EZirc while the other rexx script executes. (The sound playing script is an example of this).

  • If you see a line REXX Error filename RC= this is because there is either a ezirc.scr file that is pointing to a rexx file that can't be found, or there is a problem in the REXX script itself. The FILENAME will let you know which one is failing.



This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY.
(c) Copyright Roger Bess 1996-97, All Rights Reserved.



Please send any comments to rndbess@ibm.net

When I'm on IRC, I always go by the nickname climbn. Look me up if you have questions.


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