Frequently Asked Questions about mIRC
This is section 6 of the mIRC FAQ with features, tips and answers to questions about mIRC.
The first parts (Sections 1 - 5) of this file will introduce IRC and mIRC to you. This section 6 is the actual FAQ. The last part (Section 7) consists of a tutorial or reference manual for mIRC's "programming" features. If you want to learn the 'what and how' of creating Aliases, Popups and Remote Commands and Events in mIRC, check out the last part of the FAQ. I can highly recommend these sections to you all!
There is no 64-bit version of mIRC available at this time.
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Available languages are listed here. If you do not see your language you can start translating by following the directions in this forum post.
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No, sorry. mIRC is only available for Windows. mIRC also does not work on Macs, Linux, or other systems. We have no plans to make mIRC versions for these systems in the future either. Sorry....
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In the 'Tools/Options/Connect/Local' dialog, you'll see mIRC needs your PC's Host name and IP address. This info is needed to be able to set up DCC Send/Chat connections to other users.
The simple solution is to switch to the Server method and use the IRC server you want to connect to, to find your system's address information. Eventually clear the Local Host and IP Address fields first. Then set 'On connect, always get Host name and IP Address' to active and select the 'Server' method. Now re-try to connect...
In the unlikely event the above method didn't help you could uncheck "On connect, always get IP Address and Host name" and manually enter your PC's Local Host name and IP address. (Your provider's IP is not 192.0.2.1 or anything like that! That's a dummy IP used by these emulators. If you do not know your provider's local host name and IP, ask them!)
Also setting the Ident server to active might help. (See section 6-7) (Note: You need to reconnect after changing your Ident for the new Ident to apply.)
If none of the above solutions helps it is possible that mIRC cannot complete the reverse look up it tries and gives the "Can't resolve host name" error when your IP name is not properly configured in your provider's DNS. This is not something you can solve yourself. In this case you have to ask your provider to correctly assign an IP name to your IP address to solve the problem. For your provider setting up the IP name on the DNS is not that hard, and does not take much time.
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If you can't get mIRC connected to one particular IRC server and you get this error you should first give another server a try... If you can connect to any other server you should check if you made a typo in the setup of your initial server address. 'Tools/Options/Connect/Servers' dialog.
If you get this error with whatever IRC server address you try, it is very likely your provider's DNS (Domain Name Server) is down, malfunctioning or very slow. Especially if mIRC always worked flawlessly for you. Besides waiting or giving your providers helpdesk a phone call you cant get this fixed.
mIRC needs a DNS to translate (resolve) the IRC servers' IP Address you specified, into an IP address. (For example, the server irc.efnet.nl resolves to the IP address 185.100.59.59)
(To see this give the command "/dns irc.efnet.nl" in mIRC) You could bypass the need for the DNS lookup by specifying the IP address in your server setup instead of the IP Address for every server.
Under 'Tools/Options/Connect', Select the server, click the hamburger (three lines) button, click Edit specify your IRC servers like this:
Description : irc.efnet.nl (EFNet)
Address : 170.140.50.195
Port : 6667
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You will get a "Not enough user parameters" from mIRC if you try to connect to a server but you didn't have the local host filled in, or had it filled in incorrectly. Check your Host name entry under 'Tools/Options/Connect/Local' dialog. Also check to see if you supplied mIRC with a valid email address under 'Tools/Options/Connect' dialog. (See section 6-8, too.)
Note: The email address is used internally by mIRC and cannot be seen by others when they do a /whois on you. Some have noticed the "email:" field in the User Central dialog (/uwho command). This field is made up of your or the other person's user@host (your username plus your local host name)... in many cases you'll notice that it does not reflect the actual email address.
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Although mIRC is shareware and you have to register it if you like mIRC and/or if you continue to use it after the 30 days evaluation period, this is NOT a message from mIRC. mIRC will not block features or cease to function if you have not registered yet. This message is an error message from the IRC network you try to use.
If you receive this message and/or you get disconnected that quickly, your Local Host name and/or IP address might be wrong, or not filled in at all. Look under 'Tools/Options/Connect/Local' dialog, and check if the Host name is correct and if the IP address (number) is filled in automatically... An easy way to solve a wrong IP Address is setting the 'On connect', always get 'IP Address' and 'Host name' to "ON" and restarting mIRC.
If this does not help you could be trying to connect to a NON-public server!! Try another server to check this...
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An ident server normally is maintained by the Unix machine of your network provider... It is a kind of nameserver that guarantees your Identity. Since most standalone windows machines are not correctly backed up by an ident service, such a server is built into mIRC. IRC servers can do an Ident request to your Ident server and then expect a standardized kind of answer. More and more IRC servers require you to be identified in some way, and they will disconnect you if you're not identified ! Also if you do not react, or do so in the wrong way, they can decide to disconnect you.... You can check if you're properly identified by doing a /whois on yourself. The first line in the reply should NOT contain a ~ (tilde) or a - (minus). If you have a ~ or - in it try activating the Ident server.
mIRC's built-in Ident server can be switched to active under 'Tools/Options/Connect/Identd' dialog. Set it to :
User ID: <account name> (The part before the @ in your email address normally)
System: UNIX (ALWAYS fill in UNIX !! not dos, win or *whatever* else !!)
Listen on port: 113 (The standard ident port number)
A problem that Proxy and Firewall users will experience is that, despite checking the Ident Server to active, mIRC will never reply to an Ident query. This is because mIRC might never get the ident request! The proxy or firewall won't pass the Ident request through from the IRC server to mIRC... That just means you'll be seen as nick!~account@machine.net which is not the end of the world, unless you happen to be using a server that requires an Ident reply and disconnects you... This can't be solved by mIRC or any other client. You will need to fix the settings of your proxy or firewall, find another server or get your provider to set up proper identing.
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Could it be your DCC is blocked by the LOCK option?
In the 'Tools/Options/Other/Lock' dialog you can disable certain mIRC features and LOCK them with a password. This way you can block the DCC function, limit the channels mIRC can join to a small set. When the DCC is LOCKed you will see a message like "DCC Send locked in options dialog" will show in the STATUS window.
The sending person causes most troubles.
DCC file sending and initiating a DCC Chat (contrary to file getting and accepting a DCC Chat) requires that mIRC knows your correct IP Address. Without an IP address, mIRC will perfectly work as far as normal chatting is concerned, but won't allow DCC file sending or initiating a DCC Chat.
In almost all cases that DCC sending and chatting is messed up, the initiating sending party causes the troubles. This is caused by wrong Host name and/or IP Address settings at the senders side. The Host name and IP Address settings are found in the 'Tools/Options/Connect/Local' dialog. Typically if the senders IP Address is not correctly set, the receiving party will get the dcc offer and then try to confirm and connect to the incorrect IP Address. Of course, this does not work and you both sit there waiting. The sender will see the "Waiting for acknowledgement..." forever while the other person -did- acknowledge correctly....
This problem is normally very simple to solve. Also if you can not get files from another person ask him/her to check the IP Address settings in his/her IRC client as these settings are often wrong.
The cure.
1) Disconnect from your IRC server.
2) Clear the current text in the Host name and IP Address boxes under 'Tools/Options/Connect/Local' dialog.
3) Select both 'On connect' Get host name and Get IP Address options in the Local dialog.
4) Set 'Lookup Method' to Normal.
5) Click 'OK' to save and exit the Options dialog.
6) Reconnect to your IRC server and try to send a file.
If this does not work experiment with the 'On connect' .. settings... !! ie. For instance, try to use the 'Server' method instead of the default Normal one. (Read what this does in section 6-3) or try to set your Host name by hand and let mIRC look for only the IP Address on each startup.
Other solutions.
- Check your DCC time-out settings!
Make sure that your time-out values in 'Tools/Options/DCC/Options' dialog are set large enough!! "Get/Chat Dialog time out after" and "Send/Get Transfer time out after" are recommended to be set to at least 60 and 120, respectively.
- In case you never ever managed to get sending files or initiating a DCC Chat to work, not even after studying all these hints, it might be that your provider blocks these DCC connections by the kind of internet access they give you. Especially the use of a firewall or proxy by you or your provider will block DCC connections.
- If you have Dynamic IP...
If you have dynamic IP (your IP address is different each time you log on), make sure that "On connect:" in the 'Tools/Options/Connect/Local' dialog is set to get the Host name and IP address. If these were already set to ON make sure the correct 'Host name' and 'IP address' are found by mIRC... on some systems this is rather tricky... mIRC may not be able to correctly find your local host (domain name) and IP. With dynamic IP addressing you are in trouble then!
- If you have Static IP...
If you have a strange Windows setup mIRC may not be able to correctly find your Host name and IP address. In the 'Tools/Options/Connect/Local' dialog, uncheck the options to "On Connect:" 'Get host name' and 'Get IP address' and manually enter your correct Host name and IP address.
Could it be your DCC is blocked by the DCC Ignore function?
In the 'Tools/Options/DCC/Ignore' dialog you can set mIRC to save certain file types in certain directories and/or to ignore certain file types. By default mIRC will ignore all files except the file types that are considered safe, like *.bmp, *.gif, *.jpg, *.log, *.mid, *.png, *.wav, *.txt, *.zip.
As you see mIRC will IGNORE executables and all sorts of script files by default. This safeguards you against the ignorant acceptance of viruses and other harmful files. If you want to be able to accept other files by DCC, like *.exe, *.com or *.vbs files you have to add these to the list of accepted file types. When a file is offered to you and automatically rejected by the DCC Ignore a message like "DCC Send from domino rejected (Defrag.exe, file type ignored)" will show in the STATUS window.
Could it be your DCC is blocked by the LOCK option?
In the 'Tools/Options/Other/Lock' dialog you can disable certain mIRC features and LOCK them with a password. This way you can block the DCC functions CHAT, SEND, GET, FSERVE, and limit the channels mIRC can join to a small set.
When the DCC is LOCKed you will see a message like "DCC Send locked in options dialog" will show in the STATUS window.
Could it be the sender has wrong IP Address settings?
In almost all cases of DCC problems the initiating (sending) party causes the troubles. In almost all cases where DCC Send (or Chat) stops functioning (suddenly) or never worked at all, this is caused by wrong Local Host and/or IP Address settings at the senders side. Typically if the senders IP Address is not correctly set, the receiving party will get the dcc offer and try to confirm and connect to the -incorrect- IP Address. Of course, this does not work and you both sit there waiting. The sender will see the "Waiting for acknowledgement..." forever while the receiving person -did- acknowledge correctly. Here the sender has a wrong setup, not the receiving person. This problem is normally very simple to solve by setting the correct IP Address.
Do you have incorrect download directory settings?
If you get some error message like "invalid directory" or "cannot write to file" you have to check and fix the download directory settings in the 'Tools/Options/DCC/Options' dialog. Is the default set to a valid directory? It sounds stupid but also full harddisks block getting files very effectively!
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In channel, query and DCC chat windows mIRC uses a nice select-and-copy-in-one-move feature. Copying is done automatically as soon as you release the mouse button you used to select the text with. Just highlight the text and release. Isn't that a nice feature? Use ctrl-v to paste the copied text.
In the channel, query, DCC, or any other window you can press ALT - (ALT minus) and select the 'Buffer/Copy To Clipboard'.
All text shown in mIRC outside the channel windows (in settings, menu's, dialogs and on the edit box line) can be copied, cut and pasted normally using the ctrl-c, ctrl-x and ctrl-v key combinations.
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mIRC allows you to fully modify the default color settings of all kinds of text and message windows. Look for the dialog under the 'View/Colors...' menu item. Virtually everything can be shown in whatever color you like most. By default the colors are set in a way that clearly distinguishes the various kinds of messages you'll encounter on IRC. Do not hesitate to experiment; the Reset button will set all defaults back!
In addition to the configurable colors which you can set 'locally' in mIRC to indicate different kind of messages, you can also use colors on your text lines seen by others. Use the ctrl-K key combination to insert special control characters in your text. Add a number from 0 to 98 to use one of the 99 available colors.
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All font settings can be done from the windows' System Menus (those menus under that little horizontal bar or small icon in every top left corner of ANY window in mIRC and Windows), the /font command or the 'View/Fonts' menu item.
Use /font or select the 'Font' option in the System menu and a fonts selection dialog will pop up. Here you can choose whatever fonts are available on your machine. This could be New Times Roman, Arial, MS Sans Serif,..... whatever you like. You can also set the font size and set it to bold. The settings you set here will be saved as the default for the window you are in.
You can use custom fonts by creating a "fonts" folder in the main mIRC folder and placing the fonts in the folder.
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Very easy! In all channel, query and DCC windows open the system menu (the top left little icon) eventually by typing ALT - (ALT minus). You will notice a 'Background/select' dialog. Select any bitmap you like and it will be placed in the background of the window you were in. To change mIRC's main background right-click on it and a selection dialog will open.
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A script is nothing but a combination of automated reactions your mIRC performs for you, often combined with simple commands to control or trigger these reactions. mIRC has three sections in the Script Editor 'Tools/Script Editor' in which it can be "programmed" in some way: The Aliases, Popups and the Remote sections. With these sections, in combination with the Users and Variables sections, you can completely program and modify mIRC's behaviour on IRC. The combination of Aliases, Popups and lines in the Remote section usually is called a script.
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First of all you have to make sure you really need a script. Scripting is not difficult but if you simply want to auto-op your friends on your IRC channel, or if you want to ban or ignore an annoying person, mIRC is perfectly equipped already with functions that do exactly what you want. In this case read the section about the auto-op, auto-voice, protect and ignore lists.
In case you really need a script to make mIRC do some advanced tricks nobody thought of before, read study and learn the sections on programming mIRC in chapter 7 of this FAQ. I strongly discourage the use of scripts created by other persons. If you did not write your script yourself, chances are high you have no idea what exactly the script is doing and you, and your PC, are in the hands of the author of the script, a person who could very well turn out to be a malicious hacker. I'm not trying to get on your nerves here but you should realize scripts are very powerful. It is easy to write something that allows others to access and completely ruin your PC, or to read copy and spread all the private documents, email and passwords stored on your PC.
Note; By default mIRC does not come with any scripts or settings that can get you in trouble. The default settings in mIRC for DCC file transfers etc. are perfectly safe. All changes to settings that, in combination with other settings, or careless behaviour, could get you into trouble will display a warning message before any changes are made.
Of course creating a script can be great fun. You can program lots of useful things in mIRC and I encourage you to share your tricks with your friends on IRC.
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When you look in the Address Book in mIRC, in the Control tab, you will find a dropdown menu for Op, Voice, Protect and Ignore address lists with which you can easily auto-op, auto-voice, and protect your friends on your IRC channel, or ignore an annoying person. This set of 3 lists provides you with the most basic channel maintenance possible in mIRC. No scripting is needed to use these functions. If you need better, smarter, but also more difficult to understand functions or behaviour, you should check out mIRC's 'remote' capabilities explained in section 7 of this FAQ. For starters these functions will do fine I think.
For mIRC to be able to op, protect or ignore a person on IRC it matches the nickname or address of that person with the nicknames and addresses you have in the op, protect and ignore lists. In the address definitions you can use wildcards.
The full address format of a person on IRC is Nick!Account@machine.
Lets assume that Bill responds to a "/whois bill" with:
Bill is gates@pentium.company.com * Billy A Lot Of Names Gates
Bill @#mIRC
Bill irc.server.company.com (A superb company)
Bill 666 seconds idle
Bill End of /WHOIS list.
If you do not care about channel takeovers and other annoying things, you can just specify the nick (Bill) of the person you want to auto-op, ignore or protect. If you want to be sure you 'op' , ignore and protect the right person, and not a faker, specify them by their address if possible.
In that case, Bill would be best referred to by
bill!gates@pentium.company.com
You could also use *!gates@*.company.com if he works on several machines with different nick's....
To add a user to the lists use the /aop, /voice, /ignore or /protect command (like /aop *!gates@*.company.com), or use the command while specifying an [Address Type:addresstypes], or add a user by simply typing him into the specific edit box.
Make sure to switch the functions to active by the checkbox under 'Tools/Address Book/Control' tab, select the function in the dropdown box. Or use the commands /aop [on|off], /voice [on|off], /ignore [on|off] or /protect [on|off] on the command line.
You can make the auto-op, auto-voice, ignore and protect more specific by specifying some parameters.
The auto-op, auto-voice and protect can be set to make people operator and/or protect them only on certain channels if you want. In that case just specify the channel names. like
/aop <nickname|address> [#channel1,#channel2,...] and
/protect <nickname> [#channel1,#channel2,...] (protect only works with nicks!)
If you do not specify one or more channel names mIRC will op and protect the person on all channels where you're operator.
The ignore can be set to ignore only certain actions from a person. mIRC distinguishes between private messages, text in channels, notices send to you, ctcp commands and invitations. From the command line you can use: /ignore [-pcntik] <nickname/address> [type] where p = private, c = channel, n = notice, t = ctcp, i = invite, k = color. (more parameters discussed in the help file!) In the ignore section an ignore will look like nick!userid@host.domain,private,channel,notice,ctcp,invite. If you do not specify any of these additional parameters mIRC will just ignore somebody totally.
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The best script is the script you wrote yourself.
mIRC's scripting language is very flexible and easy to learn. By reading the Help file and the sections in the end of this mIRC FAQ, you easily learn the basics of mIRC's scripting. If you do not know what to write in your script, or if you have no idea how to start, try looking in some of the pre-fab scripts spread over the web and on IRC.
As always beware of using a script you do not fully understand. Many scripts writers included backdoors in their scripts that can make you do things that are out of your control. Therefore read reviews and documentation from and about the script. Many help channels refuse to help with pre-fab, or third party scripts. The only way to get help with such a script is from the author or other users of the script. Most mIRC related help channels on IRC -will- help you with stand-alone remote lines and small scripting problems.
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In short; Trojan horse attacks are attractively disguised files that you download and run, resulting in harmful and dangerous consequences ranging from takeover of your IRC channels, erasing of your hard disk, theft of your account passwords, etc. These (Trojan) viruses are not mIRC or IRC specific, they just spread like fire on IRC.
Trojans are typically files with suffices like "ini", "exe", or "com". These days nearly all trojans are spread in the guise of a free game, handy tool or other software. You probably downloaded one from a WWW or FTP archive, or through IRC's DCC file transfer (by manual /dcc get or, even worse, an "auto DCC get" feature which allows anybody to send you anything, including not only trojans but also other viruses, porn, and more illegal things).
Typically the Trojan needs to be run manually at first (by you), and then installs hacked files all over your disk silently. There are many different versions of those files, but almost all of them interfere with your mIRC placing backdoors in scripts. The files then auto-send themselves (using an 'ON JOIN' event) to everyone who joins the same channel as an infected user without the users knowledge.
At http://www.irchelp.org/ you will find detailed instructions and information on all kinds of problems you may encounter on IRC. At this site the best help for problems like this is concentrated and organized by people who are on IRC 24/7, in the Help channels and alike. Read http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/security/trojan.html to learn all about the viruses on IRC, mostly called Worms or Trojans, that might tackle you.
Prevention: NEVER download files from people or sites which you aren't 100% sure about. Never use the "auto DCC get" feature, and always scan your DCC gets with a decent virus scanner. Note that mIRC by default does NOT accept files from strangers. This has never been otherwise either. If you accepted files by the "auto DCC get" feature in mIRC, you have switched this option ON yourself, really. Do not, never ever, accept anything you have not requested. Do not accept anything from someone you do not know, no matter how attractively packaged.
Removal: Removal of trojans is a difficult subject. Run anti-virus and anti-malware software.
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Open the script editor by clicking 'Tools/Script Editor' then select the Remote tab.
mIRC can react to CTCP commands given by other users. You can customize your responses to CTCP commands and offer files: features that usually require scripting but here are handled by the 'Tools/Script Editor' Remote tab section. It is this section in mIRC that can handle OPME, KICK, MYLEVEL, or XDCC SEND commands for you, if you configure it well. Setting up the remote section is not an easy task, but the way it works guarantees full freedom to make it do what you want it to do.
As soon as your mIRC receives a CTCP command from somebody else, it checks if that command is defined and if so, it matches the required user level against the level of the remote user. If the remote user has a suitable user level his command is executed... All commands given to you have to have the format '/CTCP <yournick> <command> <parameter(s)>'. If a command is defined on several levels, the highest ranked one is executed. See the help file included in the mIRC package for detailed instructions and read the tutorial in section 7 of this FAQ.
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Open the script editor by clicking 'Tools/Script Editor' then select the Remote tab.
Events are all things happening on channels or in private conversations on IRC. People joining, leaving, getting opped, deopped, greeting you, even plain talking all are Events...
You can configure mIRC to react however you like to almost anything that can happen in IRC. See the mIRC help file for further instructions and read the tutorial in section 7 at the end of this FAQ.
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Open the script editor by clicking 'Tools/Script Editor' then select the Users tab.
You can add your friend Bill with access level 2 to the Users list in two ways:
1. Specifying the nick -- "2:bill"
and/or by...
2. Specifying the address -- "2:bill!gates@pentium.company.com"
Of course, specifying the address is the safer option. Wildcards are supported, such as "2:*!gates@pentium.company.com". In which case all nicks bill could use on his account are recognized. To get the ON OP, ON DEOP, ON SERVEROP and ON NOTIFY events working you *have* to specify a person by his nick !! It won't work if you specify his full address only... In the case of bill, you could use BOTH Users list lines mentioned above. You could just type the nick and/or address straight into the Users section under 'Tools/Script Editor' Users tab but mIRC also has special commands to add people to your Users list straight from the command line. Look in the mIRC help for the commands /auser, /guser and /ruser.
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It is quite common that everytime you do a /list, you get disconnected part way through. Even if you try a partial list, eg. "/list #love", it runs for about 90 seconds and then disconnects you. Sometimes using a local IRCserver helps.
You didn't do anything wrong... It is important that you realize what happens if you do a /list command. The server generates a list of all channels (about 2000 on Efnet) and quickly sends that list to you. BUT, because the data throughput isn't infinite, the whole output of the /LIST command is queued in a buffer on the server. At some point that buffer gets overrun, and the server, detecting this ('reached maxsendq'), disconnects you. This mechanism is made to disconnect people who generate more characters per second than any 'normal' person uses for normal conversations. It's a protection mechanism, but unfortunately the server does not recognize that the data stream you caused is simply the result of your harmless /list command, and disconnects you.
You can also tell mIRC to show only channels with a minimum and a maximum number of people. Also, if you specify a #string, then mIRC will only list channels with that string in their title. BUT, for the problem described, this does not matter/help at all!! The server ALWAYS returns the entire #channel list and mIRC (like all other clients) takes care of the filtering!! So, asking for a partial list to prevent you from disconnecting won't make ANY difference!!
So, this isn't an mIRC bug. It's a pity, but there's nothing you can do to prevent this from happening. It's just one of all-too-many IRC oddities. Try using some other servers, as many aren't quite so touchy. To facilitate users on relatively slow modem connections the list of channels is also saved to a file "channels.txt" in the mIRC directory. The channels list dialog has "Apply" and "Get List" buttons. If "Get List" is pressed then a fresh list is read from the server, if "Apply" is pressed then the latest list you downloaded earlier is used to search for channels etc. This means that you once you successfully retrieved a list once, you can decide to use that list in later IRC sessions! Or you can share lists with other people. Of course a list wont be totally up to date everytime but for the major channels that does not really matter and you'll never get list-disconnected again :-)
Oh ... check out the list window popup menu !! Once you've done a "/list" the list is stored in memory and available for re-processing with keys, min/max settings and additional filtering! Right click in the channels list window and play with the parameters you can set!
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You can protect yourself from people who are flooding you with the automatic anti-flood system. Look in the 'Tools/Options/IRC/Flood' dialog. A server usually disconnects you for sending too much data to it in a certain period of time, *or* if you try to send it data when it hasn't finished processing your previous data. The new flood protect makes sure -others- cant make you to send too much data to the server.
Usually a server has a buffer of about 512 bytes. mIRC therefore counts the number of bytes you've sent to a server and if this exceeds a certain number, mIRC waits for the server to be ready again, before it continues sending data. In the mean time it nicely buffers unsend lines. This should protect you properly from all sorts of ctcp floods and so on... You set the amount of bytes mIRC may safely send (for instance 350 bytes), the amount of lines it may buffer (like 20), the amount of lines it may store maximal per user (like 3) and how long the flooder should be ignored (like 30 secs) by the command /flood 350 20 3 30 This flood control method *only* works for messages being triggered by other users. So you can still flood *yourself* off the server. (like with the /list command)
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There are multiple methods of running mIRC.
Command Line Switches:
-i - Make mIRC use the specific file in place of mirc.ini
-r - Sets the data path where mIRC saves mirc.ini as well as other files and data. If -r is specified without a path, the path is set to that of the mIRC executable.
Right click the mirc.exe file and click "Create shortcut". Right click the shortcut and click "Properties". Edit the Target.
Examples:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\mIRC\mirc.exe" -r"C:\Users\Bill\AppData\Roaming\mIRC\example"
"C:\Program Files (x86)\mIRC\mirc.exe" -i"C:\Users\Bill\AppData\Roaming\mIRC\example.ini"
Installer Method:
When running the mIRC installer you can select a different folder then go though the prompts and [check] the "Run as Portable Application" option. This will place the mirc.exe and mirc.ini in the same folder.
Other method:
You can copy/paste mirc.exe and mirc.ini into a folder and mirc will by default use that mirc.ini file. Using one of the command line switch will take priority over this method.
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And what it does and does not do. ;o)
In mIRC, you can make yourself invisible with: "/mode {your_nickname} +i". The title of the STATUS window will show (+i) after your current nickname. If you change nick, you will remain invisible under your new nick. Use "/mode {your_nickname} -i" to make yourself visible again.
Nobody can detect your changing from invisible to visible or vice versa.
When you're invisible, you are always visible to all the people who are on the same channel(s) as you are. When you join a new channel (while invisible), everyone in the channel sees you joining. Also, leaves are NOT hidden. Also, when people do a "/whois <yournick>" they will see a normal whois list on you if the nick they enter matches yours exactly.
So, what's the point of this "invisibility" capability ?
Users NOT on the same channel as you WILL NOT be able to see your name if they do /who <#channelname>. Also, if they do /names to list all the people currently on IRC, they won't see you. Also doing "/who *part.of.your.address.net*" won't result in your nick turning up.
The point of being invisible is not to be able to stroll along channels like a ghost without anyone seeing you, but to hide (a bit) from users that scan channels with /who to find you.
If they scan channels by actually joining them, then invisibility won't help you.
To get rid of annoying people: first make yourself invisible ... then change your nick and make sure those people can't join the channels you are on in order to find out your new nick. (also, doing: /ignore {other_persons_nick} helps a lot !
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Assuming you have a sound card or a speaker driver allowing you to play sound files on your PC, you can make some funny use of sound on IRC with mIRC.
With the /splay command you can for instance play .wav, .mid, .mp3, .ogg, or .wma files to alert you when your friends join IRC or when people get kicked or whatever else. You can 'program' these events in mIRC's remote section.
The /sound command allows you to send a request to any other party to play a .wav, .mid, .mp3, .ogg, or .wma file he and you both have. First set mIRC to Accept sound requests under 'Tools/Options/Sounds/Requests' dialog. The command syntax is /sound [nickname|#channel] {filename.ext} [action text]. As you see in the play request an action text may be specified which will display on the other side. I have to stress that the actual sound file is NOT sent to the other party. We do not want to stuff the net with data you know :-) The command just triggers playing of the sound file at your and somebody elses machine. So make sure that the other party has the file you want to start. A "/sound friend tada.wav does a tada" command done by you will result in '*friend* does a tada' and the tada sound at your side (the *friend* confirms the destination to you) and the action "* afriend does a tada" with the tada sound played at your friends side...
This command currently only works in between mIRC users and people using compatible clients! The command format is /sound [nick|#channel] {file.ext} [message]. The message will show as an action to the receivers and both you and they will hear the file you selected. mIRC will look for your sound files in the directory you set under 'Tools/Options/Sounds/Requests' dialog.
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mIRC supports all popular web browsers. You can easily surf the web with your friends and exchange addresses of the best pages you find. mIRC's URL catcher automatically stores URL's from text passing by in channels, privates and topics in a listbox; the URL List.
You can also send one or more URL's to the channels you are on (or to any private conversation you are in) by the URL window popup menu. (Popup menus are activated by the right mouse button !!) You can store URL's for future reference and set them in any order you want by the use of markers. Newly found items are appended to the end of your URL list with the '?' marker. When the marker for a URL is changed to something else it is sorted into the permanent list. In the URL options dialog box you can set mIRC to delete '?' marked items on exit. Also a new string is created which represents the page your Netscape currently shows. You can use this $url in popup menu definitions and in remote definitions.
To get the hang of it first enable the URL catcher in the 'Tools/Options/IRC/Catcher' dialog. Also fill in the place where your www browser can be found. From that moment on mIRC will find and store all www addresses passing by on the channels you are in. You can see this going on if you open the URL window (use the URL button on the Toolbar or the /url command). Then if you want to view an URL in your www browser just highlight it in the URL window and select 'view' from the URL window popup menu (right mouse button). Alternatively you can set mIRC to react to a double click on an URL in the URL window.
Once you start to use the URL catcher you'll get the grip of it... Have fun !
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mIRC offers an unique built-in Fileserver. This Fileserver feature is a combination of DCC and FTP. You open the server window to someone, (it's a special DCC chat window), restricting them to a certain directory tree, and they can browse your file listings, change directories, read text files, or get files.
The syntax to set up a DCC server connection to somebody is:
/fserve {nick} {max gets simultaneously allowed} {homedir} [welcome file]
"Max gets" is so that the other person does not bring down your machine with too many parallel gets. 4 is probably a reasonable number. The other person will have access to his homedir and all dirs DOWN in the directory tree from that homedir on. "Welcome file" is a text file you can write and specify that will welcome users to your file server. It's optional.
Examples:
/fserve Kreet 3 c:\temp\serve c:\temp\serving\welcome.txt
/fserve Mookies 2 c:\outgoing c:\network\mirc\welcome.txt
/fserve Friend 7 c:\
Keep in mind that you can't set up a server to yourself... you need others to test your server...
Typing help in the file server will show the available commands, which are styled after Unix and DOS. "ls" or "dir" will show a directory listing, for example. Even switched commands like "ls -k" (show file sizes in kilobytes) and "dir /w" (show a wide directory listing) work. The server supports all normal ftp commands like cd <dir> , cd.., dir, ls, get, .... but NOT put, hash etc. Safety risks are none or minimal due to the major restricting of available commands.
Of course, the /fserve command can be used in your Remote section....
Set up a simple 'Tools/Script Editor' Remote tab command like :
1:server:/fserve $nick 3 c:\temp\serve
Set the commands to active (/remote on) and off you go....
Other people only have to type "/ctcp yournick server" to activate the server. You can't set up a server to your own mIRC!! So, others have to test your server !! In the directory c:\temp\serve, you place all files other people are allowed to get from you. The people using your server will have access to the c:\temp\serve directory AND ALL directories BELOW it.. like c:\temp\serve\games.
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In mIRC the '/speak {text}' command is used to speak text. It is used like :
"/speak this is a test"
"/speak can you hear me ?"
"/speak this is fun" Try it !!
It is fun indeed ! Once you manage to speak one-liners from a mIRC window by this /speak command, it is not that hard to get it speaking whole channels or conversations ... assuming you can handle programming mIRC's remote events section. (Read and study section 7.) It is not meant to be a plug and play solution ;o)
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-- A firewall is not a feature, it is something you need to solve, something to get around. --
One potential drawback to an Internet connection is that other Internet users could gain access to files and data residing on your PC. This can be prevented by establishing a security system such as a "firewall" or "proxy". A firewall usually consists of a UNIX machine that is placed between your PC and the Internet, and all traffic between you and the Internet must pass through that machine. So a firewall is not something included in mIRC, or something active on your PC. The problem is that most firewalls also block your possibilities to use IRC. Normally spoken firewalls block all IRC traffic and access to an IRC server, unless specific precautions are made and a Socks compliant firewall is used.
If your provider or employer uses a Socks compliant firewall that blocks your IRC access you can set mIRC to connect to the firewall to reach the outside world. In this case, and -only- in this case, set mIRC to use the Socks firewall under 'Tools/Options/Connect/Proxy' dialog. Your provider or employer should be able to provide you with the necessary settings.
In other, similar, situations you can use a HTTP or HTTPS Proxy to connect to IRC with mIRC. A HTTP Proxy is NOT something like Internet Connection Sharing, WinProxy or WinRoute! For HTTP Proxies in the 'Tools/Options/Connect/Proxy' dialog in mIRC select the 'Use Firewall' and 'Proxy' options. Fill in the HTTP Proxy Hostname and Port settings. Normally you can copy these from your webbrowser! See Proxies for more information.
If you never heard about firewalls before it is VERY unlikely you are behind one! In this case stay away from the firewall settings and do not enable it. Also if mIRC works for chatting but things like DCC File Sending are blocked this normally cant be due to a firewall problem, and enabling mIRC to use the Socks firewall wont help you!
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This section on mIRC's built in DDE support is initiated by Prophet's quick DDE Reference. Thanks for allowing me to include parts of your work in the mIRC FAQ!
What is DDE? - DDE stands for Dynamic Data Exchange. DDE is used by programs running under Window to communicate with each other. In the typical case one of the programs involved acts as a DDE server, the other as a DDE client. The server is always accepting requests and commands and the client is requesting information and giving commands to the server. Good examples of the use of DDE are mIRC's support of WWW browsers by the built-in URL catcher.
Setting up mIRC's DDE server - To be able to control mIRC from within another application, program or another copy of mIRC running on your PC, you first have to make sure the DDE server is set to active. The server settings are found under 'Tools/Options/Other/DDE...'. You should always specify an unique service name but for now the default 'mirc' will do fine. The service name is used by mIRC to identify DDE commands given to it. To be able to play a little with the DDE things having only one copy of mIRC running will do fine for now, but for useful future use you might have to start a second copy of mIRC or get another external DDE client/server. If you want to have a second copy of mIRC running do not forget to give it an unique DDE service name! The default server name for mIRC is 'mirc', but you can change the server name to anything more suitable.
How is DDE used? - To use DDE to provide information (or give a command);a POKE, or to ask for information; a REQUEST, you just need two simple commands.
The /dde [-r] {service name} {topic} {item} [data] command.
The /dde command defaults to sending a poke unless you specify the -r switch in which case a request is sent. If you are sending a poke then all four arguments including the 'data' field are mandatory, if you are sending a request then the first three arguments are mandatory. This is why you might have to use a "" in the 'item' field; it acts as a filler and isn't actually used for anything. This filler is important because you might have the /dde or $dde mixed with other commands or text in an alias, and mIRC has to know the exact number of parameters when parsing. At the moment only one poke 'topic' exists; the COMMAND.
Instead of using the /dde -r to send a DDE request its often a lot better to use the $dde identifier. The $dde {service name} {topic} {item} identifier sends a request and retrieves any data returned by the specified service. All three arguments are mandatory (as explained in the above paragraph). Any retrieved data is inserted in the position in the alias or command where the $dde was issued. Several request 'topics' exist; CHANNELS, CONNECTED, EXENAME, INIFILE, USERS, SERVER, NICKNAME, VERSION, PORT.
COMMAND topic. (Only for POKE's)
This allows mIRC to control a second client similar to the remote CTCP DO command. The command topic is used in conjunction with the /dde command like /dde {service name} command "" [instructions]
Here are a few examples, assuming your mIRC uses the default DDE service name, 'mirc':
/dde mirc command "" /join #test123
/dde mirc command "" /msg #test123 hello everyone
/dde mirc command "" /notice $me testing 1 2 3
The /dde command can be used in the Remote/Events and Commands Section in the Alias section and straight on the edit box.
CHANNELS topic (Only for REQUEST's)
The CHANNELS topic is a REQUEST which returns a single line of text containing the current channels the listening mIRC is on. The requests can be used from the command line, an alias, or in a remote. To be able to use and process the returned data mIRC uses the identifier $DDE to represent the data. Note that the active channel is marked by a star!
Examples:
/say $me is currently on $dde mirc channels ""
/echo 6 $active I am currently on $dde mirc channels ""
CONNECTED topic (Only for REQUEST's)
This topic returns a single line of text with "connected", "connecting" or "not connected". Examples:
/echo 6 mIRC is currently $dde mirc connected "" to a server
/echo 6 mIRC is currently $dde mirc connected "" to $dde mirc server ""
The other topics for REQUEST's are EXENAME, INIFILE, USERS, SERVER, NICKNAME, VERSION and PORT. Lets just give some examples:
/msg $active The mIRC exe name path and filename is $dde mirc exename ""
/echo 6 mIRC's ini file is $dde mirc inifile ""
/say users on #mirc are $dde mirc users #mirc
/echo I (would) use $dde mirc server ""
/echo 3 my current nickname is $dde mirc nickname ""
/echo 4 My version is $dde mirc version ""
/echo 5 mIRC is connected to port number $dde mirc port ""
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In the next part of the FAQ you will find help with 'programming' in mIRC.
Copyrights - You are allowed to provide and distribute the mIRC FAQ -as is- by or on any medium as long as you make it available for free. You are not allowed to change anything in the file or charge any amount of money for your services. If you want to copy only certain parts for whatever use, make sure to mention my name and the FAQ as the source of information with every single quote whenever you publish it. Copyright © Tjerk Vonck 1995-2024. All Rights Reserved.
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