A Basic Guide For Beginners
Downloading Pirch98:
The latest release is Pirch98, Version 1.0.1.1190. (1.7 MB) Pirch is designed for Windows 95/98 or Windows NT System 4.0. 4 MB of ram is required. Once Pirch is installed, remember to read the help files.
You can download Pirch98 here or from my site by clicking here.
Connecting:
To add a server: IRC/server list
Click on the first icon (two computers) to add a network
Name the network; for example: Annex.
Then click on the add server icon (one computer, third from the left) to enter server information.
Click on the logon icon and a network connection box will come up. Choose a nickname.
From the drop down menu, select a network. You can add a network or server here by clicking on edit server list. Your name and email address must be entered here to connect…. once again it is up to you to decide if you want to enter a real name and e-mail address.
Some networks will require you to have the ident set up in order to join. Click on tools/ident server and check the box that says active. Ident allows networks to identify your computer.
Once you are connected to a server, you can click on channel on the top tool bar and select list channels (or enter /list). To enter a channel you can double click on a channel name in the list or type /join #[channel name].
In the server connection window, you can also set invisible mode so when someone does a /whois on the server, your name will not show up. You can also choose to receive server messages and wallops (A server message usually reserved for sysops). These commands can also be done manually by using IRC commands.
/mode [nickname] +I
+/-I Allows a user to be visible or invisible
+/-s Allows a user receive server notices or not
+/-w Allows a user receive wallops or not
Options:
There are many interesting options in preferences. Options/Preferences. Here you can choose to save logs and which logs to save, you can select your media default path, add to your notify and ignore list and enable flood protection, and so on. In Options/Preferences/Ops you can also choose a kick message and a Ban method (more on this later).
Clicking on the preferences icon on the far right of the tool bar can also access preferences
The options menu has some other interesting choices. Download Extension Map allows you to specify different file paths for different file types. For example, you may want to save wav files in c:/sounds and save text files in the c:/temp folder. Personal Bio allows you to enter personal information along with a picture if you choose. (Pirch has its own command to send bio information to others: (/biosend [nickname].) Autoexec Commands allows you to execute commands on connection. For example, you may want to join #someplace when you connect or auto op on your channel. In Desktop Options, you can change the look of your Pirch windows. To use the Text to Speech function requires other applications, either the Monolog and TextAssist text to speech programs from Creative Labs. The default sign off message shown in the applet above will send a message to the status window of the users on the channel you have parted.
Text and Fonts:
Fonts, text style and font size can be set in Options/Preferences/Font. Double clicking in any of the windows here will allow you to change the font selection for that window only. You can also change the font in the channel window by right clicking in that window and selecting set font.
Your colour can be set by going to: Options/Colors. Here you can change the default color of all the text in your Pirch windows as well as the background colors for each window
To write in different colors, in a channel, you type Ctrl+k+(any number from 0-15) For example: to type 'hi' in red you would type this: Ctrl+k4hi. By adding two colour numbers you can encase your text in a coloured box like this: Ctrl+4,8hello everyone
Network Explorer
Options
. Notice the comma between the two colour numbers.
|
Color # |
Name |
||
|
0 |
White |
8 |
Yellow |
|
1 |
Black |
9 |
Lime |
|
2 |
Navy Blue |
10 |
Teal |
|
3 |
Green |
11 |
Aqua |
|
4 |
Red |
12 |
Blue (Medium) |
|
5 |
Maroon |
13 |
Fuchsia (lilac) |
|
6 |
Purple |
14 |
Gray |
|
7 |
Olive |
15 |
Silver |
You may also choose to use bold, underline, italics, etc:
Underlined Ctrl+U
Italics Ctrl+I
Bold Ctrl+B
Symbol Font Ctrl+S
Fixed Pitch Font Ctrl+F
When you chose to add colours and other attributes such as bold or italics, the colour should come last. For example: Ctrl+BCtrl+K0,12 this is how it is done would look like this: 
Adding colours to Events is a bit different. The colour numbers remain the same but the ctrl+[K,U,I,B,S,F] combination is not used. The following is a list of attributes:
| Attribute | Code |
| Bold | \-2 |
| Color | \-3 |
| Italic | \-22 |
| Fixed Pitch Font | \-17 |
| Symbol Font | \-18 |
| Underline | \-31 |
URL's:
Pirch will display a web address in the color chosen in options/color/HTML link and they will be underlined. You can click on any link and it will open your default browser. You can also store frequently used sites by clicking on WWW in the tool bar (second icon from the left). You need to set up your web browser to work with Pirch. Open the WWW window and go to options, the icon to the left of the “?”. This will allow you to set up your browser.
Pirch can be set to “catch” URL’s from chat and to purge unused URL’s. This is in the options section of the Web Browser set up. When the “catch” box is checked, Pirch will add any URL’s from the current chat session with a “*” beside each one. They will be purged at the end of every session unless you uncheck the purge box. In order to send one of your saved URL’s to your current channel, you must put the following in aliases: $URL and call it URL (or whatever). Now bring up your URL list and highlight the URL you wish to send to the channel. Type /URL into the edit box and viola!!!
Media:
Go to Options/Preferences/Media to set your file path for sounds. When you click on the media icon a box will pop up and you can select a sound to play locally (for yourself) or send to the channel you are in. Also make sure that the “enable sounds” box is checked. This sound command also works in Pirch: /sound #channelname [sound file]. If no file extension is listed, then Pirch automatically assumes it is a wav file. The Pirch default media player does not support playing MP3’s although add-ons are available to make this possible. You can also configure Winamp to play mp3’s in Pirch
Sending and Receiving Files:
DCC stands for direct client to client. (More on CTCP events later.) This means that you are connected directly to another person and not using the IRC program to transfer files. You can send a file to another person using the DCC file sender in the tools menu or clicking on file send icon. If you check the TDCC option, the file will transfer more quickly. Files transfers can be resumed in Pirch by clicking on the resume button. Files received will go into the default folder (options/preferences/DCC) unless you specify otherwise in the Download Extension Map.
Pirch also has a drag and drop option for sending files. In the channel names popups select DCC send/ Drag & Drop Sender after highlighting a name on the nick list. Drag and drop your selected file on that user’s name.
Aliases:
An alias is simply a short cut. Let’s say you always connect to the same room…#someplace. Instead of typing /join #someplace every time you log on to the server you could put a short cut in your alias section. Go to tools/aliases, or click on the aliases icon or ctrl+alt+a to bring up the aliases editor. Select add, the fourth icon from the left and in the box that appears, type in the name for your new alias, such as J. This will become your command. Then you must enter your command in the larger window (known as the Command Definition Section); In this case the command would be /join #someplace. Then click on the save icon (the large check mark on the left).
To use this new alias, when you log on to a server you would type /j in the status window and you will join the channel called someplace. You could also assign a function key to replace typing /j.
OK, say you wanted to include an alias to welcome people to a channel, bring up the alias window (ctrl+alt+a) and click on add. In the alias entry box enter the name for your alias, in this case it would be welcome. When you click on ok, you are automatically in the Command Definition section, so type in your command: /me welcomes $snick to # $+.
Now you can click on a chatters nick in the nick list and type /welcome in the edit box.
The /me indicates an action, $snick indicates the person at which the command is executed, # indicates the room name, and $+ removes spaces between commands and text.
Example of $+:
hug1: ((((((((( $$1 ))))))))) will be displayed as ((((( nickname )))))
hug1: ((((((((( $+ $1 $+ )))))))))) will be displayed as (((((nickname)))))
Function keys can be assigned to aliases. To do this, bring up the alias edit box, (ctrl+alt+a) and click on add. In the alias entry box type the function key you wish to use, for example F2, and then enter your command in the command definition area.
You can also use the ctrl, alt and shit key before any function key.
a = alt key
c = control key
s = shift key
So for example, the above alias could be named CF2, in which case you need to hit the ctrl key at the same time as the F2 key. If you want to make the alias ctrl+alt_F2, you would name the alias ACF2. The order must be alphabetical. So CAF2 is not a good combination. The function keys will not take precedence over the basic windows commands (alt+F4, etc).
If you are used to using mIRC, many of the commands are the same but there are some that are specific to Pirch, such as /biosend.
Here are a few of the more ordinary changes necessary:
replace /describe with /me
replace /say with nothing... you don’t need it
replace $chan with #
One last note about aliases; you can include comments in your aliases to remind you of their function. Notice the ; in front of the description.
For example:
/run notepad.exe
;runs notepad
(You can also run notepad by right clicking in the status window or main channel window and selecting edit notes)
Pop Ups:
Pop up menus appear when you right click in a window. To edit pop ups you can go to tools/pop ups, hit ctrl+alt+p or use the pop up icon on the tool bar. There are five areas where you can customize your pop ups so they will be different for every window.
Say you want to create the same phrase we used in aliases to welcome someone to the channel; this could be entered in the names list or the main page. You would enter the same command with a description: Welcome Nick: /me welcomes $snick to # $+ and click on add.
When you right click in the nick list it would look like this:
Notice the first six lines here (whois, Query, etc etc.: these are default pop ups meaning they are part of the Pirch program)
So in this example, as long as you have a nick highlighted, when you select welcome nick, it will welcome the chatter to the channel.
Now let’s say you may want to chat in more than one room. You can make a hierarchical menu that would look like this:
Join Channel:
.join #Someplace: /join #Someplace
.join #No place: /join #No place
Please note the placement of the . (periods).
This would be placed in the server menu section of pop ups and when you right click in the server list you would see this.
Now click on which ever channel you want to join. Notice the line between DDC file sender and Show Command Bar? This is controlled by placing a – in between these two sections on a line by itself.
Multi Line Pop Ups:
Now say you wanted to greet a chatter and then say welcome to someplace; a |, called a pipe would make your actions appear on two different lines. For example:
hi and welcome: hi $snick | nice to meetcha | welcome to # $+.
This would read like:
Multi line popups can use as many pipes as you like but beware that more than three lines is often considered flooding. Text files are also limited to 64 k in Pirch.
Events:
Pirch can be set to react to certain events such as people joining a room, leaving a room or even saying certain words. See the help file for complete list of events.
Event levels:
In the event edit box (ctrl+alt+e) you will find an event level box on the top left. Pirch will react to all users in the 000-Unknowns, by default this should be placed in this box, *!*@*. This means all users. Events levels can be modified, deleted and renamed. The order of the list is important since Pirch will respond to the lower level users first; this determines which users are affected by your events.
For Example:
000-Unknowns
500-Friends
999-Enemies
I have heard a users list being likened to a high-rise building. All users are welcome in the lobby but other users need a special pass to get to the higher levels of the building.
The X in the event level box means that this user level is active. You can render them inactive by removing the X.
Events:
Pirch includes a few default events. All are preceded with ; which renders them inactive. To enable these events remove the ;. Likewise, to temporarily disable an event, place ; in front of it. Be sure that the “enabled” box is checked. All event names need to be written in uppercase: ON JOIN, not: on join.
So if you would like to greet someone that comes on the channel automatically you would put this in the event list in the 000-Unknown event level:
ON JOIN:#:/msg # Hi $nick
The on join means this message will go to any user when they join. The # means your currently active channel and /msg # means you will send your message to the channel. If you want to whisper your greeting, it would be written like this:
ON JOIN:#:/notice $nick Hi $nick
Another example of an event: say you would like to warn a user who says a bad word, enter this in the event window:
ON TEXT: Sounds can be added to any event by adding this command at the end:
| /playmedia [sound].wav
You can make an event to read a line of random text. First you need to create a text file. Say you want to have an auto greet, you would make a file with lines of text:
Hello
Hi There
Nice To See You
Etc….
Then, in events (ooo-Unknowns would greet everyone), you would put this line:
ON JOIN:#:/notice $nick $read c:\pirch\hello.txt $nick $+
(c:\pirch\hello.txt being your file path and the name of the file)
And the result would be a random line of text whispered from this file like this:
Hi There someone or: Hello someone
One final note: two of the events that are included with Pirch are auto get and send sound requests. These are, by default, deactivated and are so annoying to some users that it may be wise to delete them or not activate them.
PIL:
Pil stands for Pirch Interpreted Language and allows you to create special commands, to customize your client. Flood protection, channel counts, custom away messages, games, special texts and sounds are just some of the many things you can customize with a Pil script. The Pirch help files make Pil’s look unnecessarily complicated so, although, I am not going to get into detailed scripting lessons here, I am including this so you can see how to install a Pil and how effective they can be.
To add a Pil script, open your alias edit window (ctrl+alt+a) and right click on the left side where the aliases are named (see applet way below.lol). Select add Pil and browse to where your Pil script is located. Once you locate the script click on open and it is now added (you can also type this into the text edit box: /ADDPIL [file path]/[Pil], and open the alias window and look for that pil near the bottom of the list).
Notice the [BLUEHART], [MASSGREETING], [PIGLATIN] and [ROLL], the last three of which are default Pil’s. We will look at the [BLUEHART] Pil later.
Now you could run any of these Pil’s by typing in:
/runscript [PIGLATIN] [what ever you want to say]
but an alias makes it less bulky and time consuming.
To make an alias for the [PIGLATIN] Pil,
1. open the alias edit window
2. click on add alias
3. name the alias, PIGLATIN (or whatever name you choose)
4. In the command definition section add this: /runscript [PIGLATIN] *1
5. click on save
So now you can go to your edit box and type this in: /piglatin this is a test
(Note: the *1 defines the text you are going to use.)
And it will look like this:
Pil scripts can be loaded by typing in the full file path. In this way, they do not have to be loaded into aliases. /addpil [drive:\path\script.pil]
You can download Pil scripts or write your own…that said, the best script is one you write yourself. I am going to use the [BLUEHART] Pil as an example. This lesson is actually borrowed from budman.
The [BLUEHART] Pil is as follows:
}
$output :='';
$source := *1 ;
$add := '.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13©.';
for i := 1 to strlen($source) do
begin
$letter := '
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12'+strupper(strcopy($source,i,1));
$output := $output+$letter+$add;
end;
command('/msg ',$audience,' ',$output);
This is the window that comes up when u right click on the left side of the alias edit window.
Copy and paste this into the command definition window after you have named it [BLUEHART]. Now the Pil is installed. To save this as a .pil file (in case of a crash or whatever), click on the save Pil icon (9th icon from the left) and select a folder to save it in. Now to make an alias for this Pil, click on add alias and select a name for your alias (I close bluehart). In the command definition section type: /runscript [BLUEHART] *1 Click on add and you are done. So what does the bluehart pil do? In your edit box type this:
/bluehart this is so kewl , and this is what you will see:
Operator Status:
There are several ways to op in a channel and some servers may be different but we will deal with the Annex server here. As always there are automated ways to op using pirch, however it is always good to know the irc commands. For annex the commands would read something like this:
/msg cafebot op #[room name] [password]
To op another person in the channel, you would type this:
/mode [#channel name] +o [nickname]
Alternately to take away op status you would type in this command:
/mode [#channel name] -o [nickname]
(Remember, you must have operator status to perform these commands)
Now, you can use the op command above and enter it in the autoexec commands (Options/Autoexec Commands) and be automatically op'ed when you join your channel.
The window at the right shows an autoexec command to join your channel and op on connect.
Another way to join and op in your channel is to make a popup for the status window something like this:
Join Channel:
.join #[Channel name]: /join #[Channel Name]
.join #[Channel Name]@: /join #Someplace | /msg Cafebot op #[Channel Name] [password] (all on one line)
When you connect, the pop up menu in the status window would give you the option of joining the room or joining the room op’ed.
Kicks and Bans:
Once again, it is good to know the irc commands that go with kicking and banning someone.
/kick #[channel name] [nickname][optional message]
/mode #[channel name] +b [nickname]
(or –b to unban)
When you ban someone, Pirch will use the method you have selected in your options. Each method has its pro’s and con’s so you will have to experiment. To view and/or edit the channel ban list right click in the Channel (main page) and select Channel Options/Open channel ban list.
The window at the right shows the op control panel that shows up at the bottom of the nick list when you have this option checked in Options/Preferences/Ops. To find the other /mode commands available, check in the Pirch help file or click on Help/Command Reference for a listing of all the commands offered for Pirch.
CTCP:
CTCP stands for Client-To-Client-Protocol. CTCP is used to interact with other clients on the network as opposed to the server. Almost all chat clients will respond to, at least basic CTCP commands. The command line for a CTCP event looks like this:
/CTCP for example:
/CTCP someone ping When you right click in the nicknames list you can choose any of six CTCP events:
Ping: Ping is a signal sent from one computer to another computer and then back again. It is used to measure the speed of the net connection. The higher the number of seconds, the slower the connection. This slowness is called lagging.
User Info: This command retrieves user information but not all clients respond to this command. If using Pirch, the information you entered in options/preferences/CTCP
Client Info: Should give you the name and version of the user’s client but does not work with all clients.
Client Version: Gives you information about the users IRC client.
Finger: Gives you the idle time of the user.
Time: Gives you the local date and time of the user
You can set up an event to reply to a CTCP request. For example, if you would like to send a witty reply to someone who requests your version you could enter this into your events:
VERSION:/notice $nick I’m using perch. Oh no, that’s a fish isn’t it?
The user who versions you will get this whispered to them, followed by your version.
Links:
Try some of these other great pIRCh help sites:
If you have any questions or comments about my site, E-mail me.
Comic Characters
Web Browser Set Up
Media Player
Aliases
Aliases
Nick List Pop Up
Hierarchical Menu
How To Add A PIL
Adding A PIL
Autoexec
Options - Ops
Options - Ops
