This will break down each section of the Options/Settings Form.
Program Settings:
Save Window Sizes/Positions on Exit – This will remember, when IceChat closes, if your windows where maximized or set a certain size, mainly the Console Window, and will remember the width of your Nicklist/ServerList window.
Timestamp Events – Will add a small time stamp at the beginning of each line any time text is added, to the console, channels and private chats. The time stamp does need to hae the open and closing square brackets
For time values, you can use Days, Hours, Minutes and Seconds. The default is ‘[hh:nn]‘ meaning it will display, in 24 hour format, the time in hours and minutes. If you wish to show 12 hour format with AM/PM use ‘[hh:nn AM/PM]‘. h are hours, n are minutes, s are seconds.
User Profiles – When IceChat was fist started, and ask you for your nickname and servers, it also asked whether you wanted to use User Profiles. This will allow more then 1 user to use IceChat on the same PC, but keep seperate settings for each user. A small utility will start each time IceChat asking what profile you wish to use, and you can add and remove profiles as well.
New Query in Foreground – If someone starts a Query/Private Message with you, IceChat has the option whether to directly take you to that New Query, or just open it but stay in the Active Window, but the New Query will show on the Channel Bar.
Disable all Queries – This will ignore any queries directed at you, good if you dont want to be bothered.
Server Settings:
Default Nickname, Default Quit Message, Default Full Name – when connecting with /server command to new servers, these will be your default settings.
Connect to Server through Proxy/Firewall – enable this if you need to connect through some kind of Proxy Server or Firewall, and adding the Servers IP Address and Port below. If a username/password is required, add these also. NOTE: This is not the same as you would need for a DCC Firewall setting, for instance, a router or such.
Re-connect on Server Disconnections – If you become disconnected from a server, and did not disconnect yourself (IE: a Ping Time out) You can specify the behaviour that Icechat does on these problems. You can specify how long to wait for a re-connection attempt is made, and how long to wait in between each re-connection attempt. The Re-connection Time Out is how many seconds to allow for a server re-connect before IceChat will stop attempting to re-connect on that try, which is by default 60 seconds.
View Settings:
Flash Taskbar on Message when Minimized – If IceChat is minimized, but not on the System Tray, the Taskbar will flash when a new IRC message has come through
Place IceChat on System Tray when Minimized – IceChat will be automatically placed on the System when minimized. Right the Tray Icon to bring up a menu, or double click to restore
Use Emoticons – This will allow you to enable or disable showing Emoticons in Channels, Queries and DCC Chats.
Strip All Color Codes – This will stop the display of colors in windows, stripping away all color codes.
Channel Caption – This will allow you to format how a Channels Caption is displayed, using its own special $identifiers. Click the help button beside it for the $identifiers you can use.
Text Highlight:
When certain words get entered into channels or queries, you can get IceChat to hightlight the line the word was contained on, a certain color, flash the toolbar, and even play a WAV file. You just add words to the list, but wildcards do not work.
Fonts:
Here you can set all the different Fonts for windows throughout IceChat, and the Font sizes.
Sound Events:
Play Wav File on Console Event – When a console event fires, it will play the WAV file specified. To select a new WAV file, click the … box
Play Wav File on Channel Event – When a channel event fires (like new data being entered in a channel, or joins/parts etc) , it will play the WAV file specified. To select a new WAV file, click the … box
Play Wav File on Query Event – When new data has come into a Query/Private Message, it will play the WAV file specified. To select a new WAV file, click the … box
Play Wav File when Buddy Comes Online – If someone from your Buddy list, on any server comes online, this WAV file will be played. To select a new WAV file, click the … box
Seconds to Wait Until next Sound Event – If you are in a busy channel, or getting a lot of messages, IceChat will not play these wav files every single time. It will wait a predetermined amount of seconds before the next Channel/Console/Query event takes place. But only for the specified Event. For instance, if a Channel Event fires, and then a Console Event fires, it wont wait for the amount of seconds after the Channel Event to allow a Console Event, it just waits until the Next Channel Event is allowed, they do not cross over.
DCC Settings:
A DCC connection bypasses the IRC server, and is direct between you and the other user over the Internet network, thereby avoiding IRC network communications lags. You can use DCC Chats, which is just like a Query, except directly connected, or DCC File Sends, which is used to send files between 2 users. DCC Can get a bit complicated to setyp if you are behind a Firewall/Router or on a small network that has Internet Connection Sharing (ICS).
Main DCC Settings:
AutoAccept All DCC File Sends – Does not ask to accept a DCC File, and places files in Default Receive Folder
AutoAccept DCC Files in Seperate Nicknames Folder – If AutoAccept is enabled, will make a folder in Default Receive Folder with the users nickname, and place file(s) there
Ignore all DCC File Sends – Completely ignore all DCC Receive/Get requests
Close DCC Sends when finished – Close DCC Send windows when finished or timed out
Close DCC Gets when finished – Close DCC Receive/Get windows when finished or timed out
AutoAccept all DCC Chats – Does not ask for a DCC Chat Request, automatically accepts it
Ignore all DCC Chat Requests – Completely ignore all incoming DCC Chat”s
Close DCC Chats when finished – If a DCC Chat is closed remotely or timed out, the Chat Window will automatically close
Folders:
Default Send Folder – The Default folder where outgoing DCC File Sends will start from
Default Receive Folder – The Default folder where incoming DCC Files are placed
Ignore File Types – Add file extensions to this list will Ignore all DCC Sends with these file extensions (IE: EXE, BAT, COM)
Timeouts:
DCC Chat Timeout – The amount of time to wait before a DCC Chat request that you send out will stop
DCC Send Timeout – The amount of time to wait before a DCC Send request will stop attempting to connect
DCC Get Timeout – The amount of time to wait before a DCC Receive/Get will wait for you to accept before it closes
Firewall:
Connect DCC with Router/I.C.S – If you are behind a firewall/router or connect through Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) , enable this
Autoget IP – If you do not wish to add the IP Address of the Router/Firewall/ICS PC”s actual Internet Address (Not the Local Network IP Address) you can check this box. Then when you connect to a server, it will read this IP Address for you, and place it in the Box
Router/Firewall/ICS IP Address – If you do not wish to AutoGet IP for your Router/Firewall/ICS PC, you can manually enter it here, if not, it is locked out, not editable when Autoget IP is enabled
DCC Port Range – If you wish to change the Default Port range from 1024-5000 for your router, you can edit the ports rangehere.
Away System:
IceChat has something called an “Away System”. If the Away System is enabled, it will work for all Servers you are connected to. What the Away System does is, if you are not typing in a particular connected Server, or better worded, you are Idle, IceChat keeps track of how long you are idle. If you type in /commands, it does not stop the Idle time, as you have not really entered a normal channel message. It keeps track of the Idle time seperately for all Servers, meaning if you are on 2 Servers, and you have not chatted on Server 1 for some time, only Server 2, the away system will kick on on Server 1, if the specified time has expired. To automatically set your self as away, you can use the /away away message command, or click the Away Button on the Toolbar, and then enter your away message. Click the Away Button on the Toolbar, if you are away, sets yourself as not being away, or typing the /away command on its own.
Away Message – This is the message that is sent to Channel(s) you are in , when you go away. The $awayreason identifier is the away reason that you specified.
Return Message – This will the message that you send to the Channel(s) when you set yourelf back. $awaytime is replaced with how long you were away.
Auto Away – This will keep track of Idle Time on Servers, and set yourself automatically away after the Total Amount of Minutes has passed.
Auto Away Minutes – This is the amount of minutes that you need to be idle on a server before you are set as Auto Away.
Send Away Message to All Channels – This will send the above Away Message and Return Message to the channels. If disabled, the above messages will not be sent.
Send Message to Private Messengers while away – If you are away, and someone sends you a Query/Private message, you can send a message to the automatically, stating you are away.
Message to Send to Private Messengers – This is the actual message that you will send to the Query/Private Messengers. $awayreason and $awaytime can be used.
IRC Events:
Show Ping? Pong! Events – If you want to see all the Ping Pong events in the Console, you can enabled this option.
The Next section is whether to show certain IRC Events/Messages in the Current Window you are in (provided your on the same server) or just send the messages to the Console.
Show Joins in Channel – All Channel joins will be displayed in the Channel Window if enabled.
Show Parts in Channel – All Channel parts will be displayed in the Channel Window if enabled.
Show Quits in Channel – All User Quits for people in the Channel(s) you are in will be displayed in the Channel if enabled
This Section will show the Messages in the Current Window, as long as you are on the same server, if not, it will send it to the console anyways.
User Notice in Current Window – If a user sends a notice (using /notice command) it will display in Current Window.
CTCP in Current Window – If a CTCP Notice (Ping, Version, etc) is sent to you (And CTCP is not disabled) it will show the message in the Current Window.
Server Notices in Current Window – Any other Server Notices will be displayed in the Current Window
Whois Data in Current Window – If you perform a /whois command on a nick, the whois data will be shown in the Current Window
Flood Protection:
If you are having problems with getting flooded a lot ( A lot of messages in a very short period of time) You can enabled flood protection. if a user triggers flood protection, IceChat will automatically ignore this user for a specified number of seconds, be it in Messages or CTCP Events. Self flood protection is for not flooding the server yourself. If enabled, you specify how many seconds come between messages that you type. This does not protect against sending commands (anything that starts with /) just regular text messages.
Logging:
You can keep logs of Console/Channels/Queries and even DCC Chat sessions by simply enabling which one you would like. IceChat automatically sorts out the logs into their own Console/Channel/Query/DCCChat folders, and are also seperated on a Per Server basis. Normally IceChat will create a New log file for each New day, but if the Combine Logs option is enabled, it will just keep adding on to the same file day after day.