zIRCk Final Project

Help File and Information

NOTE: A word of advice: This help file explains how to install and how to use zIRCk; it does not answer every single question you might have. This script is intended for novice/advanced IRC users. The help file may be a little incomplete for now, but will be completed in all due time for newbies who wish to try this script out.

Table of Contents

• Introduction

• Features

• How to Install zIRCk

• Setting up zIRCk for the First Time

• FAQ/Known Problems

• Contacting the Author

Welcome, and thank you for downloading zIRCk, a good-purposed personal script for the novice/advanced user who likes to chat or idle.

zIRCk appears to be a small script, which is what I was going for, but it has some nice functions. The script is based on an engine, and everything works together. The script's self-updater lets you know when a certain script file has an update. So say if there was an updated events file, the script would update it and reload it automatically, without restarting the script or changing your settings.

There is even a module manager and it works the same way in a way; if there is a new module, or updated module, you can get the new one in seconds. The Configuration lets you change the options of the script like any other script, except that this isn't bloated with features that are useless (okay, maybe there are about 2 that are useless in the Miscellaneous section - this was intended because I was going to give the script to some friends). Included in the Configuration is general setup, display setup, switchbar and nicklust setup, favourite servers, miscellaneous items, and the updates portion.

The display of zIRCk is very customizable as well. You can chose either to use a large toolbar, or use a mini toolbar that is shown on the switchbar. Also on the toolbar is a bandwidth monitor that displays your upload and download speeds. The switchbar also provides a statusbar, where it shows how much memory you are using and how much is free, a lagbar that outputs lag on active server onto a graph, and switchbar scrolling buttons, just in case all the switchbar data cannot be displayed. Of course this can be turned off if you don't want to use this. zIRCk is also based around the whole IRC chatting, so only modules and options are related to IRC, none of that useless stuff merkFX had.

Features of zIRCk

zIRCk has a lot of features for you to use. Some you may find useful, and some you may not. Before continuing on with the script, you should take a look at what zIRCk can offer you as a script in general:

Display Settings

• complete with toolbar, switchbar/statusbar, sidepane, and nickLUST
• bandwidth meter on large toolbar, also shows in statusbar if mini toolbar mode is active
• memory usage displayed on statusbar
• lag graph on statusbar which calculates lag on the active server
• scrolling buttons on statusbar to scroll through the data on the switchbar (will implement this on switchbar if statusbar is disabled)
• sidepane features a multiserv notify list and a DCC sends/gets list
• custom nicklists provided by nickLUST.dll, giving it a new look and the options to add icons to the nicknames
• MTS themes supported
• supports icon packages to give a different overall look to the script

General Info

• script is ran on an engine that is on the fly with updates. If there was a new script file or an updated one, the script will inform you and you have the choice of receiving the update
• the Module engine incorporates the updating engine too, giving you new/updated modules when availble
• zAmp, an audio player for mIRC, is also included. It supports whatever mIRC's /splay command can handle. You can scheme the player with your selection of colors and create multiple playlists, and you can also search through the playlist for matching files, and finally, you can spam your tunes to channels
• can import servers from the servers.ini file, or add your own
• contains miscellaneous settings such as custom CTCP replies, a message blocker, function key bindings, and custom quit messages
• creating modules is easier now, and is not limited to files provided only by the script or commands
• modules already included in this release are the Auto Join-Identify, Log Viewer, Nick Completer, and XDCC Server

Installation of zIRCk is very simple.

• Before anything, you must have a copy of mIRC 6.16. If you do not have this version*, please visit http://www.mirc.com and download mIRC from there.
• After opening the zip file that you received from the website, extract the script to somewhere on your hard disk (for example, C:\zIRCk)
• Now, take a copy of mIRC.exe (version 6.16) and place it in the directory where you extracted zIRCk. Once done, run mIRC.exe. The script will open up and do some initialization checks.

*At the time of writing this, the current version of mIRC was 6.16.

  Also, it is advised that you do not extract the script first then install mIRC into the directory where you extracted zIRCk.

  If this happens, the script will not function properly (this is known with all scripts). Install mIRC first, then extract zIRCk.

Setting up zIRCk For the First Time

If this is your first time using zIRCk, you may not know how to set up the script for your own use. The script comes with a Configuration so you can set up the most common features in zIRCk. You can either press F1, click on the Configuration icon (the second icon in the toolbar), or click on the menu bar popup to access the Configuration.

The Configuration items are located on the left menu. To select an item to configure, click on an item in the left list. The General Settings provides general script stuff such as nickname, alternative, full name, and other options such as how often to check for updates, or show the loading bar on start up. The Display Settings provides display aspects of zIRCk such as whether to use zIRCK's display features like the toolbar, sidebar, etc. Also you can change the overall icon package (and you can create your own too) and the dialog button style. Following this are the NickLUST and Switchbar configurations. You can change the icons that will appear on each as well. Finally, there is the Favorite Servers, Miscellaneous, and Updates portions. With the Favorite Servers setup, you can import a server from servers.ini, or add your own. This may be useful if you chat a lot and want these servers ready to connect to.

The Miscellaneous setup contains 4 different things you can set up: custom CTCP replies, function key bindings, message blocker, and quit messages. Beside the combo box, you will notice a checkbox. If it is checked, the selected item in the combo box is enabled. If not, the selected item in the combo box is disabled and will not work until enabled. If the Quit Messages are enabled, zIRCk will use a random quit message from the quits list. The Message Blocker blocks/ignores/blocks and ignores any incoming messages if words in the message match any of the words in your word list. This can be useful for people who go on servers and channels that have a lot of IRC spam (such as sex, porn, warez, etc). The Function Key Bindings lets you bind any function key except F1 and F2 to anything you want. You can even do SHIFT+Fkey or CTRL+Fkey.

When done with the Configuration and you wish to apply the changes, click the Done button to do so. Next, we have the Modules Manager. The Modules Manager allows you to load and unload existing modules that are loaded/unloaded. Click on a module that appears in the left list to see it's module information. You can load/unload the selected module by clicking the button below the left list. You can also download new modules too, or update existing ones. However, unlike the zIRCk updates that are on the fly, the Module Manager doesn't check for new modules, so you will have to check yourself.

Another part of zIRCk is MTS Themes. zIRCk features KTE v1.5 to handle all themes. If you do not know how to use KTE, please refer to it's readme file. Select a theme you wish to use while using zIRCk. You can also download themes from www.mIRCScripts.org as well.

Frequently Asked Questions/Known Problems

Q: The nickLUST screws up somehow and crashes my mIRC! Why does this happen?

A: I have no idea to be honest. Naru (the author of nickLUST3.dll) decided to stop working on the project a while back, but as far as I know, I have a pretty stable version of the DLL. Sorry, I cannot fix this problem either, because I do not have the source to the DLL, and if I did, I wouldn't know what to do with it as I do not know any C. If this problem arises more often in the future, disable the nickLUST from the Display Settings in the Configuration.

Q: After setting the option to enable/disable icons in the nicklist, the nicklists don't update. Why?

A: This is because you must /hop all channels, or rejoin them in order for this option to take effect.

Q: How can I create a module for the script?

A: If you would like to create a module for zIRCk, you must at least have some scripting knowledge before doing so.

     Open the mIRC remotes editor (ALT+R) and create a new script file. IT MUST BE A .MOD FILE! If it isn't, the Module Manager will not pick it up, so make sure you save it as a .mod file. After creating a new blank

     file, create the module header. It goes something like this:

  [MODULE]
  NAME=Auto Join/Identify    ;Name of module
  DESC=Allows you to join channels and identify to nicknames on connect       ;Module description
  AUTHOR=Zak Bowler          ;Author (you)
  EMAIL=zakafx@gmail.com     ;E-mail address
  VERSION=2.1                ;Version of your module
  COMMAND=autos              ;Command to call module
  ICON=$modstuff(Autos.ico)  ;Icon to your module. This is a must
 

  After creating this header, you can go about in creating your module. You are also not limited to using other DLL's, but if you do use DLL's or any other files, make sure you put them in the

    System\ModDownload\<module_name> directory (where <module_name> represents the name of the module; all of your modules' external files will be accessed from this directory. If not specifying

    <module_name> as the directory, call it something unique at least so other modules might call stuff from the same directory as your new module).

     Example directories: System\ModDownload\awaysys, System\ModDownload\Snake, System\ModDownload\AvengeFiles

     You can also use resources zIRCk already provides. You can use a text editor or mIRC's remotes editor to scroll through the zIRCk script files. Each alias is commented so you can use it in your own way.

     Some things you can use are the MDX resources, any DLL in the System\Dll directory, or any alias you might find when viewing zIRCk's script files.    

     Also, as you can see in the ICON portion of the header, you will notice an identifier called $modstuff. This identifier returns the path to the module resources download directory so you don't have to call the

     module directory every time. It works well, use it.

Q: How can I create a new icon package for the script?

A: You can create a custom icon package for zIRCk. To follow the order the icons go in and for what things, open the System\Icons\Engine\Default.icl with an icon librarian program such as Microangelo. You may want to run another instance of this program (this is what I do when I create new icon libraries with Microangelo). Follow the order the icons go in from the Default.icl (each icon is also labeled) and format your library according to the Default.icl file. Once done, save the file in the System\Icons\Engine directory and open the Configuration and point over to Display Settings. From there, you can select your newly created icon package.

This FAQ is small, but as more people and people use the script and more questions come across, they will be answered here.

Contacting the Author

If you feel you must contact me to resolve a problem with the script or report a bug, please send me a pmsg on www.mIRCScripts.org as I frequent there a lot.

If for whatever reason zIRCk is submitted to a website such as www.mIRCScripts.org or any other scripting website, you may report the problem on the comments page of the script.

You can find me on IRC on VidGameChat in #genscripts, or on DALnet in #clan-x-scripterz or #amit.

If you still need to contact me, you can also send me an e-mail at zakafx@gmail.com. Please do not ask me for scripting help or anything, I am open to questions about the script or bug reports.

Visit www.coderscore.org/afx for the latest zIRCk updates and other information.

zIRCk was created by Zak Bowler, best known as [AFX].

The MDX.dll and extensions and Popups.dll were created by DragonZap.

Band.dll was created by xhaker

NickLUST3.dll was created by Naru.

hOSDock.dll was created by hyron.

Arise.dll was created by bLiP.

mircustom.dll and mUnzip.dll were created by Kamek.

WhileFix.dll was created by bamaboy.

ProcInfo was created by [T]-BoNes.

These people deserve my thanks for taking the time to beta test zIRCk:

praetorian, Marantz, bl44t, zzattack, tidy_trax, Ver|zon, zioxide

-Created on Thursday, May 26, 2005