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<h1>HexChat 2.9 Frequently Asked Questions</h1>
<h2>1. Section One: Compiling and Installing.</h2>
<p>
<a href="#q11">1. I get this error: /bin/sh: no: command not found</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q12">2. How do I compile HexChat on my Sun OS system?</a>
<br><br>
</p>
<h2>2. Section Two: Using HexChat.</h2>
<p>
<a href="#q21">1. How do I enable identd in HexChat? (How do I get rid of the ~ in front of my username?)</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q22">2. How do I auto join more than one channel with keys?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q23">3. How do I autoconnect and join a channel when HexChat loads?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q24">4. How do I cut and paste in HexChat?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q25">5. How do I connect through a proxy?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q26">6. How do I show @ and + in front of nicknames that are Op and Voice when they talk?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q27">7. How do I change the Op and Voice userlist icons and Tree View icons?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q28">8. How do I set different ban types?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q29">9. Why can't I see accented-letters/umlauts/upper-ascii-chars in HexChat?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q210">10. Why does the timestamp overlap some nicknames?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q211">11. How do I turn on Conference mode where I will not see join or part messages?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q212">12. How can I run the /dccserver command?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q213">13. Why doesn't DCC send work behind a router (IPNat/ADSL)?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q214">14. How do I execute multiple commands in one line?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q215">15. How do I enable Emacs key bindings in HexChat?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q216">16. I get this error: "Unknown file type abc.yz. Maybe you need to install the Perl or Python plugin?"</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q217">17. How do I play sound files on certain events?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q218">18. How do I auto-load scripts at startup?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q219">19. How do I minimize HexChat to the System Tray (Notification Area)?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q220">20. Can I select and copy text with the time stamps?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q221">21. What's the deal with opening URLs in HexChat on Linux/Unix?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q222">22. Where are the log files saved to?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q223">23. How do I rotate log files every so often?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q224">24. How do I enable graphical smilies (emoticons)?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q225">25. Where did the Real Name field go?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q226">26. How do I migrate my settings from XChat?</a>
<br><br>
</p>
<h2>3. Section Three: Contributions, Development and Bugs.</h2>
<p>
<a href="#q31">1. Why does HexChat leak so much memory?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q32">2. My copy of HexChat crashes, what can I do?</a>
<br><br>
<a href="#q33">3. Can I write a new language translation for HexChat?</a>
</p>
<br><br>
<h2>1. Section One: Compiling and Installing.</h2>
<br><h3><a name="q11">1. I get this error: /bin/sh: no: command not found</a></h3>
<p>
If you get an error something like:
</p>
<blockquote><pre>
Making all in po
make[2]: Entering directory `/home/zed/xchat/files/xchat-1.8.7/po'
file=./`echo ca | sed 's,.*/,,'`.gmo \
&& rm -f $file && PATH=../src:$PATH no -o $file ca.po
/bin/sh: no: command not found
make[2]: *** [ca.gmo] Error 127
make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/zed/xchat/files/xchat-1.8.7/po'
make[1]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/zed/xchat/files/xchat-1.8.7'
make: *** [all-recursive-am] Error 2
</pre></blockquote>
<p>
It means you don't have GNU gettext installed. There are two solutions:
</p>
<ul>
<li>Install GNU gettext and try again.</li>
<li>Use <i>./configure --disable-nls</i>. This will disable foreign
language support and all menus and GUI will be in English only.</li>
</ul>
<br><h3><a name="q12">2. How do I compile HexChat on my Sun OS system?</a></h3>
<p>
HexChat uses GNU gettext which in turn requires gmake, either install that
and or use ./configure --disable-nls with Sun's own make.
</p>
<br><h2>2. Section Two: Using HexChat.</h2>
<br><h3><a name="q21">1. How do I enable identd in HexChat?</a></h3>
<p>
<u>UNIX:</u><br>
Identd isn't actually apart of HexChat. You will need to download and install
your own ident server. Most distributions, including Fedora, come with an
ident server program called oidentd. Make sure it is enabled in
/etc/xinetd.conf or read you distribution's documentation.
As an alternative, you can try this experimental identd server: <a href="http://xchat.org/auth/">xchat_auth</a>
<br><br><u>WINDOWS:</u><br>
The win32 version of HexChat comes with a built-in identd server. It is
enabled by default, but can be disabled with <i>/set identd 0</i>.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q22">2. How do I auto join more than one channel with keys?</a></h3>
<p>
In the Server list's channel column enter multiple channels and separate
them by commas, eg: "#linux,#warez,#chat". Do not put spaces between the
channels. If the channels also have keys (passwords), then the syntax is:
"#channel1,#channel2,#channel3 key1,key2,key3"
</p>
<p>
Example: If you want to join #abc and #talk without keys, but #linux with
a key of "secret", you would enter: "#linux,#abc,#talk secret".
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q23">3. How do I autoconnect and join a channel when HexChat loads?</a></h3>
<p>
In the Server list, select the Network you want to auto-connect to, click Edit
and turn ON the "Auto connect to this network at startup" checkbox.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q24">4. How do I cut and paste in HexChat?</a></h3>
<p>
It's exactly the same as any other X application. You simply mark the text
you want, and then press middle mouse button to paste (if you only have a
2 button mouse, press left and right buttons at once).
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q25">5. How do I connect through a proxy?</a></h3>
<p>
Go to the menus, Settings -> Preferences -> Network Setup and fill in the requested
information there. Authentication (using a username and password) is
only supported for HTTP and Socks5.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q26">6. How do I show @ and + in front of nicknames that are Op and Voice when they talk?</a></h3>
<p>
To display @ and + characters next to nicknames as they talk, do the following:
</p>
<p>
In the menus, open up Settings -> Advanced -> Text Events. Find the
<i>Channel Message</i> event in the list. The $3 code can be inserted to
print the user's mode-character (e.g. @ or +). For example, you might want
to change the default:
<br><br>%C18%H<%H$4$1%H>%H%O$t$2<br><br>To:
<br><br>%C18%H<%H$4<b>$3</b>$1%H>%H%O$t$2
<br><br>Don't forget to press Enter, so the changes take effect in the
list at the top of the window.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q27">7. How do I change the Op and Voice userlist icons and Tree View icons?</a></h3>
<p>
<u>Unix/Linux</u>
<br>The default icons are hard coded (compiled) in. You can override them by creating
some PNG files in ${PREFIX}/share/hexchat. ${PREFIX} is usually /usr, so that
would translate to /usr/share/hexchat. If you compiled from source tarball without
specifying a prefix, it will be /usr/local instead.
<br>
<br>
<u>Windows</u>
<br>Your own custom icons can be placed in C:\Program Files\HexChat\Icons. Image format
may be PNG or ICO. PNG support on Windows 2000 may require installing GDI+, but it's
standard on XP or newer.
</p>
<blockquote>
<table border="1" cellpadding="3" rules="all">
<tr bgcolor="#dddddd"><td>Name</td><td>Description</td></tr>
<tr><td>op.png</td><td>Userlist: Op</td></tr>
<tr><td>hop.png</td><td>Userlist: Half-Op</td></tr>
<tr><td>voice.png</td><td>Userlist: Voice</td></tr>
<tr><td>red.png</td><td>Userlist: Owner</td></tr>
<tr><td>purple.png</td><td>Userlist: Founder</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>server.png</td><td>Tree: Server</td></tr>
<tr><td>channel.png</td><td>Tree: Channel</td></tr>
<tr><td>dialog.png</td><td>Tree: Dialog/Query</td></tr>
<tr><td>util.png</td><td>Tree: Utility (Channel List, DCC etc)</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>message.png</td><td>Tray: Message</td></tr>
<tr><td>highlight.png</td><td>Tray: Highlighted Message</td></tr>
<tr><td>fileoffer.png</td><td>Tray: DCC</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>hexchat.png</td><td>Main HexChat icon</td></tr>
</table>
</blockquote>
<br><b>Tree View icons</b>: Type <b>/set tab_icons 1</b> to enable them and then restart HexChat.
<br>
<br><h3><a name="q28">8. How do I set different ban types?</a></h3>
<p>
Three ways:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
Right click the nickname in the userlist, and choose a ban type from the
"Kick/Ban" submenu.
</li>
<li>
You can also do it manually:
/ban <nick> <ban type>
where the <ban type> is a number from 0 to 3.
</li>
<li>
/set irc_ban_type <ban type>
sets the default ban type to use for all bans. The different types are:
<ul>
<li>0 *!*@*.host</li>
<li>1 *!*@domain</li>
<li>2 *!*user@*.host</li>
<li>3 *!*user@domain</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<br><h3><a name="q29">9. Why can't I see accented-letters/umlauts/upper-ascii-chars in HexChat?</a></h3>
<p>
Refer to <a href="http://xchat.org/encoding/">http://xchat.org/encoding/</a>.<br>
Note: Log files are always written in UTF-8/Unicode.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q210">10. Why does the timestamp overlap some nicknames?</a></h3>
<p>
Some networks allow very long nicknames (up to 32 letters). It can be annoying to have
the separator bar move too far to the right, just for one long nick. Therefore, it has
a set limit for the distance it will move to the right. If you use a large font, you
may need to adjust this distance. It is set in pixels, for example:
</p>
<blockquote><pre>
/set text_max_indent 320
</pre></blockquote>
<p>
Once you adjust this setting high enough, overlapping timestamps and nicknames should
not occur. The adjustment will not take effect immediately, a restart may be needed.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q211">11. How do I turn on Conference mode where I will not see join or part messages?</a></h3>
<p>
Right-click on the tab you want to change. In the submenu of the channel
name, there's a toggle-item "Show join/part messages", simply turn this off.
</p><p>If you want to turn this option on globally, type:</p>
<blockquote><pre>/set irc_conf_mode 1</pre></blockquote>
<p>Then all channels you join after setting this will start with "Show join/part messages" turned off.</p>
<br><h3><a name="q212">12. How can I run the /dccserver command?</a></h3>
<p>
In short you can not do this (easily). This is a mIRC only proprietary feature
that is quite nonstandard. There is no code for doing this, mainly because
/dccserver runs on port 59 which in turn would require running HexChat as
root. Why do you need this anyway? Just use normal DCC.
<br><br>
Unofficial unix <a href="http://dfx.at/xchat/">patches are available here</a>.
<br><br><u><b>Update</b></u>: DCC Server feature has been added in the official Windows release 2.4.1b.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q213">13. Why doesn't DCC send work behind a router (IPNat/ADSL)?</a></h3>
<p>
If you are behind a IP-NAT or ADSL router, you will most likely have
an address like 192.168.0.1. This address is not usable on the Internet, and
must be translated.
</p><p>
When offering a DCC file, HexChat will tell the receiver your address. If it says
192.168.0.1, the receiver will not be able to connect. One way to make it send
your "real" address is to enable the "Get my IP from IRC Server" option in HexChat.
This option is available in Preferences -> File Transfers. When you turn it
ON, you will have to re-login to the server before it'll take effect.
</p><p>
You will also need to forward some ports for use in DCC send. You may pick almost
any port range you wish, for example, in HexChat set:
</p>
<pre> <b>First DCC send port</b>: 4990
<b>Last DCC send port</b>: 5000
</pre>
<p>
This will allow you to send up to ten files at the same time, which should be plenty
for most people. Lastly, configure your router/modem to forward ports 4990-5000 to
your PC's address. You'll have to consult your router/modem's manual on how to do this.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q214">14. How do I execute multiple commands in one line?</a></h3>
<p>
There are three ways to do this:
</p>
<ul>
<li>/LOAD -e <textfile>, where <textfile> is a full pathname to a file
containing commands on each line.</li>
<li>
Separate your commands with CTRL-SHIFT-u-a (CTRL-SHIFT-a on older GTK+ and Windows). This will appear as a little box with numbers on it.</li>
<li>You can create two UserCommands, with the same name, and then execute
the UserCommand. It will be executed in the same order as it's written
in the UserCommands GUI.</li>
</ul>
<br><h3><a name="q215">15. How do I enable Emacs key bindings in HexChat?</a></h3>
<p>
The standard Emacs key bindings, such as CTRL-w, CTRL-u etc, are supported by
GTK+ 2.0, but normally disabled. If you run Gnome 2, you can re-enable them in
your Gnome menu under: Preferences -> Keyboard Shortcuts.
</p>
<p>
<i>Note</i>: This doesn't work in the latest Gnome (2.8 and newer). In this case, you need
to run "gconf-editor", and directly change the key /desktop/gnome/interface/gtk_key_theme
from "Default" to "Emacs". Then you need to re-start HexChat.
</p>
<p>
If you don't use Gnome 2, but still want Emacs key bindings, it's beyond the
scope of this document. You might find some hints here:
<a href="http://www.gtk.org/gtk-2.4.0-notes.html">GTK+ 2.4.0 release notes</a>.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q216">16. I get this error: "Unknown file type abc.yz. Maybe you need to install the Perl or Python plugin?"</a></h3>
<p>
If you get this error when trying to load a Perl or Python script, it means
the plugin for running those scripts isn't loaded.
</p>
<ul>
<li>The Perl, Python and TCL plugins come with HexChat in the same archive.</li>
<li>During ./configure, it will check for Perl, Python and TCL libs and headers, you should check if it failed there.</li>
<li>The plugins directory can be found by issuing the shell command
<pre>hexchat -p</pre>
</li>
<li>All *.so files are auto-loaded at startup (*.dll on Windows).</li>
<li>If you downloaded a binary package, maybe the packager decided to exclude the Perl or Python plugins.</li>
</ul>
<br><h3><a name="q217">17. How do I play sound files on certain events?</a></h3>
<p>
In the menus, go to: Settings > Preferences > Sound.
Select the event you want to make a sound on, then type in a
sound filename (or use the Browse button).
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q218">18. How do I auto-load scripts at startup?</a></h3>
<p>
You just have to place the scripts into HexChat's data directory. HexChat
will auto-load scripts if they have the right extension .e.g If a filename
ends in .pl, it will be loaded as a Perl script.
This data directory is different on each platform:
<br><br>
<u>Windows</u>
<br><br>
It depends on your version of Windows and where it stores the
<i><b>Application Data</b></i> folder. On Windows XP it is usually:
<br><br>
C:\Documents and Settings\<i><b>username</b></i>\Application Data\HexChat\
<br><b>or simply:</b>
<br>
C:\Program Files\HexChat\Plugins\
<br><br><br>
<u>UNIX</u>
<br><br>
~/.config/hexchat/
Where "~" represents your home directory i.e.: $HOME/.config/hexchat/
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q219">19. How do I minimize HexChat to the System Tray (Notification Area)?</a></h3>
<p>
There are two plugins available that allow this:
<br>Unix: <a href="http://www.blight.tk/">SysTray Plugin</a>
<br>Windows: <a href="http://www.sinisterdevelopments.com/">xTray</a>
</p>
<p>
Note that HexChat 2.8.0+ has its own tray feature, but you can disable it
in <b>Settings > Preferences > Alerts</b> and still run these plugins, if you prefer.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q220">20. Can I select and copy text with the time stamps?</a></h3>
<p>
Yes, but this requires at least HexChat 2.6.3. Simply hold down SHIFT while marking
the text and the time stamps will be included.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q221">21. What's the deal with opening URLs in HexChat on Unix/Linux?</a></h3>
<p>
Right-clicking on a URL and selecting <i>Open Link in Browser</i> will open the link
in your "preferred browser". In Gnome, your preferred browser can be changed in System > Preferences > More Preferences > Preferred Applications.
<br><br>
<b><u>Notes for 2.8.0 or newer:</u></b>
<br><br>
Everything should just work automatically without any changes from you. Here's how the current
logic works:
</p>
<ul>
<li>First, it tries to run xdg-open, which is a universal URL handler from freedesktop.org. Most modern Linux desktops will have this now, or in the near future.</li>
<li>If xdg-open doesn't exist, it will try to detect a running Gnome or KDE desktop. This is done via the environment variables GNOME_DESKTOP_SESSION_ID and KDE_FULL_SESSION.</li>
<li>If Gnome is detected, it will execute: gnome-open <url></li>
<li>If KDE is detected, it will execute: kfmclient exec <url></li>
</ul>
<p>
<b><u>Notes for 2.6.8 or older:</u></b>
<br><br>
If you're not using Gnome, e.g KDE or some other desktop environment, you're fresh out of luck!
<br><u>Note for Debian and Ubuntu</u>: Integration with Gnome is broken on this distro! Please set
<i>sensible-browser</i> instead. We have no control over what the Debian packagers do, so complain
to them for this screw up. Example:
<i>sudo update-alternatives --set x-www-browser /usr/bin/firefox</i>
<br><br>
<b><u>More details</u></b>
<br><br>
While holding down CTRL you can single left-click a URL to open it in your preferred browser. If you really want to change this to plain left-click you can type: <b>/set gui_url_mod 0</b>, provided you have HexChat 2.6.6 or newer.
<br><br>
You can also add more items to the right-click menu in HexChat: <b>Settings > Advanced > URL Handlers</b>.
<br>For example, you could add an entry like <b>!firefox -a firefox -remote 'openURL(%s,new-tab)'</b>
<br>But this kind of messing around shouldn't be necessary, it just works automatically in Gnome, KDE and Windows with 2.8.0+!
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q222">22. Where are the log files saved to?</a></h3>
<p>
<u>UNIX</u>
<br>
<br>~/.hexchat/logs/
<br>where ~ represents your home directory.
<br>
<br>
<br><u>Windows</u>
<br>
<br><b>Windows XP/2000</b>: C:\Documents and Settings\<i><b>username</b></i>\Application Data\HexChat\logs
<br><b>Windows Vista/7</b>: C:\Users\<i><b>username</b></i>\AppData\Roaming\HexChat\logs
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q223">23. How do I rotate log files every so often?</a></h3>
<p>
Requires: 2.6.1+
<br><br>
By default settings, no rotation occurs, your log files will just keep getting larger.
<br><br>
Go to <b>Settings</b> > <b>Preferences</b> > <b>Logging</b> and change the log filename to any one of these:
</p>
<blockquote>
<table border="1" cellpadding="6" rules="all">
<tr><td><b>Setting</b></td><td><b>Example filename that would be written</b></td></tr>
<tr><td>%Y-%m-%d/%n-%c.log </td><td>2006-12-30/FreeNode-#channel.log</td></tr>
<tr><td>%n/%Y-%m-%d/%c.log</td><td>FreeNode/2006-12-30/#channel.log</td></tr>
<tr><td>%n/%c.log</td><td>FreeNode/#channel.log (no rotation)</td></tr>
</table>
</blockquote>
<p>
%Y, %m and %d represents the current year, month and day respectively. %n is the
network name, e.g. "FreeNode" or "UnderNet", and finally, %c is the channel. In these
examples, a new log filename and folder would be created after midnight.
<br><br>
You can find more possibilities at <a href="http://xchat.org/docs/log/">http://xchat.org/docs/log/</a>.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q224">24. How do I enable graphical smilies (emoticons)?</a></h3>
<p>
This feature is only available in the official Windows HexChat release. You have to
TICK this feature during installation. If you didn't do this, you can simply run
the installer again, and TICK the "<b>Eye Candy Theme</b>" when given the option.
</p><p>
If you want to use the graphical theme, but disable it just for smilies (i.e leave
it ON for things like Join/Part, Modes etc only), type this command and restart:
<br><br>
<b>/set text_emoticons off</b>
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q225">25. Where did the Real Name field go?</a></h3>
<p>
The real name field is now removed from the Network List. This is in order to avoid
alienating newcomers (some might be afraid of their personal data).
</p>
<p>
The network-specific real name can still be set via the GUI. If you want to modify
the global real name, just issue the following command:
</p>
<blockquote><pre>
/set irc_real_name Stewie Griffin
</pre></blockquote>
<br><h3><a name="q226">26. How do I migrate my settings from XChat?</a></h3>
<p>
<u>UNIX:</u><br>
Copy <i>~/.xchat2</i> to <i>~/.config/hexchat</i><br />
Rename <i>~/.config/hexchat/xchatlogs</i> to <i>~/.config/hexchat/logs</i>
<br><br><u>WINDOWS:</u><br>
Copy <i>%APPDATA%\X-Chat 2</i> to <i>%APPDATA%\HexChat</i><br />
Rename <i>%APPDATA%\HexChat\xchatlogs</i> to <i>%APPDATA%\HexChat\logs</i>
</p>
<br><h2>3. Section Three: Contributions, Development and Bugs.</h2>
<br><h3><a name="q31">1. Why does HexChat leak so much memory?</a></h3>
<p>
The simple answer is, it doesn't! There are some GTK+ pixmap based themes around that
leak a lot of memory. Please try using a different theme and see if that resolves the
problem. HexChat itself only allocates about 40kb of memory through malloc()!
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q32">2. My copy of HexChat crashes, what can I do?</a></h3>
<p>
Firstly, make sure it's the latest stable version of HexChat. Stable versions have
an EVEN middle number, e.g.: 2.8.0 or 2.8.1. Often late fixes are placed in this
directory: <a href="http://xchat.org/files/source/2.8/patches/">2.8.x patches</a>
</p><p>
If you still experience crashes, you should consider running it through GDB. This
will help us find a fix quickly, and it's easy to do! See <a href="http://xchat.org/gdb/">here</a>.
</p>
<br><h3><a name="q33">3. Can I write a new language translation for HexChat?</a></h3>
<p>
You sure can, but I don't accept translations directly. They must be done through the
<a href="http://translationproject.org/domain/xchat.html">Translation Project</a>.
All the relevant information should be on that page.
</p>
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