X-Chat 2.8 Frequently Asked Questions

1. Section One: Compiling and Installing.

1. I get this error: /bin/sh: no: command not found

2. How do I compile X-Chat on my Sun OS system?

2. Section Two: Using X-Chat.

1. How do I enable identd in X-Chat? (How do I get rid of the ~ in front of my username?)

2. How do I auto join more than one channel with keys?

3. How do I autoconnect and join a channel when X-Chat loads?

4. How do I cut and paste in X-Chat?

5. How do I connect through a proxy?

6. How do I show @ and + in front of nicknames that are Op and Voice when they talk?

7. How do I change the Op and Voice userlist icons and Tree View icons?

8. How do I set different ban types?

9. Why can't I see accented-letters/umlauts/upper-ascii-chars in X-Chat?

10. Why does the timestamp overlap some nicknames?

11. How do I turn on Conference mode where I will not see join or part messages?

12. How can I run the /dccserver command?

13. Why doesn't DCC send work behind a router (IPNat/ADSL)?

14. How do I execute multiple commands in one line?

15. How do I enable Emacs key bindings in XChat?

16. I get this error: "Unknown file type abc.yz. Maybe you need to install the Perl or Python plugin?"

17. How do I play sound files on certain events?

18. How do I auto-load scripts at startup?

19. How do I minimize X-Chat to the System Tray (Notification Area)?

20. Can I select and copy text with the time stamps?

21. What's the deal with opening URLs in XChat on Linux/Unix?

22. Where are the log files saved to?

23. How do I rotate log files every so often?

24. How do I enable graphical smilies (emoticons)?

3. Section Three: Contributions, Development and Bugs.

1. Why does X-Chat leak so much memory?

2. My copy of X-Chat crashes, what can I do?

3. Can I write a new language translation for X-Chat?



1. Section One: Compiling and Installing.


1. I get this error: /bin/sh: no: command not found

If you get an error something like: 

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

It means you don't have GNU gettext installed. There are two solutions:


2. How do I compile X-Chat on my Sun OS system?

X-Chat uses GNU gettext which in turn requires gmake, either install that and or use ./configure --disable-nls with Sun's own make.


2. Section Two: Using X-Chat.


1. How do I enable identd in X-Chat?

UNIX:
Identd isn't actually apart of X-Chat. 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: xchat_auth

WINDOWS:
The win32 version of X-Chat comes with a built-in identd server. It is enabled by default, but can be disabled with /set identd 0.


2. How do I auto join more than one channel with keys?

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"

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".


3. How do I autoconnect and join a channel when X-Chat loads?

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.


4. How do I cut and paste in X-Chat?

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).


5. How do I connect through a proxy?

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.


6. How do I show @ and + in front of nicknames that are Op and Voice when they talk?

To display @ and + characters next to nicknames as they talk, do the following:

In the menus, open up Settings -> Advanced -> Text Events. Find the Channel Message 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:

%C18%H<%H$4$1%H>%H%O$t$2

To:

%C18%H<%H$4$3$1%H>%H%O$t$2

Don't forget to press Enter, so the changes take effect in the list at the top of the window.


7. How do I change the Op and Voice userlist icons and Tree View icons?

Unix/Linux
The default icons are hard coded (compiled) in. You can override them by creating some PNG files in ${PREFIX}/share/xchat. ${PREFIX} is usually /usr, so that would translate to /usr/share/xchat. If you compiled from source tarball without specifying a prefix, it will be /usr/local instead.

Windows
Your own custom icons can be placed in C:\Program Files\XChat\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.

NameDescription
op.pngUserlist: Op
hop.pngUserlist: Half-Op
voice.pngUserlist: Voice
red.pngUserlist: Owner
purple.pngUserlist: Founder
server.pngTree: Server
channel.pngTree: Channel
dialog.pngTree: Dialog/Query
util.pngTree: Utility (Channel List, DCC etc)
message.pngTray: Message
highlight.pngTray: Highlighted Message
fileoffer.pngTray: DCC
xchat.pngMain XChat icon

Tree View icons: Type /set tab_icons 1 to enable them and then restart XChat.

8. How do I set different ban types?

Three ways: