mIRC Set-Up Tutorial: How to automatically log-in, chat etc.

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CrimsonShade
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mIRC Set-Up Tutorial: How to automatically log-in, chat etc.

Post by CrimsonShade »

As you should all be aware, here at Sanitarium.FM, we use IRC as our main method of live chat between Staff, listeners and other visitors to our website; and it’s also the method by which listeners of our online radio station can post requests and vote on tracks. IRC is a simple but immensely powerful chat system supported by lots of different chat software on almost any system; and while it might seem a little daunting at first, setting it up correctly will make sure you can both chat and moderate channels easily and prevent others from impersonating you.

You CAN use and talk to people on our IRC; and even set up basic account details for it using our web-based IRC Client at http://www.sanitarium.fm/irc - using that client is simplicity itself; and a tutorial for how to register your username and login through it can already be found on our Forum - but if you want something more reliable and capable, a proper IRC client is always the way forward. The following tutorial explains how to install and use one of the best ones out there, mIRC.

Installing mIRC

We recommend mIRC v6.2, as so far as we know it does not nag or force you to register the program (at cost) after a 30-day usage limit. You will still be asked to, but the program still functions even after the limit expires.

First, download mIRC 6.2 from the link found here: http://www.filehippo.com/download_mirc/1358/

Once the installer downloads, open it up to begin installing mIRC. The installer should look like this:

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Click Next to move on to the Licence Agreement, then click “I agree”.

On the next screen, you’ll be asked what type of install you want to do. Generally, it’s best to do a “Full” install and leave the other options alone. Make sure the drop-down box says “Full” (it should by default), then click Next. If in doubt, refer to the screenshot below.

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On the next step, you can change where mIRC is installed. There’s usually no need to change this, but the option is there should you prefer. After clicking Next, you’ll have the option of changing the Start Menu shortcut. Again, you shouldn’t need to change this.

The “Next” button will now have changed to “Install”. Click it and the installer will do all the hard work and install mIRC for you. When you see this screen, you’re all done:

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If you check the “Run mIRC” box, you can start using it straight away. To open mIRC in the future, just look for it in your Start Menu.

Initial Setup

Now you have mIRC installed, you’ll need to set it up to be able to use our server on it. On running it for the first time and continuing past the “please register” dialog if it’s shown, you should be shown the mIRC Options box, which looks like this:

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Here’s where you’ll set up your basic account information for mIRC. “Full name” can be anything you want - it doesn’t have to be your real name, and actually is probably better if it isn’t. Put your email address in the “Email Address” field - certain services may need it later. The next thing is to set your username. In the “Nickname” field, set the name you want to use when on our IRC network - we generally recommend you use the same username as you use on Sanitarium.FM’s website for simplicity’s sake. You can also fill the “Alternative” field with another name you want mIRC to try to use if someone else has taken that name already (we’ll cover how you can protect your own username to prevent others using it or stealing your powers later).

After filling all this in, click “Servers” on the left, to be moved to this screen:

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Now, you’ll set up mIRC to connect to our server. Our server isn’t in the list of options provided by mIRC out of the box, so you’ll need to add it yourself. Click the “Add” button to see the Add Server Dialog, then fill in the boxes as shown here:

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The password field can be ignored at this point, but is one of two ways you can easily identify yourself when you’ve protected your nickname - again, we’ll discuss this later. Just click Add once you’ve filled in all the details as above.

Finally, click the “Connect to Server” button. The Options screen should now disappear; and if you’ve done everything correctly, you should connect to our IRC and automatically join the main channel, #Sanitarium.FM

Registering and protecting your Nickname

Now that you’re connected to our IRC for the first time, it’d be a good idea to protect your username. By protecting your username, you can prevent others joining the IRC using your name whenever you’re not connected; and any permissions you have on IRC will not be given until you supply your IRC password, keeping your account secure.

To protect your Nickname, you first need to register to NickServ. The easy way to do this, which works in all IRC Networks, is to copy this command:

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/msg NickServ REGISTER password email
Replace password with any password you’d like to use to protect your username with; and email with any valid email address you own (ideally, this should be the same as the one you set earlier). Send the finished command as a message in IRC. You should be told that an email has been sent to you; check the email address you gave for instructions on how to finish registering your nickname.

Once your nickname is registered, you can set a rule preventing others using it without giving the password. Use one of the following three commands to set the rule:

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/msg NickServ SET kill ON
After 60 seconds, force a name change on anyone using your name without the password.

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/msg NickServ SET kill QUICK
Same as above, but only allow 20 seconds.

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/msg NickServ SET kill OFF
Turn off the timeout. Anyone can use your nickname for as long as they want, but have no permissions until the password is given. Not recommended.

Final Steps: Automatically login and join channels

To save you time in the future, you can now set up mIRC to automatically log you in and join the #DJs channel so you can hear requests during your show. Here’s what to do:

Press Alt-O - or click Tools, then Options - to bring back up the mIRC Options. This time, click “Options” on the left side, to see the screen below:

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Now click the button marked “Perform…”, to see this:

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Here’s where you can give commands to mIRC to run the moment you connect. You can use this to auto-join channels and identify yourself. First, check “Enable perform on connect”. Then click the Add button and look for “Sanitarium.FM”, then click OK.

Now, type the following into the box labelled “Perform commands:”

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/msg nickserv identify PASSWORD
/join #sanitarium.fm,#djs
/hop #sanitarium.fm
Replace PASSWORD with the password you set earlier. Then click OK.

The /join command tells mIRC which channels to connect you to when you connect to our IRC Server. The two important ones, DJs (where requests are posted) and #Sanitarium.FM (the main chat channel for the station) are included here; you can add your own if you wish. The /hop command tells mIRC to rejoin #Sanitarium.FM after logging you in, since sometimes this is needed to properly give you your permissions.

The /msg nickserv... command automatically logs you in each time, so you can just set and forget it. If you’d prefer to keep the password hidden, you can remove this command and use the alternative way to supply your password instead - using the “Password” field we saw earlier in this tutorial. Go back to “Servers” in the mIRC Options pane, click Edit, then type your password in the Password field. Please only use one or the other option, there's no need for both.

Conclusion

From this point forward, you should now be able to just open mIRC, click “Connect to Server” and be connected to our IRC, logged in and ready to chat in just seconds, with no more effort needed ;)
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