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Interface

The interface of Peak Oil Chat is very similar to a standard graphical IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client, it is designed to be easy to use, whether or not you are familiar with IRC clients.

Along the top is a list of tabs, there will be a tab here for each channel you are in and each query (private message) you have open. To close a window click the X button on the far right of the tab list.

The userlist is on the right, when in a channel tab it will show a list of all the people in that channel. Double clicking a nickname will open a query with that user or perform whichever other action you select in the select box at the bottom.

The text entry box is at the bottom and is simple, here you type what you want to say and then press the enter key. If you want formatting, the little arrow to the right of the text entry area shows a toolbar that allows easy typing of colour, bold and underline. It is also where you enter all the commands.

Commands

Commands begin with / and should be familiar to anyone who has used IRC before - here is a quick summary of the most useful commands.

/me	This turns the text after /me into an action, eg: /me looks around.
/join	Joins the specified channel. eg: /join #PeakOil
/part	Leaves the current channel (same as clicking the X while in the channel).
/quit	Quits IRC totally (same as clicking X in Status window). eg: /quit Goodbye everyone!
/msg	Sends a private message to a user. eg: /msg someone Hi, how are you?
/whois	Gives some information about a user.

Options

There is an options window that lets you change some settings for the interface.

actsound (Play a sound when activity directed at you occurs)
font

font (The font that messages are displayed in)
join-sound

joinsound (Play a sound when some one joins a channel)
scroll-back

scrollback (Store all scrollback data (uses more memory))
entery

shownick (Show your nickname next to the text entry box)
smile

smilies (Convert smilies into pictures)
time

timestamp (Display a timestamp next to each message)

Keyboard shortcuts

There are several shortcuts to help make using IRC nicer.

Tab	Will autocomplete a nickname or channel.
Ctrl+number / Alt+number	Will go to that number window if you number the windows from the left (Status = 1 and so on).
Ctrl+B	Write "%B" for bold text.
Ctrl+C	Write "%C" for colored text.
Cursor Up/Down	Move in the command history.