Snak is a program that will let you participate in discussions in Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels. IRC is a service that uses the Internet to connect a large number of servers all over the world. Individuals then connect to a nearby server with the help of a client program like Snak and join one or more of the thousands of channels that are available. Anything that is typed into the channel will be seen by the other members and you can then have a real-time conversation with people all over the world.
At any given time the largest of the IRC networks may have as many as 15.000 participants and almost anyone can find a channel that talks about a topic that is of interest to that particular person.
Snak is being heavily developed and new features are added frequently due to user demand. If you have a cool and useful feature you would like to see in this IRC client, please drop me a line with feedback, bug reports or feature requests at "kent@kagi.com".
This version provides support for the enhancements to the channel list commands found on undernet, implements support for /userhost, and fixes problems in three other commands. Also new in version 1.2 is support for the two most common color schemes in use on IRC, reduced memory requirements for channel lists, and fixes to problems in /kick and channel invitations.
My website is at "http://www.snak.com" where you can always get the latest versions. The site is mirrored at "http://www.kagi.com/kent"
How to Register
Snak is shareware which means that you may use and evaluate it for 30 days at no charge. If you decide to keep the program you must pay the $20 registration fee.
You can register the program on a secure webserver available from my web page at "http://www.snak.com". You can also use the Register program that comes in the package to register with Check, Cash, Credit Card and Money Order to the Kagi Shareware payment service.
You can even pay by telephone by calling the Kagi Shareware payment service at +1 (510) 658-5244 to place an order. They charge a $5 fee for telephone orders.
If you like the program, you are encouraged to register, as the show of support and appreciation will allow me to spend even more time working on the program.
You are welcome to upload this version of Snak whereever you want, but you must keep it as a package - ie. the program, the Register program, this read me file and the manual. If you want to include it on a CD, please ask me for permission first.
Features
Less window clutter than other IRC clients...!
A dedicated input field per channel
Multi connections and multi channels
Integrated /Notify support
Connection records can specify multiple servers, which allows the program to try each server until it finds one that will connect.
User Database to store information snippets
Two customizable menus holds frequently used commands and shortcuts
Font and background color can be set for each individual channel
Manual and Automatic logging
International character sets are supported
Command-clicking URLs to open them is supported
Fully searchable channel list and channel text
Guardian feature lets parents limit what channels a child can use
Fully customizable multi line aliases
$ variables in aliases and shortcuts
Identd support
File transfer and chatting via DCC
About the name
Snak is the Danish word for Chat. Why did I choose "Snak" . . . . ? I'm Danish :-)
Getting Started
When you first launch Snak it will display a welcome screen, and start to build a database file with all the irc servers it knows about. That may take a while, but after that the program is ready to use.
Press cmd-r or use the menu to open the preferences window. It will open up and display a list of available preference panels on the left and the currently selected panel on the right. Initially that will be the Preset panel. A preset is a connection record containing a server name, port, nickname, startup action. Doubleclick on the Default connection and fill in a nick of your choice. Press the Add button to select one or more servers that you prefer on the IRC network. Change the name of the preset to something more descriptive.
After completing the setup you can either use the File/Open Connection menu and choose your preset, or you can select it in the preset list in the preference window and press the Connect button.
Then a console window is shown and the program attempts to open a connection to the server. You can see the progress in the log window as well as in the console window. When the console window is online, you can join channels. If you didn't specify a startup action in the preset (like /join #macintosh or similar) you must use the File/Join menu. That will open a window where you can enter the name of the desired channel. You can also create a list of frequently visited channels by typing in the name and pressing the Add button. After that you can just double click on the channel name.
Then the channel window comes up and you will notice the user list to the left of the main text field, as well as the input field below it. Next to the input field is the shortcuts menu where you can put frequently used snippets and text.
You can double click on a nickname in the user list to have it added to the input line.
The tools menu is intended for functions that operate on selections in the userlist. The $E variable returns the nick of the first selected user and is used in functions like Whois. See the Menu panel in the Preference window to examine the built in tool functions and shortcuts.
If you want to change or inspect the mode of the channel, you can open the channel info window with Windows/Channel Info, or click in the topic field of the channel window. That will bring up a window where you can set the mode of the channel and change the topic. Additionally you can choose the font and background color for that particular channel window.
The Preference window is dynamic - you do not need to save changes for them to be active. Just make the change and see it take effect immediately.
In the Server panel you can edit, delete and add servers. You can also move a server from one network to another. You can store a comment with each server, and you can set timeout and the port to use.
The Guardian panel is intended for parents that want to limit the channels that their children can access. It is password protected, and once you enter a password in the field you will have to provide it to access the panel. Snak intentionally only asks for the password once per session. You can selectively turn each Guardian feature on and off. If you have provided the supervisor password, the Guardian is inactive, but unless that is the case you can specify that channels whose name contains certain words are off limits. The "leave channel on word" will force the user out of the channel if certain words are uttered. All Guardian features can be overridden with the supervisor password
In the Channel panel you can specify what channel actions you want displayed, and choose the default font that will be used for new channel windows.
The Alias panel is the place where you define the aliases that Snak knows about. The save functions saves the Aliases to a file. The corresponding load function is unimplemented, and the available alias functions are quite limited. Eventually I expect to provide extensive compatibility with ircII. For now start by double clicking on the line with the "e" alias. That is a two line alias where the first line is an action and the second line is a normal channel message. In the Edit Alias window you can make canges and save them with OK.
In the Color panel you can select a particular color for each type of messages in the channel.
In the DCC panel you can specify a list if nicks that you grant permission to automatically set up a DCC connection to you - either for file transfer or chat.
In the Personal panel you can define a default quit message and an USERINFO reply.
The General panel is where you set up what Snak should do on certain actions like Kicks and Invites. The Timestamp options are not fully implemented yet.
In the Sounds panel you can turn individual sounds on and off.
In the Logging Panel you control the Automatic logging feature. This feature can automatically keep a continous log of all the channels that you visit. It creates a folder for each of your connection records and creates log files inside that folder. You can select to use one log file per channel, or start a new log file every time you koin the channel.
In the Menus panel you can define the contents of the Tools and shortcuts menus. They work the same way as the alias panel.
Snak contains a database that is intended to store the snippets of information that you come across as you IRC. Someones real name, email address, favorite channel. . . .
To access the database use the Windows/User Database menu. That brings up the database window. Like the preference window, the database window is dynamic and you do not need to save changes to preserve them. To store information just start filling out the fields. The most important and the only required field is the nick. As soon as you select another record, make a new record or close the window the program saves the changes.
If you want to see a channel listing, use the File/List Channels menu. That brings up the List channels window where you can set up criteria for the listing. You can specify that you want to see channels containing certain words but not others. You can specify that you want to see channels with at least 10 users but not more that 20. .
Pressing OK will send the command off to the server. Be advised that on some servers, the List command will result in so much data being sent to you that the server will disconnect you . . .
As soon as the server responds Snak will begin filtering the information based on the criteria that you specified. Once a valid channel is found, Snak will open a Channel List window and display the channel name and information. When the server is done listing the channels Snak will enable the Save button in the Channel list window and you can save the listing to a file. The Channel list window supports a Find and Find Again function that will let you search the found channels.
You can create multiple preset records and open multiple connections simultaneously, but please keep in mind that some servers consider that "cloning" and will ban you if you overdo it.
* No Warranty
KENT SORENSEN PROVIDES Snak AS IS, WITHOUT ANY WARRENTY OR PROMISE OF TECHNICAL SUPPORT. KENT SORENSEN DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY OF ANY KIND FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM THE USE OF Snak, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT OR SPECIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, EVEN IF KENT SORENSEN IS AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. KENT SORENSEN MAKES NO WARRENTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE PROGRAM, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRENTIES OF MECHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Legal actions involving this products are to take place in the courts of Denmark, Århus Amt.
Snak IRC Client Entire work except WASTE text engine copyright 1996 - 1998 by Kent Sorensen All Rights Reserved
