Public Chat

There's not much to say about chatting in public. It's done the same way as in the Java client (type something and hit enter), except for the additional twist of also being able to click Send if you want to in order to send your message text. If you want to send a pose, you can either type it in one of many styles (framing it with asterisks, for instance) or use the IRC command /me. The command is interpreted before it is sent to the server, so everyone will see it as it should.

The colors of the names that you see in the message area correspond (mostly) to those used by the Java client:

You also have the option of changing the color of your name, and it will appear differently in the window if so. This color change applies to your "ghosts" as well, if you are kicked from the chat server.

If you need to change your name during the chat, pull down the Chat menu, and select Switch Name. Then enter your new name and click OK. Note that Switch Name will be grayed out if you are not currently a part of the chat.

Note also, that if someone mentions a URL during chat, it will be highlighted for you, and you'll be able to click on it to open it in your default browser. Magenta's URL grabber will also save this URL for you.

If you want to wipe out all of the text in the main chat window, just select Chat -> Clear Chat Window, and it will be done for you.

Double-click on either the Who is online listbox or the Cyan Guests / Employees list box to print out some user information in the message window. Typically needed if you want to see the mangled IP address.

Also, while you are chatting, if you Ctrl + click one of the names in either list box, you will paste the name of the chatter with a > sign at the end into the message entry text box, prefixing anything that you had already typed. Very handy for saving a little typing.

Finally, try typing the first few letters of a chatter's name, and hitting the Tab key. Magenta will either complete the name for you or prompt you to select a match from a list. There is a maximum of 255 matches, though it is unlikely that many matches will ever occur.