Download XChat 2.8.3

Today a new Windows version of XChat has been released. The version number is 2.8.3 and the download is possible here are being found. XChat is one of the most widely used IRC programs on the Linux platform. Although the source code and the program for Linux are released under GPL license, this is not the case for the Windows version. According to the makers, this is because building the Windows version is complicated and it also has additional functionality, including spell checkers and graphical emoticons. After a thirty-day trial period, you have to pay twenty dollars for it. The changelog for this release shows the following changes:

News for 2.8.3:

• When explorer.exe crashes and restarts itself, XChat will now re-create its tray icon, previously it would disappear.
• Launching two or more copies of XChat will no longer make the tray icon disappear in the new copies.
• Connecting to SSL IRC servers no longer requires OpenSSL libraries. We now use Windows’ own TLS library (aka SChannel). This removes a dependency on a 528 KB file, saving space and memory. I have tested approx 20 SSL servers and only 1 is failing, which I suspect is the server’s own fault. Please report any failures or feedback on this, as the code is pretty new and complex!
• The Tree-View can now be placed above the user list, as seen in this forum thread.
• The user list can now be placed on the left side with /set gui_ulist_left 1, but requires a restart.
• The entry box’s right-click menu now adds the “Windows IME” input method. This is useful for inputting various non-English languages. There’s a whole thread on this here. Setting the environment variable GTK_IM_MODULE to “ime” will make this stick.
• Nick serv authentication is now sent without the “:” when using the /NICKSERV or /NS method. More at sf.net.
• Reverted an unintended charset change in 2.8.1a&b. When using “IRC (Latin/Unicode Hybrid)” mode, ac (c with caron) would be sent as plain ‘c’ when it should have been sent as UTF-8 with the caron preserved.
• Fixed a bug in the “Copy Selected Link” URL right-click menu on non-ASCII characters.
• Perl: Fixed a timer bug that could cause a crash during /reloadall or /unloadall.
• Fixed a crash bug in /MENU. Adding a radio or toggle item that deleted itself in its own select-command would crash.
• Automated crash reporting to www.xchat.org (optional). If/When a crash occurs, you will be asked if you want to send information about the crash to our web site.

[break] Click on the image for a larger version.