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This tutorial will explain, in detail, how to add file associations to the windows registry for mIRC's extension files (.mrc). With the addition of these entries, you will be able to load, reload and unload .mrc files by clicking on the respective command from the file's context (right-click) menu, as well as select a custom icon to use for them. The operations explained below were done in Windows 2000 Professional (SP 3), so i cant promise everything will be the same on your system. No prior knowledge of the Windows registry is needed or assumed.
If mIRC's DDE server isn't enabled (or you don't know if it is or not), type //ddeserver on mIRC (mIRC is the DDE service name, you may substitute it with something else if you wish) and hit enter in any editbox within mIRC. You should get this message: * DDE Server is on (mIRC). If you chose a different service name, mIRC will be replaced with that name.
To add the necessary entries, open Windows file explorer, select "Tools" from the menubar, and click on "Folder Options...". A dialog box named "Folder Options" should appear. Next, click on the tab labeled "File Types". It will take a few seconds to load all of your registered file types into the list, be patient. When it is finished, click "New" (located directly beneath the list.).
A new dialog box named "Create New Extension" will appear. In the text box labeled "File Extension:", type MRC. Click the "OK" button. If you already have an extension for MRC files, skip to the next paragraph. The Dialog box closes, and "MRC" should appear in the list with a file type of "FT0000X", where X can be any number.
Select "MRC" in the list and click the button labeled "Advanced". A dialog box named "Edit File Type" should open. In the topmost text box, type mIRC Script. To select the icon to use, click on the "Change Icon..." button. A dialog box named "Change Icon" will appear. From this dialog (and using the "Browse" button), select the icon you want to use, and click "OK". I have created two basic icons with the mIRC logo on them, if you want to use them you can download them here.
Now, we just need to add the context (right-click) menu's commands. Click on the "New..." button to the right of the listbox. A dialog box named "New Action" opens. In the text box labeled "Action:", type "Open", and in the text box labeled "Application used to perform this action:", type X:\windows_dir\notepad.exe "%1" (where X:\windows_dir\ is the path to your windows installation), or click "Browse" and locate notepad.exe. Click "OK". The command Open should appear in the listbox in bold text, indicating that it is the default command. When you double click on an .mrc file, it will now open in notepad.
To add the Load command, click "New...", and in the first text box type Load. In the second text box, enter the path to your mirc.exe, or click "Browse" and locate it. Next, click the "Use DDE" checkbox to select it, and a few more options will appear.
In the "DDE Message" text box, type /.load -rs "%1", and in the "Application" text box, type mIRC (if your mIRC is running under a different service name, enter the name). Leave the "DDE Application not running" text box blank, and in the "Topic" text box, enter "command" (without the quotes). Click "OK", and Load should be added to the list box. If you would like .mrc files to be loaded when you double click them, select "Load" from the list and click "Set Default". Load will then appear bolded, and will become the default command.
Repeat the steps in the above paragraph for Unload and Reload. The only difference will be the "Action" name, and the "DDE Message". For the Unload command, enter Unload as the action name, and /.unload -rs "%1" as the DDE message. For Reload, enter Reload as the action name and /.reload -rs "%1" as the DDE message.
Another commonly used extension for mIRC files is the .als extension, which is used for alias files. To add entries for these files, do the same as you did for MRC files, only substitute MRC for ALS, and in the "DDE message", substitute "-rs" for "-as", which will tell mIRC to load it as an alias file.
If you use a different extension for your script files, repeat the steps above, substituting "MRC" with your extension. DO NOT make changes to the .ini file type. many other programs in windows (including windows itself) use this type of file, and there's no telling what will happen if you edit it.
If you are an mIRC scripter, you can use the above method to perform mIRC commands on files from the windows context menu. For example, you can have mp3s play in mIRC when you double click them (DDE message /splay "%1"), the possibilities are endless.
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