Support Chat

PortableApps.com has an online support channel where you can chat live with our developers, moderators and other users. It's a great way to get help with a quick question that's not addressed on our online support pages and better handled live than in our community forums. You can either:

If you have an IRC client installed and configured, you can connect with this link:

Or you can use one of our popular IM or IRC clients to connect to us at #portableapps on irc.freenode.net:

Configuring Pidgin (Recommended)

  1. Download Pidgin or Pidgin Portable
  2. Install and run Pidgin (Portable)
  3. In the Accounts window that appears (may also be accessed from Accounts -> Manage in the Pidgin menu), select 'Add'
  4. From the 'Protocol:' list, select 'IRC'
  5. In the 'Username:' field, enter the name you desire to be seen as (no spaces or symbols, maximum 16 characters)
  6. Ensure that the 'Server:' field displays 'irc.freenode.net'
  7. Select 'Save' and close the 'Accounts' window
  8. When Pidgin shows it has connected to the server (does not display 'Connecting' in the Status Box), select Buddies - Add Chat... or optionally Join a Chat... if you do not wish to have #portableapps in your Buddy List
  9. In the Add Chat or Join a Chat window that appears, select yourusername@irc.freenode.net (IRC) in the 'Account:' field
  10. Input #portableapps in the 'Channel:' field. If you selected Join a Chat... then click the 'Join' button, if not, continue to step 11
  11. If you selected Add Chat... then select a 'Group:', optionally an 'Alias:' and any other options you desire. Select 'Add' and open the #portableapps (or aliased name) entry from your Buddy List

You should now be connected to #portableapps, if you have any issues, please try Live Support Chat.

Configuring Miranda IM (Advanced Users)

  1. Download Miranda IM or Miranda IM Portable
  2. Install and run Miranda IM (Portable)
  3. When the Miranda IM Profile Manager window appears, enter a new profile such as Portable or Home in the 'Profile' field, then click 'Create'
  4. Click Cancel at each of the [Protocol] Account Setup windows (or fill them in with your personal IM account details) until you reach the Miranda IRC window
  5. In the Miranda IRC window, enter the name you desired to be seen as in the 'Profile' field and your full name in the 'Full name' field. Click 'OK'
  6. Click 'Cancel' on the Import Information Wizard window
  7. In the main Miranda IM window (if you don't see it, a simple double click on its system tray icon should do the trick), click the Miranda IM logo
  8. Select 'IRC' and then 'Quick connect'. In the 'Server Name' field of the Quick connect window, select FreeNode: Random server. Click 'Connect'
  9. Back from the main Miranda IM menu, select 'IRC' and then 'Join a channel' and enter #portableapps in the Question window and click 'OK'

You should now be connected to #portableapps, if you have any issues, please try Live Support Chat.

Configuring KVIrc Portable

  1. Download KVIrc or KVIrc Portable
  2. Install and run KVIrc (Portable)
  3. In the 'Servers' window that appears (may also be accessed from KVIrc -> New Connection To -> Other... in the KVIrc menu), expand the 'FreeNode' entry and then select a server from this list. (Typically a 'chat.*.freenode.net' server is best).
  4. You can skip this step and go on to step 5, or you can enter in some information by clicking on 'Advanced...'
    • Username: - the name you desire to be seen as (no spaces or symbols, maximum 16 characters)
    • Nickname: - the name you wish to have displayed with your username@hostname address, typically your first name (optional)
    • Real name: - this is generally your real, full name. A last name is not required (optional)
    • Click on the 'Join Channels' tab, enter '#portableapps' in the field above 'Add', click 'Add' and then 'Ok'
  5. Click 'Connect Now' and then hit 'Ok'. This will connect you to Freenode and then close the servers window.
  6. If you followed step 4 in its entirety, you should now connect to the PortableApps.com support channel, if not, type '/join #portableapps' and you will join the channel.

You should now be connected to #portableapps, if you have any issues, please try Live Support Chat.

Configuring PChat Portable

  1. Download PChat or PChat Portable
  2. Install and run PChat (Portable)
  3. In the 'PChat: Network List' window that appears (may also be accessed from PChat -> Network List in the PChat menu), fill in the following 5 fields:
    • Nick name: - the name you desire to be seen as (no spaces or symbols, maximum 16 characters)
    • Second choice: - alternate nick name if the one you choose is already taken (Optional)
    • Third choice: - alternate alternate nick name if neither of the previously chosen are available (Optional)
    • User name: - the name you wish to have displayed with your username@hostname address, typically your first name
    • Real name: - this is generally your real, full name. A last name is not required
  4. Select FreeNode from the 'Networks' list and select 'Edit...' to auto-connect to the PortableApps.com IRC channel on each connect, or 'Connect' for a one time join
  5. If you selected 'Edit...', enter #portableapps in the 'Channels to join:' field, click 'Close' and then 'Connect'
  6. If you did not select 'Edit...', type /join #portableapps when connection to irc.freenode.net is complete
  7. If you did select 'Edit...', you should already be connected to the PortableApps.com IRC Channel

You should now be connected to #portableapps, if you have any issues, please try Live Support Chat.