When you launch SimpleIRC for the first time, you need to configure your nickname and add a server.

Settings Screen
This is where you set your nickname, alternate nickname, username and real name.
To access this screen, press the Options key and select Settings.
1. Enter a nickname (required) in the Nickname field.
2. Enter an alternate nickname (optional) in the Alt. Nickname field
3. Enter a username (required) in the Username field.
4. Enter a real name (optional) in the Real name field.

Servers Screen
This is where you add and edit IRC servers that you wish to connect to.
To access this screen, press the Options key and select Servers.

Adding a new Server
To add a new server, open the Servers screen, then select Add from the Options menu.
This will bring up the Add/Edit Server screen.
1. Enter a name for the server (required) in the Name field.
2. Enter the server's host name or IP address (required) in the Address field.
3. Enter the port number for the server (required) in the Port field.
4. Enter a password for connection to the server (optional) in the Password field.
5. Press OK once you are done to take you back to the server list.

Connecting to a Server
1. Open the server list (Options > Servers) if you have not done so already.
2. Select the server you want to connect to from the list of available servers. If you have not yet added a server, select Add from the Options menu.
3. Press Options and select Connect to take you back to the main screen and connect to the server.

Additional options after connection
Once you have successfully connected to a server, additional options are available in the Options menu on the main screen.

Connect to [SERVER NAME]
This becomes available after you connect to a server. [SERVER NAME] is the name that you specified for the server. Essentially, it's a quick access option that enables you to connect to the last server you connected to if the application is restarted, for example.

Disconnect
Selecting this will disconnect you from the IRC server you are currently connected to.

Names
This is available only when the current active window is a channel. It displays a list of all the nicknames currently in the channel.

Close
This is available when the current active window is a channel or a private message window. It closes the current window.

User Interface Navigation with the keypad on non-touch input devices
It is possible to navigate the user interface using the direction keys on the keypad.

If the currently focused item is the text area, you can use the up and down keys to scroll up and down respectively.

If the currently focused item is the tab bar, you can use the left and right keys to scroll down respectively.

You can use the up and down keys to switch focus between the tab bar, the text area and the text input field. Note that when the currently focused item is the text area, you will need to scroll to the end in either direction before focus is switched to the next item. This behaviour will be improved in future versions.