I'm not sure if anyone has suggested this (or if it's already
implemented and I just haven't found the feature). I'd like to
see the switchbar scrollable when it gets too long, it's hard
to have to switch it to top or bottom and just click on #
because the names don't expand. If it's on the left or right
side you cannot see channels after a certain point unless
you go into the window menu. This would make some things
a bit easier. At least for me as I frequent several IRC networks at once.

There is a nifty new feature to collapse all of the windows for a single connection (status window) into just that connection's status window button. Alt-F1

Pressing it again uncollapses them back out like they were.

That defeats the purpose of seeing all activity. Not to mention
it'd get tiresome to constantly collapse and open the channel
list would it not?

Although alt+f1 is a handy feature, it would be very nice to see Valore's implemented (if possible)

I use the switchbar on the left side because you can see more windows clearly. I sort mine, as well (currently). And I usually have multiple simultaneous networks/connections. I, too, would like a clean way to cycle through the list of windows that I cannot see because the buttons have gone off the end of the switchbar. Forgive me if you think that's what I meant.

I'd even like to see the windows with activity in them of the types I've defined (no channel events, just chat) to perhaps be put at the top of the list, perhaps even sorted by type. Or maybe, Alt-F2 might hide inactive windows leaving only active window showing. When a window becomes active, unhide it. After a certain time (now where would we make that user-definable, somewhere in Alt-O / Display / Windows or somewhere near there), have the window hide itself due to lack of interest. Alt-F2 could toggle that on and off, such that all windows are shown or inactive windows are hidden.

I also wish I could specify where on the switchbar a window opened. Oper @windows open before #channel windows before Nick windows before DCC windows before other @windows, or however I choose; rather like the -rs1 in the load command, but for the window command: /window -L1 (first position after the status window for that network connection).

In the meantime, while Khaled is considering the suggestion, my previous suggestion helps manage your windows. It collapses a network down and frees up space to show what other buttons you're missing. The only problem would be if you have a single connection that had more buttons than would show.

[By the way, all of the above suggestions are currently scriptable.]

You won't see all activity with a scrollbar either, which is why alot people want one, so the buttons can remain at a reasonable size to see the channel names.

I personally would rather see arrow buttons instead of a scrollbar as buttons would look alot better and make the GUI less cumbersome (look at any website supposedly made to suit 800 x 600 and still see an ugly horizontal scrollbar and you'll know what I mean).

There's one other option in the meantime, you can make the switchbar four times the original height.

mIRC should just use standard toolbar and scrollbar controls. The reason Khaled said he didn't do this is because he wanted them to function the same way in mIRC16 and mIRC32, well mIRC16 is dead, so why not just use the standard Windows controls? Doing so will expand them with more features (in case you haven't noticed, under WinXP mIRCs toolbar looks different than every other toolbar in an XP equipped program), same with the switchbar. If the switchbar is made into a more standard toobar, well then it would be very easy to add IE style features to them, ie rebars (allow you to reposition the toolbar) and pagers (arrows that let you to have more buttons than fit on the screen) You could also very easily redesign the current alt+f1 feature, for example alt+f1 collapses the "network" into a single button, but the button is a drop down, meaning a little arrow is displayed next to it, clicking that arrow displays a drop down list of all the windows available under that network. That is much nicer than the current method.

I honestly see no reason not to implement this other than the fact that it won't exactly be easy, but I think the time spent creating it would definiately be worth it.

Not a bad idea at all. I know of a few buttons I'd give the chop (toolbar wise anyway)

Well I didn't mean exactly to have a scrollbar like you see on
textboxes and combo menus, etc. I meant more the style
such as what Windows 2000 uses on it's start menu for
programs which is the arrows at the top and bottom which
will scroll the switchbar up and town or left and right
depending on the position you have it at. This would probably
be slightly easier to implement, and it wouldn't be quite
as cumbersome or distracting as a normal scrollbar. A friend
suggested having side-by-side lists instead of just one
scrolling list, which I guess would be even easier, but then
again if you have tons of windows, that will take up a lot of
space. Seriously, I meant to the use of arrows, not a
scrollbar as it is perceived in IE and text programs, etc.