BIFF(1)                              BSD                               BIFF(1)



NAME
     biff - be notified if mail arrives and who it is from

SYNOPSIS
     biff [ y ] [ n ]

DESCRIPTION
     biff informs the system whether you want to be notified when mail arrives
     during the current login session.  The command

          biff y

     enables notification; the command

          biff n

     disables it.

     When mail notification is enabled, the header and first few lines of the
     message are printed on your screen whenever mail arrives.  A biff y
     command is often included in the file ~/.login or ~/.profile to be
     executed at each login.

     biff operates asynchronously.  For synchronous notification use the MAIL
     variable of sh(1) or the mail variable of csh(1).

NOTES
     biff only notifies you of mail delivered locally with /bin/mail (which
     includes mail(1), sendmail(8), etc.).

SEE ALSO
     csh(1), sh(1), mail(1), binmail(1), comsat(8C)