NAME

biff − mail alarm

SYNOPSIS

biff [ y|n ]

DESCRIPTION

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

biff y

enables notification; the command:

biff n

disables it; finally, the command:

biff

on its own tells you whether the notification is y or n.  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 or the mail variable of csh. 

SEE ALSO

csh(1), sh(1), mail(1), comsat(8)

Sun Release 3.2  —  Last change: 23 September 1985