biff(1)biff(1)NAMEbiff - Notifies users when mail arrives
SYNOPSISbiff [y | n]
DESCRIPTION
The biff command informs the system whether you want to be notified
when mail arrives during the current terminal session. The following
command enables notification: biff y
The following command disables notification: biff n
When mail notification is enabled, the From: and Subject: header lines
and up to the first five lines of the message are displayed. The total
display is 560 characters, or seven lines terminated by newline charac‐
ters, whichever occurs first.
The biff y command is often included in the $HOME/.login or $HOME/.pro‐
file file to be executed each time you log in.
The biff command operates asynchronously. For synchronous notification,
use the MAIL variable of sh or ksh, or the mail variable of csh.
EXAMPLES
To display the current setting, enter: biff To be notified during the
current terminal session whenever mail arrives, enter the following in
your $HOME/.login or $HOME/.profile file: biff y
FILES
Read by login shell (after login. User profile.
SEE ALSO
Commands: comsat(8), csh(1), ksh(1), mail(1), mailx(1), Bourne Shell
sh(1b), POSIX Shell sh(1p)biff(1)