biff(1-BSD)       MISC. REFERENCE MANUAL PAGES        biff(1-BSD)



NAME
     biff - give notice of incoming mail messages

SYNOPSIS
     /usr/ucb/biff [ y | n ]

DESCRIPTION
     biff turns mail notification on or off for the terminal ses-
     sion.   With no arguments, biff displays the current notifi-
     cation status for the terminal.  The y  option  allows  mail
     notification for the terminal.  The n option disables notif-
     ication for the terminal.  If notification is  allowed,  the
     terminal  rings  the  bell  and  displays the header and the
     first  few  lines  of  each  arriving  mail  message.   biff
     operates  asynchronously.  For synchronized notices, use the
     MAIL variable of sh(1) or the mail variable  of  csh(1).   A
     `biff y' command can be included in your ~/.login or ~/.pro-
     file file for execution when you log in.

FILES
     ~/.login
     ~/.profile

SEE ALSO
     csh(1), mail(1), sh(1) in the User's Reference Manual.






























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