biff(TC)


biff -- notify if mail arrives and who it is from

Syntax

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. When mail notification is enabled, the header and first few lines of the message will be 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(C) or the mail variable of csh(C), if your system has csh.

Limitations

Mail notification only works if your system is running sendmail(ADMN) and lmail(ADMN).

See also

comsat(ADMN), mailx(C), sh(C)

Standards conformance

biff is conformant with X/Open Portability Guide, Issue 4, 1992.
© 2005 The SCO Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
SCO OpenServer Release 6.0.0 -- 02 June 2005