BIFF(1)                      UNIX Reference Manual                     BIFF(1)

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

SYNOPSIS
     biff [ny]

DESCRIPTION
     Biff informs the system whether you want to be notified when mail arrives
     during the current terminal session.

     Options supported by biff:

     n     Disables notification.

     y     Enables notification.

     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 exe-
     cuted at each login.

     Biff operates asynchronously via the comsat(8) service. If that service
     is not enabled, biff will not do anything. In that case, or for syn-
     chronous notification, use the MAIL variable of sh(1) or the mail vari-
     able of csh(1).

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

HISTORY
     The biff command appeared in 4.0BSD.

 Linux NetKit 0.10             February 1, 1997                              1