'\" te
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.TH biff 1B "14 Sep 1992" "SunOS 5.11" "SunOS/BSD Compatibility Package Commands"
.SH NAME
biff \- give notice of incoming mail messages
.SH SYNOPSIS
.LP
.nf
\fB/usr/ucb/biff\fR [y | n]
.fi

.SH DESCRIPTION
.sp
.LP
\fBbiff\fR turns mail notification on or off for the terminal session. With no
arguments, \fBbiff\fR displays the current notification status for the
terminal.
.sp
.LP
If notification is allowed, the terminal rings the bell and displays the header
and the first few lines of each arriving mail message. \fBbiff\fR operates
asynchronously. For synchronized notices, use the \fBMAIL\fR variable of
\fBsh\fR(1) or the \fBmail\fR variable of \fBcsh\fR(1).
.sp
.LP
A `\fBbiff y\fR' command can be included in your \fB~/.login\fR or
\fB~/.profile\fR file for execution when you log in.
.SH OPTIONS
.sp
.ne 2
.mk
.na
\fB\fBy\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 5n
.rt  
Allow mail notification for the terminal.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.mk
.na
\fB\fBn\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 5n
.rt  
Disable notification for the terminal.
.RE

.SH FILES
.sp
.ne 2
.mk
.na
\fB\fB~/.login\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 14n
.rt  
User's login file
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.mk
.na
\fB\fB~/.profile\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 14n
.rt  
User's profile file
.RE

.SH SEE ALSO
.sp
.LP
\fBcsh\fR(1), \fBmail\fR(1), \fBsh\fR(1), \fBattributes\fR(5)