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 XBUFFY(1)                                                         XBUFFY(1)
                                   4/20/94



 NAME
      xbuffy - yet another biff for the X Window System

 SYNOPSIS
      xbuffy [X toolkit options] [-help] [-version] [-horiz] [-poll seconds]
      [-header seconds] [-acmd sound file]  [-nobeep] [-names] [-orig] [-
      priority priority] [-command command] [-shortnames] [-mail <mailbox
      files...>] [-news <newsgroup names...>]


 DESCRIPTION
      Xbuffy is based on Xmultibiff by John Reardon.

      Xbuffy keeps track of multiple mailboxes.  You can either specify
      mailbox files on the command line, in a Xresources file, in a text
      configuration file, or set your MAILPATH environment variable (a colon
      separated list of files).  It will display the number of new messages
      in each mail file in a box.

      Another key feature of xbuffy is that it will use NNTP to watch
      newsgroups in the same way it watches mailboxes.  You can also specify
      newsgroups on the command line, in Xresources, in a text configuration
      file (the same file can specify both mailboxes and newsboxes), or set
      your NEWSPATH environment variable using the same format as the
      MAILPATH environment variable.

      By specifying certain command line options and/or Xresources, xbuffy
      can show the From and Subject lines in each box.  It can also invoke
      shell commands on button clicks.  Each box can be configured
      differently by using a boxfile.  In general, it is a very extensible
      biff. Read on for details on what it can do.


 OPTIONS
      The following options are recognized:

      -help     Print a brief help message and exit

      -version  Print the current version and exit

      -poll secs
                How often the mailbox files are polled for new mail.  If
                this is not specified, it will use the MAILCHECK environment
                variable.

      -header secs
                This will display the From: and Subject: lines from incoming
                mail messages in a popup window when button 1 is pressed in
                the box label.  The mail header will also popup
                automatically for the amount of time indicated in secs when
                new mail arrives.  If secs is 0, the mail header will not



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                pop up when new mail arrives.  Clicking in the popup window
                when mail arrives (if the argument is non-zero) will
                instantly popdown the window.  This feature was borrowed
                from xpbiff.

      -acmd sound command
                This will run a command instead of ringing the bell when new
                mail arrives.  For example, you could "cat meow
                >/dev/audio".  This option could also be used to
                automatically open a mail reader when new mail arrives.

      -horiz    This will line up the boxes horizontally

      -nobeep   This will disable the beep (or sound command) when new mail
                arrives

      -boxfile filename
                The name of a file containing configuration information for
                the boxes.  The boxfile is an alternative way of specifying
                what to watch.  The boxfile also allows each box to have
                different polltime, headertime, etc.

      -origMode This will show all messages in each mailbox.  It has no
                effect on news groups.

      -names    Will display the full pathname of all the mailboxes it is
                watching.

      -shortnames
                Will display the file names of all the mailboxes it is
                watching.

      -priority priority
                Nice level at which xbuffy and its child processes will run.

      -command command
                This is the default command that is to be executed when
                Button 2 is pressed on a box.

      X Options Standard X windows options (e.g. -fn, -display, etc.)

 ENVIRONMENT
      The names and purpose of the some of the following environment
      variables were borrowed from Bash, the GNU Shell.

      MAILCHECK
           This specifies the amount of seconds to wait in between polling
           for mail.

      MAILPATH
           This is a colon separated list of files to check for mail.



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      NEWSPATH
           This is a colon separated list of newsgroups to monitor.

      NNTPSERVER
           This is the name of the NNTP server to use for news boxes.


 X DEFAULTS
      The application class is XBuffy.  Almost all the arguments above can
      be set in the X resource database, allowing for one-time configuration
      and eliminating long command lines.  The environment variables
      described above take precedence over any X resources that are
      specified.  Also, any command line arguments take precedence over both
      X resources and environment variables.


 BOXFILE FORMAT
      The boxfile contains configuration information for each box.  Any line
      that begins with '#' is considered a comment and is ignored.  The
      definition of a box begins with the keyword box followed by the
      filename or newsgroup for that box.  All subsequent lines are then
      used to configure that box until either another box command or the end
      of file.  Note that these options are NOT case sensitive.

      The following are settable on a per box basis by using the boxfile
      option (note that the boxfile may also be set in the Xresources with
      the resource Xbuffy.boxfile: <filename>).

      When using a boxfile, only the box line is required.  All options that
      are not given in the boxfile will default to the command line (or
      built in) value.

      box file name
                The filename or newsgroup for this box.  This also marks the
                beginning of a box definition.

      title box title
                The title that you want for this box.  This will override
                the shortname or longname option.

      mailbox   Specify that the box is a mailbox (a file).  If neither
                mailbox or newsbox is specified, mailbox is the default.

      newsbox   Specify that the box is a newsbox (a NNTP newsgroup).

      origMode  origMode will make Xbuffy try to act like Xmultibiff and
                count ALL messages instead of just NEW message.

      newMode   newMode will make Xbuffy count only new messages (this is
                the default).




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      nobeep    This will disable the beep (or sound command) when new mail
                arrives in the specified mailbox to be counted.

      beep      This will enable the beep (or sound) when new mail arrives
                in the specified mailbox to be counted.

      shortname This will cause the specified box to be prefaced with the
                filename.

      longname  This will cause the specified box to be prefaced with a full
                path name.

      audio command string
                Set to the command string to be used automatically when new
                mail arrives.

      polltime secs
                Set to the time (in seconds) in between polling the box.

      headertime secs
                Set to the time (in seconds) to display the header when new
                things arrive.

      command command string
                Specifies a UNIX shell command to be executed by sh when the
                middle mouse button is pushed in a box.  Take care to escape
                characters correctly.


      The following resources are settable on a per application basis
      in the Xresources:


      horiz     Set to TRUE or FALSE.  Same as the -horiz option.

      mailboxes Set to a colon separated list of mailboxes (files).  This is
                the same as specifying files on the command line.

      newsboxes Set to a colon separated list of news groups.  This is the
                same as specifying files on the command line.


 EXAMPLES
      The following examples demonstrate how to configure xbuffy to do the
      same thing from both the command-line and X resources.  Although, for
      maximum flexibility on a per-box basis, I suggest using a boxfile.

      The following example will watch 2 mailboxes in a home directory:
           % xbuffy -mail ~/box1 ~/box2 &

       boxfile:



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 XBUFFY(1)                                                         XBUFFY(1)
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           box ~/box1
           box ~/box2

      The following example will watch a mailbox and a newsgroup:
           % xbuffy -mail /usr/spool/mail/you -news comp.windows.x &

       boxfile:
           box /usr/spool/mail/you
           box comp.windows.x
           newsbox


 GRATITUDE
      Thanks to John Reardon for writing the original Xmultibiff and
      Xmultibiff 2.0.  Xbuffy is a modified version of Xmultibiff 2.0
      (although the code is looking less and less similar everyday).

 BUGS
      Sometimes buffy detects a change in the mailbox and reports new mail
      before the mail is finished being delivered.  This can (will) be fixed
      when buffy learns hows to deal with file locking.

      There is a bug with the NNTP stuff that isn't really Buffy's fault.
      Most versions of the NNTP server will not dynamically update the high
      message number (you must disconnect from the server and re-connect to
      get a new high message).  If your server is running one of these
      versions of NNTP then you will not get told of new articles in your
      newsboxes.


 AUTHOR
      xbuffy:   Bill Pemberton, wfp5p@virginia.EDU

      xmultibiff: John Reardon, Midnight Networks Inc.,
                badger@midnight.com



















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