WinBiff 1.4a - (C) Copyright 1992-93, Paul A. Steckler ------------------------------------------------------ WinBiff is a Windows 3.x version of the well-known Un*x biff program, designed for use in conjunction with mail delivery programs such as UUPC/extended, Waffle, and sendmail. INSTALLING WINBIFF ------------------ Copy the file WINBIFF.EXE to any directory listed in your PATH. Typically, users keep WINBIFF.EXE in a directory along with other small Windows utilities. To configure WinBiff for your system, start the program, and select "Setup" from the system menu in the upper left window. In the dialog box which pops up, enter a suitable polling interval (how often WinBiff checks your mail file), the full pathname of the file your mail program creates, and the command to invoke your mail reader (including any command-line arguments). The minimum polling interval is 5 seconds. (Note for Waffle users: Waffle creates two mailbox files, a text file with a .f, and an index file with a .i extension -- specify the .f file for WinBiff.) By clicking with the left mouse button in the appropriate boxes, you may choose the additional options: o start the program minimized o "autosize" the program window o show mail headers o reverse sort headers by order of arrival The "autosize" option tells WinBiff to display an icon when there is no mail, and to display a window (with or without headers) when mail is present. The reverse sort option is inapplicable, and its checkbox disabled, unless the show headers option is selected. If you press the "Save" button, a WINBIFF.INI file is created, and the values you have given will be recalled when the program is started subsequently. The WINBIFF.INI file will be placed in your Windows directory. When running WinBiff, you may override arguments in the initialization file with command-line arguments: WINBIFF [-p #] [-f file] [+/-m] [+/-h] [+/-a] [+/-r] [-rr reader arg1 arg2 ...] where '#' is the polling interval, 'file' is the mailbox, +m (alternatively, -m) indicates to start WinBiff minimized (as a normal window), +h (or -h) means "show headers" (don't show), +a (-a) means "autosize" (don't autosize). +r (-r) means "reverse sort" (forward sort). The -rr command must appear last, and is followed by the mail reader, and any arguments the reader requires. USING WINBIFF ------------- When WinBiff runs minimized, it displays either of two icons. One icon shows a mailbox with its flag down; the other shows the same mailbox with its flag raised, and the word "MAIL". WinBiff switches between these two icons depending on whether there is mail in the specified mail file. The arrival of new mail causes the program to beep. When WinBiff runs in a window, unless the show headers option has been selected, it displays bitmaps equivalent to the icons. That is, there are two bitmaps, one for when there is no mail, and another for when there is. If the show headers option has been selected, and there is mail, the "From:" and "Subject:" lines for up to 100 messages are displayed in the window. Scrollbars are provided, allowing scrolling through the headers. Choosing the reverse sort option displays the headers so that the latest-arriving message is at the top. The user may force the appearance of the original, no-mail icon (or bitmap) by selecting "Clear" from the system menu. To invoke the mail reader, double-click with the right mouse button on the icon or window. If the window is displayed, you may also double-click with the left mouse button or hit . The reader is invoked only if you have mail. When WinBiff is iconized or the "show headers" option is set, the caption reads "WinBiff (mailbox)"; it reads just "mailbox" if headers are disabled and running as a window -- this is so the title bar is of reasonable size. WinBiff's window is resizable; the bitmaps remain reasonably proportioned regardless of size. WinBiff is a shareware program. If you use the program on a regular basis, please submit contributions ($5 suggested) to: Paul A. Steckler 48 Hawthorne Street Somerville, MA 02144 Users who submit $5 or more will receive updates as a uuencoded .ZIP file by e-mail. You may freely distribute the WinBiff executable file as long as the executable file is not modified in any way, and as long as this document accompanies the executable. Disclaimer: You use WinBiff at your own risk. All warranties expressed and implied are disclaimed. Any damages resulting from the use of WinBiff shall not result in any liability. E-mail correspondence concerning this program may be submitted to: steck@ccs.northeastern.edu Likely future enhancements are: o Loading user-defined icons and bitmaps from disk o Playing a .WAV file on mail receipt February 12, 1993