Table of Contents
xbiff - mailbox flag for X
xbiff
[ -toolkitoption ... ] [ -option ... ]
The xbiff program displays a
little image of a mailbox. When there is no mail, the flag on the mailbox
is down. When mail arrives, the flag goes up and the mailbox beeps. By
default, pressing any mouse button in the image forces xbiff to remember
the current size of the mail file as being the ``empty'' size and to lower
the flag.
Xbiff accepts all of the standard X Toolkit command line
options along with the additional options listed below:
- -help
- This option
indicates that a brief summary of the allowed options should be printed
on the standard error.
- -update seconds
- This option specifies the frequency
in seconds at which xbiff should update its display. If the mailbox is
obscured and then exposed, it will be updated immediately. The default
is 30 seconds.
- -file filename
- This option specifies the name of the file
which should be monitored. By default it watches your inbox in the default
location for your system (some examples are /var/mail/username, /usr/spool/mail/username,
/var/spool/mail/username (where username is your login name). If the MAIL
environment variable is set, the file specified by it will be monitored.
- -volume percentage
- This option specifies how loud the bell should be rung
when new mail comes in.
- -shape
- This option indicates that the mailbox window
should be shaped if masks for the empty or full images are given.
The following
standard X Toolkit command line arguments are commonly used with xbiff:
- -display display
- This option specifies the X server to contact.
- -geometry
geometry
- This option specifies the preferred size and position of the mailbox
window. The mailbox is 48 pixels wide and 48 pixels high and will be centered
in the window.
- -bg color
- This option specifies the color to use for the background
of the window.
- -bd color
- This option specifies the color to use for the
border of the window.
- -bw number
- This option specifies the width in pixels
of the border surrounding the window.
- -fg color
- This option specifies the
color to use for the foreground of the window.
- -rv
- This option indicates
that reverse video should be simulated by swapping the foreground and background
colors.
- -xrm resourcestring
- This option specifies a resource string to be
used. This is especially useful for setting resources that do not have
separate command line options.
The application class name is XBiff.
This program uses the Mailbox widget. It understands all of the core resource
names and classes as well as:
- checkCommand (class CheckCommand)
- Specifies
a shell command to be executed to check for new mail rather than examining
the size of file. The specified string value is used as the argument to
a system(3)
call and may therefore contain i/o redirection. An exit status
of 0 indicates that new mail is waiting, 1 indicates that there has been
no change in size, and 2 indicates that the mail has been cleared. By default,
no shell command is provided.
- file (class File)
- Specifies the name of the
file to monitor. The default is as described above for the -file command
line option.
- onceOnly (class Boolean)
- Specifies that the bell is only rung
the first time new mail is found and is not rung again until at least one
interval has passed with no mail waiting. The window will continue to indicate
the presence of new mail until it has been retrieved. The default is false.
- width (class Width)
- Specifies the width of the mailbox.
- height (class Height)
- Specifies the height of the mailbox.
- update (class Interval)
- Specifies the
frequency in seconds at which the mail should be checked. The default is
30.
- volume (class Volume)
- Specifies how loud the bell should be rung. The
default is 33 percent.
- foreground (class Foreground)
- Specifies the color
for the foreground.
- reverseVideo (class ReverseVideo)
- Specifies that the
foreground and background should be reversed.
- flip (class Flip)
- Specifies
whether or not the image that is shown when mail has arrived should be
inverted. The default is ``true.''
- fullPixmap (class Pixmap)
- Specifies a bitmap
to be shown when new mail has arrived. The default is flagup.
- emptyPixmap
(class Pixmap)
- Specifies a bitmap to be shown when no new mail is present.
The default is flagdown.
- shapeWindow (class ShapeWindow)
- Specifies whether
or not the mailbox window should be shaped to the given fullPixmapMask
and emptyPixmapMask. The default is false.
- fullPixmapMask (class PixmapMask)
- Specifies a mask for the bitmap to be shown when new mail has arrived. The
default is none.
- emptyPixmapMask (class PixmapMask)
- Specifies a mask for
the bitmap to be shown when no new mail is present. The default is none.
The Mailbox widget provides the following actions for use in event
translations:
- check()
- This action causes the widget to check for new mail
and display the flag appropriately.
- unset()
- This action causes the widget
to lower the flag until new mail comes in.
- set()
- This action causes the
widget to raise the flag until the user resets it.
The default translation
is
<ButtonPress>: unset()
- DISPLAY
- to get the default host and display number.
- XENVIRONMENT
- to get the name of a resource file that overrides the global resources
stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property.
X(7x)
, xrdb(1)
, stat(2)
The mailbox bitmaps are ugly.
Jim Fulton, MIT X Consortium
Additional hacks by Ralph Swick, DEC/MIT Project Athena
Table of Contents