Finger is a simple Internet query and response protocol. The Finger Client (IPNetMonitor) sends a text string identifying the information it wants to a Host, and then displays the response (if any).
On traditional time-sharing systems like UNIX, sending the account or username in a Finger query will return information about that user and whether they are currently logged in. This is known as ΓÇ£fingering someoneΓÇ¥.
A simple way to use Finger is to enter the email address (username@host) of the person you want to finger and press return to request information about that user. Sending an empty finger request by specifying the "At Host:" field and leaving the "Finger:" field empty will often return a list of users currently logged in to that host.
Notice the Finger Server identifies the information or action being requested by the text string it receives in the Finger query. Thus Finger can have many creative uses depending on how the Finger Server is setup to respond.
If you have Internet Config installed, you can make IPNetMonitor a helper application for URLs of the form:
<finger:ultranet.com>
<finger:@ultranet.com>
<finger:psichel@ultranet.com>
<finger://ultranet.com/psichel>
Which finger "psichel" at server ultranet.com (if specified).
A popup history menu keeps a list of Recent Targets. If the menu becomes full (10 entries), the least recently used item will be replaced. To remove an item from the history menu, select that item while pressing the Option key.