Copyright: Copyright© 1999 Symantec Corporation.  All rights reserved.
Citation: Copyright© 1999 Symantec Corporation.  All rights reserved.


A Word on Fax Standards

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Just like other types of data communications, fax transfers are governed by several different public international standards. In addition, some private corporations have established their own fax standards for one purpose or another, creating a potential source of confusion.

Problems with hardware compatibility are rare. Most fax devices in use today are Group III-compliant, and one Group III device will work properly with any other Group III device.

Software compatibility between your computer and your fax modem on the other hand, can be a problem, since many fax boards and modems require special software. Procomm Plus simplifies the picture by supporting Group III fax devices, the most common fax standard in use today. It also supports the Class 1, Class 2 and Sierra SendFax extensions to the Group III standard.

The table below briefly explains the Group III extensions supported by Procomm Plus:

	Group III Extensions
SendFax	The Sierra SendFax standard allows a fax modem to send faxes to other Group III devices. It has no provision for receiving faxes.
Class 1	Class 1 is an older standard in which the fax modem supplies the minimum services necessary to perform Group III communications. A Class 1 fax modem depends on fax software to perform all fax operations. Its only tasks in a fax operation are to establish and maintain a reliable connection and to transmit and receive data.
Class 2	Class 2 is a newer standard, in which the fax modem performs many of the fax operations along with the connection handling and data transfer. For example, a Class 2 fax modem handles the negotiations for transfer speed.


Aborting a Fax Send or Receive

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To interrupt a fax transfer, select Abort Fax Send/Receive from the Fax menu or the Action Bar in the Fax Status window. Procomm Plus immediately terminates the fax connection.

Aborting a Send Fax operation does not affect the Scheduled Faxes List; Procomm Plus will attempt to deliver it at a later time unless you delete it from the list. Also, if you abort a Send Fax operation when faxes and other documents are scheduled for transmission to other sites, Procomm Plus will continue to the next fax in the queue.


Binary File Transfers

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An increasingly important feature of fax technology is the Binary File Transfer, or BFT, in which a binary file is transferred between two fax devices over an error-corrected fax connection. The BFT standard, also known as the T.434 standard, was first approved by the International Telecommunications Union in 1992, and continues to evolve.

Using BFTs instead of, or in addition to standard faxing offers several advantages:

•	You, or the recipient, receive the file in its original format for immediate editing or processing.

•	You can transmit any kind of file, even executable or compressed archive files.

•	You can transmit any number of files in one fax session.

•	Your file transfers will be retried if the fax transmission is aborted.

•	Since a typical binary file is usually much smaller that its .fax image, you should save transmission time.

See the following topics for more information:

Receiving a Binary File Transfer

Step-by-Step: Sending a Binary File Transfer

Fax vs. File Transfer

Note that only computers equipped with Class 1 fax modems can send or receive BFTs. If your fax recipient’s fax system is a dedicated fax machine, Procomm Plus will only transmit standard fax documents; any BFTs in the File(s) to Fax list will be skipped automatically.

Similarly, if you’ve specified BFTs in a polling list, Procomm Plus will skip them if polled by a dedicated fax machine.


Changing the Fax Connection

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The Fax Connection list box in the Send Fax, Time & Options panel displays the currently selected fax connection. You can change to a different fax connection by clicking on the list box’s down arrow button and selecting the new connection from the list.

If you want to change the fax driver settings, click on the Setup... button to display the Fax Driver Setup dialog:

Page Size

You can select either Letter, Legal or DIN A4-sized output by clicking on the Page Size list box and selecting the new size. By default, Procomm Plus creates Letter-sized output.

Fax Resolution

You can choose either Standard or Fine output by selecting the appropriate radio button within the Fax Resolution box. By default, Procomm Plus uses Fine output, 200 x 200 dpi.

Fax Orientation

You can toggle between Portrait and Landscape output by selecting the appropriate radio button within the Fax Orientation box. Procomm Plus uses Portrait by default.

When you’re satisfied with the settings you’ve selected, click on OK to close the Fax Driver Setup dialog and return to the Send Fax dialog. To return to the Send Fax dialog without saving any changes, click on Cancel.


Cover Sheet File

The name of the current cover sheet appears in the Cover Sheet File drop down list. If you want to use a different cover sheet, click on the list box’s down arrow button and scroll through the available cover sheets. Select the cover sheet you want by clicking on it, or by highlighting it and pressing the <spacebar>. To make your own cover sheet, select [Create] from the top of the list to open the Cover Sheet Editor.

If you don’t want to use a cover sheet with your fax, click on the list box’s down arrow button and select [None] from the top of the list.

You can view or edit the currently selected cover sheet by clicking on the View button. The cover sheet will be loaded into the Cover Sheet Editor, where you can make any changes you desire.


Delivery Date and Delivery Time

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By default, Procomm Plus attempts to transmit faxes as soon as you click on the Send Fax dialog’s Send button. You can specify a different delivery time and date by manipulating the clock and calender in the Time & Options panel, as explained in the table below:

To Do This...	Do This...
Select a day.	Click on it in the calender.
Select a different month.	Click on the scroll buttons on each side of the month field until the month you want is displayed.
Select a different year.	Click on the scroll buttons on each side of the year field until the year you want is displayed.
Select a different time.	Click on the time scroll buttons on each side of the digital time display until the time you want is displayed. The left-hand scroll buttons control the hour display, while the right-hand buttons control the minutes display. You can also click and drag the hands of the clock to the time you want. The mouse pointer changes shape when it’s in the proper position for dragging the clock hands.
Toggle AM/PM hours.	Click on the button to the right of the time display. It’s labeled am or pm, depending on the current setting.

If the time and date you specify are already past when you click on the Send Fax dialog’s Send button, Procomm Plus will attempt to transmit it immediately. Otherwise, your fax will be processed, then added to the list of scheduled faxes to wait for its transmission time and date.


Fax Polling

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Fax Polling is a method of information distribution which has become increasingly popular in the business world. With this technique, you can make fax documents or Binary File Transfers available on your host fax system. Others can then retrieve the information at their convenience.

For example, suppose that you were the supervisor of a team of service representatives, and that you needed to send each member several pages of scheduling and parts availability every week. You could create a standard fax, specify the team members as recipients, and have Procomm Plus attempt to send the fax until all of the recipients had successfully received the documents. But what if some of the members were far afield and didn’t have immediate access to a secure or reliable fax?

While other solutions to this problem might be devised, Fax Polling could remedy it immediately: you would simply set up the documents in a Fax Polling List. They could be automatically transmitted to the team members as they called into your host. For a step-by-step explanation, see Step-by-Step: Building a Fax Polling Host List.

Fax Polling is only supported by Class 1 Fax modems. For more information, see A Word on Fax Standards.

If you have Caller ID service, the Caller Information Directory could even help you keep the phone line open for your team! For more information, see The Caller ID Directory Editor and System Options.

With Fax Polling, retrieving the polled files or data is just as easy as placing a normal fax call. The connection and data to be transferred is negotiated as a normal fax call; the caller doesn’t have to worry about line settings, emulations or download protocols.

The calling fax device or system must be configured to request polled files. An explanation of how to do so in Procomm Plus appears in Step-by-Step: Receiving Polled Files.


Fax vs. File Transfer

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Procomm Plus is a highly-integrated communications program that combines both fax and file transfer protocol capabilities. With such flexibility and power available, you will no doubt encounter situations where it’s more appropriate to send a document with a file transfer protocol than as a faxed image.

Suppose, for example, that you have a simple ASCII file that you'd like to send to your office from your home system. Using the fax method, you'd use Procomm Plus to send the file as a fax document to your office fax machine. If you only need an copy of the information for reference, this is probably the easiest method to use.

If you need the contents of the file inserted into a report or a memo, however, you'll have to recreate the information from the fax copy by some method, which may take time. In this case, it's easier to send the ASCII file itself to your office host system with Zmodem, recreating the file electronically.

If you're sending that same ASCII document to a fax system that accepts Binary File Transfers (BFTs), you have another option: you can send the ASCII text as a BFT, which recreates the file electronically on the host system as part of a normal fax transmission.


Faxing with Procomm Plus

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Procomm Plus‘s integrated fax support allows you to send and receive Group III fax transmissions. This support provides the power to send any Windows application's documents as faxes, either as background faxing tasks or in the foreground so that you can directly monitor the progress of the transmissions. Receiving a fax is as easy as selecting an option in Procomm Plus so that it answers you telephone line for incoming faxes.

After you become familiar with sending and receiving faxes, you'll want to take advantage of Procomm Plus's advanced fax features. You can forward faxes to other users, broadcast faxes to multiple users, and poll for faxes at other sites. Additionally, other utilities included with Procomm Plus allow you to view faxes, annotate faxes, process faxes with OCR, and create your own custom cover sheets.

Before discussing Procomm Plus’s fax capabilities, see The Telephone Consumer Protection Act for information on an important law regarding the use of fax communications in general.

For more information, see the following topics:

Sending Faxes

Receiving Faxes

Fax Polling

Other Fax Functions

Binary File Transfers

Fax Standards


Holding Scheduled Faxes

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If you need to temporarily prevent Procomm Plus from sending one or more scheduled faxes, select Hold All Scheduled Faxes from the Fax menu in the Fax Status window or toggle the Stop/Go icon at the lower right corner of the Fax Status window. Any fax documents scheduled to be transmitted will be held until you restart the fax queue by selecting Resume All Scheduled Faxes from the same menu.

If the scheduled time and date for a fax pass while the fax queue is on hold, Procomm Plus will attempt to send it immediately when you restart the queue. The fax-holding feature is convenient if you happen to be connected to a host system when a fax is scheduled to be sent!


Name, Company and Numbers

Also included in the Cover Sheet options are your name, company, phone numbers and fax station ID. These are read directly from their current values in the current Fax, User Info option set in Setup. See User Info Options Group  for more information.

Some of these fields are required by law. See The Telephone Consumer Protection Act.


Notes

If you’ve specified a cover sheet that contains a "Notes" field, the Notes edit box is enabled. Text you enter in the edit box will appear in the cover sheet’s "Notes" field when the fax is generated.

If you select a cover sheet that doesn’t have a "Notes" field or if you do not use a cover sheet, the edit field is disabled and grayed out. If you entered text in the edit box before selecting the new cover sheet, the text will be ignored and won’t be included in the transmitted fax.


Other Fax Functions

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Step-by-Step: Generating .fax Files

Holding Scheduled Faxes

Aborting a Fax Send or Receive

Setting the Default Printer

The Fax Activity Log


Poll Remote

If you want Procomm Plus to call the numbers you’ve specified to receive files or faxes, enable the Poll Remote check box. For more information, see Fax Polling.


Receiving Faxes

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Receiving a fax is easy with Procomm Plus. All you need to do is tell Procomm Plus to answer fax calls on your telephone line.

Within the Data Terminal or Fax Status window, select the Options | Answer Options | Procomm Plus Answers Calls menu item, and then select Options | Answer Options | Fax menu item. Then you can either wait for your fax, or minimize the window and go on to other Windows tasks. When you receive an incoming call, Procomm Plus answers the line and receives your incoming fax.

If you receive a fax call before you can select an answer option as described above, select the Fax | Answer Fax Now menu item within the Fax Status window to immediately answer the line and receive a fax.

If your fax modem supports Adaptive Answer, you may also be able to receive data calls while set to answer fax calls. For more information on these advanced modem features, see Adaptive Answer Options.

If your fax modem supports Caller ID and you subscribe to the service, you can use it to answer fax calls. See Answer Action in The Caller ID Directory Editor Window for more information.


Receiving a Binary File Transfer

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Receiving a BFT is no different than receiving a normal fax: just enable one of the fax answer modes as explained in Receiving Faxes.

BFTs you receive will have an extension of .bft, and will be included in Fax Manager’s Inbox. Before you can use them, however, you must use the View Fax... command to remove the "header" information attached to them during the fax transmission. For more information, see Viewing a Fax.


Send to File

If you want Procomm Plus to generate .fax files even though you haven’t specified a recipient, enable the Send to File check box, then click on Send. If you specify a cover sheet and enter the recipient information, Procomm Plus will also schedule the fax and send it.  For a step-by-step explanation, see Step-by-Step: Generating .fax Files.


Sending Faxes

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Procomm Plus allows you to generate faxes in three different ways:

•	From other Windows applications.

Because Procomm Plus installs its fax support as a Windows print driver, you can fax documents from within other Windows applications almost as easily as you print them! To send a document as a fax, activate the application's Print... feature, select Procomm Plus 32 Fax as the active printer, and then print the document.

For a step-by-step explanation, see Step-by-Step: Faxing from a Windows Application.

•	From the Windows 95/NT Explorer.

Procomm Plus’s Fax Status utility supports the Windows"drag and drop" standard. To fax documents you have selected in the Windows Explorer, simply drag them to the Fax Status window.

•	From Procomm Plus.

From within Procomm Plus, you can quickly generate and send a fax with the Send Fax Wizard. Simply select the Help | Wizards... menu item, then choose Send Fax within the Wizard Manager.

Additionally, you can send almost any document by browsing and selecting it in The Send Fax Dialog. The following actions open the Send Fax dialog:

•	Selecting a Fax-class group or entry from the Rapid Connect drop-down list box on the Action Bar.

•	Selecting a fax group or entry from the Connection Directory and clicking on the Send button. For a step-by-step discussion, see Step-by-Step: Faxing From the Connection Directory.

•	Selecting the Help | Wizards... menu item in a Procomm Plus communication window, choosing Send Fax within the Wizard Open dialog, and then clicking the Advanced Fax Utility button when the wizard starts.

Within the Send Fax dialog, select one or more files to fax, specify the recipient(s), and take advantage of other options you want. Procomm Plus automatically generates your fax by launching each file's associated application and printing it as a fax. As each document finishes printing, its application is closed.

If a particular filename extension hasn't been associated with a Windows application, Procomm Plus cannot automatically open the application or issue any commands. Please refer to your Windows User's Guide to find out how to associate an extension with a Windows application.

A step-by-step explanation appears in Step-by-Step: Faxing from Procomm Plus.

If you have a handset connected to your fax modem, you can also initiate a Send Fax operation during a voice call. Once you are finished talking, initiate a Send Fax operation, select or generate a fax, instruct Procomm Plus to send the fax, and hangup the handset. Of course, the other party must begin the receive fax process on the receiving system.

For a step-by-step discussion, see Step-by-Step: Faxing During a Voice Call.

By default, Procomm Plus does not delete transmitted faxes. This allows you to keep track of your transmitted faxes and reuse them by browsing for them in the Send Fax dialog.


Setting the Default Printer

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If you're going to send several faxes, or if you don't have a printer, you may want to set your default printer to the Procomm Plus 32 Fax printer driver. The Windows default printer can be set from within the Windows Control Panel.


Step-by-Step: Building a Fax Polling Host List

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To make Procomm Plus behave as a host fax system with faxes available for polling, create a fax polling list as explained in the following steps:

1.	Open the Files for Polling by a Fax Caller dialog.

Within the Fax Status window, select the Fax | Select Files for Polling... menu item to display the dialog.

2.	Select files for the polling list.

Click Browse to open the Select Fax Document(s) to Send dialog, and select the files that you want to make available to other users.

Browse for the files you want to make available for polling, and select the files by highlighting them. As with other file selection dialogs in Windows 95/NT, you can use the <Ctrl> key with the mouse, or the <Shift> key with the cursor keys to select multiple documents.

If you want your selections sent in their original format as Binary File Transfers (BFTs), enable the Binary Send check box. The Binary Send check box affects all currently-highlighted files. If you want to send some files as fax images and some as BFTs, browse for the BFT files separately. For more information, see Binary File Transfers.

When you're satisfied with your selections, click on Open to accept them and return to the Files for Polling by a Fax Caller dialog, where the files you selected are added to the file list.

Files in the polling list are shown with an icon indicating the type of transmission used to send them.

If you want to remove a filename from the polling list, select it and click on the Remove button.

3.	Configure the polling options.

After you've selected the files you want to make available for polling, specify how Procomm Plus should handle fax polling. For normal operation, select On in the Send Faxes When Polled options group. With this option enabled, fax callers receive your files automatically if their systems specifically request to poll for files.

Select Auto if you want Procomm Plus to transmit your files to fax callers that specifically request polling, but also want any faxes you receive normally to be added to the polling list. Note that any faxes added to the polling list by the Auto setting will only be available to the first polling caller; the added faxes will be removed from the list once they've been accessed. In addition, faxes you receive as the result of polling other locations will not be added to the polling list by this setting.

Select Off if you want to disable Fax Polling without purging the fax polling list. This setting is convenient if you want to prevent fax callers from polling for files while you send or receive other faxes or data.

If you want Procomm Plus to delete .fax and .bft files after they've been polled, enable the Remove from polling list once polled check box. This can help you conserve disk space, and does not affect the original documents or files used to create the polled files. However, do not enable this option if more than one caller is expected to poll for files! The polling list files are removed as soon as a single fax caller successfully retrieves them!

When you're satisfied with the files and options you've selected, click on OK to accept the fax polling list. Fax Status creates .fax or .bft files for the selected files that are not already in .fax or .bft format.

4.	Configure Procomm Plus to answer fax calls.

In the Fax Status window or another Procomm Plus communication window, select the Options | Answer Options | Procomm Plus Answers Calls menu item, and then select the Options | Answer Options | Fax menu item.

Your system is now prepared to answer a fax call on your telephone line, and others will be able to poll your system for the faxes and files you placed in your fax polling list.


Step-by-Step: Entering Send Fax Recipients

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You can enter recipient names and numbers manually, or select them from the Connection Directory. From the Send Fax dialog, click on the Send Fax To button and follow these steps:

To manually enter a recipient:

1.	Click on the Send to field and type in the name of the person receiving the fax.

If you prefer to use the keyboard, you can move the cursor to the field with the <Tab> key, then enter the name.

2.	Press <Tab> to move to the Fax Number field, and type in the number.

If you want to save the recipient you’ve specified in a new Connection Directory entry, click on the Add to Connection Directory button. For more information about the Add to Connection Directory button, see The Add Fax Recipient to Connection Directory Dialog.

Be sure to include any dialing prefixes needed for long distance or outside lines in the Fax Number field. Fax numbers you enter manually in the Send Fax dialog do not reference the Connection Directory for dialing commands or other important settings.

3.	Click on the Add to Recipient(s) List button.

The recipient name you entered is added to the Recipient(s) List. You can now enter more names manually, select names from the Connection Directory, or move on to other fax options.

To select names from the Connection Directory:

1.	Click on the Connection Directory button.

The Procomm Plus Connection Directory opens and displays the fax entries from the current directory file.

2.	Select the entry, entries or group(s) you want, then click on Send.

The Connection Directory closes, and your selections, if any, appear automatically in the Recipient(s) List.

If you want to remove an entry from the Recipient(s) List, simply highlight it and click on the Remove button.


Step-by-Step: Faxing During a Voice Call

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Since most modems allow you to attach a telephone handset and most fax machines have telephone handsets, it's possible to send a fax at the end of a voice call. Use these handsets for your conversation, and when you're finished talking, follow the steps below to send a fax:

1.	Open the Send Fax wizard.

If one of the Procomm Plus communication windows is already open, just select its Tools | Send a Fax... menu item. Otherwise, you may find it faster to load Fax Status and select its Tools | Send a Fax... menu item.

2.	Click the Advanced Fax Utility button to open the Send Fax dialog.

3.	Specify the file(s) you want to send, but do not enter a recipient name or number.

Select the files you want to fax. You don't need to specify a name or number after you've selected the file(s) you want. Since you're already using the telephone connection that Procomm Plus will access to transmit your fax, you're ready to send the fax!

4.	Click on Send.

Procomm Plus prompts you with a dialog to confirm that you want to send a fax on the current connection.

5.	Click on Yes.

Procomm Plus processes the file(s) you selected

Depending on the kinds of documents you're faxing, you may find it more convenient to generate the .fax files you want to send before attempting to transmit them at the end of a voice call. For more information, see Step-by-Step: Generating .fax Files.

After .fax files have been generated for each of the file(s), Procomm Plus sends fax initialization and command strings to begin the fax transmission.

6.	When you hear your modem send the initial fax tones, hang up the handset.

The person receiving the fax should listen for the fax tones. As the tones begin, the recipient should initiate the fax receive process on their fax machine or computer.

If the recipient is using Procomm Plus, they can select the Fax | Answer Fax Now menu item from the Fax Status window, and then hang up the handset. Otherwise, they should begin the fax receive process and hang up the handset.


Step-by-Step: Faxing From the Connection Directory

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1.	Open the Connection Directory, and select the Fax-class entry tab if it isn't already selected.

2.	Select one or more Fax-class entries or groups to receive the fax, then click Send.

The Connection Directory closes and the Send Fax dialog appears with your Connection Directory entries specified as fax recipients.

If you selected a group to receive a fax, it will not appear as a group in the Send Fax dialog. Instead, each entry within the group will be listed separately.

If you forgot to select a Connection Directory entry, or if you're faxing a site which does not have an entry in the Connection Directory, you can still add (or select) other entries, or enter the fax recipient manually. For more information, refer to Step 3 of Step-by-Step: Faxing from a Windows Application.

3.	Select one or more documents to fax.

Click the Browse... button to open the Select Fax Document(s) to Send dialog.

By default, this dialog displays the contents of the faxsend directory located within the home directory of Procomm Plus. If your documents are in another directory, browse for the files and select them.

By default, Procomm Plus attempts to send the documents you select as faxes rather than Binary File Transfers (BFTs). If you want to send them as BFTs, enable the Binary Send check box. For more information, see the Binary File Transfers.

Once you've selected the file(s) you want to send, click on Open to return to the Send Fax dialog. Notice that the File(s) to Fax list box updates to display your selection(s).

If you have a paper document to include in the fax and a TWAIN-compliant scanner attached to your computer, click Scanner... to activate your scanning software. Of course, this feature will not work if you have not installed a scanning device on your system. When you're finished scanning, the resulting file is added to the File(s) to Fax list box.

Before you send the fax, you might want to make use of some of the options available from the Send Fax dialog, such as specifying a cover sheet or scheduling a date and time for the fax to be transmitted. For an explanation of these options, see The Send Fax Dialog.

When you're satisfied with the list of recipients and the files you've selected, you're ready to send the fax.

4.	Send the fax.

Click the Send button to send the fax. The Send Fax dialog immediately closes, and the fax operation you've specified is processed by Fax Status.

Before Fax Status transmits a fax, it generates a .fax file from the file(s) you've selected. If they are already in .fax format, or if you're sending a Binary File Transfer, no other processing is required. Otherwise, Fax Status opens each file in its associated Windows application.

After the application is loaded and the file is opened, Fax Status automatically issues the "print" and "close" commands to process the file if the application supports Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) control. If DDE isn't supported, the application is loaded with a print instruction on the command line. If the application doesn't support either of these methods, you'll have to manually print the document and close the application. Fax Status displays a message dialog to advise you when this occurs. If the application prompts you for confirmation or other information before printing to the fax driver, you'll also have to manually close the application.

Once the .fax is created, the fax transmission begins. You can either watch the progress of the transmission or minimize Fax Status and work on other tasks.


Step-by-Step: Faxing from Procomm Plus

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To send a fax from Procomm Plus using the contents of an existing document, follow these steps:

1.	Open the Send a Fax dialog.

To open the dialog, select Fax | Send a Fax... in Fax Status.

If you’re in the Procomm Plus main window, you can open the Send a Fax wizard to help you as well. Click on the Send Fax Action Bar icon or select the Tools | Send a Fax... menu item. If you've disabled wizards, these controls open the Send Fax dialog instead.  To open the Send Fax dialog from within the Send a Fax wizard, enable the Skip the wizard and go to the Advanced Fax Utility option button.

2.	Specify the fax recipient(s).

If you have a Connection Directory entry configured for the fax destination, click on the Connection Directory... button to open the directory. Select the entry or entries you want to use and close the directory by clicking Send. The selected entries are automatically added to the Recipient(s) List in the Send Fax dialog.

You can also manually enter fax recipients. Click on the Send to field and type the recipient’s name, then on the Fax Number field and type the recipient’s number.

Be sure to include any dialing prefixes needed for long distance or outside lines in the Fax Number field. Fax numbers you enter directly in the Send Fax dialog do not reference the Connection Directory for dialing commands or other important settings.

After you’ve entered the recipient’s name and number, click on the Add to Recipient(s) List button. Any number of recipients can be added to the list in this manner.

If you want to remove an item from the Recipient(s) List, just highlight it and click on the Remove button.

3.	Click on the Browse... button.

Procomm Plus displays a standard file selection dialog. You can select one or more files to fax. There's no practical limit on the number of files you can send in a single fax transmission.

By default, Procomm Plus attempts to send the documents you select as normal faxes. If you want to send them as Binary File Transfers (BFTs), enable the Binary Send check box. For more information on BFTs, see Binary File Transfers.

Once you’ve selected the file(s) you want to send, click on OK to return to the Send Fax dialog.

If you want to remove a filename from the File(s) to Fax list, highlight it and click on the Remove button.

When you’re satisfied with the list of recipients and the files you’ve selected, your fax is ready to send. However, you might want to make use of some of the options available from the Send Fax dialog, such as specifying a cover sheet or scheduling a date and time for the fax to be transmitted. For an explanation of these options, see The Send Fax Dialog.

4.	Click on the Send button.

The Send Fax dialog closes immediately, and the fax operation you’ve specified is processed by Fax Status.

If the file(s) you selected are already in .fax format, or if you’re sending a Binary File Transfer, no other processing is required. Procomm Plus transmits them without opening other applications.

If you're sending a file created with another application, Procomm Plus loads the Windows application associated with the file’s extension.

If the application supports Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) control, Procomm Plus automatically issues the "print" and "close" commands to process the file. In other cases, Procomm Plus runs the application with a print instruction on the command line.

If the application doesn't support either of these methods, you'll have to print the document and close the application manually. Procomm Plus will display a message dialog to advise you when this occurs.

If you have to print the document manually, or if the application prompts you for confirmation or other information before printing to the fax driver, you’ll have to close the application manually as well.

Once a .fax or .bft file has been created for each file you selected, the Fax Status dialog will appear and the transfer will begin. You can either watch the progress of the transmission or minimize Fax Status and go on to other tasks in Windows.


Step-by-Step: Faxing from a Windows Application

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To send a document as a fax from within another Windows application, follow these steps:

1.	While viewing the document, activate the application's Print... feature, and select the Procomm Plus 32 Fax printer as the active printer.

An application's Print... feature is typically available from its File menu. Once the feature is activated, select the Procomm Plus 32 Fax printer that is typically listed in a Name field within a Printer group box. If you cannot determine how to select a printer in your application, please refer to the application's documentation.

2.	Activate the application's Print command.

The application processes your document for printing. Once the Procomm Plus fax printer is given control of the print job, it opens the Send Fax dialog and prompts you for the information needed to send the fax.

3.	Specify the fax recipient(s).

If you have a Connection Directory entry configured for the fax destination, click on the Connection Directory... button to open the directory. Select the entry or entries to receive the fax and click Send to close the directory. The selected entries are automatically added to the Recipient(s) List.

You can also manually enter fax recipients. Enter the recipient's name in the Send to field, and then enter the recipient's fax number in the Fax Number field. Fax numbers that you manually enter in the Fax Number field do not reference the Connection Directory for dialing commands or other important settings. Be sure to include any dialing prefixes needed for long distance or outside lines in the Fax Number field.

After you enter the recipient's name and number, click on the Add to Recipient(s) List button. If you want to remove a recipient from the list, simply highlight it and click on the Remove button.

Before you send the fax, you might want to specify a cover sheet for the fax, include other files, or take advantage of some of the other options available in the Send Fax dialog. For help with these options, see The Send Fax Dialog.

When you're satisfied with the list of recipients, you're ready to send the fax.

4.	Click on the Send button.

The Send Fax dialog closes immediately. Fax Status receives the fax operation you've specified and begins processing it. You can monitor the transmission's progress within Fax Status, or minimize Fax Status and proceed to other tasks.


Step-by-Step: Generating .fax Files

  Related Topics

Each fax you generate results in a corresponding .fax file, and this file is used during the fax transmission. Usually, the .fax file is generated after you've specified recipients for the fax and you're ready to send the fax. However, sometimes you may only want to generate the fax's corresponding .fax file.

If you generate a .fax file but do not transmit the corresponding fax, you can use Fax Status or Fax Manager to send the fax at a later time, or build a fax polling list as described Step-by-Step: Building a Fax Polling Host List, so that others can retrieve the fax at a convenient time. Follow the steps below to generate a .fax file:

1.	Open the document that you want to fax, using its native application, and select the Procomm Plus 32 Fax printer as the active printer.

An application's Print... feature is typically available from its File menu. Once this feature is activated, you usually select the printer in a Name list within a Printer group box. Otherwise, refer to the application's documentation to determine how to specify a printer.

2.	Initiate the application's print process.

Your document is processed normally for printing. If the application presents a confirmation or configuration dialog, click on the appropriate button to continue printing.

Since the fax driver acts as a print device, the application has no means of distinguishing between a .fax file destination and a traditional paper copy. You'll need to become familiar with your application's interaction with the fax driver because each application handles printing differently.

3.	When Procomm Plus's Send Fax dialog appears, enable Send to File in the Time and Options screen.

After you've enabled the Send to File check box, click on the Send button without specifying any recipients, and the .fax file is created.

.fax files generated in this manner are stored in the directory specified by the Outbox path field within Setup's Fax, Fax Paths settings panel.

Even if you want to send a fax immediately, there are some reasons that you may need to generate a .fax file before you transmit the fax. For example, desktop publishing and other graphics-intensive applications typically print slower than an application that produces plain text, so it may be more productive to start generating the .fax file and proceed to other Windows tasks. You can then send the fax at a later time. Additionally, if the application you're using doesn't support DDE or command line control as described in Faxing from the Connection Directory, you may have to generate the .fax files manually if you want Procomm Plus to transmit them unattended!


Step-by-Step: Receiving Polled Files

  Related Topics

Because the details are handled automatically within the fax protocol, calling to poll a host for files is quite simple. In fact, you can poll a host for files or documents as part of a regular Send Fax operation!

To receive polled files, follow these steps:

1.	Open the Send Fax dialog.

If you have one or more documents to fax to the polling host, select them for transmission as explained previously.

If you don’t have documents you want to fax, open the Send Fax dialog by selecting the Skip the wizard and go to the Advanced Fax Utility option button within the Send Fax Wizard.

2.	Specify one or more sites to poll in the Recipient(s) List, just as you would to fax normally.

3.	Enable fax polling.

In the Send Fax dialog, click on the Time & Options control button, then enable the Poll Remote check box.

4.	Click on Send.

Procomm Plus handles your request just as if you had initiated a normal Send Fax operation!


Step-by-Step: Selecting Files to Fax

  Related Topics

Regardless of how you initiate a Send Fax operation, Procomm Plus allows you to specify one or more files to include as part of the transmitted fax. From the Send a Fax dialog, click on the Send Fax To button and follow these steps:

1.	Click on the Browse button.

A standard file selection dialog appears.

2.	Select the files you want, and click on OK.

You can select any number of files to include in the fax. When you click on OK, the selection dialog closes, and the files you selected, if any, are automatically added to the File(s) to Fax list.

If you have a TWAIN-compliant scanner attached to your computer, you can use it to acquire files to your fax. Click on Scanner to access your scanning software.

If you want to delete an entry from the list of files, highlight it and click the Remove button.


Step-by-Step: Sending a Binary File Transfer

  Related Topics

Procomm Plus makes sending a file as a BFT just as easy as sending a regular fax! Just follow these steps:

1.	Open the Send a Fax dialog and specify the fax recipients, just as you would for a normal fax.

2.	Browse and select the file(s) to be sent as BFTs.

In the Send a Fax dialog, click on the Browse button to open the file selection dialog.  Select the files you want to send as BFTs and enable the Binary Send check box, then click on OK to accept your selections and return to the Send Fax dialog.

Note that the Binary Send check box affects all of the selected files. If you want to transmit normal fax images along with BFTs, select the documents to be faxed as images separately, with the Binary Send check box disabled.

3.	In the Send Fax dialog, click on Send to process the fax transmission.

That’s it! If you scheduled a future time or date for the .bft, Procomm Plus will add it to the Scheduled Faxes List. If not, Procomm Plus attempts to transmit it immediately.


The Add Fax Recipient to Connection Directory Dialog

The Send Fax dialog's Send Fax To panel includes an Add to Connection Directory... button. Unless you have entered a fax recipient and fax number in the Send to and Fax Number fields, this button is disabled.

Click this button to open the Add to Connection Directory... dialog, where you can add a fax connection to the Connection Directory "on-the-fly." The fax recipient's name and the fax number that you entered in the Add to Connection Directory... dialog appear in the Name and Primary Fax Number fields. In addition, the dialog contains fields for the remaining values that constitute a basic Fax-class Connection Directory entry. For more information on these fields, please refer to the Fax-class: Entry Info settings.


The Cover Sheet Options

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Whether you initiate a Send Fax operation from within Procomm Plus, from another Windows application or from the File Manager, you can easily include a cover sheet with your fax. You can use cover sheets to personalize your fax, or to provide additional information to accompany your document(s).

A variety of professionally-designed cover sheets are included with Procomm Plus. By default, these are installed in the Fax Cover Sheets directory under the Procomm Plus home directory. You can use the Cover Sheet Editor to view or edit them. For more information, see The Cover Sheet Editor.

Click on the Send Fax dialog’s Cover Sheet button to display the settings panel.  For more information about the settings, see the following topics:

Cover Sheet File

Name, Company and Numbers

Notes

The Cover Sheet options displayed in this panel are taken directly from their corresponding values in the current Fax, User Info option set in Setup. If you want to use a different option set, click on the User Info Options list box and select it from the list. The Cover Sheet options will update accordingly.

You can modify these settings from within the Send Fax dialog without affecting their saved values. If you do change a setting the User Info Options list box is blanked to indicate that you have overridden one or more values in the selected User Info option set.


The Fax Activity Log

  Related Topics

The Fax Activity Log is a record of the fax transmit and receive events that occur on your system. You can view the log within Fax Status. Or, if you’re already viewing the Connection Log or Data Log, you can view the Fax Activity Log by clicking on the Fax Log button on the left side of the dialog.  Each entry in the log is a record of a send or receive fax event, with fields indicating all of the information available about the event:

Status

This field reports whether the fax was successfully sent or received. If the event resulted in a failed or terminated transmission, it lists the cause of the unsuccessful communication.

File

The name of the .fax file involved in the event, if available.

From/To

The sender or recipient of the received or transmitted fax, respectively.

Number

The fax number dialed in the fax attempt.

Date

The date the fax event occurred.

Time

The time the fax event occurred.

Pages

The number of pages contained in the fax.

Duration

The length of time the fax modem was "off hook" during the event.

Depending on the resolution of your graphics display, you may have to scroll the list to view some of the fields. You can also resize the fields by placing the mouse cursor over the graphical separator bars and dragging them to new positions.

You can select an entry in the log by clicking on it, or by highlighting it with the <Tab> and cursor keys. You can also select multiple entries by dragging over them, or by holding down the <Ctrl> key as you click on them.

The command buttons at the bottom of the Fax Activity Log allow you to print, export or delete the log entries:

Print

Click on this button to print the contents of the Fax Activity Log.

Export

Click on this button to save the contents of the Fax Activity Log as a space-delimited text file. A standard Save As dialog allows you to specify a name for the new file.

Delete

Click on this button to delete the entry or entries you’ve selected.

Clear All

To reset the Fax Activity Log and clear its contents, click on the Clear All button. Use this button with caution, as the program does not prompt to verify that you want to reset the log.

Close

When you’re finished viewing the log, click on Close to exit the dialog.


The Fax Status Menus and Action Bar

  Related Topics

Action Bar Button	Menu | Item	Description
	File | Open  Connection Directory...	Displays a standard File Open dialog, where you can select an existing Connection Directory. See The Connection Directory for more details.
	File | Connection Directory...	Opens the Connection Directory, where you can select Fax groups or entries to initiate a Send Fax operation.
	File | Fax Activity Log...	Opens a dialog where you can view a record of all fax-related activities. See The Fax Activity Log.
	File | Exit	Exits Fax Status.
	View | Action Bar	Toggles the display of the Fax Status Action Bar.
	View | Large Action Bar	Toggles the display of the Fax Status Action Bar between large buttons and small buttons.
	View | ToolTips	Toggles the display of the Fax Status Action Bar ToolTips.
	View | Status Line	Toggles the display of the Fax Status status line.
	View | Thumbnails	Toggles the display of document thumbnails within Fax Status.
	Options |  System Options	Pulls down a sub-menu where you can select a menu item to open one of the System panels within Setup. For more information about these panels, see The System Settings.
	Options |  Fax Options	Pulls down a sub-menu where you can select a menu item to open one of the Fax panels within Setup. For more information about these panels, see The Fax Settings.
	Options | Detect Modem Capabilities	Runs a diagnostic check on the modem specified in the current fax connection.  If the modem's fax capabilities can be determined, Procomm Plus automatically initializes it for correct operation. Initializing the modem may be necessary if you run another program that accesses the same COM port. This command also updates the settings within the Setup, System, Modem Connection, Fax Settings panel, overwriting the current values. For more information, see Fax Settings.
	Options | Answer Options	Allows you to specify whether your modem will answer incoming calls, and how those calls will be handled. For more information see Answering Calls.
	Fax | Send a Fax...	Launches the Send a Fax wizard.  If wizards have been disabled, this item opens the Send Fax dialog. For more information, see The Send Fax Dialog.
	Fax | Memo Fax...	Opens a dialog where you can enter or import text for a simple memo fax. Once you’re satisfied with the text, click on OK to complete the fax settings in the Send Fax dialog. You can also create memo faxes by selecting the Send a Fax... menu item. See The Memo Fax Options for more information.
	Fax | Display Faxes	Opens the Fax Manager with the folder selected, allowing you to browse and view faxes.
	Fax |  Answer Fax Now	Instructs your modem to answer an incoming call in fax mode. For more information, see Receiving Faxes.
	Fax | Abort Fax Send/Receive	Cancels an on-going fax transfer, and hangs up the phone line. If you were receiving a fax, any incomplete fax documents associated with the canceled transfer are deleted.
	Fax | Hold All Scheduled Faxes	Pauses processing of the scheduled faxes list. When you select this menu item, it changes to Resume All Scheduled Faxes; select it to resume processing of any faxes you’ve scheduled.
	Fax | Select  Files for Polling...	Opens a dialog where you can browse for and select files to be faxed to callers that specifically request polling. For more information, see Fax Polling.
	Tools |  Fax Manager	Opens the Fax Manager utility, which is discussed in The Fax Manager.
	Tools |  Fax Viewer	Opens the Fax Viewer, where you can view, annotate or print your faxes, or use OCR to read their text into a file. See The Fax Viewer for more information.
	Tools | Fax Cover  Sheet Editor	Opens the Cover Sheet Editor. See The Cover Sheet Editor for more information.
	Tools |  Caller ID  Directory Editor	Opens the Caller ID Directory Editor. See The Caller ID Directory Editor for more information.
	Window |  New Window	Allows you to open a new window in one of the other modes of operation, including the Data Terminal, the Telnet window, the FTP Client, the Internet Mail Client or the News Reader.
	Window |  1,2,3...	If you have one or more Procomm Plus communications windows open, they will be listed at the bottom of the Window menu. To make one of them the active window, select it from the menu.
	Help | Help Topics...	Opens the Help Topics dialog for Fax Status.
	Help | About Fax Status...	Opens a dialog that displays important information about Fax Status.


The Fax Status Utility

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Fax Status acts as a "control panel" for your fax modem - it monitors and reports the progress of all fax operations and all fax-related modem activity.

Almost all of Procomm Plus’s fax capabilities are available from the Fax Status pull-down menus. Since you can launch it separately by selecting it from Procomm Plus group on the Windows Start menu, you can also use Fax Status to send, receive and view faxes without opening Procomm Plus’s main communications window.

If you often receive faxes without opening Procomm Plus’s main window, you may want to include Fax Status in your Startup folder so that it will be launched automatically when Windows loads.

The Fax Status Window

Faxing with Procomm Plus

The Fax Status Menus and Action Bar


The Fax Status Window

  Related Topics

As its name implies, the primary function of the Fax Status utility is to report on the current conditions of your fax connection(s). The Connections list box, located below the menu and Action Bar performs this task. Each connection in the list includes the following fields:

Connections

This field contains the name of the connection being used for fax operations.

Status.

This field reports the connection's current activity or status.

Auto-Answer

This field reports whether the connection will automatically answer Data, Fax or Data and Fax calls.  You can also disable auto-answer by selecting Off.

If you have a single fax connection, it will always be selected in the Connections list box. Otherwise, you can click on a listed connection to select it.

Beneath the Connections list box is Fax Status’s Activity panel. If the selected Connections entry is being used to send or receive a fax, Fax Status updates the Activity fields with the details of the operation. It also draws a thumbnail view of the fax document.

You can toggle the thumbnail display by selecting the Fax Status window’s View | Thumbnails menu item.


The MemoFax Options

  Related Topics

A MemoFax is a single page, text-only message sent without a cover sheet or other files. To send a MemoFax, click on the MemoFax button in the Send Fax dialog.  If you have an ASCII text file that you want to send as a MemoFax, you can load it by clicking on the Import button and browsing to select it. You can paste text from the Windows Clipboard by pressing <Ctrl><V> or type your message into the scrolling edit box directly.

After you’re satisfied with your text, you can click on the Save As... button to save it into a text file if you wish. Click on Send to begin transmitting your fax.


The Send Fax Dialog

  Related Topics

Procomm Plus’s fax capabilities, like its other features, are designed with you in mind. The Send Fax dialog is an important part of this design. It gives you tremendous flexibility in creating and sending faxes, while allowing you the freedom to skip fields and features you don’t want for a particular fax!

In this section, we’ll discuss the options available in the Send Fax dialog, beginning with the Send Fax To... options. However, keep in mind that to send a fax, Procomm Plus needs only a recipient’s name and number and at least one of the following:

•	One or more files or documents to fax as images or send as Binary File Transfers.

•	Text entered into the MemoFax edit box, as explained in The MemoFax Options.

•	A cover sheet selected for use.

•	Poll Remote enabled in the Time & Options section of the Send Fax dialog.

Load Fax Status and select Fax | Send a Fax... The Send Fax dialog is displayed.

The Send Fax dialog contains four screens, only one of which is visible at a time. On the left side of the dialog are four control buttons, labeled:

Send Fax To

Cover Sheet

Time & Options

MemoFax

You can click on these buttons to select the options you want to view or modify. However, the Send Fax To button will always be preselected when the Send Fax dialog first displays.


The Send Fax To... Options

  Related Topics

As you might expect, settings in the Send Fax To... panel are used to give Procomm Plus the information it needs to transmit your fax. You can also specify one or more files to be included in the fax.

For more information, see the following topics:

Step-by-Step: Entering Send Fax Recipients

Step-by-Step: Selecting Files to Fax


The Telephone Consumer Protection Act

Please note the following special provisions of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 as they apply to sending fax transmissions:

"It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States -- to use a computer or other electronic device to send any message via a telephone facsimile machine unless such person clearly marks, in a margin at the top or bottom of each transmitted page of the message or on the first page of the transmission, the date and time it is sent and an identification of the business, other entity, or individual sending the message and the telephone number of the sending machine or of such business, other entity or individual."

Procomm Plus is installed preconfigured to meet this requirement. If you choose to make changes to the fax header settings, you must ensure that these requirements are still met on the cover page, within the header, or by your fax modem.


The Time & Options Settings

  Related Topics

You can specify a variety of options for your fax by clicking on the Send Fax dialog’s Time & Options button.  For more information on settings, see the following topics:

Delivery Date and Delivery Time

Poll Remote

Send to File

Fax Connection