Figure 4-1. Send a Fax Window
This chapter describes how to send a fax using FaxTalk Plus for Windows. It also covers related information such as checking the fax status, rescheduling a fax, creating a coversheet, attaching files to a fax, saving faxes and sending binary files. For a quick introduction to sending faxes see Chapter 3, Quick Start.
Sending a Fax from a Windows Application
When you install FaxTalk Plus for Windows, a "printer" named FaxTalk Plus for
Windows is added to Windows. Once you have created a document you would like to fax, you
simply indicate you want to "print" using the FaxTalk Plus printer driver.
FaxTalk Plus then intercepts the information being sent to the "printer" and
faxes it to the designated recipient(s).
To send a fax from a Windows application:
Select FaxTalk Plus for Windows as the current print driver. You can select FaxTalk
Plus for Windows as the print driver directly from a Windows application Print Setup
dialog box, or from the Windows Control Panel. With FaxTalk Plus for Windows selected as
the print driver, click the Setup button. The
FaxTalk Plus Print Setup dialog box appears.
From the Print Setup dialog box you can specify the page size you will be sending, the page orientation, and fax resolution.
Next you choose the Print command. The standard Print dialog box appears. Click OK and the Print Status box appears as though you were beginning to print.
Then the FaxTalk Plus Send a Fax window opens (Figure 4-1).
Figure 4-1. Send a Fax Window
To send the fax, choose the scheduled send time, fill in the coversheet information, select the recipients from a phonebook file (or add a new recipient), and click the Send button at the bottom of the Send a Fax window. See the following sections of this chapter for detailed instructions on how to set the Send a Fax window parameters.
Sending a Fax from FaxTalk Plus
You will normally send faxes from within a Windows application. There may be times
however, that you will want to send a fax directly from FaxTalk Plus. To access the Send a
Fax window from FaxTalk Plus, click on the Send Fax button
(looks like a fax machine) located under the FaxTalk Plus menu bar, choose the File > Send, or the File >
Send New command. The Send a Fax window displays.
Complete the Send a Fax parameters, attach any desired fax, graphic, or binary file and click on the Send button.
Scanning a Page to Send
You can use the scanner support built into the Fax Viewer to scan and send faxes. To scan
and send a fax from FaxTalk Plus you need to open the Fax Viewer and select File > New to create a new document and then File > Scan. This will bring up the TWAIN scanner window
supplied by your scanner manufacturer. Make sure to set the scanning resolution to 200 dpi
and the mode to Line Art. Select Scan to scan the page into the Fax Viewer. Once the page
is scanned you can repeat the steps for additional pages (Scanners with Automatic Document
Feeders will scan all pages placed in the ADF). Once you've completed the scanning of
pages you need to select File > Print Setup
and choose the FaxTalk Plus printer driver. Then select File
> Print to "print" the scanned document to FaxTalk. The
Send a Fax dialog will then appear and at this point you can select the recepients,
whether to attach a coversheet, and the send time and date. Click the Send button to complete the send operation.
Selecting Fax Recipients
Select the fax recipient names from the current Phonebook list (displayed on the right
side of the window) by clicking on the desired name to highlight it, and then clicking the
Add button.
The selected recipient name displays in the Recipient list (located on the left side of the window). To select more than one recipient, use either the Shift or Ctrl key when you click on the names. The recipient name(s) are now displayed in the Recipients list on the left side of the Send a Fax window.
If the desired recipient name is in a different phonebook, you can open another phonebook. To select a new phonebook, click on the down arrow next to Phonebook to select from other phonebooks stored in the FaxTalk Plus User directory. If the other phonebook is stored in a different directory you can click on the file folder next to Phonebook to select the directory where the other phonebook is stored. Click on the desired phonebook. The new phonebook entries appear in the Phonebook List area.
Recipient names that are not stored in the selected phonebook are italicized when they appear in the recipient list. If you are sending a fax to someone that you do not plan to fax to again, you can create a new recipient without adding it to a phonebook.
Creating Recipient Names
You can send faxes to people not currently listed in a phonebook by clicking on the New button from the Send a Fax window. The New Recipient
window opens (figure 4-2).
Figure 4-2. New Recipient Window
The new phonebook entries include First & Last Name, Company, Fax Phone Number, Voice Phone Number, and a Comments section. Enter the recipient's information in the appropriate text boxes.
If you want to save the recipient information to the phonebook be sure that an X appears in the check box next to the Add Recipient to the Phonebook option. Click OK to add a single recipient and return to the Send a Fax window, or click OK/Add to add this recipient and continue adding additional entries.
Removing Recipients from the Recipients List
You can remove a recipient name from the list by clicking on the name to highlight it,
then clicking the Remove button. The name is
removed from the Recipient list and placed back in the Phonebook list.
Scheduling a Fax
The current time and date displays in the schedule area of the Send a Fax window. If you
want to send the fax at a later time, or on another day, change the time and date.
To changing the Send Time and Date:
Working with Coversheets
FaxTalk Plus lets you create coversheet templates so when you are ready to send faxes, you
just fill in the desired information. You may want to use several coversheet templates
depending on the intended recipient.
For example, you could have a business template with your company logo, departmental template for different groups such as Sales, Accounting, etc., and a personal template for friends and family.
Generating a Coversheet
Indicate whether you want to send a coversheet by clicking on the check box next to
Generate in the Coversheet section of the Send a Fax window. For each coversheet you send,
you can specify which coversheet template to use, the logo file you want displayed on the
coversheet, the "fax address" (name, company, etc., of the recipient), and type
a short memo.
To fill in the coversheet template click on the Edit... button that is located next to Generate in the Coversheet section of the Send a Fax window.
The Edit Coversheet window opens (Figure 4-3). The recipient information (name and company) is filled in automatically at the time of sending using the recipient information stored in the Phonebook.
Figure 4-3. Edit Coversheet Window
To use memo text that you have previously saved, click on the Load Text button next to the text message and click OK. The Open dialog box displays. Select the desired message text file, and click OK to load it into the coversheet.
To check what the finished coversheet will look like, click the Preview button. An image of the temporary coversheet displays. Select the File > Exit to return to the Edit Coversheet window. Click OK to return to the Send a Fax window.
Creating a New Coversheet Template
If you find yourself modifying a template often, it might be a good idea to create a new
template. To create a coversheet template, choose the Configure
> User command. Click the New button
in the Coversheet section. The New Coversheet window opens (Figure 4-4).
Figure 4-4. New Coversheet Window
Click on the folder next to Logo to display the Open Logo dialog box.
If you know the file name and location of the logo file you want to use, enter it in the Filename text box. If you are not sure of the filename or location, use the Directories and Drive lists to locate the desired file.
Indicate the logo file type by clicking the down arrow next to List of File Type. Click on the desired logo file name. Click on the appropriate file type (.PCX or .BMP). Click OK to return to the New Coversheet window. The selected file is shown in the Logo box.
Note: Logo files should be no more than 3" high by 8 3/8" wide, and saved at 200 dpi. When designing the logo a .3" space at the top must be left to allow enough room for your fax header information. Click OK to return to the Edit Coversheet window.
Leave the basic address information (Name and Company) blank. It is filled in automatically from the recipient information.
Note: The text information entered appears on each fax sent using this template, so don't be too specific.
Type a short text message for the recipient(s), or click the Load Text button to use an existing text file.
To view the new coversheet template, click the Preview button.
You can also create a new coversheet by selecting an existing template file and clicking on the Edit button. It can then be saved under a new name using the Save As button.
Selecting a Default Coversheet Template
To load a different coversheet template as the default template, select the Configure > User command.
The default coversheet template file is listed in the Coversheet section. Click on the down arrow next the default coversheet to display a list of all saved coversheet templates.
Click on the desired coversheet template file and click OK to load it. If the desired file is in another directory, click on the file folder next to the default coversheet to select the appropriate directory and select the coversheet file. Click OK to select the specified coversheet.
Deleting a Coversheet Template
If you no longer need a coversheet template you created, you can delete it. To delete a
coversheet template, choose the Configure > User
command.
Click on the down arrow next the default coversheet in the Coversheet section to display a list of all saved coversheet templates. Click on the desired coversheet template file and click the Delete button. Click OK to exit the Configure User window.
Attaching a File to the Fax
Many times you may want to send several files in a single fax transmission. You can attach
a mix of .FAX, Bitmap, and Binary File Transfer (BFT) files in the same transmission. If
you have a compatible fax modem, you can use FaxTalk Plus' TrueFile feature to send binary
files to other PC users who have ITU/TSS T.434 BFT-compatible systems.
To attach files to the fax you are about to send, click the Files... button from the Send a Fax window. The Attach Files window opens on top of the Send a Fax window (Figure 4-5).
Figure 4-5. Attach Files Window
If you want to review the .FAX file before attaching it to the send fax transaction, click on the desired file from the Attach File list and click the View button.
The Fax Viewer application opens displaying the file (for detailed information regarding the Fax Viewer see Chapter 7, Fax Viewer).
Attaching File Types
You can attach .FAX, graphic and binary files to a fax transaction. To attach a file from
the Attach File window:
You can attach as many other files as desired. Click OK to return to the Send a Fax window.
Removing Files from the Attached Files List
If a file appears on the Attach Files list that you did not intend to attach or no longer
need, you can remove it clicking on the file name from the Attach File list to highlight
it, then click the Remove button.
Editing Scheduled Fax Transmissions
To modify a scheduled fax transaction open the OutBox, double-click on the desired
transaction, or select the Edit > Transaction
command. The Edit OutBox Transaction window displays (Figure 4-6).
Figure 4-6. Edit OutBox Transaction Window
You can reschedule a fax transmission by clicking the up or down arrows to change the day and minute settings, or use the Ctrl and arrow keys to change the hour setting. You can send it immediately or manually by clicking on the Immediately or Manual Dialing buttons. You can also modify the polling mode, reset the number of retries, review any files attached for this transaction, and the fax coversheet.
You can modify the appearance of the coversheet as well as the text content (for more information about the coversheet options, see the Working with Coversheets section of this chapter). Click OK to return to the Edit OutBox Transaction window. Click OK again to save the changes to the scheduled transaction
Canceling a Fax
If you have scheduled a fax to be sent and decide that you no longer wish to send it, you
can cancel the transmission by opening the OutBox window to display the outgoing
transmissions. To open the OutBox, double-click on the OutBox icon at the bottom of the
FaxTalk Plus program window.
All scheduled send transactions are listed in the order you specify using the Edit > Sort command.
To cancel or delete a send fax transaction, click on the desired OutBox entry to highlight it, and press the Del key or choose the Edit > Delete command. A confirmation box displays verifying that you want to delete this fax file transmission. Click Yes to remove the entry from the OutBox, or click No if you do not want to remove the highlighted entry.
To cancel or delete a fax transaction while it is sending, click the Hangup button from the FaxTalk Plus Button bar, or select the Modem > Hangup command. This cancels this send attempt only.
Polling the Receiving Fax Machine
When you send a fax to a recipient, you can also poll
his or her fax machine for any outgoing information that may be waiting for you. You can
enter the sending party's polling password information (if any) using the Modify Entry
screen, Recipient options feature (by pressing the Options button). You can set the
Polling Mode for each transaction.
To set up the polling parameters for a transaction, click on the down arrow next to Polling in the Options section of the Send a Fax window. The polling options are:
Click on the desired polling option to select it.
Local Polling
To set up the Local Polling choose the Configure
> Polling command. The Polling Configuration window appears (Figure
4-7).
Figure 4-7. Polling Configuration Window
If you want to other people to be able to poll you after they send faxes to you, click on the check box next to Local Polling.
AutoPoll places newly received faxes on the polling list automatically. It is intended for use when you are away from your system for an extended period of time. This allows you to phone in and poll your received faxes remotely. This also allows people who normally poll your machine to poll your incoming faxes.
You can password protect the AutoPoll capability to limit access to your polling list. To use a password, enter the desired password in the AutoPoll Password text box.
Adding Files to the Polling List
Select the files you want to leave for other people to poll by clicking on the desired
file name listed in the File Name list (on the right side of the Polling window) to
highlight it, then click the Add button. The file name appears in the Polling list (on the
left side of the window). To select more than one file, use the Shift and/or Ctrl keys
when you select the files.
To list files that have different file formats, click the down arrow next to List File of Type and select the desired file format (.FAX, .BMP, .PCX, All Bitmaps, and All Files). If the desired file name is not displayed in the File name list, click on the file folder next to the File Name text box.