Faxing
Faxing is sometimes the best
way to send information from your laptop while on the road,
especially when:
- The other party doesn't have
access to email. They very likely have access to a fax machine.
- Email is returned as "undeliverable".
Just copy, paste, and then fax the message you were trying
to email.
- A document or image sent by
email isn't rendered correctly on the other end. Faxed documents
are rendered on your own machine before they are sent, so
this problem doesn't arise.
- You want immediate confirmation
of successful transmittal. Notification of unsuccessful
email delivery may be delayed.
Also, a special feature of faxing
from your notebook rather than a fax machine, is that there's
no scanning involved to introduce "noise" to the
image. The result: the image received on the other end is
of perfect or near-perfect quality.
Sending
Faxes
If you're using Windows* 95 and
are already set up with phone and modem, you have everything
you need to start faxing. Start simple by sending text to
a local fax machine. Be patient. Once you get some experience,
faxing will become simple and you will want to use the more
advanced fax capabilities.
Here is the procedure
for sending faxes with Microsoft Exchange:
- Start Microsoft Exchange.
- Select Compose>New Fax
from the menu. This will start the Compose New Fax
Wizard.
- Follow the Wizard screens
- they are fairly self-explanatory.
- When you click Finish, the
documents you attached will be rendered into faxable images
and transmitted.
Note that the rendering process
requires bringing up the associated applications, which
will print the document to a printer of type 'rendering
subsystem'.
Tip:
Preview the fax image before you send it, since the fax image
may be rendered differently from the printer image. For
example, a spreadsheet that looks okay off the printer may
get the right-hand column truncated when rendered for faxing.
This results in double the intended number of pages sent.
This can be embarrassing when sending a 20-page spreadsheet!
To preview a fax,
Select File>Print
from the menu.
From the Printer
Name menu, select Rendering Subsystem. Lastly,
select Print Preview to see what the faxed
image will look like. You can then make any adjustments using
the Page Setup or Print Setup options.
Receiving
Faxes
Receiving faxes to your notebook
is also easy, as long as both your phone and notebook are
on and connected, and your fax software is "listening"
for the incoming fax. But keeping your notebook on 24-hour
call for incoming faxes is generally not practical, since
you most likely want your phone free to carry in your pocket
most of the time. A better solution is to sign up with a
store-and-forward fax service provided by your PCS service
operator. With this service, faxes sent to your assigned
fax number will be received by the service provider any time
of day. The fax is then kept until you choose to have it faxed
to your notebook. Check with your operator for the availability
of this service.
Note:
To receive faxes, you need to have a fax calling number that
is different from your voice number. This can be obtained
from your PCS service provider. If you did not get a fax number
with your SIM card, contact your service provider to obtain
a number for both fax and data, in addition to your voice
number.
Fax-On-Demand
Fax-on-demand is a common way
for businesses to provide a database of documents that you
can "fax to yourself," in a totally automated fashion.
It works like this: You initiate a fax call in the same way
as in sending a fax from your notebook. However, once the
connection is made, instead of transmitting a fax to them,
they transmit one to you. No human intervention is required
on the other end.
Here is the procedure
for using fax-on-demand with Microsoft Exchange:
- Start Microsoft Exchange.
- Select Tools>Microsoft
Fax Tools>Request a Fax from the menu. This
will start the Request-a-Fax Wizard.
- Proceed through the Wizard
in the same manner as Sending a Fax. Some fax-on-demand
services may require you to specify the document name and/or
a password. If so, enter this information, otherwise select
Retrieve whatever is available.
When finished
the fax should be in your Inbox.
Fax
Troubleshooting
Problem: Faxes
sent from notebook appear corrupted at the receiving end.
Diagnosis:
Since there is no actual image scanner on the notebook to
introduce dirt and mechanical problems, resulting in streaks
and black dots, a corrupted image is most likely caused by
data loss or errors during transmission.
Solution:
Enable Error Correction Mode (ECM) on your notebook. Assuming
the receiving fax machine supports ECM, any transmission errors
will be recognized and corrected, resulting in an error-free
image.
Problem:
Faxes sent or received at notebook are incomplete.
Diagnosis:
The connection between machines was lost during transmission,
due to any number of reasons, such as marginal signal strength,
lost signal (for example, your car entered a tunnel).
Solution:
Try again. If the fax is still incomplete, wait until you
can make a better connection.
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