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Frequently Asked Questions
About Faximum

This document provides a general background to Faximum Software's products and addresses the most commonly asked questions about them.

Faximum’s fax software is available for a range of UNIX and Windows platforms including AIX, DG/UX, HP-UX, Intel UNIX (i.e. AT&T, Interactive, SCO, Solaris x86 Base Server, UnixWare, etc.), Sun SPARC Solaris, and others. For a comprehensive list of supported systems or for detailed product specifications, please refer to the Specifications sheet for the various versions of the Faximum product or visit our web site (http://www.faximum.com/products.html).

Enhancement of Faximum’s software is continuous. Please contact Faximum Software for the most recent information on our product line including lists of workstations, operating systems, and modems currently supported.

Please note that free time-limited fully-functional copies of our software are available from our web site (http://www.faximum.com). Please feel free to download a copy of the software and to try it out on your system.

If you have questions that are not answered here, please check our Frequently Asked Questions on Fax Technology or send us your question.


List of Questions


1.0 General Introduction, Features, and Benefits

What is Faximum Software?

Faximum Software is the developer of fax software for UNIX workstations and servers as well as computers running Microsoft Windows (3.x, 95, or NT). Faximum Software’s products also include gateways to enable faxes to be sent or received through Web browsers (such as Netscape Navigator) and to be sent or received through email programs (such as Z-Mail or Eudora Pro).

Faximum allows users to send faxes directly from their workstation or terminal without having to print the document first, without having to type up a cover sheet, without having to line up for the fax machine, and without having to nurse the document through the machine. Faximum cuts costs to make you more efficient and your company more profitable.

Faximum will also receive faxes that can be viewed on the workstation or X terminal and/or printed on plain paper using almost any laser printer. If you thought fax was wonderful, just wait until you try Faximum!

What are the benefits of Faximum?

Faximum Cuts Costs

  • By automatically scheduling domestic and international faxes to be sent when the phone rates are lowest (saving up to 60% on your long-distance fax phone bill)
  • By preventing unauthorised people from making long-distance calls; and by keeping detailed accounting records of each fax sent
  • By permitting a single modem and fax line to support both data and fax calls
  • By broadcasting price lists, special offers, or invoices without the cost or trouble of pre-printed forms, postage, envelopes, or stuffing
  • By improving cash flow by delivering invoices faster, more reliably, and less expensively than by mail
The result is that, depending on your volume of long-distance faxing, the reduction in your phone bill alone can pay for Faximum in a matter of weeks.

Faximum Saves Time

  • No need to print messages and stand waiting in front of your printer before faxing them
  • No need to type up a cover sheet
  • No need to wait for the fax machine to become available; and no need to nurse the paper through the machine or check for jams
  • No need to check for success or handle retries
The result is that a Faximum fax takes a scant 20% of the time consumed by a manual fax.

Faximum is quick and so easy to use

  • Users will start sending faxes of short notes instead of picking up the phone. And since fax calls are almost always shorter than voice calls, phone costs are lowered further
  • Applications can easily be fax-enabled using the line print intercept which can capture the output of accounting and other applications and fax invoices or other documents (optionally overlaying invoice, letterhead, or other business form images) without any customisation or programming

Finally, Faximum allows you to trace costs by providing detailed call accounting by user and project that can be tied to your CDR (call detail recording) or phone system accounting mechanism.

Who would benefit from Faximum?

Almost any office that is concerned about their fax phone bill, the presentation quality of their faxes, or about the time and money wasted printing documents and then coaxing them through the office fax machine.

Accounting & Administration

Office workers will benefit from being able to send faxes without leaving their desks. Purchase Orders, Invoices, Confirmations, and Requests for Proposals can all be sent via fax directly from the operator’s terminal. With our new line printer interface, your accounting program can feed invoices and other business documents directly to Faximum as if it were just another printer!

Take a moment to calculate the number of invoices your office sends out in a week. Multiply that by the number of stamps and envelopes that are used, and add in the cost of lost productivity of your employees as they shuffle paper, stuff envelopes, and "move the mail". The earlier your client gets the invoice, the sooner 30 days is up!

In addition, calculate the number of faxes that your office sends out in a week. What portion of those faxes are urgent, and what portion could wait until lower phone rates are available? Even today’s most advanced fax machine can only delay, at most, 50 pages of fax material -- all of which has to be fed into the machine manually. With Faximum’s Intelligent Delayed Transmission (IDT) the user specifies if the fax is "urgent", "not urgent", or should be sent "lowest cost". There is no limit to the number of faxes that can be queued for later transmission. Selecting "lowest cost" ensures that when the greatest discount period is in effect for that particular destination, the fax will be sent at that time. All this without operator intervention.

Significant cost savings can also be realized by taking advantage of our exclusive Least-Cost Routing (LCR) feature. Least-cost routing is the ability to select the telephone line that is the least expensive for a given destination. For example, a multi-line installation might have a normal long-distance (DDD) line, a foreign exchange line into another city, and several WATS (wide-area telephone service) lines into different regions of the country. With least-cost routing, Faximum will automatically determine the line that is cheapest for each call.

Sales & Marketing

Professional sales people who need to send sales literature by fax will benefit not only from the convenience and immediacy but also from the desktop publishing quality of Faximum-generated faxes. Organizations invest a lot of time and money in creating documents to have the greatest impact on their clients. Imagine the sales edge that your organization will have over the competition when laser printer quality documents, complete with pictures, graphs, diagrams, and schematics, are delivered to your client’s desk, at the same time as you are speaking with your client! Intangibles and concepts instantly become hard-copy facts.

Using Faximum further benefits those organizations that send faxes to many people at once. Broadcast a new price list or other announcement to just ten or even ten thousand fax machines. The number of lines [Multi-line support is a separately-priced option.] you may use is limited only by your hardware.

Companies that need to send sales literature by fax will benefit from the desktop publishing quality of Faximum-generated faxes. By generating the fax image in the memory of the computer and sending it directly to the other fax machine, Faximum generates faxes that are clearer and sharper than anything that can be sent using a standard fax machine. The result out of the other fax machine is just like desktop publishing. Unlike email or the Web, you can send your marketing material with confidence knowing it will look good and command attention.

People who have to broadcast a new price list or other announcement whether to ten or a thousand fax machines will benefit from the broadcast capabilities of Faximum.

Managers will benefit from the lower telephone costs that result from the automatic scheduling and least-cost routing.

Software developers will benefit from the easy integration of Faximum with their software, permitting invoices, statements, or other computer-generated forms to be faxed automatically. There is just no comparison. Faximum is as far ahead of the traditional office fax machine as desktop publishing is ahead of the manual typewriter.

2.0 Independent Endorsements of Faximum

What have the reviewers said about Faximum?

UNIXWORLD Magazine:

"If I had to pick one product over the other—which reviewers are wont to do—my vote would be for Faximum"

Guru Magazine:

"In looking at FAX software, I have found Faximum to be most complete and comprehensive. This great product...will more than pay for itself in no time at all."

UNIX Review Magazine:

"...Faximum is the system of choice."
"Choosing one winner? For straight UNIX, we take Faximum over both DigiFAX and ArnetFAX..."

SCO Magazine:

"Faximum’s main menu is easily understandable, with major features grouped together. Sending a fax is easy... Receiving faxes is equally as simple.... "
"Excellent character-based interface. Flawless performance in testing. Feature-rich and robust."

Please contact Faximum Software for more complete excerpts from these reviews or visit our web site (http://www.faximum.com/company.d/press.html).

What major OEM deals has Faximum won?

In addition to being the reviewer’s choice in every comparative review of UNIX fax software to date, our company has been selected, after rigorous evaluations, by two different major UNIX workstation vendors for OEM licensing. Faximum provided the key components for Hewlett-Packard’s HP 9000 Fax product and developed all of SunFax for Sun Microsystems. No other UNIX fax software company has won one (not to mention two) such competitions.

What do your customers say about you?

These are only a selection of the glowing letters and comments we have received. For more testimonials, please visit our web server (http://www.faximum.com/products.d/testimonials.html).

"SCO Canada uses Faximum to automate its distribution of sales and marketing literature to our customers. Our staff can now handle more calls with better efficiency and throughput."
-Jim Sullivan, Manager, Systems Engineering, SCO Canada
"The software itself is a joy to use, and has definitely improved productivity in the office. We no longer see our staff trekking down the hall to the fax machine, standing over it feeding documents into the hopper, or whiling away the hours waiting for a redial. Being able to fax a WordPerfect document from within WP by using a simple macro is a real boon as well."
Peter Rogers, Wilson King (a law firm)
"We have been using...Faximum...and have sent faxes all over the world....the system has performed several times in excess of 24 hours (continuous faxing) without any problems. The results were very impressive to us as well as [to] the people who received them."
- Robbie Gilbert, Stingray Powerboats (a manufacturer)
"Between November and July 1993 with one CPU and ten lines we sent over 1.2 million faxes! We have now sent over 6 million faxes! Our subscription fax business would not be possible without Faximum. In fact, we’re planning further expansion throughout North America."
- Rick Rolston, CONFAX (a construction bid information service)
"Thank you for your marvellous product. It has saved this company much time. The Faximum product is exceptional. It is created with both the programmer and end user in mind."
"As a programmer, it is refreshing to find a product that is both. We were able to put it into a working environment in less than 24 hours."
"Our users immediately started using it. Our primary application had Faximum integrated into most areas and creating automated faxes in less than two days from installation."
- Cheryl Gross, Red River Parts & Equipment Co.
"I wanted to let you know I think Faximum is a super product which is easy and fun to use. In fact, it’s the best office efficiency product I’ve run across in years."
- Jay Sanders, Zorfas & Sanders, CPAs

3.0 Using Faximum

How long will it take me to learn to use Faximum?

Faximum has been designed from the beginning to be as easy as possible to use. The user interface uses pull-down menus, point-and-select lists, and an extensive context-sensitive help system to make Faximum accessible to all office users.

Most users will be faxing away after only a few minutes’ instruction from the system administrator.

Users of WordPerfect for UNIX are able to prepare documents and have them sent by Faximum merely by running a WordPerfect macro provided as part of the package (this macro is easily adapted to other word processing packages).

Users running Microsoft Windows merely select Faximum from their Print Setup menu and print from any application.

Can I fax documents prepared for PostScript or HP LaserJet printers?

Faximum provides PCL-5 (HP LaserJet III emulation) and/or PostScript support, depending on your platform. Please check the specifications sheet for details or contact Faximum for the latest information.

I want to send letters generated from my word-processing software. How do I do it?

If you are using WordPerfect for UNIX, then all you have to do is invoke the fax macro supplied with Faximum and your document will be formatted and transferred from WordPerfect or Word to Faximum automatically. The Faximum user interface will then appear for you to address the fax. Once the fax is addressed, it will be sent in the background and you will be returned to WordPerfect/Word.

With other word processing packages under UNIX the first step is to format and print your document to a file in one of the supported formats: ASCII, PCL-4, PCL-5, or PostScript.

The next step is to run Faximum and select the saved file as the file to be faxed. That is all there is to it.

If you are running your word-processing package under Microsoft Windows then see the answer to the next question.

With the Line Printer Intercept (LPI) feature of Faximum it is also possible to use the mail-merge feature of your word processing program to generate fax broadcasts. Faximum will take the output of your mail-merge, extract the fax numbers from the print file, separate the print file into the separate pieces intended for each recipient, optionally overlay your letterhead or other business form, and manage the broadcast.

How do I fax from Microsoft Windows using Faximum?

Faximum provides a native fax client [Fax clients work with Faximum Client/Server only and not Faximum PLUS. ] for MS Windows (3.x, 95, and NT) that allows you to print to the "Faximum" printer from any Windows application. The Faximum Fax Client for Windows then captures the printed output and pops up a window to allow you to enter the fax number and any other coversheet information. That done, the fax is sent over the network to the Faximum Fax Server for transmission. In this manner a large network of users can share the resources of a single non-dedicated fax server.

How do I automatically fax invoices from my accounting package?

With the Line Printer Intercept Faximum can now take the printed output from your accounting or other application, extract the fax numbers from the print file, separate the print file into the separate pieces intended for each recipient, optionally overlay your invoice or other business form, and manage the broadcast.

This permits you to have your invoices or other business information faxed automatically without any customisation or programming required.

I normally print my letters on company letterhead—can Faximum cope with this?

Faximum allows you to store the images of your various letterheads and specify the letterhead image that is to be used when the fax is sent. This can be done automatically without requiring any change to your existing documents. This facility can also be used to send faxes that appear to have been printed on pre-printed business forms such as invoices or purchase orders.

How can I display faxes on my screen?

Because the display of fax images is so dependent on the capabilities of the hardware, the ability to view faxes varies with the Faximum product being used.

Faximum PLUS / Intel
  • Console (Hercules, CGA, EGA, or VGA)
  • Wyse WY-160 terminal
  • X Terminal (or PC running an X server)
Faximum PLUS / AIX
  • Wyse WY-160
  • Console running X (available soon)
  • X Terminal or PC running an X server (available soon)
Faximum Client/Server
  • X Terminal
  • PC running an X server
Microsoft Windows
  • Fax viewer provided
Fax/Email Gateway
  • Fax viewer provided for Microsoft Windows (3.x, 95, NT)
  • Fax viewer for other operating systems in development (contact Faximum Software for the latest)
Fax/Web Gateway
  • Any Web browser that supports GIF images

What printers can I print faxes on?

Faximum (running on a UNIX workstation or server) will print faxes on any printer that is compatible with HP Laser Jet or PostScript printers. Refer to your printer manual for your printer’s compatibility, or call your dealer. The Faximum Fax Client for MS Windows can print faxes on any printer connected to your Windows system that is capable of printing graphics.

Does the user have the freedom to compose a cover sheet?

Yes, unlike many other computer-based fax systems, Faximum permits multiple cover- sheet designs to co-exist and be selected by the user from a list. Faximum’s coversheet design language supports multiple fonts, arbitrary placement of routing information, white on black text, lines, circles, and boxes. In addition, Faximum permits a short message (usually up to 20 lines) to be placed on the cover sheet. This means that short faxes can be sent as a single page. Other systems require two pages (one for the cover sheet and the second for the message itself).

Does the system support multiple telephone lines?

Faximum can support up to 16 or more external fax modems, depending on the power of your computer system.

Some customers are using Faximum to send 5,000-10,000 faxes every night, with more planned. Note, however, that Faximum is priced according to the number of fax lines supported (see the Faximum price list for details).

Customers planning systems with more than ten lines are urged to contact their reseller (or Faximum) to obtain special pre-sales information from Faximum in order to configure the system properly.

How are received faxes routed?

Faximum supports several methods for automatically routing received faxes. Faxes can be identified by the fax line they are on (i.e. all faxes on line 3 are printed on the laser printer in the accounting department) or by the fax machine that sent the fax (i.e. all faxes from head office are printed in the director’s office). Faximum also supports DID routing (see the next question).

Faxes that cannot be automatically routed are placed in "general delivery". Users with sufficient authorisation may examine the first page of each fax in general delivery and route it to the appropriate user.

What is DID routing?

Direct-Inward Dialling (DID) phone lines are special telephone trunks that assign multiple phone numbers to a single phone line. When someone dials one of the phone numbers associated with the DID line, the phone company sends a signal down the line indicating what number was dialled. In this manner one can have (say) 20 fax numbers (each assigned to a different employee or department) and a single phone line. When a fax is sent to one of the 20 numbers, Faximum detects the number being used and routes the fax to the specified user.

Note that connecting DID lines to fax modems requires special equipment. Please contact Faximum Software for details.

How are received faxes handled?

Faximum can use any of:

  • the ID string (TSI) from the sending fax machine;
  • the fax line the fax was received on; or
  • the DID number dialled to send the fax to Faximum;

to look up a table of possible actions. The action list can request that the received fax file be copied to any directory (on the local machine or over the network); printed on one or more printers automatically; forwarded by fax to another fax machine or computer; or passed to any arbitrary program or shell script for further processing. In addition, email can be sent to a list of users alerting them to the incoming fax.

With SWIIFT (see What is SWIIFT?) the actual received fax can be emailed to the recipient as a MIME message (MIME is a type of Internet email message).

What file format does Faximum use to store fax images?

Faximum stores all received faxes in TIFF-F format. This format is compatible with most graphics and word processing packages and fax images may be included with WordPerfect, FrameMaker, and other WP documents. SWIIFT [] can optionally convert received faxes into GIF format for viewing using a Web browser.

What graphics file format will Faximum accept?

Faximum will accept and transmit images stored in most variations of the TIFF file format for black and white bi-level images. Images which have been created at resolutions other than 100 x 200 or 200 x 200, however, may not appear to scale. Most compression methods are supported except LZW and Group IV.

Faximum on Sun platforms also supports Sun Raster files.

Can I access Faximum from shell scripts or other software?

Faximum includes a command line interface that allows programs written in the shell or other languages to generate and send faxes automatically.

Faximum also provides a Line Printer Intercept (LPI) which can capture the print streams generated by applications, extract the fax number and other coversheet information, and fax the print file as an attachment to the automatically generated cover sheet.

4.0 SWIIFT (Suite of Web and Internet/Intranet Fax Tools)

What is SWIIFT?

SWIIFT is Faximum’s "Suite of Web and Internet/Intranet Fax Tools", a software suite that can fax-enable most UNIX-based web or email servers on the Internet.

SWIIFT, when added to a web or email server, allows users of that service to send and receive faxes simply by using their existing web browser or email utility.

(SWIIFT is a trademark of Faximum Software.)

Why would I want to use SWIIFT?

SWIIFT allows your Internet/Intranet users to send and receive faxes without the cost and complexity of installing and learning special fax software on the users’ machines.

How does the Web/Fax Gateway work?

The SWIIFT WFG allows users of company Intranets to send and receive faxes as easily as clicking on a web page and filling out a form. The information on the form is sent to the web server (when the "Send Fax" button is clicked) where SWIIFT passes it to Faximum to send.

The SWIIFT WFG is not limited just to messages the user can type in from his browser. By using HTML extensions supported by Netscape and others, SWIIFT allows users to select any compatible file on their machines to be attached to his fax.

All of the major features of more traditional fax software are supported by SWIIFT including personal telephone books, default parameters stored on a per-user basis (including signatures), broadcast lists, and arbitrary file attachments.

In addition to enabling users to send and receive faxes using their existing Internet tools, SWIIFT can be used to provide additional web-related services. For example, using the "Web Fax-On-Demand" feature of SWIIFT, web content creators can make it easy for visitors to request documents be faxed to them (rather than spending the time to download and print them individually).

Furthermore, ISPs can use SWIIFT to tap exciting new web business opportunities such as pizza order forms on the Web that send the orders by fax to the pizzeria.

Examples of the pizza order form as well as the other components of SWIIFT can be found on the Web (http://www.faximum.com/swiift).

How Does the Fax/Web Gateway work?

The SWIIFT FWG enables users to browse a list of their received faxes using their existing Web browser. They can then select a fax, view it, print it (from the web server), or download it to their machine to be printed locally or viewed at a later date.

How does the Email/Fax Gateway work?

The SWIIFT EFG allows users to send email to the fax server where it is converted into a fax message and sent using Faximum. The user merely composes his email message as usual and sends it to the

SWIIFT EFG by addressing it (say) to:
"John Doe/ACME Company/1 604 926 8182 <fax@server.com>"

How does the Email/Fax Notification work?

The SWIIFT EFN is designed to fax notification of new incoming email (for people who do not receive enough email to justify dialling up their mail server a couple of times a day). This allows users and businesses to be responsive to the occasional email message without having to spend any effort monitoring their email inbox.

This service can be a lucrative value-added service for ISPs to offer their low-volume email customers.

How does the Fax/Email Gateway work?

The SWIIFT FEG converts received faxes into email messages (by sending the fax image as a MIME attachment). Users can then view, print, and manage their faxes locally using the same inbox and email program as currently used for email.

How do I view received faxes from my web browser?

SWIIFT provides two options. The default behaviour is for SWIIFT to convert received faxes into GIF format which can be viewed by any Web browser that supports icons or graphics (which is to say all except those designed to run on dumb terminals, such as lynx).

The alternative is to download the fax (as a multi-page TIFF file) to the user’s machine (using the web browser) and view the fax using the fax viewers provided by Faximum. These viewers are currently available for MS Windows 3.x, 95, and NT and allow the user to zoom, rotate, and print faxes. Most web browsers can be configured to invoke the Faximum fax viewer automatically when presented with a TIFF file. (Viewers for other systems are in development, please contact Faximum Software for current availability.)

How do I view received faxes from my email program?

SWIIFT includes viewers for MS Windows 3.x, 95, and NT that allow the user to zoom, rotate, and print faxes that are received by email. Most email programs can be configured to automatically invoke the Faximum fax viewer when presented with an email message that includes a fax. (Viewers for other systems are in development, please contact Faximum Software for current availability.)

What Internet Standards does SWIIFT comply with?

SWIIFT adheres to all applicable Internet standards and recommendations including RFCs 822, 1314, 1521, 1522, and 1806. For more information on these Internet standards, please visit our Web site (http://www.faximum.com/swiift).

What type of Web and email servers does SWIIFT work with?

SWIIFT is compatible with most web servers that support standard CGI scripts including web servers by Netscape, NCSA, and others. SWIIFT is compatible with the native email systems of the supported UNIX hosts. SWIIFT uses the security mechanism of the web server, email server, and network it runs under. This can be as relaxed or as restricted as the systems administrator wishes (and the server software and network support).

5.0 Faximum’s Unique Features

What are the differentiating features of Faximum?

Faximum’s advanced features [Some of these features are only available with Faximum PLUS or Client/Server (and not the ELS or Lite products). Some features (such as support for multiple lines) are separately priced options. Please refer to the product specifications for complete details.] include:

  • supports personal dialling directories of unlimited size for each user;
  • handles multiple fax telephone lines;
  • works with a wide range of Class 2 and 2.0 fax modems;
  • provides call accounting by user as well as project (or client);
  • includes a simple yet powerful command line interface for faxing from within applications and shell programs;
  • allows the system administrator to restrict access to long distance calls by user, time, type of phone line (in multi-line installations), and area code;
  • reduces telephone toll charges by using intelligent dialling, least-cost routing, and intelligent delayed transmission (see below);
  • routes received faxes using by fax line, sender’s phone number (TSI), or DID;
  • provides native fax clients for Microsoft Windows (3.x, 95, and NT) at no additional charge (i.e. no per seat charges, see 17);
  • integrates with PBX call-detail recording, and third-party DDD accounts (i.e. MCI or Sprint, when the user’s account must be dialled with the number); and
  • supports data/fax sharing which permits a single modem and phone line to handle both data and fax calls (available only with certain modems and systems, contact Faximum for current information).

6.0 Advanced Features Explained

What is meant by "intelligent dialling"?

Intelligent dialling is the ability of the fax software to add (or remove) dialling prefixes as necessary. When intelligent dialling is enabled, all phone numbers are entered fully qualified (that means with the country code and area code) even if local to the calling system.

Intelligent dialling would recognize that if a San Francisco number ‘555 1212’ were to be dialled, say, from San Francisco, all that needs to be dialled is ‘555 1212’ (or possibly ‘9 555 1212’, ‘9’ being dialled to get an outside line). Similarly, if the same number were entered into a Faximum system installed in San Jose, then Faximum would dial ‘1 555 1212’. And if the number were entered into a Faximum system installed in New York, Faximum would dial ‘1 415 555 1212’.

Similar automatic transformations occur with overseas numbers.

The automatic addition (or removal) of dialling prefixes and area codes is referred to as intelligent dialling.

The obvious benefit is that dialling directories can be shared between different locations without requiring editing to add or remove prefixes and area codes. A less obvious benefit is that the use of fully qualified numbers permits Faximum to recognize the exact location of each destination so that it can perform least-cost routing and intelligent delayed transmission (see below).

Faximum is the only fax software package we are aware of that supports intelligent dialling.

What is "least-cost routing"?

Least-cost routing is the ability to select the telephone line that is the least expensive for a given destination. For example, a multi-line installation might have a normal long-distance (DDD) line, a foreign exchange line into another city, and several WATS (wide-area telephone service) lines into different regions of the country. With least-cost routing, Faximum can automatically determine the line that is cheapest for each call.

In addition, Faximum supports priority promotion. This means that if the least-cost route remains busy for a specified period, a high-priority fax will be sent by a slightly more expensive route rather than be delayed waiting for the least-cost route to become idle.

Faximum PLUS is the only fax software package we know of that supports least-cost routing and priority promotion.

What is "intelligent delayed transmission"?

Intelligent delayed transmission is the ability to determine when to send a fax based on the discount period specified and the destination. Many fax machines and most fax software permit the user to delay a fax but by having to specify the exact time for the fax to be sent. This is usually done to take advantage of the lower phone rates available in the evening and overnight.

With Faximum, the user does not need to know when the phone rates drop or to try to calculate when to send. The user merely indicates the cost he is willing to pay (i.e. "Highest, No Delay", "Low Cost", or "Lowest Cost") and Faximum automatically determines the appropriate time to send the fax.

For example, from Vancouver the cheapest phone rate to Edmonton starts at 11 p.m.; to New York starts at midnight; to London, England starts at 6 p.m. Faximum remembers all of this so that users can benefit from telephone discount periods without having to remember the details.

What is "intelligent project accounting"?

Intelligent project accounting is the ability to interface with telephone systems that require accounting information to be dialled before or after the long distance number.

When Faximum is configured to provide the additional accounting information, it will automatically dial the account associated with the user and project assigned to the fax. The account number can be dialled at any point during the dialling sequence and the system can dial different account numbers depending on the project the fax is to be charged to, the long distance service used, and the area called.

Can I use the same modem and phone line for both fax and data?

Faximum makes it possible for a single modem and phone line to handle fax, data, and uucp traffic. This feature is, however, only available with certain modems and systems. Contact Faximum Software for details.

Can I connect my fax modem to a terminal server?

While Faximum ought to work with any terminal server that provides a reliable (and transparent) reverse telnet service, we specifically recommend the Easy Server 2 terminal server made by Stallion Technologies. Faximum’s engineers have worked closely with Stallion’s to make the combination of Faximum’s fax software and Stallion’s terminal server work better than any other fax server/terminal server pairing. Contact Faximum Software for the latest information on this project.

How can I check if my modem is Class 2?

If you have a modem that does not appear on the above list you can determine if it is Class 2/2.0 and whether it is Rockwell-based by connecting a terminal to the modem (or using the cu or tip commands) and issuing the following commands at 19,200 baud:

AT+FCLASS=?
If the modem is Class 2 or 2.0 then the response from the modem to this command ought to include the number 2 or 2.0.
If the modem is a Class 2 modem, then issue the first of the two AT commands shown on each line below (i.e. AT+FMFR?, not AT+FMR?).
If the modem is a Class 2.0 modem, then issue the second of the two AT commands shown on each line below (i.e. AT+FMR?, not AT+FMFR?).
AT+FMFR? (AT+FMR?)
This will usually provide the name of the manufacturer of the chip set used in the modem. (You may need to type AT+FCLASS=2 or AT+FCLASS=2.0 before the FMFR or FMR command will be accepted by the modem.)
AT+FMDL? (AT+FML?)
This will usually provide the model number of the chip set used in the modem.
AT+FREV? (AT+FRV?)
This will usually provide the firmware revision level for the modem.
AT+FBUF? (AT+FBF?)
This will usually provide the size of the internal buffer within the modem.
For reliable operation with UNIX we recommend modems with at least 1K of buffer.

If you have any doubts or questions about using a particular fax modem, please contact Faximum Technical Support (support@faximum.com), providing the response to these five commands.

What type of communications port do I need to connect an external (Class 2) fax modem?

While most workstations have sufficient power to handle a fax modem connected to the serial ports built into the machine, an intelligent communications board or terminal server is recommended for heavy use or for systems that must support more than one fax modem.

Faximum has worked closely with the engineers at Stallion Technologies to ensure that their Easy Server 2 terminal server works well with Faximum’s products. Please contact Faximum for complete details on the Easy Server 2 including pricing.

8.0 The Faximum Product Line

What software products does Faximum sell?

Faximum has five main products:

Faximum PLUS
a non-networked fax server with a full-screen character interface designed for Intel (i.e. SCO) or AIX systems with a number of dumb terminals connected using serial communications.
Faximum ELS
an entry-level version of Faximum PLUS for organisations who do not need the advanced features of Faximum PLUS.
Faximum Client/Server
a true Client/Server product with a graphical user interface (GUI) and support for clients on UNIX (DG/UX, HP-UX, SCO Open Server, Sun Solaris, etc.)
and/or Microsoft Windows (3.x, 95, or NT).
Faximum Lite
a node-locked single-user version of the Faximum Client/Server product without the command-line interface or Line Printer Intercept.
SWIIFT
a collection of tools for integrating fax servers with Internet/Intranet Web and email servers (see What is SWIIFT?).

What is the difference between Faximum ELS and Faximum PLUS?

  • ELS supports one dialling directory per user which cannot be shared with other users while PLUS permits the user to have an unlimited number of dialling directories (i.e. one containing sales contacts, one containing suppliers, etc.), any of which can be optionally shared with other users;
  • ELS supports a single fax telephone line while PLUS can be upgraded to support multiple fax telephone lines;
  • ELS supports call accounting by user while, in addition, PLUS supports project accounting;
  • ELS places all incoming faxes in a single directory (to be printed manually or distributed by the system administrator) while PLUS will distribute incoming faxes and automatically print and/or copy selected faxes as specified;
  • ELS permits broadcasts to up to fifty destinations only while PLUS supports broadcasts to an unlimited number of destinations.

In addition, PLUS supports the following advanced features:

  • PLUS allows the integration of fax capabilities with existing applications through the Faximum Applications Program Interface (API);
  • PLUS allows the system administrator to restrict access to long distance calls by user, time, type of phone line (in multi-line installations), and area code;
  • PLUS supports intelligent dialling, least-cost routing, and intelligent delayed transmission (see below); and
  • PLUS supports PBX call-detail recording, and third-party DDD accounts (i.e. MCI or Sprint, when the user’s account must be dialled with the number).
  • PLUS supports data/fax sharing which permits a single modem and phone line to handle both data and fax calls.

What is the difference between Faximum PLUS and Faximum Client/Server?

Faximum PLUS is primarily designed for users with dumb terminals and with no requirement to support faxing from other machines on the network while Faximum Client/Server was designed for systems with graphical displays (X/Motif or Windows) and/or a need for supporting a Client/Server architecture (i.e. a central fax server with multiple networked systems acting as clients of the fax server).

What is the difference between Faximum Client/Server and Faximum Lite?

Faximum Lite provides the same basic fax server as Faximum Client/Server but the client is locked and can only run on the console of the server machine. Faximum Lite also does not support the command line interface or Line Printer Intercept. Faximum Lite is intended for personal faxing from single-user UNIX workstations.

How is Faximum licensed?

Faximum ELS and PLUS are licensed for a single CPU with a single fax modem and an unlimited number of users.

Faximum Lite is licensed for a single user on the same CPU as the fax server.

Faximum Client/Server is licensed for a single server with a single fax line, an unlimited number of client machines (including any number of MS windows machines), and two floating-user licences. Faxes submitted from the command line or the Line Printer Intercept do not count as users and so are not limited.

What is a floating-user licence?

A floating-user licence is the right for a user to run the Faximum Graphical User Interface (either under UNIX or MS Windows). In other words, the number of floating-user licences you have only limits the number of simultaneous users of the GUI you have. It does not limit the number of machines on which you may install the client software nor does it limit the number of users (or applications) that submit faxes using the command line interface or the Line Printer Intercept.

Additional floating-user licences may be purchased singly or in groups of five. Please consult the price list for details.

9.0 The Fine Print.

Faximum is a registered trademark in Canada and the United States licensed exclusively to Faximum Software Inc. SWIIFT is a trademark of Faximum Software, Inc. Other product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only.The use of the PostScript trademark is for identification purposes only and is not intended to imply that the software which interprets the PostScript language is developed by or licensed from Adobe Systems Inc. The use of the PCL trademark is for identification purposes only and is not intended to imply that the software which interprets the HP Printer Control language is developed by or licensed from the Hewlett-Packard Company. Specifications and prices are subject to change without notice. Check with Faximum Software Inc. for current information. Void where prohibited by law. Does anyone ever really read this stuff anyway? Goodbye, over and out!


Faximum Home Page Site Map Products Fax Technology Technical Support
14 August 1998

 

 

 

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201 - 1571 Bellevue Avenue West Vancouver, BC Canada V7V 1A6
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