Faxing

I was asked to come up with a fax solution because of the on going development the business app. The app has a fax button however its not connected to anything. This the same group of developers that are telling us they need 400 to 600 hours to create another tool to allow us to delete inventory from our msql database. Because the app allows the user to print POs and other type of documents that need to be faxed, I decided the easiest route would be installing a fax service.

Installing The Fax Service
Once the modem is installed and set up, you need to install the Fax Service onto your server. This service is included in all editions of Windows Server 2003 with the exception of the Web edition. To install this service, open the Control Panel and select the Add/Remove Programs option. Windows will next display the Add/Remove Programs dialog box. Click the Add/Remove Windows Components button and, after a brief delay, you'll see a list of all the various Windows components. Scroll until you locate the Fax Services option. Select this option and then click Next. Windows will prompt you for your Windows Server 2003 installation CD and begin copying the necessary files.

Creating A Fax Printer
The next step in the configuration process is to create a fax printer. The Fax Service handles faxing much like it handles document printing. The document is spooled to a queue similar to that used for printing, but it is redirected to a fax instead of actually being printed. Installing a fax printer is simple. Select the Printers And Faxes option from the Start menu. This window displays all of the currently configured printers. Now, right-click in an empty area of the window and select the Install A Local Fax Printer. A new printer named Fax will be created instantly. Now that you've installed a fax printer, you must share the printer so that remote users can send faxes through it. To share, right-click on the fax printer and select the Sharing. Select the Share This Printer radio button and then give the fax printer a share name.

Client
First, open the Printers And Faxes window located in the start button, and then click the Add A Printer link. Follow the prompts to install a network printer attached to another computer. Finally, enter the path to the remote fax printer that you set up earlier. Assuming that you named the printer "Fax", the path will be \\servername\Fax. Complete the wizard, and the client is ready to send its first fax.

Faxing Faxes
The users can send faxes from any application they can normally print from. For example, suppose a user wanted to fax a PO to a supplier. The user would open the PO and choose the Print option the File menu. Next, the user would choose the fax printer from the list of printers and click OK. Windows would launch the Send Fax Wizard. The Send Fax Wizard would next ask the user for the names and numbers of those receiving the fax. Windows would then ask the user to choose a fax cover. The user can select from a variety of built-in covers as well as use this screen to enter a subject line and a note to the recipient. The next screen would ask the user when to send the fax and what the fax’s priority should be. After entering this information, the user is given a chance to preview the fax. If everything looks good, the user would simply click Finish to send the fax.

Monitoring Faxes
Faxes can be monitored by using the Fax Console to located under Start > All Programs > Accessories > Communications > Fax menu.