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It's easy
and convenient to use your computer for sending and
receiving faxes. The trick to computer faxing is that it's
not practical to use one program to do both things.
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Why two
different programs? |
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Fax programs that are installed
on your computer use your modem, which can't do two things
at once. Just as you could not use the same phone line for a
regular fax machine while simultaneously
making a phone call, you can't use a computer fax
program and your internet connection at the same time. |
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The
best way to receive faxes... |
As you usually don't know when
somebody will be sending you a fax, it's difficult to know
when you should have the modem
free and available to receive it. The best solution for
receiving faxes is to sign up for a free online fax service.
When you sign up they will assign you a phone number to use
only for receiving faxes. The
number will not necessarily be within your local area code -
something that is usually not an issue unless you anticipate
receiving a large volume of faxes from one person you don't
want to inconvenience. The online fax service will notify
you via email when you have received a fax. From there you
simply click the link provided in the email and receive your
fax via a viewing program that is also provided for free.
Another advantage to receiving your faxes by email it that
if you'd like to share the fax with somebody else, you can
simply forward the email notification to them and they can
then open the fax on their computer.
You can receive faxes for free at FaxWave -
http://www.callwave.com/faxwave/index.asp or at eFax
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http://www.efax.com
If you'd like to have a local or toll free fax number, eFax
offers them. For $9.95.mo (plus a $10 non-refundable
activation fee) you can sign up for Efax plus and receive
choice of a local or toll-free number in over 975 cities
across the world. Receiving faxes with a local eFax number
is free. There is a charge of $0.20 per page for faxes
received at toll-free eFax numbers. Sending a fax costs
$0.10 per page to U.S. fax numbers, except Alaska.
International faxing rates are listed on the eFax site.
If you want to receive faxes directly at you computer, and
your modem will be used for only that purpose, you can keep
your modem available for receiving faxes at any time by
setting your fax software to Auto-Receive or Auto-Answer. It
will then answer every call on that line with a fax tone,
whether it is an incoming fax or not. |
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The best
way to send faxes... |
It's easy enough to disconnect
from the Internet and free up your modem long enough to
transmit your fax. There are some free programs available,
and some versions of Windows come with a basic fax program.
They are very limited and usually don't give you the
convenience of working in conjunction with other programs
like Word or scanner software. Unless you plan on sending
only 1 fax every six months, it's a better idea to use one
of the following programs.
MightyFax installs a printer driver so that you can
fax directly from Microsoft Word or any other Windows
program. If you can print it, you can fax it. All you need
to is a telephone line and the modem you already have in
your computer. Setting up is easy, and in most cases you can
simply run the installation program and immediately start
creating, sending and receiving faxes from your pc. Version
2.9z includes the ability to add graphics and logos to the
fax cover sheet, as well as improved modem support. Updates
and upgrades are always free.
Free to try - $19.95 to buy at
http://www.rkssoftware.com/mightyfax/details.html
FaxWizard 2000 provides a print driver, so you can
fax directly from the print menu within any Windows
application as easily as printing the document. You also
have the capability to broadcast faxes to multiple
recipients. FaxWizard offers an import/export module and
multiple databases to store recipients' information, so
commonly used addresses are a click away. Attach images or
files to the fax, and FaxWizard automatically recognizes and
converts several common formats (TIFF, DCX, TXT, BMP, and
more) to faxable information. A scanning interface enables
you to bring in photos or scanned text, and the built-in
image viewer makes it possible to see the picture before
it's sent out. A graphical log is maintained to show the
status of sent, received, and pending transmissions.
Free to try - $49.95 to buy at
http://www.multisource.com/indexfaxwizard.shtml
VentaFax is a powerful fax/voice messaging software
for Windows. It sends and receives faxes, and converts your
PC with a fax-modem into a versatile answering machine with
remote control. You can retrieve
your fax and voice messages from anywhere, using a touch
tone telephone. It can provide caller's number delivery
(caller ID), if supported by your telephone company. You can
also record a telephone conversation with just a click of
the button. The user interface is
friendly and intuitive.
The Ventafax's main screen
resembles a regular fax machine, and all essential controls
are the buttons on its front panel. With the Ventafax
Business version you can automatically send a fax or voice
message to as many destinations as you need.
Free to try - $34.95 to buy at
http://www.ventafax.com |
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