Chapter 7: Setting Up Microsoft Fax
This chapter steps you through setup of the Microsoft Fax service, which is included with Windows 95. With the Microsoft Fax service, you can use Outlook to send faxes, receive faxes, send a document as a fax, send and receive editable documents and executable programs from other Microsoft Fax users, and use one modem to send and receive faxes for a group of Windows 95 users.
Windows 95 includes a service called Microsoft Fax for sending faxes. (Windows NT 5.0 is expected to include a fax service as well, currently available as the Personal Fax for Windows NT technology preview. See “Setting up Personal Fax for Windows NT” in Chapter 8.) With the Microsoft Fax service, you can use Microsoft Outlook to
- send faxes
- receive faxes
- send a document as a fax by printing it from any Windows program
- send and receive editable documents and executable programs from other Microsoft Fax (and compatible software) users
- use one modem to send and receive faxes for a group of Windows 95 users
REQUIREMENTS
To use the Microsoft Fax service in Microsoft Outlook, you must
- install Microsoft Fax and Microsoft Exchange from the Windows 95 CD before installing Microsoft Outlook
- have a compatible modem attached to a telephone line, or be able to connect to a network fax server that is running Microsoft Fax
There are three common types of fax modems. Microsoft Fax supports two of them — Class 1 and Class 2 (see “Checking Out Your Modem” at right). Class 1 fax modems can send documents to each other as binary files — that is, as editable documents or executable programs. Class 1 fax modems also can send and receive in facsimile format. Class 2 fax modems can send and receive in facsimile format only. Microsoft Fax does not support the third common type of fax modem, CAS.
You must install Microsoft Fax and get it working properly in the Exchange or Windows Messaging environment before installing Outlook.
| Special Note: The capability to exchange not just faxes but the actual documents themselves is called binary file transfer (BFT). This feature turns Microsoft Fax into a point-to-point electronic mail system, making it easy for a writer to send an article directly to an editor or for a sales representative to send a proposal, without requiring e-mail accounts for everyone involved. |
Checking Out Your Modem
On a Windows 95 system, you can determine the fax class of your modem through a diagnostic tool built into the Modems applet in the Control Panel. Follow these steps:
- Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
- In the Control Panel, double-click the Modems icon.
- Switch to the Diagnostics tab.
- Select your modem, then click the More Info button.
- In a moment, you’ll see the More Info dialog box, shown in Figure 7.A. The fax command/Response list, in the listing for the command AT+FCLASS=?. (In Figure 7.A, the listed modem supports both Class 1 and Class 2 fax.)
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BASIC SETUP
If you followed the above advice and got Microsoft Fax working before installing Outlook, then you already should have one or more profiles containing the Microsoft Fax service. You can either copy it to another profile (see “Adding a Service” in Chapter 3), create a new profile with the Inbox Setup Wizard, or add it to an existing profile manually.
Using the Setup Wizard
The Inbox Setup Wizard is available only when you create a new profile through the Mail and Fax applet in the Control Panel.
To add a profile using the setup wizard, follow these steps:
- Run the Mail and Fax applet in the Control Panel.
- Click the Show Profiles button.
- Choose Add.
- In the first screen of the setup wizard, choose Use the Following Information Services, and check the ones you want, in this case being sure to include Microsoft Fax.
- Click Next to continue, give the profile a name on the next screen of the wizard, then click Next again to begin configuring Microsoft Fax and any other services you selected.
Here are the steps in the wizard that are specific to Microsoft Fax:
- The wizard asks you to choose a fax modem. Any modems installed on your system are listed in the “Select a fax modem” box. (See Figure 7.1.) If the modem you want to use is already listed, select it, then click Next and skip to step 3.
- If you need to install a new modem or use a network fax server, click the Add button. The Add a Fax Modem dialog box (Figure 7.2) appears. To install a new modem, select “Fax modem” and click OK, then follow the steps in the Install New Modem Wizard. To connect to a network fax modem, select “Network fax server” and click OK. Enter the Path to the network fax server in the Connect to Network Fax Server dialog box, then click OK. When you have finished adding modems, click OK to close the Add a Fax Modem dialog box. (For more information about using a network fax modem, see “Connecting to a Network Fax Server” later in this chapter.) In the Inbox Setup Wizard dialog box (Figure 7.1), select the modem you want to use for faxing, then click the Next button.
- On the second screen of the setup wizard (Figure 7.3), indicate whether you want Microsoft Fax to answer all incoming calls. Click Next to continue.
- Finally, enter Your full name, Country, and Fax number (Figure 7.4). Click Next to continue with questions about other services.
Once you’ve completed the setup wizard, check the settings by using the Mail and Fax applet in the Control Panel to bring up the properties for the Microsoft Fax service. See “Before You Use Microsoft Fax” in this chapter for details about what to look for.