Matter of fax

Entrepreneur, Oct, 1998 by Cassandra Cavanah

When microsoft integrated faxing capabilities (Microsoft Fax) into its Windows operating system, many people feared the demise of stand-alone fax programs. Others predicted the popularity of e-mail would curb the use of fax machines. But this hasn't been the case: Faxing is still one of the most popular modes of transmission. With faxing, there's no worry that the attached document will be unreadable, a common occurrence when sending files via e-mail.

Although the fax software field has narrowed, it certainly hasn't disappeared. In fact, Microsoft's move has encouraged the development of more robust fax programs - giving you the ability to do everything from sending and receiving faxes to turning your computer into a full-blown communications center, complete with voice messaging and paging capabilities.

At the most basic level, faxing from your PC saves you the hassle of printing a document and taking it to a fax machine. If you're a frequent traveler and take a laptop on the road, having access to a fax program gives you the ability to receive and send high-quality faxes regardless of whether you have a printer handy. Essentially, any fax machine becomes your "printer" - just send yourself a fax to your hotel's front desk.

Other reasons for employing one of these affordable programs include broadcast faxing, which involves creating one document and sending it to dozens of individuals; and faxing via the Internet, which allows you to send long-distance faxes for the cost of connecting to your ISP. Faxing via your computer also gives you the ability to keep extensive logs of incoming and outgoing faxes, much like the way you track your e-mail messages.

Of course, to use fax software, your PC must be equipped with a fax modem, and if you have voice-oriented telephony features, you'll need a voice-capable modem. All the programs reviewed here run under Windows 95.

BY POPULAR DEMAND

By the time you read this, Symantec's WinFax PRO 9.0 will be on store shelves. WinFax PRO is the bestselling fax software program on the market. The program comes with TalkWorks, software that allows users to use their PC as an answering machine. TalkWorks also supports fax-on-demand, giving others the ability to dial in to your computer and request documents to be faxed back to them.

WinFax is simple to install and set up. For quick access to its features, WinFax adds an icon to the Windows toolbar for sending and receiving faxes. When you're ready to send a fax, just click on the icon, and the WinFax PRO wizard takes you step by step through the process. It lets you add recipients to your address book, compose a fax cover sheet and attach files to be sent. Before sending the fax, you're given the opportunity to view its layout. From the WinFax icon on the toolbar, you can also enable or disable the incoming fax feature.

To access the more sophisticated features, you have to actually open the WinFax program. Here you can design your own cover sheet or choose one of WinFax's existing templates.

You can also sign up for Internet faxing, which allows users to send faxes via the Net, cutting down on telephone costs and enabling you to do large-group broadcast faxing that ensures all recipients receive their faxes at the same time. Setting up the Internet faxing component was fairly simple, but using it was a different story. First of all, I couldn't determine the charges incurred from using it (though it did say I was getting a free 30-minute trial for signing up). Next, when I attempted to send a fax via the Net, the link to my personalized mail box on the fax service's Web site (www.netcentric.com) didn't work, so I couldn't track it. And Symantec's otherwise extensive Help section didn't offer enough details on Internet faxing for effective troubleshooting. I did, however, receive an e-mail message from the fax service within 30 minutes that answered all my questions.

The 9.0 version has two key features worth noting. First, there's a new fax-sharing feature for LANs that enables small offices to load a host copy of WinFax on a single machine that has a modem and dedicated phone line. This means you won't have to equip every machine with a modem and data line. Additionally, true road warriors should benefit from improved support for digital cellular standards, which promises to make sending and receiving faxes from mobile environments easier.

WinFax includes seamless support of Microsoft Exchange and Outlook phonebooks and lets you fairly easily import data from other address book programs.

GET THE MESSAGE

As with WinFax, HotFax MessageCenter lets you not only send and receive faxes but manage other aspects of your office communications, including voice mail and paging. This program has all the same features as WinFax, including Internet faxing (a feature HotFax takes more pains to explain). I found HotFax an even easier product to use. Its interface was clean, and simple navigation made sending my first fax painless. Though HotFax lacked wizards, I found I didn't need them.