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MVRFAX.DOC
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1993-02-15
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What is MVRFAX?
---------------
MVRFAX allows you to use your ZyXEL modem as a remote controlled fax
machine. If you are travelling a lot and have to leave your office
unattended for lengthy periods you probably are already using an
answering machine to collect your voice mail. MVRFAX allows you to
do this for fax mail as well. There are two ways for you to get to
your fax mail: Either by logging on with a computer or by calling
by phone.
If you log on from another computer you will get to a mailbox (BBS)
system of your choice. This is NOT part of MVRFAX. The section
"Configuring MVRFAX" tells you how to integrate your BBS package.
Retrieving your faxes this way is simply a matter of downloading them.
If you are using a phone you can have your faxes be sent to a fax machine
near you. Of course you can change the number MVRFAX will send the faxes
to from remote.
What MVRFAX is NOT
------------------
MVRFAX is NOT an answering machine. A decent answering machine with
remote control can be bought for a fraction of a ZyXEL and usually
delivers better voice quality.
How it's implemented
--------------------
MVRFAX is based upon three ZyXEL utilities:
ZFAX .......... comes with your ZyXEL
RCVFAX ........ comes with your ZyXEL
ZUTIL ......... comes with MVRFAX
ZFAX and RCVFAX MUST be version 2.2 (or above?).
ZUTIL is a public domain utility from Kolja Waschk. It's his utility
that allowed me to automate my office. Many thanks for such a fine
program!
In addition to the above utilities you will need a Fossil driver to
drive your comm port (ZUTIL needs that).
The rest of MVRFAX are just a few gigantic .BAT files.
The Legal Department
--------------------
Users of MVRFAX must accept the following disclaimer of warranty:
THIS COPYRIGHTED SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS"
BASIS. THE AUTHOR MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED,
INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
THE USER ASSUMES ALL RISKS OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE. THE AUTHOR
ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES, DIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL, WHICH MAY
RESULT FROM THE USE OR MISUSE OF MVRFAX.
As it cannot be guaranteed that loss of data will not occur, MVRFAX
should be tested with non-critical data. As always, judicious backups are
a wise and necessary continuing precaution.
Now that the necessary legal issues are out of the way:
Kolja Waschk put his utility into public domain. So, in the best of all
hacker spirits, this is my distribution policy:
MVRFAX is a program I wrote because I needed an easy way to collect my
fax mail from remote.
MVRFAX is "zero-registration" shareware. That means, you may use it
freely, without notifying me or anyone else, and without paying one cent.
I sincerely hope it will satisfy you.
You may freely distribute MVRFAX, as long as the archive file remains
unmodified. I expressly forbid to add any files, or any comments to the
archive.
Contacting the Author
---------------------
If you have questions or ideas for future enhancements of MVRFAX, I'd be
glad if you would contact me via CompuServe. Of course, I'll be happy if
you just want to tell me the program works well.
Michael Vesely 100023,3375
If you want to contact Kolja Waschk, look up his addresses in the file
ZUTIL.MAN.
Installing MVRFAX
-----------------
o Put ALL MVRFAX files in ONE directory
o You need the ZyXEL utilities ZFAX and RCVFAX in ONE directory
(which not necessarily must be the one where MVRFAX is)
o Create a directory OLD under the ZFAX/RCVFAX directory (this
will hold the information about which faxes have already been
delivered to you)
o Configure MVRFAX (see below "Configuring MVRFAX")
Here is the directory structure I use (the MVRFAX default settings relect
this setup):
C:\
│
└───ZYXEL
│
├───ZFAX
│ │
│ └───OLD
│
└───MVRFAX
The Fossil driver I use (BNU) can be found via the PATH variable.
System Requirements
-------------------
o IBM or compatible and approx. 300 kB free memory
o a Fossil driver (BNU, X00,...); this is NOT included in MVRFAX
o ZyXEL modem (ROM version >= 5.00M, MegaBit-Eproms)
o ZFAX and RCVFAX version 2.2
o hard disk
General information
-------------------
You run MVRFAX from the DOS command line:
o change to the directory where MVRFAX resides
o start MVRFAX:
MVRFAX can take two optional parameters:
Parameter 1 = /L means use last callback number
Parameter 2 = /L means local call (no password needed)
Both parameters must be written UPPERCASE.
MVRFAX remembers the last callback number in a file called TELPLAY.BAT.
It is built while you enter a callback number from remote and used by
MVRFAX to speak the number back to you. It's a good idea to have several
pre-canned TELPLAY-style files for your most often used callback numbers.
Let's say you have one such file for Acme Inc. called ACME.BAT:
Just before you leave the office start MVRFAX by:
copy ACME.BAT TELPLAY.BAT
MVRFAX /L
This will set up the number of Acme's fax machine as the callback number.
All you will then have to do from remote is:
o call your office
o press "#" or "*" to present yourself to MVRFAX
o enter your password
o press "3" and confirm with either "#" or "*"
A few moments later all your new faxes will be delivered to the fax
machine near you!
When in the office: To end MVRFAX press Ctrl-Break and Ctrl-C.
Although MVRFAX is rather flexible there are a few things hard-coded. Of
course you could even change these (as you've got the source code):
Confirmation is always done by pressing "#" or "*".
The low tone (approx. 400 Hertz) is used for every prompt
except for the info "There are NO new faxes" and for the
initial tone when there are no new faxes. In these cases a
1200 Hertz tone is used.
All messages are recorded using the CELP mode. This mode, while
not giving the best possible recording quality, allows for the
most reliable detection of DTMF codes.
You will hear a confirmation tone after each DTMF code that MVRFAX
recognized. You have 20 seconds to enter a code. The best results have
been achieved when you wait approx. 1-2 seconds after each prompt.
Configuring MVRFAX
------------------
All user definable settings are contained in the file MVRFAX.BAT. They
are implemented as environment variables, so make sure your environment
space is large enough. The settings are:
MV_PORT ......... comm port (0=COM1, 1=COM2, ...)
MV_ZFXDRV ....... drive where ZFAX/RCVFAX are located
MV_ZFXDIR ....... directory where ZFAX/RCVFAX are located
and faxes are stored
MV_DRV .......... drive where MVRFAX is located
MV_DIR .......... directory where MVRFAX is located
MV_FSTART ....... command to load/start FOSSIL driver
MV_FSTOP ........ command to remove/stop FOSSIL driver
MV_DIALOUT ...... dial prefix (blanked by _MVRFAX.BAT for local calls)
MV_BEEPLEN ...... length of beep (in .1 secs)
MV_FAXRING ...... number of rings, if NO new fax available
MV_PWD .......... password
MV_PWRON ........ .BAT command to turn power on (after an incoming
call has been detected)
MV_PWROFF ....... .BAT command to turn power off (while waiting for
an incoming call)
The default values are:
MV_PORT=1
MV_ZFXDRV=C:
MV_ZFXDIR=\ZYXEL\ZFAX
MV_DRV=C:
MV_DIR=\MVRFAX
MV_FSTART=BNU /T:16384 /R:16384 /L%PORT%:19200 /M-
MV_FSTOP=BNU /U
MV_DIALOUT=
MV_BEEPLEN=5
MV_FAXRING=1
MV_PWD=1 2 3
MV_PWRON=
MV_PWROFF=
There are two other settings you might want to check. One is the modem
init string. It's found in line 18 in _MVRFAX.BAT:
ZUTIL S /P%MV_PORT% /T3 "AT&FX7S41.4=1S7=90+VSD=5,100|" "OK"
~~~~~~~~~
If you are changing it, ONLY change the underlined part!!!
The other is the BBS software that will be loaded if you are logging
in from remote. It's found in line 98 in _MVRFAX.BAT:
echo TELIX O SHOSTPLUS
Although you can call almost any communications program at this point,
this program MUST NOT initialize the comm-port and modem as they are
already initialized and CONNECTED TO YOU.
Using MVRFAX from a Phone
-------------------------
Call your ZyXEL. The number of rings you have to wait depends upon your
configuration. To change it, read below "Configuring MVRFAX". If you are
just checking for new faxes and set up a distinct number of rings if
there are no new faxes, you already know what you want to know.
You will hear a short tone, either high or low. A high tone means "NO
new faxes" whereas a low tone means "There are new faxes". If you just
wanted to check for faxes you can hangup now.
Press "#" or "*". A low tone confirms and if you have configured a
password you will be asked to enter it. Enter each number and wait for
the confirmation tone. If you do not hear the tone, just re-enter the
number as you've probably been too fast. You have 20 seconds for each
number.
You will be asked to enter a 1-digit command. Enter one of the numbers
below:
Enter To
0 check for faxes
1 get callback number
2 set callback number
3 call back (deliver faxes)
4 delete old faxes
5 call external program EXTERN.BAT
Again, you've got 20 seconds. If you do not hear the confirmation tone,
just re-enter the number.
Now follows a short description of each command:
Command 0 - Check for faxes
If there are new faxes you will hear a low tone and "There are new
faxes". If there are no faxes you will hear a high tone and "There are no
new faxes".
Afterwards you will be prompted for a new command to be entered.
Command 1 - Get callback number
If there is a callback number, you will hear each digit spoken. If there
is no callback number, you will hear "No callback number defined".
Afterwards you will be prompted for a new command to be entered.
Command 2 - Set callback number
You will be asked to enter the callback number. Again, you've got 20
seconds for each number. If you do not hear the confirmation tone, just
re-enter the number. When you are done either wait (for up to 10 seconds)
or press "#" or "*". You will then hear the callback number (each digit
will be spoken) and will be asked for confirmation. Press "*" or "#" to
confirm.
Afterwards you will be prompted for a new command to be entered.
Command 3 - Call back
If there are no new faxes or the callback number is missing you will be
informed. Otherwise you will be prompted to confirm that you want your
faxes to be sent to the callback number. Again, press "#" or "*". After
successful confirmation you will hear a "Thank you" message and MVRFAX
goes on-hook. Go to the fax machine and wait for your faxes.
Command 4 - Delete old faxes
Old faxes tend to fill up quite some space on your hard disk. You can
delete them from remote with this command. You will be asked to confirm.
Press "#" or "*". After successful removal you will be informed ("Old
faxes have been deleted").
Afterwards you will be prompted for a new command to be entered.
Command 5 - Call external program
This command will execute a batch file called EXTERN.BAT. Use this file
to remote execute any command you need.
Afterwards you will be prompted for a new command to be entered.