Here are a few tips for AppleFax modem users. If you haven’t already done so, read Chapters 1 and 2 of the AppleFax Modem User’s Guide to set up your modem and learn the basics of using AppleFax. Then return to this file for more information.
You should use the AppleFax modem with System version 6.0 or newer. If you need to update your system software, see your authorized Apple dealer or representative.
AppleFax conforms to the communications standards for Group 3 facsimile machines (the most common type of fax machine). Although the AppleFax Modem User’s Guide mentions that AppleFax is compatible with Group 2 fax machines, transmitting to Group 2 fax machines produces unsatisfactory results in most cases. It is not recommended that any document be transmitted to a Group 2 machine.
If you’re not sure whether the receiving fax machine is a Group 2 machine, contact the fax-machine operator.
In order to use the AppleFax resource to create or send a fax file from within an application, you must use the Page Setup and Print dialog boxes shown in Figures 1 and 2. If you see other dialog boxes when you choose either Print or Page Setup from the File menu, your application is using its own dialog boxes.
To bypass your application’s dialog boxes and enter the AppleFax resource’s dialog boxes, try pressing and holding down the Shift key while you open the File menu and choose Print or Page Setup. If doing this doesn’t work, see your application’s documentation to find out how to open the standard Macintosh Print and Page Setup dialog boxes.
The AppleFax application is compatible with MultiFinder. However, to send or receive files, AppleFax must be the active application (the AppleFax document window must be open and selected). Be sure AppleFax is active whenever you plan to send or receive files.
To run the AppleFax application under MultiFinder, your computer must have at least two megabytes of RAM. If you have less than two megabytes of RAM, turn off MultiFinder before opening the AppleFax application.
There are three ways to open the AppleFax application: you can open the application icon, you can open an address book icon, or you can open an AppleFax document icon. The first time you open the application, a dialog box appears asking you to select an address book. Clicking the New button in the dialog box creates a new address book and opens a new AppleFax document using that address book.
After this first time, opening the application icon or a document icon causes AppleFax to open using either the last address book you opened or the last one you saved using the Save Address Book As command. If you deleted or changed the name of that address book, AppleFax will ask you to select an address book. To open AppleFax with an existing address book, simply open the icon for the address book you want to use.
After you open the AppleFax application, if you decide that you want to switch to a different address book, you can do so by closing the current AppleFax document and choosing New from the File menu. A dialog box appears asking you to select an address book. Select the address book you want to use and click Open. AppleFax will open a new document using the address book you selected.
When you transmit files to a standard Group 3 facsimile machine, the AppleFax Modem performs much like an Apple printer: you’ll see the same high-quality text and graphics.
In addition, just as an Apple printer takes longer to print complex documents (those containing many graphics, for example) than simple documents (those containing text only, for example), the AppleFax Modem will take longer to transmit complex documents than it does to transmit simple documents.
Furthermore, just as a more powerful Macintosh (a Macintosh II, for example) can print to an Apple printer more quickly than a less powerful Macintosh (a Macintosh Plus, for example), the AppleFax Modem will transmit documents more quickly with a more powerful Macintosh than with a less powerful Macintosh.
Once you have begun to send a file, you can cancel the transmission by pressing Command-period (press and hold the Command key while you press the period key). This method for canceling transmission works both when you send the file from within the AppleFax application and when you use the AppleFax resource to send a file from within another application.
The AppleFax resource does not automatically hang up when it gets a busy signal. Instead, it will wait for several minutes before trying to redial the number. To save time, if you suspect that the number you have dialed is busy or incorrect, cancel the transmission by pressing Command-period, then try the number again.
Some group 3 facsimile machines cannot print to the edge of a page. When you set the margins for documents you need to send to facsimile machines, its a good idea to leave space around the margins.
The AppleFax Modem transmits facsimile files to Group 3 facsimile machines at a maximum of 9600 bps (bits per second) but receives files from facsimile machines at 4800 bps. This specification is not documented in the AppleFax Modem User’s Guide.
