The Fax Gate is a CommuniGate communication module supporting fax messaging. It converts messages to the fax format and sends them to remote fax machines. The module can receive incoming faxes and route them as messages to the recipient(s).
The module is multi-line, i.e. it can support several fax lines simultaneously.
When installed together with the Voice Gate, the Fax Gate can route incoming faxes to any recipient (locally or over e-mail), it can implement fax-on-demand and other fax-center features.
The Fax Gate supports Class 2 and Class 2.0 fax modems connected via serial ports. Make sure that your modem really supports Class 2 or Class 2.0 faxing before you try it with CommuniGate Fax Gate. Many old fax modms support fax Class 1 only.
To compose and send messages as faxes, you can use not only the CommuniGator application, but also the print driver "FaxSender".
The latest version can be obtained at:
http://www.stalker.com
or
ftp://ftp.stalker.com
Installation
You should have the CommuniGate Server and the CommuniGator application installed and the CommuniGate system running before you install the CommuniGate Fax Gate module. See the Installation chapter of the CommuniGate System Manuals for instructions.
On the computer running the CommuniGate Server, find the CommuniGate Folder inside the System Folder. Place the CommuniGate Fax Gate module file into the Modules folder created inside the CommuniGate Folder. Restart the CommuniGate Server.
Configuration
After the CommuniGate Fax Gate module is placed in the Modules folder on the server computer, you can configure it from any workstation that has the "can configure" privilege.
1. Choose FaxGate from the "monitor" section of the Server menu. When the FaxGate Monitor window appears, choose "Service Settings…" from the FaxGate menu.
Set the log level and enter the Fax Station ID (your phone number or company name/slogan); the Station ID should not be longer than 20 characters. We recommend to use your fax line phone number as the Station ID.
The addresee of an incoming fax message can be explicitly specified by the caller if you use the CommuniGate Voice Gate and the CommuniGate Fax Gate together. If the addressee is not specified, or you don't have the VoiceGate running on the same line, the To: and Cc: fields in the Server Settings dialog box are used to route incoming faxes. By default, incoming faxes are routed to the Postmaster. If there is a person in your company taking care of incoming faxes, that person name should be enetered in the To: field.
The Cc: field can be used to assign an additional address to incoming faxes. For example, if you want all incoming faxes to be printed and you have the PrintGate module installed, you can type: xxxx@PrintGate
in the Cc: field. Or, if the PrintGate module is installed on some other system, you can type:
xxx%PrintGate@other.system.domain.name
in the Cc: field.
2. Choose "Add Line" from the FaxGate menu. The dialog box appears and allows you to select the serial port to use. We strongly recommend using virtual LineShare ports. The names of the LineShare ports appear in bold. The names of the ports that are in use with other applications or modules are shown dimmed. Select the port and click Enable.
3. The Line monitor appears in the FaxGate Monitor window. The Status field should say "Idle".
4. Choose "Line Settings…" from the FaxGate menu. The dialog box appears and allows you to set the parameters for this line: operation mode, maximum speeds, etc. Be careful with the "Log Level" option: if you set it to "All Info", the log file can grow in size very quickly, recording all low-level activity on this line. If the operation mode is set to "Receive Only" or "Send and Receive", the module keeps the port open. If you want to use the same line for other purposes (for incoming and outgoing data calls), you should use a LineShare "Fax" port.
We recommend to set Maximum speeds to 9600, not 14400: almost all fax machines support 9600 only, and 14400 can be used when sending faxes to other fax modems only. Modems have different 14400 communication speed implementations, so you can meet problems sending faxes on this speed. If you do decide to put 14400 as the maximum speed and you see that you cannot send a fax to certain recipients,
first try to decrease the speed to 9600.
Select the Use Software Handshake option if your modem does not support hardware handshaking or if your modem cable does not provide hardware handshaking wiring.
The "Special AT-command" field allows you to enter modem (AT) commands that the module will use when sending and/or receiving faxes via this line. Usually, you should leave that field empty. If you do need to enter some command, consult your modem manual and type the "hardware handshaking"(or "software handshaking" if you have selected that option) command without the AT prefix. For example, for all Rockwell-based (Supra, Zoom, Boca, etc) modems we recommend to enter:
&K3
in the "Special AT-commands" field,
for US Robotics modems the command is
&H1
Note: these commands are issued after the module has turned the modem into the Fax mode - so never use the &F command in that field - it will reset the modem back to the data mode.
For some Class 2 modems (MultiTech) you should select the Invert Incoming Bits Order option in order to receive fax data properly (if this option is not selected, those modems receive faxes, but when you display it, you see some garbage only).
5. If you want to support several fax lines simultaneously, choose "Add Line…" again and configure other lines in the same manner. Use the "Remove Line" command to disable fax services on a line/serial port.
Dialing Restrictions
You can put some restrictions on calls that can be made with the CommuniGate Fax Gate. Choose Service Settings from the FaxGate menu and click the Restrictions button. A dialog box appears.
1. Since each CommuniGate server works as an e-mail-to-fax gateway, you may want to restrict access to faxing for non-local (Internet) users. Use the "Non-Local users can make" option to allow users not directly registered with your CommuniGate Server to make local, long distance and/or international calls. The "as is" calls, i.e. calls to the number started with "-" are considered to be international calls (see the Addresses chapter in CommuniGate Manuals).
2. You may want to limit time when fax calls can be made. You can set time intervals for local, long-distance and international calls (the "as is" calls are treated as international). All faxes sent outside the specified time intervals are automatically delayed till the beginning of the next time interval. If a fax address is assigned a high priority, the interval information is ignored, and the fax is sent immediately.
Redialing Options
You can specify the parameters the Fax Gate module uses to redial fax numbers if it has failed to connect. Choose Service Settings from the FaxGate menu and click the Redialing button. A dialog box appears.
The Maximum Attempts option specifies how many time the CommuniGate Fax Gate will try to dial a fax number before rejecting that fax address and marking it as undeliverable.
The Delay If No Answer option specifies when the module should try to call the number again, if it cannot make a connection (i.e. the phone does not answer, or it answers, but no fax connection can be established).
The Delay If Busy option specifies when the module should try to call the number again if it detects the busy signal. For fax addresses with high priority, the Delay Urgent If Busy option value is used instead. This allows to make the module try to deliver urgent (higfh-priority) faxes as quickly as possible.
The Increment Delays by option allows to make delays longer after each attempt. For urgent faxes, delays will be incremented not after the second attempt, but after the half of maximum attempts allowed is made.
Resending
When reconnecting after a failure, the CommuniGate Fax Gate always resends the cover page (if any), and then continues with the page that has not been confirmed by the recipient's fax machine.
Converting
The CommuniGate Fax Gate converts generic letters into the fax page format, it also converts the attached text and PICT files. To set the convertion options, choose Service Settings from the FaxGate menu and click the Convertion button. A dialog box appears.
If the Indicate Encoding Activity option is selected, a "Fax" icon blinks in the menu bar on the server computer screen when the CommuniGate Fax Gate is converting a message.
Since many of fax papers are not as wide as the "standard" fax page, you may want to set Margins:
the CommuniGate Fax Gate will draw your letter leaving the specified margins on both left and right side of the fax page. The margin width is specified in points (1/72 inch).
When processing a plain text message, the module uses the default font. The Default Font, the Default Font Size, and the Default Font Style settings allow you to select the font to use when faxing plain-text messages.
The Resolution option allows you to specify the standard or fine resolution for the fax page images created by the CommuniGate Fax Gate. This option has no effect on messages that are submitted being already in the Fax format (like those created with Fax Sender print drivers): this option is for the Fax Gate converting engine only.
Cover Pages
The CommuniGate Fax Gate uses the cover pages stored in the server Resource Base. You may use the CommuniGator application to create, remove and modify the cover pages. The "cover page" resource named "*Header*" is used to create a header placed on the top of each fax page sent.
If the cover page to use is not explicitly specified, the "*Default*" cover page is used if a message was composed locally. For messages composed remotely (received via E-mail, for example), the "*DefaultRemote*" cover page is used. If the message does not contain any subject, and the cover page has not been specified, no cover page is created. If you do not want any cover page to be generated (even if the subject field is not empty), you should specify the "*NONE*" cover page.
When composing a fax message with some E-mail application, you can specify the cover page to use with an additionall header field "X-Fax-Cover":
X-Fax-Cover: *NONE*
To create a cover page or edit an existing one, choose "Cover Pages" from the Resources submenu in the Server menu. Each cover page can contain a background picture and fields. Create a background picture with any drawing or painting application, copy it on the Clipboard and then Paste it into the Cover Page window. The vertical size of the picture you paste defines the height of the cover page.
To include the fields conatining your name, the date the message was sent, and other message data use the Fields menu. That menu also allows you to set the font, size and style for the text that appears in the fields.
There are two fields called "To's" and "Cc's". These fields contain the addresses of other recipients of this fax message. When a letter contains several "To:" and/or "Cc:" addresses, these fields are filled with the additional addresses, one address at a line, the first line will contain the "To:" or "Cc:" string.
When creating a fax image for a cover page, the module uses the same resolution as the resolution of the first fax part of the message. If there is no "fax part" in the message (i.e. an empty message body without any attachments), than the fine resolution is used.
Multi-Lining
If the CommuniGate Fax Gate is configured to use several lines, it uses them simultaneously. If a message has several fax addresses, it can be sent simultaneously to several recipients.
Grouping
When the CommuniGate Fax Gate module detects a message that should be sent to the same address as a message being sent at that moment, it sends it to that recipient immediately after the current message is sent, without disconnecting. So, all the messages in queue directed to one phone number are sent during one phone call.
Receiving Faxes
All incoming fax messages are routed to the "Postmaster" (or to the addresses specified in the To: and Cc: fields of the Service Settings dialog box). If additional information about the recipient has been obtained from some source, the message is routed to that address. For example, after the CommuniGate Voice Gate has detected password DTFM tones, and extracted the corresponding e-mail address of the recipient, it may detect fax tones on the line. In this case it passes the line to the CommuniGate Fax Gate, and passes the information about the recipient to the CommuniGate Fax Gate, too.
Attachments
This version supports the attachments of the type "TEXT" (text files), "PICT" and its own "fax format".
One of the ways to save a message in the fax format is to use the FaxSender printer driver (see below) to create a fax message using the "Store as File" option.
Fax Format files do not require converting and can be used when the same document should be faxed out many times (data sheets). The files used for "Fax Back" or "Fax on Demand" should be in the Fax Format, too.
Fax Sender
The Fax Sender is the print (Chooser) driver to be used with the CommuniGate system. It employs the same Address Books panel as the CommuiGator application, and it can be used with any application that supports printing. See the ReadMe files that come with the FaxSender driver.
Fax E-mailing and Fax Routing
To use your CommuniGate Fax Gate as a fax gate for e-mail, just send an E-mail message to nnnnnnn%FaxGate@your.domain.name, where nnnnnnn is the fax phone number, your.domain.name is the domain name assigned to the CommuniGate Server. If the phone number contains some special symbols or spaces, put the entire number in the quote signs. Example: "+1-415-383-7461"%FaxGate@stalker.com
You can also use any other type of address format, either RFC822 or uucp:
<@stalker.com:"+1-415-383-7461"@FaxGate>
or
stalker.com!FaxGate!"+1-415-383-7461"
To simplify the addressing syntax, you can enter the following line into your Routing table:
fax.your.domain.name = FaxGate
In this case to send a fax via e-mail, the following syntax can be used:
nnnnnn@fax.your.domain.name,
as: 4153837461@fax.stalker.com
Note: make sure your network provider (if you use one) will route to you the messages addressed to <something>@fax.your.domain.name.
The CommuniGate Fax Gate also accepts addresses with the domain name ending with ".fax":
username@9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1.fax
In this case, username is ignored, and the domain name is converted to the fax number
+123456789
Note 1: the digits order is reversed.
Note 2: the number is always prefixed with "+", so the last digit(s) in the domain name (thus the first digits in the phone number) must be the country code. This does not make all these numbers "international" - only those that have country codes different from the code set in the Dialer Settings are considered to be international.
The CommuniGate Fax Gate accepts addresses with the domain name ending with ".faxrev":
username@123456789.faxrev
These addresses are changed to username@9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1.fax to unify routing.
The CommuniGate Fax Gate accepts addresses with the domain name "faxconv":
123456789@faxconv
These addresses are changed to X@9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1.fax (see below)
To route all your faxes to some other CommuniGate server, enter the following line in the Routing table:
FaxGate = FaxGate@that.server.domain
where that.server.domain is the domain name of the CommuniGate Server you want to use for faxing.
Without entering this into the Routing table, you can just send e-mail to that address - to use somebody else's server for faxing. This can save you money on long-distance and international fax calls. And this allows you to fax even if you don't have a fax modem.
You may want to route only some of the faxes to other CGate servers, while sending other faxes directly. First, you should enter the following into the Routing table:
FaxGate = faxconv
This will result in all fax addresses being converted into the X@9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1.fax addresses, where the domain name is the fax number (with the country code) digits in the reversed order, with the .fax added.
Now, if you want to route all faxes to Paris(country code 33, area code 1) to the CommuniGate Server ourfriend.in.paris.fr, enter the following line into your Routing Table:
*.1.3.3.fax = *.1.3.3.fax%ourfriend.in.paris.fr
See the Router chapter of the CommuniGate System Manuals for the details.
Revision History
1.9.7 10-Dec-96
• Built-in Cover Page and Header resources are included (they were removed from the CGate Server).
• Converting documents into the Fax format is more cooperative now.
1.9.6 27-Nov-96
• Internal sending time-outs are incremeneted to support modems with large buffer memory.
• Bug fix: when a fax connection was dropped, the attempts counter was not incremented.
1.9.5
• The page confirmation procedure is updated for Class 2.0 modems. US Robotics modems should send faxes more reliably now.
• CommuniGate Server 2.4.x functions are used for the Queue management.
1.9.4
• The address records for incoming faxes were not stored clean; as a result, incoming fax messages could get any status ("forwarded", "Printed", etc) after they were opened.
• The non-standard messages between incoming RING messages and the "connection established" message are allowed now (ZyXEL 288 modems).
1.9.3
• Attached Server Documents (of the Fax type only) are supported now.
• Improved Receiving in the Software Handshaking mode for some types of buggy modems.
• CoverPage/Header drawing on old machines (MacSE) is fixed.
1.9.2
• Bug fix: if an embedded graphic object was wider than a fax page, up to 50 empty pages were generated.
1.9.1
• The initialization strings are modified to process USR modems better.
• The option is added to force generating return-receipts for messages from non-local users.
1.9
• Software Handshaking is supported now.
• Inverting bits in incoming fax data (for MultiTech and some other modems) is supported now.
• Bug fix: Time restrictions are checked correctly now.
• Sending to old fax machines has been improved.
• Converting generic texts with embedded pictures has been improved.
• The Phone # and the Sender Address cover page fields are implemented.
• Support for "12345.faxrev" domains is added.
• Support for the "faxconv" domain is added.
1.8.1
• Support for "5.4.3.2.1.fax" domains is added.
1.8
• The Default Font Style option is implemented.
• The Resolution option for fax converting is implemented. Some bugs in processing documents with parts in different resolutions were fixed.
• The bug that always disabled international calls for non-local users was fixed.
1.7
• The Default Font and the Default Font Size options are implemented.
• The resolution selection command is issued before dialing now: it provides compatibility with many modems that do not follow the Class 2 specifications (Intel, etc).
1.6.1
• The Convertion options are implemented.
1.6
• The serial port reading mechanism has been changed to support OpenTransport/PCI serial drivers.
• The Restriction and Redialing options are implemented.
1.5.1:
• Check for Station Message string length is implemented.
• No more Add Line crashes on 68000 machines (SE, Plus, Classic, etc).
1.5:
• Fax Class 2.0 (found in US Robotics and some other modems) is now supported.
1.4:
• The restrictions for non-local users are implemented.
• When a fax is sent, the return-receipt message is generated if requested by the sender.
1.3:
• If a fax line is in the "Inactive" or "Send Only" regime, the serial port is open only during fax sending. If that port is busy with some other application/module, then the module suspends the line and tries again later.
• If there is not enough memory available to convert a generic letter and/or an attachement, the module suspends converting and tries later.
1.2:
• When sending faxes at low speeds, time-outs for page confirmations are increased.
• If a fax line is suspended (because the no-dialtone situation was detected, or the serial port was busy), the "end of suspention" time appears in the status window.
• Improved compatibility with Class 2 modems when the Fax Gate is used without LineShare.
