Freeware Fax

[Tom Hill]

Is anyone aware of a simple freeware fax program that runs on all modern
versions of Windows (9.x through XP)?
I'm looking for a command-line program that can send a single fax at a time.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

| Is anyone aware of a simple freeware fax program that runs on
all modern
| versions of Windows (9.x through XP)?
| I'm looking for a command-line program that can send a single
fax at a time.
|

Tom, this is not a solution for you, but a quick summary of
problems I've faced with fax software. I've tried four different
retail programs on three different computers with three different
operating systems. In all of them, sending usually worked OK.
Receiving, however, could be a nightmare, as was troubleshooting.

The problem in each case concerned what was going on in
"listening" mode. That is, the software "listens" for the phone
ringing. When this chain hears the ring, the whole mess answers
the phone, ready to engage in the fax handshake sequence. It
listens via its own settings, the operating system, the computer
hardware, and the modem. It is important (and awkward) to be in
some sort of manual receive mode rather than an automatic
(listening) mode.

What happened to me repeatedly was that the computer would seize
the phone line and I could not hang up. With an external modem, I
could at least hit the modem's power switch and kill the
connection that way. But with an internal modem the only way to
hang up the phone was to turn off the computer (and lose any data
in memory!).

Morals:
- Don't use an internal modem.
- Do not buy an external modem that doesn't have a power switch
(don't laugh: I've seen them).

One additional problem that can come up is incompatible image
formats. The most frustrating program I used was Winfax, which I
found to be so hard for me to use, bloated with unwanted features
and cute cover sheets, proprietary formats, and to my mind,
illogical handling sequences, that it seemed that it was taking
me 45 minutes to send each fax.

I think that I'll be joining my computer professional friends,
all of whom have abandoned fax software and have bought small
stand-alone fax machines.

Richard

 

[Mark Buell]

| Is anyone aware of a simple freeware fax program that runs on
all modern
| versions of Windows (9.x through XP)?
| I'm looking for a command-line program that can send a single
fax at a time.
|

Tom, this is not a solution for you, but a quick summary of
problems I've faced with fax software. I've tried four different
retail programs on three different computers with three different
operating systems. In all of them, sending usually worked OK.
Receiving, however, could be a nightmare, as was troubleshooting.

The problem in each case concerned what was going on in
"listening" mode. That is, the software "listens" for the phone
ringing. When this chain hears the ring, the whole mess answers
the phone, ready to engage in the fax handshake sequence. It
listens via its own settings, the operating system, the computer
hardware, and the modem. It is important (and awkward) to be in
some sort of manual receive mode rather than an automatic
(listening) mode.

What happened to me repeatedly was that the computer would seize
the phone line and I could not hang up. With an external modem, I
could at least hit the modem's power switch and kill the
connection that way. But with an internal modem the only way to
hang up the phone was to turn off the computer (and lose any data
in memory!).

Morals:
- Don't use an internal modem.
- Do not buy an external modem that doesn't have a power switch
(don't laugh: I've seen them).

One additional problem that can come up is incompatible image
formats. The most frustrating program I used was Winfax, which I
found to be so hard for me to use, bloated with unwanted features
and cute cover sheets, proprietary formats, and to my mind,
illogical handling sequences, that it seemed that it was taking
me 45 minutes to send each fax.

I think that I'll be joining my computer professional friends,
all of whom have abandoned fax software and have bought small
stand-alone fax machines.

Richard

Although MS long ago turned me off ever having faith in them, I find the
MS fax print and receive (on MANUAL!) to be the simplest to use. I've
used Winfax off and on for years in several different reincarnations,
and it has given me varying degrees of problems in each incarnation.
When it works, it works well, but. . .

If I have to regularly send and receive fax, I use the fax machine. A
fax ties up my cpu too much to use it that way much.

Mark