XP Fax software ???

P

pvc

Is there any software available for XP that can distinguish a voice call
from a fax call and if it's a fax, automatically answer it whether at the
computer or not?
The Fax program with XP demands you be at the computer to receive the Fax or
else treat all calls as Fax calls, which is unacceptable.
Does anyone know of a Fax program that will distinguish Fax from Voice calls
and will work with XP?

Thanks,
Phil
 
M

Miss Perspicacia Tick

pvc said:
Is there any software available for XP that can distinguish a voice
call from a fax call and if it's a fax, automatically answer it
whether at the computer or not?
The Fax program with XP demands you be at the computer to receive the
Fax or else treat all calls as Fax calls, which is unacceptable.
Does anyone know of a Fax program that will distinguish Fax from
Voice calls and will work with XP?

Thanks,
Phil
Click to expand...

Sorry, but this has nothing whatsoever to do with software. No NT based OS
supports distinctive ring. You must either use a separate fax machine, or
have your telco enable IdentiCall, or a similar service, on your line.
 
P

pvc

Miss Perspicacia Tick said:
Sorry, but this has nothing whatsoever to do with software. No NT based OS
supports distinctive ring. You must either use a separate fax machine, or
have your telco enable IdentiCall, or a similar service, on your line.
Click to expand...
 
P

Peter R. Fletcher

The short answer to your question, I am afraid, is "No", since there
is no way for the computer to know if it is a Fax call without
answering it and listening for fax tones vs data modem tones or voice.
At that point, if it is a voice call, the computer cannot "Unanswer"
it. There also appears to be no reliable support for "Distinctive
Ring" under XP, so even getting this for a second "virtual line" will
not help you.

Various computer communication programs, paired with Voice modems,
will allow you to set up what amounts to an advanced answering machine
with fax (and data) recieving capability. The computer picks up all
calls (you can set the number of rings, of course) and routes them to
fax, data, or voice answer functions according to what they appear to
be. That's about the best you can do, and if you pick up the phone
before the computer does, and it is a fax call, all you can do is hang
up and try not to pick up the phone when the fax machine retries.

The only really satisfactory solution to receiving more than very
occasional, expected, faxes really is either a second physical line or
"Distinctive Ring" plus a hardware switch to direct calls on the fax
number to the computer, with the latter set, in either case, to
always pick up.

Is there any software available for XP that can distinguish a voice call
from a fax call and if it's a fax, automatically answer it whether at the
computer or not?
The Fax program with XP demands you be at the computer to receive the Fax or
else treat all calls as Fax calls, which is unacceptable.
Does anyone know of a Fax program that will distinguish Fax from Voice calls
and will work with XP?

Thanks,
Phil
Click to expand...


Please respond to the Newsgroup, so that others may benefit from the exchange.
Peter R. Fletcher
 
L

Lukas

-----Original Message-----
Is there any software available for XP that can distinguish a voice call
from a fax call and if it's a fax, automatically answer it whether at the
computer or not?
The Fax program with XP demands you be at the computer to receive the Fax or
else treat all calls as Fax calls, which is unacceptable.
Does anyone know of a Fax program that will distinguish Fax from Voice calls
and will work with XP?

Thanks,
Phil


.
Phil,
Click to expand...

I just went through that situation and found an effective
solution. First of all, it's a modem specification issue.
This is what I did for my office......I made sure my
modem can detect "Distinctive/Smart ring" (I am sure you
heard about it), then I subscribed for a cost effective
Distinctive ring# from my local phone company. Then,
depending on your preference you can use your PC or a fax
machine to pick up only the double/triple distinctive
ring pattern to answer automatically on the first ring.
Note, the fax machine also has to support the
Distinctive/Smart ring. I would continue however, this
might not be what your loooking for. Let me know.

Lukas
 
P

Peter R. Fletcher

Presumably, both require that the modem hardware supports distinctive
ring detection.

I have never understood why (as many people seem to imply) this
functionality should require OS level support, but discussions about
it, here and elsewher, always seem to generate more heat than light!

I know of two third party fax applications that overcome the Distinctive
Ring problem:

http://www.faxtalk.com/
FaxTalk Messenger Pro
www.pigeonline.com
Pigeon Mail n Fax

Hal
Click to expand...


Please respond to the Newsgroup, so that others may benefit from the exchange.
Peter R. Fletcher
 
P

pvc

Hi Hal,
Would you tell me the names of these third party fax applications so I can
get my OS set up to receive incoming Fax calls while away from my desk.

Thanks,
Phil
 
V

Victor D.

You have to have a phone line that is analog and a fax voice analog modem.
You can use DSL if you have the filters on the phone line connected to
modem. You can get filters at Radio Shack or your DSL provider.
 
M

Miss Perspicacia Tick

Pat said:
Does anyone know if this software supports DSL or do you have to have
a regular phone line? Thanks
Click to expand...

*No* software supports DSL because you cannot fax over DSL, full stop.
Faxing requires a phone line - it has nothing to do with software. How do
you think the signal's going to travel - power of positive thought?! You
don't dial a number to connect to the Internet, do you, so what makes you
think you can dial a fax number and send data?
 

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