From: bg@dymaxion.ns.ca
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.fax,comp.os.vms,vmsnet.misc
Subject: Re: FAX product info for VMS
Date: 28 Jan 93 13:29:26 GMT
Organization: Dymaxion Research Limited, NS, Canada

In article <1993Jan27.173104.33@echosphere.com>, amber@echosphere.com (Amber Allen) writes:
> I am looking at and testing different fax products for use on a VAX cluster 
> connected to a DECserver 500, and would like to hear from others using these 
> types of products. The specific ones I have used are Omtool's FAXSR (using a
> dexNET 200 modem) and Data Processing Design's Gold-Fax.

A somewhat unorthodox but potentially inexpensive alternative to a
full-blown fax-modem/fax-software package is to obtain a fax-board for
a laser-printer such as the one available for the NEC Silentwriter
Model 97.  We are in the process of integrating this approach into our
current proprietary fax front-end (which, up till now, only supported
FaxJr and Envoy's dialup fax service).  The DCL procedure simply
maintains a small file of names, fax numbers, and fax settings, uses
DCL SEARCH to retrieve records, and constructs a command to send to
the fax package.  In the case of the printer fax-board, we would
simply use DCL to write a little postscript header file containing the
phone number, name, and fax parameters extracted from the fax number
file, and then send the file with the header to the printer via PRINT.
Queuing is handled by the VMS print queue so you don't have to write
any code there, and with a printer fully loaded with 5 meg of memory,
a sufficiently large fax retry queue is maintained by the printer so
that eventually, every fax you send to the printer will get through,
provided the receiving fax machine isn't down.

On-line notification of a successful or failed fax is the only tricky
part.  Without a special print symbiont that can receive messages from
the printer and echo them back to the user, you have to walk up to the
printer to check the transmission log.  That's usually no big deal for
us because we are in a small building where everyone is a short walk
from the printer.  Furthermore, since the printer will retry faxes all
day until it gets through if you set it up that way, it is rare that a
fax will not get through.  If you have workstations networked to the
Vax via Pathworks or Novell, you're really laughing.  Printer drivers
which support the fax board are provided for most software packages so
you don't have to write a line of code to get the whole thing up and
running.

To show you how simple it is, here's a sample Postscript header file. 
I just fill in the blanks with my procedure and print this file along
with my message to my fax-board equipped printer.

Ben.
---
%! PS-FAX
/FaxIsPresent false def
(Fax) {/FaxIsPresent true def} 100 string /HWOptions resourceforall
FaxIsPresent dup true eq
{
2 dict dup begin /OutputDevice (Fax) def
/FaxOptions 16 dict dup begin
/CoverSheet {/DefaultCoverSheet faxopsexec} def
/FaxType 1 def
/PostScriptPassword () def

% Fill in fax number of recipient:
% - for DialCallee, place # after T9
% - for CalleePhone, place # between parentheses
/DialCallee (T9) def
/CalleePhone () def

% Fill in name and organization of recipient:
/RecipientName () def
/RecipientOrg () def

% Fill in name and organization of sender:
/SenderName () def
/SenderOrg (Dymaxion) def

% Fill in caller's fax number:
/CallerPhone (555 123-4567) def

% Fill in regarding clause:
/Regarding () def

% Fill in up to eight lines of notes to place on cover page:
/CoverNote [() () () () () () () ()] def

end def end setpagedevice
} if

---
Ben Armstrong, Software Development                  bus: (902)422-1973
Dymaxion Research Ltd.,                              fax: (902)421-1267
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3J 1R2            Internet: bg@dymaxion.ns.ca
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.fax