Straight Fax/Telecommunications/Commercial
From: JJL101@PSUVM.BITNET
Date: 07/18/92-02:15:36 PM Z
From: JJL101@PSUVM.BITNET
Subject: Straight Fax/Telecommunications/Commercial
Date: Sat Jul 18 14:15:36 1992
Take from: Atari Explorer Online (#9205)
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| | | STRAIGHT FAX
| | | Atari Explorer Review
| | | ----------------------------------------------------------------
Requirements: Any ST, STe, or TT computer with 1 MB or more RAM.
Class 2 Faxmodem (receive and transmit) or SendFAX modem (send only).
Summary: Powerful and well-designed send/receive fax software package.
Manufacturer: Joppa Software Development, P.O. Box 214, Dallastown, PA
17313-0214 (717) 428-3231
Price: $89.95
Let me admit my bias: I think fax is pretty much an all-around stone
drag. Fax machines cost too much, waste paper, and produce substandard
output that can't be read directly by machines. Unfortunately, the
Luddite majority has been led to believe that fax is a miracle of
information science, and has embraced the standard with bleating,
sheeplike enthusiasm. The resulting trend leaves us technically-
literate types with no choice but to conform -- admitting that the fax
standard exists, and using it when there's no reasonable alternative.
The real miracle of fax, of course, is that people will pay upwards of
six bills for the equivalent of a cheap auto-dial telephone, a handful
of stock chips, and a low-res thermal printer. Luckily, however,
there's now an alternative. Just because we're forced to use fax from
time to time doesn't mean we have to put up with its unwieldy,
redundant, underpowered, and overpriced machinery. Combined with one of
the new high-speed faxmodems, Joppa's inexpensive STraight FAX software
turns your Atari ST or TT into a versatile facsimile workstation, as
powerful as the best stand-alone, plain-paper fax machines on the
market.
The Basics
STraight FAX works by coordinating system resources -- faxmodem,
printer, and hand scanner -- to substitute for the components of a fax
machine. But by dissociating these components, it achieves efficiencies
a stand-alone fax can't match. Unlike a regular fax, which accepts only
physical documents, STraight FAX can take input in file form --
transparently converting ASCII text (from word processors, spreadsheets,
databases, etc.), .IMG, and Degas files to its own "fax" format, prior
to transmission. This approach saves time and paper, eliminates feed
errors, and scotches any physical limitation on feed capacity. Perhaps
even more important, converted documents are free of the spurious data,
shadowing, and other problems introduced when physical pages are scanned
into a standard fax, making for far cleaner output at the destination.
To broaden the range of applications that can provide input to STraight
FAX, Joppa has created "printer drivers" for Calamus (1.9 and SL),
PageStream (1.8 and 2.1), and GDOS that let these programs produce fax
files directly. Multiple-page transmissions can be assembled from up to
33 files in any of the supported formats (ASCII, .IMG, Degas .PI3, and
"fax" (.J01 to .J99 extenders)); and the file-conversion routines can be
operated manually to convert files to fax format for later sending.
This capability is leveraged by sophisticated features permitting
deferred document transmission.
Faxing hardcopy requires a hand-scanner (MiGraph, Golden Image, etc.),
plus Dr. Bobware's ScanLite desk accessory. With ScanLite present,
STraight FAX controls your scanner directly, using ScanLite to combine
the narrow "strips" produced by each pass into a single, seamless image.
The image can then be reviewed, cropped, and massaged in one of STraight
FAX's four "view windows," before saving as an .IMG file for
transmission.
While this is admittedly somewhat more laborious than simply feeding
hardcopy to a fax machine, there are real advantages to this approach.
Not least of these is the fact that scanned documents can be "touched
up" (e.g., algorithmically smoothed, contrast-corrected, etc.) prior to
transmission, making for clearer output at the destination end.
As STraight FAX receives a document, it outputs a series of page-files
in its own "fax" format -- optionally displaying these in a view window
as pages are received. Once transmission is complete, fax files may be
printed (using GDOS), reviewed directly in a view window, or converted
to .IMG format for various purposes, including import to graphics, DTP,
or perhaps even OCR software. (Now there's irony for you: use all this
sophisticated tech to receive a fax, process it through MiGraph OCR, and
end up with the same ASCII text file you could have downloaded directly
if the ruminant at the other end of the line would learn how a modem
works! Is that high techno-camp, or what?)
STraightforward!
Though essentially a specialized telecommunications package, STraight
FAX is much easier to operate than regular terminal software. Once the
program is properly configured, it hides the complex business of
faxmodem management behind a simple user-interface that automates every
aspect of fax communication, and provides clear records of faxes
transmitted and received.
Initial installation is easy -- an "install" program is supplied on the
distribution disk, so all you have to do is point, click, fill in the
blanks in the online registration form, then (as a famous scientist once
said) "sit back und vatch der blinkenlights." STraight FAX can reside in
any folder, and can address independent folders for outgoing and
incoming material.
Additional preparations are only slightly more complicated. For
printing, STraight FAX requires that GDOS (or G+Plus, or Font GDOS, or
FSM/GDOS) be installed, though since the program does not require any
special fonts for printing, an existing GDOS configuration should work
fine. Depending on what version of TOS you're running, it may also be
necessary to install one of a variety of AUTO-folder "patches" to insure
proper handling of the modem port. The necessary patches are supplied
with STraight FAX (Atari has released these to the public domain), and
the manual contains a table correlating TOS versions, patches, and flow-
control options.
Finally, STraight FAX's unattended transmission and logging features
require that system time be set correctly. Because early-model STs lack
battery-backed clocks, Joppa has thoughtfully included a time-setting
utility with the package. This utility can be run as a program or
installed as a desk accessory. Additionally, if STraight FAX determines
that system time has not been set during the current work-session, it
will auto-execute the time-setting program if the utility is stored in
the same directory as the main application.
Once the program is up and running, online configuration is simple and
straightforward. You will have to identify the type of faxmodem you are
using (the program supports both Class 2 send/receive faxmodems up to
14,400 baud, and Joppa's own SendFAX, send-only faxmodem), though most
other low-level parameters (DTMF intertone delays, redial intervals,
comma pause times, etc.) are preset to tolerable default values.
Setting baud rate in the program is easy -- just set it to the highest
rate your faxmodem will support, and the modem will handle such
"stopping down" as may be needed to communicate with lower-speed
equipment. Additional configuration options may be set to control
automatic cover-page and page-header generation and appearance,
influence the formatting of .IMG and Degas files on conversion, and to
master certain cosmetic aspects of program behavior (use of "grow" and
"shrink" boxes, etc.).
Features and Details
Though menu-driven, all of STraight FAX's features may also be elicited
by keypress. Frequently-used features are coded to the main function
keys and to a small button panel, embedded in the screen background.
Faxes may thus be sent, received, and scheduled; phone lists may be
updated and logs reviewed, all with "one-touch" ease.
Four "send" buttons permit transmission of a single document in ASCII,
.IMG, Degas, or FAX format. When one of these buttons is clicked, a file
selector pops up -- its mask set to reveal only files of the selected
type. Once a source document is selected, conversion and transmission
proceed immediately unless automatic cover-page generation is active.
In this latter case, a default cover-page file is loaded and displayed
for approval or modification.
Cover pages contain standard fields for sender, recipient, and other
information, and can incorporate a graphic saved as a fax-format file.
Cover page parameters may be loaded and saved to disk, so several types
of cover sheets can be maintained. When a cover page is generated for
transmission, variable fields such as date, time, and total number of
pages are filled in, automatically. Recipient name can also be filled
in by the program, from information found in the telephone list. This
is particularly useful when sending the same document to multiple
recipients.
Selecting a destination fax number is the next step. Just point and
double-click, and your fax is on its way. Call progress is monitored by
a status dialog box, and automatic redial, re-sending of failed pages,
and other "hands off" convenience features are supported. Transmissions
are automatically made at the highest speed sender and recipient can
support, limited by current line conditions. Successful completion is
announced by an audio tone, and entries are automatically made in the
transmission log, for later reference.
Sending the same document to multiple recipients is just as easy: select
multiple destination phone numbers from the phone list (up to 100
numbers may be loaded at once, and phone lists can be saved and loaded
from disk), and off you go. STraight FAX automatically logs each
requested transfer into the scheduler (using the current time), then
calls each number and sends the document. Recipient information,
actual time of transmission, and date are automatically modified for
each cover page. Call history is saved in the transmission log file.
Deferred transmission is also handled by the scheduler: just select a
document, approve a cover page, designate one or several recipients,
then input a time and date. Entries to the scheduler can be edited or
cancelled at any time prior to transmission. STraight fax can only
process scheduled transmissions when active, but otherwise unoccupied --
it cannot inherently perform "background processing," nor "wake up" from
dormancy to perform pending tasks. For this reason, the program is
designed to perform any pending transfers whenever it is executed. A
similar problemette occurs on fax receipt: which STraight FAX performs
gracefully either in manual or automatic mode -- but only when up and
running.
Luckily, when Atari releases MultiTOS, later this year, both these
quibbles will go away. According to Joppa, STraight FAX is already
fully compliant with the promised operating system upgrade. As a
MultiTOS background process, STraight FAX will be fully capable of
unattended transmission and receipt.
Final Notes
STraight FAX's 80-page manual is complete, concise, well-organized, and
well-written -- covering each aspect of the program in ample detail.
The only problem with the manual is that several groups of pages appear
more than once -- confusing until you figure things out and remove the
extra sheets. Purchase and registration also gives access to Joppa's
technical support voice line and BBS, both of which are staffed by
technically-expert personnel.
The only reasonable objection to the program is its lack of background
processing capability, and this problem will evaporate as soon as
MultiTOS is released. Beyond this, it's hard to think of any
fundamental feature STraight FAX lacks, though it's possible to imagine
the program being enhanced, over time, to give access to a wider variety
of file-types for direct transmission.
Overall, STraight FAX is a very good piece of software. Anyone managing
a sales force, keeping in touch with a broad client base, zapping press
releases out to expectant media, or fielding any similarly advanced,
professional fax application (oxymoronic as this may sound) would be
well advised to purchase STraight FAX and an appropriate faxmodem,
straightaway. It's simply the cheapest, neatest, most efficient way to
deal with the fax phenomenon.
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