Faxing from a .Net Windows Application

[Bob]

I was wondering what would be the easiest way to fax a document from
within a Windows .NET application. It's not enough to simple print to a
fax service device. I want to be able to pass the fax number so I can
create a loop that will send the fax to a bunch of different numbers.

If there is a third party tool that will do this, I would consider that
option.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[smith]

Hi Bob,

"It's not enough to simple print to a fax service device." By this you
mean you don't want to use a fax service such as GoldFax server
(www.goldfax.com) and a fax card? But you say that you'd consider a 3rd
party tool.

You could code to the Win2k/2k3 fax service because according to the docs
it's supposed to work generally the same way as the 3rd party options, but
while it is siting right there it doesn't seem to be all that well supported
(MS has at least a few newsgroups for every technology... except, as I see
it, a group for their own fax system, which doesn't bode well for people
thinking of putting it into production).

If you'd consider using a 3rd party tool like GoldFax then "creat[ing] a
loop that will send the fax to a bunch of different numbers" is pretty much
what that kind of software does. You connect to the service from any client
machine and pass it the fax number and content and for each fax that you
pass to the server passes you get back an ID, you can then use the IDs to
poll the statuses of the individual faxes.

I used Goldfax with VB.Net 1.0 with no problems, it's ActiveX but works
perfectly via Interop and it takes care of cross-network communication
without you having to futz over DCOM yourself (I'd assume that it's
competitors do pretty much the same by now). Most such tools accept Word
docs or RTF and it's pretty easy to do "form letter" style personalizations
of each fax with RTF by making a "template" and filling in the variable
sections using Replace.

Can you give more detail about why a fax service tool like this isn't what
you're looking for?

smith
www.smithvoice.com
"Bob" <bo*@metaprosystems.com> wrote in message
news:11**********************@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...

I was wondering what would be the easiest way to fax a document from
within a Windows .NET application. It's not enough to simple print to a
fax service device. I want to be able to pass the fax number so I can
create a loop that will send the fax to a bunch of different numbers.

If there is a third party tool that will do this, I would consider that
option.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Bob]

Hi Smith

I appreciate the reply and I will take a look a Goldfax, it may meet my
needs.

I may not have been clear about the caveat I mentioned. If I have a Fax
software such as WinFax I can set it up as printer device. The report
writer I use - Active Reports lets you choose a printer. I could simply
choose WinFax and fax the report instead of printing it. However the
user would then have to type in the fax number for each fax sent or
have a separate list. This is not the soulution I want.

I also don't want a solution that requires paying for each fax sent or
paying a monthly fee.

Bob

[smith]

Even server systems are technically print jobs, with the fax card being the
"printer"

Goldfax isn't cheap and neither are good multiline fax cards but for a
company that depends on in and out faxing it pays for itself over time.
There are other options, such as FaxMan (and the fax server built into
Windows servers if you feel like trusting that).

From my experience, the card is the real key to performance. A multi-use
card - RAS and FAX - will take longer to reset between calls and as I
remember will also tend to use up more resources while a dedicated fax card
will reset faster and typically run more efficiently. I had very good
results with BrookTrout fax cards (originally used Digiboard RAS/FAXs, the
change made a big difference)

For client-only options, a long while back I made faxing work from the
desktop with a typical faxmodem, CDO and the old MS Fax, but it's been a
while since MS Fax was officially part of the OS and I don't have a fax card
on any boxes that I could test out right away. If it helps any though:
http://www.smithvoice.com/youcan.htm

-smith

"Bob" <bo*@metaprosystems.com> wrote in message
news:11**********************@z14g2000cwz.googlegr oups.com...

Hi Smith

I appreciate the reply and I will take a look a Goldfax, it may meet my
needs.

I may not have been clear about the caveat I mentioned. If I have a Fax
software such as WinFax I can set it up as printer device. The report
writer I use - Active Reports lets you choose a printer. I could simply
choose WinFax and fax the report instead of printing it. However the
user would then have to type in the fax number for each fax sent or
have a separate list. This is not the soulution I want.

I also don't want a solution that requires paying for each fax sent or
paying a monthly fee.

Bob

[smith]

I stand corrected, there is a newsgroup for the built-in windowserver faxing
... I found it on my own little page:

microsoft.public.win2000.fax

So you just need a good card to start testing.
"smith" <rc********@smithvoiceTAKEOUT.com> wrote in message
news:mi****************@newsread3.news.pas.earthli nk.net...

Even server systems are technically print jobs, with the fax card being
the "printer"

Goldfax isn't cheap and neither are good multiline fax cards but for a
company that depends on in and out faxing it pays for itself over time.
There are other options, such as FaxMan (and the fax server built into
Windows servers if you feel like trusting that).

From my experience, the card is the real key to performance. A multi-use
card - RAS and FAX - will take longer to reset between calls and as I
remember will also tend to use up more resources while a dedicated fax
card will reset faster and typically run more efficiently. I had very
good results with BrookTrout fax cards (originally used Digiboard
RAS/FAXs, the change made a big difference)

For client-only options, a long while back I made faxing work from the
desktop with a typical faxmodem, CDO and the old MS Fax, but it's been a
while since MS Fax was officially part of the OS and I don't have a fax
card on any boxes that I could test out right away. If it helps any
though: http://www.smithvoice.com/youcan.htm

-smith