FaxCenter
could be all the fax software you'll ever need - and a worthy
OS X replacement for old Classic favorite GlobalFax
In my early days of computer use, fax capability was a big
part of
the picture. I got my first Mac in 1992, but the Internet didn't
arrive here in the outer boonies until late 1997, so fax messages
became my principal means of communicating with editors and filing
stories (along with snail-mailed floppies), obtaining research
materials needed quickly, and so forth.
GlobalFax
My computer-based faxing tool of choice was the superb
GlobalFax
software that shipped with the equally excellent Global Village
modems, of which I had several - both TelePort external units and
PowerPort PC Card modems (after I got a PowerBook
5300 in 1996). Apple also used GlobalFax internal modems in a
wide variety of machines, both desktop and laptop, the last ones (I
think) being installed in the Pismo
PowerBook of 2000, although I invite correction on this point
if
hardware modems made it into the first generation Titanium
PowerBooks
Anyway, GlobalFax, which was last updated around 1996/97,
continued to work happily in my WallStreet
and Pismo PowerBooks under OS 9.x. However, it doesn't work with the
modems in my iBook
and 17"
PowerBook G4, so along with the shift to OS X I was
obliged
to give up using good old GlobalFax for the modest amount of faxing
that I still do.
I'm not a fan of the rather prosaic fax capability built into
OS X from version 10.3 forward, (which doesn't save a copy of
sent faxes), nor do I much like the third-party FaxSTF
that Apple used to bundle with PowerPC Macs. Another third-party
commercial software fax program called Page
Sender is reportedly very good, but I haven't had the
opportunity
to check it out firsthand.
GlobalFax was so good that I couldn't imagine why other
software
developers haven't just copied its feature set and built on it - or
even better, bought or licensed the rights to GlobalFax from whoever
currently owns them and port it to OS X.
I still have GlobalFax installed on my Pismo PowerBook, which
has
a Global Village OEM modem, but I have to boot into Mac OS 9.2.2 to
use it, since the software isn't supported by Classic Mode. GlobalFax
is intuitive to use, has lots of convenient features, and works well.
It's rock solid dependable, gives you a progress readout and
confirmation of successful transmissions, and a record of faxes
sent.
Faxing Still Important
My fax usage dropped by about 99.9% after I got Internet
access,
but there are still times when nothing else will (at least
conveniently) do, such as sending or receiving copies of documents
for which scanned electronic files are not available or acceptable,
or for security reasons. Fax is a lot more secure than email.
That's one reason why I think Apple is big time premature in
dropping internal modems with recent Macs - particularly MacBooks.
Even if you have the fastest broadband connection to the Internet or
prefer to use WiFi, there are times when most of us will need to send
or receive a fax. Sure, you can buy Apple's USB modem (or a
standalone fax machine), but either is extra hassle and complication,
especially on the road, where nothing beats being able to
send/receive faxes directly from/to your hard drive by plugging into
the nearest phone jack.
FaxCenter
Ben Mackin has been selling a nice little shareware
OS X
utility for sending and receiving faxes, based on the efax source
code since the early days of OS X. It was originally called Cocoa
efax and later renamed FaxCenter. Originally a student project, a
simple front end, the program has evolved into much more, able to
send and receive faxes in multiple formats, can scan and send, send
quicknotes, attach cover sheets, and much more - a stable and useful
application that Ben says will work with almost any fax modem,
internal or external.
So is FaxCenter a satisfactory OS X substitute for GlobalFax?
FaxCenter features include:
Send and receive faxes, both to single and multiple
destinations
Scan a file and send it directly from one application
Fax quicknotes
Attach cover sheets, custom or standard
Search the OS X Address Book for fax numbers
Make repeated tries when the receiving machine is busy
Send faxes from any application with Print option
Advanced anti-spamming technology
Drag and drop faxing
Using
FaxCenter requires the BSD subsystem, which is not installed
automatically as part of the OS X installation process. It's
an
optional install on the Mac OS X installation CD.
FaxCenter has an attractive Cocoa interface, and installs a
convenient "menulet" in the menu bar with selections for controlling
the program's most frequently used functions.
Preferences
The FaxCenter Preferences facilitate configuration of many
different settings.
For drag and drop faxing, select a file in one of the required
formats (such as TIFF, GIF, JPEG, EPS, or PDF) and drag and drop it
onto the FaxCenter icon in the Dock. Then follow the usual procedure
for fax sending as required.
You can queue faxes in FaxCenter by repeating the above
process.
Faxes will then be sent in sequence. Failed faxes will remain and can
be resent manually at a later time. Faxing may be suspended or
aborted at any time. Resetting the modem completely aborts a send and
readies the computer for another fax.
FaxCenter allows blocking of all faxes with no identifier
(commonly done by spam faxers) or, through Advanced settings, of
faxes from particular sources. The first setting is for blocking
faxes from people with blank station IDs. Or in the Advanced
Spamblocker settings, enter the station ID of the source of regularly
received unwanted faxes. The station ID can be found in the log, and
cut and pasted into the listing.
There
are three modes for sending faxes; regular send and QuickNote, as
well as sending directly from a document using the Print option. The
regular send dialog has a button for searching the OS X Address Book,
and a pulldown menu for recent numbers faxed. You can also set the
quality of the fax sent (98 or 196 DPI with a "Further Sharpen Fax"
option as well).
Any document that can be printed can also be faxed, whatever
the
application that created it.
If you have Mac OS X 10.2.4 or later (is anyone actually still
using earlier versions?):
Open the document you would like to fax
Choose Print from the File menu
Select required settings in print options
Click the right hand of the two bottom buttons (which will
be marked with a PDF icon).
Select "fax this Document"
If Address Book is not needed, enter the destination phone
number directly as indicated, or select a number from Recently Used list
If Address Book is required, enter the destination name (as
in the Address Book entry) or some part of the name. Click Search
Address Book. If matching entries are found, number of matching entries
will be indicated. Click and hold down the destination entry field to
inspect entries and select one. Destination name will be replaced by
destination number.
Select preferred option for cover pages.
Click Send
If
you have Mac OS X 10.1.5 or earlier:
Open document to fax (for example a Word or AppleWorks
document)
Choose Print from the File Menu
Click the Preview button.
Preview will then open the file. Now choose "Save as
PDF..." from the File menu, and save your PDF file.
Switch to FaxCenter, and click on the Send fax button
Choose the file you just saved (the PDF file) by pressing
the "add" button.
Type in the person's number.
Click send
To
send one fax to several numbers (multiple destinations), enter a
series of numbers in the destination ("Send fax To") field, each
separated by a semicolon - for instance 555-1234; 555-1235; 555-1236;
555-1237. FaxCenter retries any number found to be busy before moving
on.
Sending faxes with FaxCenter is generally pretty intuitive,
especially if you've used fax software before, and it beats the pants
off the built-in OS X fax function.
The same goes for receiving faxes. I have only one incoming
line,
which has to serve both for voice telephone and Internet access, so
setting fax software to to automatically receive incoming faxes has
never been a feature that was useful to me, although both GlobalFax
and FaxCenter can be configured to do this if it suits your
needs.
More important to my requirements is the facility to manually
command the fax software to receive an incoming fax that has been
identified by picking up the telephone. In GlobalFax, this is
implemented by pressing command-shift-6, and in FaxCenter with a menu
selection, both of which work very well, with the nod for convenience
going to FaxCenter (so long as the program is kept up and running in
the background). The only issue I encountered it is that the receive
progress bar doesn't work, although the incoming fax is received and
deposited in the configured target folder as a PDF file.
Having faxes saved as PDF files is great - and much more
convenient and versatile than GlobalFax's proprietary file format,
which can only be opened by that program (although exporting faxes as
TIFF documents is supported by GlobalFax, but that's not nearly as
convenient or desirable a solution).
Received faxes are identified by time and date. You can use
the
"name received files as" preference to select the preferred
format.
Receive speed defaults to 14,400. FaxCenter will automatically
downgrade the speed if it needs to. This will only have to be changed
if problems occur sending to older fax machines.
At a modest $10, FaxCenter could be and probably will be all
the
fax software most of us ever need, and I'm delighted to discover that
it will essentially do everything I used to do with GlobalFax, which
means one less reason to keep reaching back to the classic Mac
OS.
System requirements:
Mac OS X 10.2 or later,
Modem
FaxCenter 1.0.3 for MacOS X 10.1.5 or earlier is also
available
System support: PPC
It's not a Universal Binary yet, but it should work on Intel
Macs
using Rosetta emulation.
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We believe in the long term value of Apple hardware. You should be able to use your Apple gear as long as it helps you remain productive and meets your needs, upgrading only as necessary. We want to help maximize the life of your Apple gear.
Using
FaxCenter requires the BSD subsystem, which is not installed
automatically as part of the OS X installation process. It's
an
optional install on the Mac OS X installation CD.
Preferences
There
are three modes for sending faxes; regular send and QuickNote, as
well as sending directly from a document using the Print option. The
regular send dialog has a button for searching the OS X Address Book,
and a pulldown menu for recent numbers faxed. You can also set the
quality of the fax sent (98 or 196 DPI with a "Further Sharpen Fax"
option as well).
If
you have Mac OS X 10.1.5 or earlier:
To
send one fax to several numbers (multiple destinations), enter a
series of numbers in the destination ("Send fax To") field, each
separated by a semicolon - for instance 555-1234; 555-1235; 555-1236;
555-1237. FaxCenter retries any number found to be busy before moving
on.
