We already knew the reputation of Copia’s FaxFacts software when it arrived on our
laboratory’s doorstep: It’s a reliable, swift solution for broadcast and
industrial-strength faxing, and it has an easy-to-use, modular interface. Unfortunately,
our CD-ROM arrived cracked in half, roughly along its diameter; each half was warped; and
the back was partially melted. A new CD-ROM arrived the next day. This time, we learned
that FaxFacts’ installation process is relatively simple, and that despite the many
useful secrets, other features are missing. But we keep coming back to the broadcast
faxing options, which are the fastest and most powerful that we’ve seen yet.
INSTALLATION
Like many industrial-strength software solutions, Copia’s software
installation is easy, but getting it all to work is another matter. Problems arose after
running the server’s Install program. First, FaxFacts installed an older version of
the Brooktrout API drivers. A Copia technician helped us find the up-to- date drivers on
the company’s FTP site; we downloaded the appropriate .ZIP file, which, in turn,
revealed 12 other files. That fixed the problem, but then our board still wouldn’t
initialize.We finally determined that we had a conflict with our sound card. When changing
countless I/O, DMA, and IRQ settings failed to solve the problem, we (in frustration)
removed the sound card. And so, the Brooktrout fax board is flawlessly "humming
along" on our now-silent Windows NT machine. The server directory uses a mere 17 MB
of hard drive space.
Installing the client software — which, by the way, uses less than 1 MB of space
— was significantly easier. Through the network, users run a setup file found in the
FaxFacts server directory, which installs nine modules, including two versions of the
broadcast feature, a monitoring and a status program, online help, a viewer, a log viewer,
faxmail, and the standard manual fax client. Mailboxes and server permissions are also
simple to configure.
DOCUMENTATION
Overall, we were pleased with the FaxFacts documentation, especially for its thoroughness
and organization. There are separate user’s and reference manuals, printed in large,
clear type. The well-designed manuals — complete with illustrations and numerous
"how-to" sections — are a refreshing change from the small-print, poorly
edited tomes found in other software packages. The broadcasting, mail merge-to-fax (which
Copia holds a patent for), and fax-on-demand sections all receive thorough and detailed
treatment. However, we would like to see slightly more emphasis on the procedures for
installing the client software, and we did find an error in the merge-to-fax section: On
page 51 of the user’s manual, you’re told to format the "faxnumber"
field in 12-point, Roman font, and FFMERGE fonts. Obviously, the word can’t be in
both fonts, but a call to technical support clarified this. You should only use the
FFMERGE font.
FEATURES
The power of FaxFacts’ broadcasting options and the mail merge-to- fax
option are Copia’s main selling points, and it’s not hard to see why.
Broadcasting requires a database or any text editor. As long as you have the software to
make an ASCII file out of a simple phone number list, you can broadcast. Broadcasts can
also be saved in a given directory until they’re ready to send, and multiple phone
lines can be assigned to various types of fax numbers. This allows users to assign one
phone line for local calls, another for long-distance, a third for international, and the
like.
An interesting quirk of the merge-to-fax option is field placement. Two lines must be
placed within one inch of the top of the page. One contains your own fax number. The other
contains the fax number field, an attached file field, and a success-tracking variable
field. Merge-to-fax can also be used to send documents to the software’s image file
for fax-on-demand applications.
Fax-on-demand is another major section of FaxFacts. The program responds to voice and
keypad entries. Customers can call in directly from the receiving fax machine or from
another telephone. Administrators can record any message they like — options like
baud rate, number of rings to answer on, and the number of retries are entirely
customizable. The program can also build a customer database, password-protect certain
documents, charge a customer’s credit card, and determine when and on which modem or
phone line outbound calls should be made. Keep in mind that certain PBX systems need to be
specifically configured to work with fax-on-demand, and still others might not have the
ability at all. Other features of FaxFacts include:
- Servers can have as many fax boards as the CPU can handle.
- Up to eight lines per board.
- Powerful viewing application.
- Supports Dialogic, Brooktrout, and PureData.
- Faxes archived in .TIF format.
- Easily accessible inbound/outbound logging.
- Intelligent redials.
- Works with DID, DTMF, and OCR features.
- Faxmail service.
OPERATIONAL TESTING
For the main operational test, we used just one outbound line and sent 30 copies of a
simple Word document to 30 fictional people at four different fax numbers. The process
seemed tedious because we entered the information from scratch, but in real-world
applications, the contact information would already be in your database. We’re happy
to report that it worked flawlessly the first time. All of the four numbers we called
received fine; one was busy but received our faxes on a redial. Merging the 30 names (we
entered the names of the first 30 U.S. Presidents) worked flawlessly as well, and seemed
transparent. We were concerned the merge feature might confuse those Presidents who share
first names or surnames, but this didn’t happen.Best of all, the process was fast.
Less than 20 minutes transpired between the time when we sent the broadcast to the time
when we checked on it — there our server sat, waiting to be fed more data. It may not
be the simplest fax solution, but functionally, it’s among the best we’ve seen
yet.
We also tested fax-on-the-fly using the FFWIN client, and we liked the extremely
simple, four-button GUI that takes up very little desktop space. Our only criticism is
that after you enter the receiver’s information, there’s no automated response
or confirmation. You just press the "continue" button, and the "send"
dialog box disappears. Did our fax go through? For that, we checked the status
module, which uses simple green checks and red "X"s to show the result. This and
other modules are helpful, but we’d like to see them merged into fewer, more
condensed programs instead of having several separate applications.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
As we stated above, certain parts of both manuals can use clarification and condensing.
Most of the sections are well organized and easy to follow, but some of the
procedure-oriented chapters seem redundant and confusing. And, while we always like a
simple user interface, the FaxFacts client seems a little too simple, at times sacrificing
functionality. Modifying both the reference manual and the client GUI would make life less
cluttered for system administrators and more encouraging for users. We’d also like to
see more technical information in the reference manual about setting up fax boards and
dealing with conflicts.
CONCLUSION
We must uphold the reputation that FaxFacts brought with it to our laboratory. Copia
hasn’t exaggerated the broadcast fax and fax merge capabilities, which are both as
good as any others on the market. FaxFacts sets a positive example by minimizing the
industry phenomenon of sacrificing usability for power, and to show our appreciation we
humbly bestow our Editor’s Choice award to Copia’s FaxFacts. It’s
everything we’ve heard, and having put it through its paces, we can honestly say,
it’s more. |
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