| We've all had to deal with this situation
before: we're in the middle of a hectic workday when we realize that we
need to get information to someone in a hurry... like yesterday. So we
stop what we're doing, take the time to print out the document(s), and if
we're really feeling motivated we take additional time to create a custom
cover sheet as well. We put our work on hold and trek to the nearest fax
machine, which in some companies can mean a long walk to the opposite side
of the building. Then we get there only to find a line of our coworkers
waiting to do the same thing.
With technology what it is today, why would we want to put ourselves
through this each time we need to fax documents? Wouldn't it be easier and
less tedious to be able to do all of the above steps in one simple process
from our own desks? The answer to that question is of course a resounding
yes. Desktop faxing utilities are quickly changing the way that we
communicate with others. With the ease of clicking a button, documents can
be faxed directly from our applications without the hassle and
interruption of using a conventional fax machine.
Broadfax is one LAN-based desktop faxing tool that allows you complete
control over the way you choose to communicate and the way you do your
business. It offers an easy and reliable alternative for sending and
receiving information.
INSTALLATION
The installation process went very smoothly. First, we installed a
Brooktrout (TR114) fax board into an NT 4 server box with 96K RAM and a 2
GB HD. The card installation was straightforward, and the only
configuration that was necessary was changing the jumper on the board to
an available IRQ. Other than that, there were no additional configurations
needed to enable the fax board.
The software installation consisted of three steps: CAS server
installation, Broadfax server installation, and the client installation.
The installation wizard was very good and helped move the process along
quickly. It walked through steps for each part of the CAS server
configuration. This included auto detection of the fax board,
configuration of the fax port, and setting dialing options.
Once we completed the installation, we set the CAS server to load
automatically as an NT service. A small icon was placed in the system tray
once the server was loaded. The server can be unloaded to minimize system
resources or to stop outgoing faxes.
Next, we installed the Broadfax server and client programs. We
installed one domain server and one client workstation. During the
installation, we were prompted for a license file in order to activate
full functionality of the software. We requested this directly from
Rainbow, and they e-mailed an .EXE file that placed the license file in
the appropriate directory. After a reboot, "TMC" was displayed
as the registered user for the program and all of the features were fully
functional.
Finally, since the Broadfax client software requires IP to communicate
with the Broadfax server, the last step in the installation process was to
install it on both machines and verify that the client could communicate
with the server.
We were pleased with the ease and quickness of the installation. We
encountered only two problems. The first one was that the NT user groups
were not created automatically on the server. We had to manually create
two groups: Broadfax Administrators and Broadfax Users. The other problem
we encountered was that we kept getting an error message that the client
workstation could not connect to the fax server. We traced the error
message and determined that the IP settings were incorrectly set for the
server. The client installation guide did not make it clear that we
actually needed to click the Logon Parameters button and input the
server's IP address. This value is set to Local by default, which results
in the software trying to connect with the server at the local machine's
address. This is the opposite of what you would expect the server's
address to be, as seen from the client PC, when dealing with a broadcast
fax package. A search or browse mechanism for finding the fax server would
be useful here.
DOCUMENTATION
The documentation manuals included a Server Installation guide, a Fax
Client User guide, and an Advanced User guide. While all were informative
and included sufficient screen shots, overall we found them lacking in
organization. The information we needed was there, but it sometimes seemed
out of order or didn't correspond exactly with the actual screens. We also
found that while the documentation was accurate, it seemed to gloss over
important details when a more in-depth description would have been
helpful.
FEATURES
Broadfax consists of one server and one or many clients. The server
component includes CAS Server and Broadfax Server. CAS Server is the
component that controls the actual faxing of the documents. Broadfax
Server is the component that submits each fax document from the client to
the CAS Server. To avoid overloading the server, the fax jobs are sent
from the clients at a steady rate. The client program includes four main
components: Job Administrator, Job Setup Wizard, Cover Page Editor, and
Faxlist Manager. Some of the other features of Broadfax include:
- User-friendly client interface -- the client program includes an
administration utility and a job setup wizard which are very intuitive
and easy to use.
- Broadcast faxing -- Makes it possible to send out a high volume of
faxes unattended.
- E-mail broadcasting -- E-mail addresses can be combined with fax
numbers to launch e-mail broadcasts in addition to fax broadcasts.
- Document designer -- Allows users to personalize faxes when sending
them out so the right document gets to the right person.
- Cover page editor -- Allows users to customize any documents that
are being sent. The fields available for customization include name,
company address and account balance. Fax jobs can include more than
one cover page as long as it uses the same fax list.
- Advanced Scheduling -- Users can schedule documents to be sent
automatically on a specified day and time.
- Fax job monitoring and reporting -- Allows administrator to view
status of fax jobs and error reports.
- Database integration -- Compatible with external databases, such as
ACT!, GoldMine, Outlook, Maximizer, and Excel. Allows users to import
fax recipients from existing databases and send faxes out to a single
record, or the entire database.
- User Manager -- Admin tool for creating users and editing user
properties, such as assigning security levels.
OPERATIONAL TESTING
To test the broadcast faxing capabilities, we tested sending fax documents
to multiple fax recipients. Documents were sent from our client
workstation over IP to the fax server, and then through an outside line to
a fax machine in our office. In every test we performed, the faxes were
received in a timely manner with little difficulty involved in setting up
the jobs.
In Microsoft Word, we created and saved a new test document. We opened
the fax wizard, which is pretty straightforward, so we just input all of
the relevant data. This included the name of the document that we wanted
to fax and the fax program to use. Then the recipients' names were added
manually, though both the names and fax numbers can be selected directly
from a compatible address book, such as MS Outlook, ACT!, GoldMine,
Maximizer, or Excel. You can choose to fax to just one record, an active
group or filter, or the entire database.
Next, we selected a style for the cover sheet and entered the necessary
sender information. Once we clicked the Finish button, a "Send Fax
Now" button appeared in our document. We clicked the button and a
confirmation dialog box appeared. Once we clicked OK to that, an Imaging
window opened and displayed a faxable image of our document. The Broadfax
job setup wizard also opened, along with the document tips window. One
complaint we did have here was that you should have the option of
previewing your fax document, as opposed to having it automatically
displayed.
At this point, we needed to run the job setup wizard. The wizard is
self-explanatory as it guides you through the steps, including naming the
job, choosing a template, and selecting which document(s) to fax. We
continued with the job setup by defining the recipients and the fax
numbers to use. Since we were testing sending a fax to several recipients,
we used a fax list name file, which uses a comma-delimited flat file. If
you only have one recipient, you could enter the fax number manually by
clicking the "Extra Fax" button. A maximum of five fax numbers
can be added here. You also have the option of adding additional
information for each fax recipient such as salutations and other user
defined fields.
The next step in the job setup was to set the job parameters. The
options available include number of retries, priority of faxed documents,
scheduling the fax job to complete at a given time, and sender
information. Finally, we clicked the Send Job button and off it went! A
confirmation dialog box popped up letting us know that the server received
the fax job.
We also tested the two different levels of access that can be assigned
to users. Using the Broadfax User Manager utility on the fax server, we
created two new users, Jimmie and Loretta. Jimmie was assigned regular
user rights and Loretta was given administrator rights. When we logged on
as Jimmie, we were only able to access and view fax jobs created with his
ID. When we logged on as Loretta we were able to view and administer all
of the fax jobs that had previously been set up by other users. We were
also able to configure servers and ports and view their status.
Finally, we tested using the Cover Page Editor to create cover letters.
Unfortunately, the documentation does not specify which formats of
graphics are accepted so there was a bit of trial and error involved.
First, we tried to copy/paste several graphical objects from within MS
Word, but received an error when the file was reopened that the images
were not valid Metafiles. Then, we tried copying the graphic from Word to
the Paint program, then copying/pasting into the Cover Page Editor, which
worked fine, though there was additional editing that needed to be done to
resize the graphic proportionately.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
There were a few areas of improvement that we felt would benefit this
product. These suggestions range from server setup options to client
interface functionality.
During the server installation process, we noticed that when the fax
server's IP address was entered, there was no lookup utility which
performed an authentication check for server name accuracy, or IP
accuracy. Also during the configuration steps after the installation, we
noticed that the program accepted the server's Netbios name in the editbox
for inputting the server's IP address, but there was no option available
to search the domain list to confirm that it was a valid computer name.
When we input the Netbios name, the program appeared to accept it, but all
it really did was retain the local IP address as the default value. The
only error we received was that it could not connect to the fax server and
this was because it had defaulted to the local machine's address. The
program should clearly state whether or not the Netbios name is acceptable
and then support that option with a lookup utility to ensure accuracy.
Two more suggestions for improvements involve keyboard shortcuts that
would make the product user-friendlier. We noticed that an F5 Hot Key for
refreshing the screen is not available in the client interface. Users have
to manually click the Refresh button on the toolbar. Auto refreshing is
also an option, but in our opinion it would make more sense to offer users
the same functionality that can be found in the majority of compatible
applications on their desktops. The second shortcut we think would be
helpful is the ability to use the Enter key during the fax wizard process.
Currently, the Enter key is not accepted for advancing the fax job setup
screen. It's necessary to tab to the "Next" button to continue
with the job setup.
Another suggestion involves adding advanced functionality to the
Broadfax User Manager utility. Being able to right-click or double-click
on a user to edit their properties would make the program more
user-friendly for both average and advanced users. As it is now there is
no right-click functionality, and double clicking on a user displays the
properties, but does not allow you to edit them.
Finally, our last suggestion for improvement deals with program
integration. Since Broadfax integrates with NT User Manager through the
user groups it creates, it should also offer support for Active Directory.
CONCLUSION
TMC Labs has reviewed many LAN-based fax server packages and finds the
Broadfax administrator utility to be lacking in extensive options as
compared to other leading LAN fax products such as RightFAX or Omtool.
However, Broadfax is a fast and reliable solution for handling large
faxing jobs. It offers a very user-friendly interface and intuitive
screens that make it both easy to use and effective as a broadcast faxing
tool. TMC Labs recommends it as an effective client/server desktop faxing
tool.
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