April 1998

Zetafax 5.5

Zetafax USA
3425D Corporate Way
Duluth, Atlanta, GA 30136
Ph: 770-622-2810; Fx: 770-232-9624
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.zetafax.com

Price: Starting at $525 (for five users and one
line). We tested the 50-user version, which
costs $2,250.

Zetafax USA, a subsidiary of London-based Equisys Ltd., pitches Zetafax 5.5 as a corporate enterprise faxing solution. After testing the product, we think it’s more suited for small- or medium-size offices where it can really be a standout performer. In the corporate market, however, Zetafax falls short of its competitors. Still, for SOHOs and medium-sized businesses, Zetafax 5.5 is an appropriate solution if you’re tired of seeing diminishing returns from the bells and whistles of more popular products targeted to the large corporate consumer.

Zetafax sells its OCR software separately, but an e-mail gateway is included with version 5.5, and Equisys sends free upgrades to users of version 5.0 or higher. So in certain cases — for example, if your office has no more than 25 users, if you’re on a tight budget, and if you don’t mind the low-frills feature set — Zetafax could be a solid challenger in the corporate fax arena.

INSTALLATION
Installing Zetafax went relatively smoothly. First, we installed the server software on a Windows NT 4.0 machine. We configured three users — administrator, Bert, and Ernie — with descending security levels ranging from full permissions for the administrator to limiting Ernie’s capabilities to fax out only to domestic numbers on Tuesdays from noon to 1:30 p.m. Then, we accessed the workstation setup utility located in a Zeta server subdirectory, and loaded it onto two Windows 95 machines attached to the LAN. Then we discovered a small glitch.

The workstation setup utility installs the file "img32mfx.dll" into the windows\ system directory, but, since the file already existed, we got an error message at this point. Since the file already exists, the setup utility won’t overwrite it (perhaps a built-in safety feature of Windows 95) so we had to remove the file from that directory, reboot our workstation, and then reinstall the client software. You’ll get an error message upon reboot about the newly "missing" .dll file, but you don’t need it if you’re just going to install the client. Of course, we recommend putting the original file somewhere safe instead of simply cutting it out of the system directory — if something goes awry, you’ll be able to restore the original file safely from your hard disk. We also tried installing the server to Windows 95, just to be sure that the problem wasn’t exclusive to NT 4.0. It wasn’t.

The server can also run on Windows 95, Windows 3.x, and PowerPC machines. System requirements are minimal — all you need is a 486-class or better processor with 16 MB of RAM for any version of NT, 12 MB of RAM for Windows 95, and 4 MB of RAM for Windows 3.x. Equisys claims that a 386 processor can be used to power a Zeta-dedicated machine, but we wouldn’t suggest trying it with anything less than a high-end 486 running Windows 95 with 8 MB of RAM. A Pentium or better with more RAM is obviously recommended. We also had some difficulty configuring our Brooktrout TR-114 fax board — it wouldn’t initialize properly — but a Zetafax technician faxed us detailed directions that got us running on the first try. Strangely enough, the installation HTML page  had a link for Dialogic’s GammaLink fax boards, but no others. Meanwhile, a nice touch about the final installation is that the server software takes up less than 15 MB of disk space, and each workstation needs just six small files.

DOCUMENTATION
The Zetafax user’s manual, like the program’s installation, is relatively well thought-out. It’s not a tome, which is a plus, but it’s not too sparse either. We would have liked to see more discussion in the manual about installing fax devices and printers. Still, we like the fact that there are seven chapters each devoted to the clients and the server. There are myriad screenshots, which is always a plus, and unlike many companies, Zetafax doesn’t hide its direct-access telephone numbers; they’re in a shaded, large-print box on page 12 of the documentation. Three times we were tasked with calling the Atlanta offices while writing this review, and a live person answered each time. (Pretty impressive in this age of voice mail!)

FEATURES
As mentioned above, what we like about Zetafax is that its features are all useful ones — they seem as intuitive to fax software as the cut and paste commands seem to word processing. There’s an easy-to-understand interface with three "windows" built in — called "in," "out," and "filed" — and six pull-down menus, including file, addresses, status, options, window, and help. There’s also a handy icon bar, with choices for sending, forwarding, viewing, printing, acquiring, checking status, "tidying up," and more. It’s especially convenient that faxes can be sent using either an application’s print dialog box and the "Zetafax printer" option, or by using the actual Zetafax client interface. The advantage of using the client software is that you can send and manage multiple files at once, but even if you fax from within an application, you can still maximize the client to check your fax’s status. Other features include:

• RAS compatibility.
• Optional API license; limited capability enclosed without having to buy the license.
• Support for Intel, Alpha, and PowerPC machines.
• 16- and 32-bit versions on same CD-ROM.
• DID/DTMF routing support.
• DDE/C language support.
• Support for any OCR system.
• Fax logging.
• Fax merge capability.
• Custom cover sheets and letterheads feature.
• Binary file transfer.
• E-mail and fax forwarding.
• Simple address book.
• Faxing from non-Windows applications.
• Group faxes.
• File attachments.

OPERATIONAL TESTING
Keeping in mind that computer software is supposed to make your life easier, there are just five words to describe this product: Zetafax is easy to use. Users likely want to devote their time to the countless tasks that lie ahead of them each day, not to worrying about their faxes going through. That methodology ought to apply to any program. Toward that end, the server and clients both load swiftly and both run undisturbed in the background while you do important work. Further, most features are explained step-by-step in the manual, and there are rarely superfluous steps in simple procedures, like forwarding a message or creating letterhead. In fact, if you need more information, the Zetafax home page (accessed from the CD-ROM) has links to a tutorial.

To test everything, we sent and received some faxes, configured an address book, designed a cover sheet and letterhead, and even played with e-mail forwarding. Faxing from a non-Windows application is simple — or at least as "simple" as DOS versions of Word and WordPerfect ever were. Remember the big blue screen and having to tinker with your autoexec.bat file? Even the log feature made sense. Logs tend to be on the cryptic side, but this one was easy to understand, as it contained more English than technical jargon.

In short, the best feature of Zetafax is that there were no features that we couldn’t figure out how to use on the first try. It may not sound like much of a feat, but stop and think about it — in your entire technical life, how often does this really happen? How often do you put something together and it works — and there are no extra parts on your workbench? Metaphorically, Zetafax wins on both of these grounds.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
We’d like to see more documentation and more clearly explained support for fax boards from a variety of manufacturers. Clearly, Zetafax has to sort out the installation process so that provided files don’t conflict with files that are already a part of Windows, regardless of which version you have. We don’t have a PowerPC machine, and so weren’t able to test Zetafax on that platform.

It would be nice if even a primitive OCR package was included, and to be truly competitive with products like RightFAX, the price will have to be lower. You just can’t compare a package that offers multiple lines, unlimited users and myriad features to one that comes standard with a one-line, 50-user license and limited (albeit practical) features for the same price.

CONCLUSION
It’s good that an e-mail gateway is thrown in, and we liked the program’s ease-of-use. For a small office/home office, Zetafax could be just right. But for slightly bigger offices or small offices that are planning to expand, it makes more sense to at least to shop around before investing in Zetafax. If subsequent versions of Zetafax are more cost-effective and equally simple to use, this solid, fast program could someday give the larger, more established vendors of corporate fax software some real competition.