BLAST FAX PC --- CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION --- Congratulations on your purchase of BLAST FAX PC software! BLAST FAX PC offers many easy-to-use features that simplify fax transmissions. This chapter familiarizes you with features and com- patibility, and details operating requirements. FEATURES With BLAST FAX PC, you'll enjoy the following features. @ Automatic conversion of files from many formats (.PCX, .DCX, ASCII text and Hewlett-Packard PCL versions 4 and 5) to faxable format @ Scheduled fax transmissions, allowing you to send faxes when you are away from your computer @ Background operation, allowing you to send and receive faxes while in other applications @ Print-to-Fax, allowing you to print a file as a fax directly from other applications @ A Phonebook for storing fax numbers, including group entries @ Fax Receipt Notification, providing both audible and visual cues to let you know that a fax has been received @ Separate logs for Send and Receive fax transmissions @ Optional customized cover pages attached automatically to outgoing faxes COMPATIBILITY BLAST FAX PC, in conjunction with a U.S. Robotics facsimile modem, provides Group 3 facsimile compatibility. This version of BLAST FAX PC and its associated facsimile modem use the TIA/EIA Service Class 1 standard for facsimile operation. REQUIREMENTS BLAST FAX PC has the following minimum requirements. @ IBM PC/AT or 100% compatible, with hard drive @ EGA/VGA or Hercules-compatible graphics card @ DOS Version 3.1 or later @ 640 Kbytes of RAM (EMS and XMS memory are supported and recommended) @ Microsoft-compatible mouse (recommended) FCC COMPLIANCE FCC Part 68, rules regarding fax operation, has been amended as follows: Telephone facsimile machinesęidentification of the sender of the message: It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States to use a computer or other electronic device to send any message via a telephone facsimile machine unless such message clearly contains, in a margin at the top or bottom of each transmitted page or on the first page of the transmission, the date and time it is sent and an identification of the business, other entity, or individual sending the message and the telephone number of the sending machine or of such business, other entity, or individual. Telephone facsimile machines manufactured on and after December 20, 1992 must clearly mark such identifying information an each transmitted page. BLAST FAX PC allows you to comply with this FCC regulation by providing the option of creating a customized fax cover page. Details for setting up this cover page are in Chapter 3. If a cover page is not desired, you may still customize outgoing faxes to contain the sender name and phone number in a header at the top of each fax page, allowing compliance with the above rule. --- CHAPTER 2. START UP --- GETTING STARTED This chapter guides you through the installation of BLAST FAX PC. It discusses how to run the program, and introduces you to some operating guidelines. BLAST FAX PC is user- friendly and intuitive, but you may want to familiarize yourself with some of the features that make using BLAST FAX PC so simple. NOTE: These procedures assume that you have already installed your modem before installing the software. Follow the instructions in your modem manual. ARCHIVING As with all software, it is a good idea to make copies of the original BLAST FAX PC program disks. You may want to use your backup copies as your installation disks, or store them safely so that they will be available if the original program disks should ever become damaged. To make an exact duplicate of the original program disks, first be sure each backup (destination) disk is blank and formatted. Then use the DOS COPY, XCOPY or DISKCOPY command to copy all of the files from the BLAST FAX PC program disks. INSTALLATION PROCEDURE 1. Insert Disk 1 in your floppy drive, and change to the drive designator for that drive. Type the following command and press Enter. INSTALL The installation program displays its title screen. Press any key to continue. 2. You are given the option to specify the DOS path and directory name in which to install the software. The installation program proposes the default directory C:\BLASTFAX. If you do not specify a different drive or directory, this is where the program files are copied. You are prompted to insert the next installation disk as necessary. 3. You are prompted to select the model of fax modem that you are using from a list. Select your model with your mouse, or highlight it and press Enter. 4. You are next prompted to select the COM port/IRQ combination used by your fax modem. This will establish the default port in the Modem Options window. The setting at the top of the list is IBM AT/ PS2 COM1 IRQ4. Highlight the COM port/ IRQ combination that you selected when you installed the modem (internal or external), and press Enter. Consult your modem manual if you are unsure. 5. You are asked if you want the program to include the \BLASTFAX directory in your autoexec.bat path statement. If you answer Yes, the \BLASTFAX directory is added to your path and you will be able to load the program from any directory on your computer after you reboot. Your old autoexec.bat file is saved as autoexec.bak. If you answer No, because you are unsure that you want the \BLASTFAX directory added to your autoexec.bat, the installation program will create a sample file for you to review. 6. You are asked if you want the fax manager (MFAX.EXE) added to your autoexec.bat, so that it loads when autoexec.bat executes. If you answer Yes, MFAX is automatically loaded whenever you boot your system. MFAX is a TSR (Terminate-and-Stay-Resident program) that controls sending and receiving fax messages while you are in other application programs, such as spreadsheets. MFAX also allows you to use the print-to-fax feature. Print-to-fax maintains the formatting of text files, spreadsheets and graphicsęany file you would ordinarily send to a printer that uses Printer Control Language (PCL) version 4 or 5, such as the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet III laser printer. See more details about running MFAX from your autoexec.bat file in the next section. 7. BLAST FAX PC scans your config.sys file to ensure that your configuration includes a Files statement of at least 30. If you have fewer files specified, you are prompted to permit BLAST FAX PC to modify this file. 8. When the installation is complete, the program returns you to the DOS directory in which you installed BLAST FAX PC. You should reboot your computer before starting the program. LOADING THE FAX MANAGER Sending and receiving facsimile messages with BLAST FAX PC requires the resident fax manager program (MFAX.EXE) to be loaded. 1. If you add MFAX to your autoexec.bat file, you can confirm that the file has been modified by using the DOS TYPE command (TYPE AUTOEXEC.BAT). The following command line is added to the end of the file. C:\BLASTFAX\MFAX 2. If you do not include MFAX in your autoexec.bat file or path, but want to run it in the background, first change to the BLAST FAX PC directory. Be sure that your fax modem is turned on, then type the following command and press Enter. MFAX 3. When the fax manager is loaded, it attempts to ini- tialize your fax modem. When this is successful, you'll see the following message. "BLAST FAX PC Vx.xx Copyright (c) 1992 U.S. Robotics, Inc. Installed." If the fax manager is unable to initialize the fax modem, you'll see the following message. "BLAST FAX PC Vx.xx Copyright (c) 1992 U.S. Robotics, Inc. Could not initialize modem." NOTE: If this message appears, check to be sure that your modem is installed correctly and that the serial port defined for your fax modem matches your installation. For more details about defining the serial port, see Chapter 3, Settings. If the fax manager has already been loaded, you'll see the following message. "BLAST FAX PC Vx.xx Copyright (c) 1992 U.S. Robotics, Inc. Already resident." --Removing the Fax Manager-- The fax manager can be removed from memory by using the /r switch: MFAX/r (the r must be lower case). When you type this command at the DOS prompt, you'll see the following message. "BLAST FAX PC Vx.xx Copyright (c) 1992 U.S. Robotics, Inc. Removed from memory." In some cases, the fax manager cannot be removed from memory. If you are in the process of sending or receiving a fax, the fax manager cannot be removed until the operation is complete. TSRs must be unloaded in reverse order from how they are loaded. You may have problems unloading the fax manager if you loaded other memory-resident programs after it. This would require you to remove MFAX from your autoexec.bat file and reboot your PC. If you intend to load and unload the fax manager often, you may want to organize the loading of memory-resident programs so that the fax manager is always loaded last. RUNNING BLAST FAX PC 1. If you didn't include BLAST FAX PC in your autoexec.bat, change to your fax directory. 2. Type the following command to load the program, and press Enter. FAX SETTING UP BLAST FAX PC When you install BLAST FAX PC, default settings are in effect. These settings can be reconfigured from the Settings Menu. Configuration options are divided into four categories: Fax, Dialing, Modem and System. Most settings options take effect immediately when you select the OK button at the bottom of the options window. For some options, however, such as reconfiguring the serial port to which BLAST FAX PC will send faxes, you must exit the program, unload the MFAX fax manager and then reload it. NAVIGATING THE MENUS BLAST FAX PC is designed for easy use, and provides a window-style interface with a simple menu system. Keep the following points in mind as you use BLAST FAX PC. 1. You can move through the menus with either a mouse or the arrow and tab keys on your keyboard. 2. You can also move to different menu options by holding down the Alt key and typing the highlighted letter of the menu item. This key combination is known as an accelerator key. 3. To back up to the previous section in the menu, press the Escape key. --Performing menu actions-- 1. Select an action or option in a menu by using the accelerator key, by clicking on it with the mouse, or by moving the cursor to it with the arrow keys and pressing Enter. 2. To cancel an action at any time, press Escape or select Cancel (with the mouse, with the Tab and Enter keys, or by pressing Alt-C). --Moving through lists and selecting items-- 1. Some options appear with a box in front of them, that must be "checked" (with your mouse or the Spacebar) to select the option. Use the Tab key, arrow keys or your mouse to move between check boxes. 2. Some selection lists represent files in directories on your computer. Press Enter or use your mouse to move from one item to the next. 3. The contents of some lists are too large to be displayed at once. Besides using the arrow keys to move up or down the list, you can view more items by using your mouse in the scroll bar at the right side of the box. Move the small shaded box up or down, or click on the up or down arrow symbol until your desired option is displayed. ACCESSING ONLINE HELP Online help is available throughout the program. 1. Press F1 for context-sensitive help. This provides you with information about the menu, screen or screen field in which your cursor is currently located. 2. Select the Help menu option from the Main Menu. This provides an index to the entire Help system. 3. Select Help buttons located in different windows to gain access to the particular help designed for that window. EXITING BLAST FAX PC You can exit BLAST FAX PC at any time in three different ways. 1. Hold down the Alt key and press F4. 2. Hold down the Ctrl key and press C. 3. Select Exit from the File Menu. --- CHAPTER 3. THE SETTINGS MENU --- You can select windows from the Settings Menu to configure Fax, Dialing, Modem, and System options for BLAST FAX PC. --Fax Options-- These options allow you to define the appearance of your faxes, as well as how you are notified of incoming faxes. Set them according to your preferences. --Dialing Options-- These options allow you to define how your fax modem handles calls over the phone lines. Set them according to your preferences. --Modem Options-- These options allow you to set such variables for your fax modem as the serial port to which it is attached, the speaker control, and the minimum and maximum fax rate. You must be sure that the serial port is correct before starting any fax activities. --System Options-- These options allow you to define how your printer port is connected, what parallel port to use to capture faxes, and how your monitor displays BLAST FAX PC. You must check these settings before printing or sending a fax from another application. Although you may want to tailor Fax and Dialing options from one fax to another, you'll set most of these options only once. Some options will not take effect until you exit the program and restart the MFAX fax manager; these are noted in the following descriptions. FAX OPTIONS Select Fax from the Settings Menu to display the Fax Sending Options window, and then configure the following options. 1. Time Format Select the time format to be used for time stamps. @ 12-hour (Default) Example: 07:00 @ 24-hour Example: 19:00 2. Date Format Select the date format to be used for date stamps. @ MMM-DD-YY (Default) Example: APR-21-92 @ DD-MMM-YY Example: 21-APR-92 3. Page Length Specify the paper size for the outgoing fax documents. @ Letter (8.5" x 11") (Default) @ Legal (8.5" x 14") @ DIN A4 (210 x 297 mm) 4. Page Width Define the size of a fax page when converted from an ASCII text document. @ 80 columns (80 columns x 66 lines - Normal mode) (Default) @ 132 columns (132 columns x 88 lines - Compressed mode) 5. Resolution Select the resolution (dots per inch) of outgoing faxes. @ Fine (Default) (200 dots per inch) @ Normal (100 dots per inch) 6. Sending Defaults By default, BLAST FAX PC permits you to attach a coverpage and a logo file to each outgoing fax. If you accept this default, you should customize these options in the Coverpage box. You can also check a box to specify that your outgoing faxes should be converted into short fax pages when they are converted into fax format. This helps to reduce phone bills, as it takes less time to transmit a fax page. The default setting pads all short pages out to the full size specified in the Page Length box. 7. Coverpage If you choose to include a coverpage and/or a logo, this box lets you provide more detail. @ Sender Number (up to 20 characters) @ Sender Name (up to 30 characters) @ Logo File (must be in .PCX format) The Sender Name and Number specified here will also be used as a header at the top of every fax page that you send. 8. Fax Notify Select the method that BLAST FAX PC will use to notify you of incoming faxes. Audible and visible notification are selected by default. DIALING OPTIONS Since dialing options require some familiarity with modem operation, you may want to review your modem documentation before setting them. Select Dialing from the Settings Menu to display the Fax Dialing Options window, and then configure the following options. 1. Answering @ Answer On. Specify the number of rings you want the modem to answer on. Allowable values are 0 to 255; the default is 1. @ Wait for Connect. Set the amount of time, in seconds, that the modem will wait for the remote device to answer the call and make a connection. Allowable values are 0 to 255; the default is 60. 2. Dialing Control @ Maximum Retries. Specify the maximum number of times the modem will redial to connect with a remote device. Allowable values are 0 to 5; the default is 5. @ Retry Delay. Set the amount of time, in minutes, that the modem will wait between each redialing attempt. Allowable values are 1 to 30; the default is 5. @ Dial Tone Delay. Set the amount of time, in seconds, that the modem waits for a dial tone before dialing. Allowable values are 1 to 255; the default is 2. @ Pause After Comma. Set the amount of time, in seconds, that the modem will pause when a comma is inserted in the dialing string. Allowable values are 1 to 255; the default is 2. @ Detect Dial Tone. There is a check box in front of this field; by default, an X is placed in this box. If you do not want the modem to detect a dial tone before dialing, select this box with the mouse or press the Spacebar to remove the X. This option must be selected if you want a Dial Tone Delay; it is useful to turn it off if the fax modem is unable to detect the unique dial tone of a PBX or some other phone switch. 3. Prefix There is a check box in front of this field. If you want to insert a default prefix in front of each number you dial, select this box with your mouse or press the Spacebar. (The field is indicated as selected when an X appears in the box.) In the following text field, enter up to 16 characters to be placed before the phone number when the fax modem dials. This enables you to add such options as an access code, an additional AT command, or some other custom feature. 4. Suffix There is a check box in front of this field. If you want to insert a default suffix after each number you dial, select this box with your mouse or press the Spacebar. (The field is indicated as selected when an X appears in the box.) In the following text field, enter up to 16 characters to be placed after the phone number when the fax modem dials. This enables you to add such options as a credit or calling card number, or some other custom feature. 5. Dial Mode Select the mode that the fax modem will use to dial. @ Tone (Default) @ Pulse NOTE: A dial mode specification in a dial string overrides the default specified here. For example, if you want all of your calls to use Touch-tone dialing except for calls to a certain number, you can create a dialing string for that number that includes the P command for pulse dialing. MODEM OPTIONS Select Modem from the Settings Menu to display the Modem Options window, and then configure the following options. 1. Serial Communications Port Specify the serial communications port to which your modem is assigned. The default is COM 1 for an IBM AT- compatible machine. If you already have a device at this port, or if you have a PS/2 machine, choose the Select Port option for an extended list. In order for this option to take effect, you must reboot your computer, or unload and then reload the MFAX fax manager. 2. Speaker Control Specify when the modem's speaker is turned on. @ OFF at all times @ ON at all times (Default) @ ON UNTIL CONNECT (on until the carrier signal is detected) 3. Speaker Volume Select the speaker's volume level. @ High @ Medium (Default) @ Low 4. Minimum Fax Rate Define the lowest speed at which you want a fax connection to run. Any speed lower than the selected rate will cause a fax call to disconnect, and the call retry count will be started. Possible speeds are 9600, 7200, 4800 and 2400 bps (2400 is the default). Using this feature for large fax transmissions will help ensure that you get the fax through at the highest possible speed, thus reducing the amount of time on the line. 5. Maximum Fax Rate Define the highest speed at which you want a fax connection to run. Any speed higher than the selected rate will cause a fax call to disconnect. Possible speeds are 14400 (Default), 12000, 9600, 7200, 4800 and 2400 bps. BLAST FAX PC validates the two fax rate thresholds against each other. This means that if you try to set the Minimum rate higher than the Maximum rate, the Maximum rate automatically changes to the higher speed; similarly, if you try to set the Maximum rate lower than the Minimum rate, the Minimum rate automatically drops to the lower speed. SYSTEM OPTIONS Select System from the Settings Menu to display the System Configuration window, and then configure the following options. 1. Printer Port Specify the parallel port on your computer that the printer is connected to (if you have one). The default is LPT1. 2. Printer Selection Choose the Select Printer option to specify the type of printer connected to your computer. You may select from the following list. None (default) HP Laser JetII HP Laser JetIIP HP Laser JetIII Epson 24 Pin Epson 9 Pin IBM Proprinter If you do not have a printer, select NONE. If you have a printer that is not on the list, you may be able to use one of the Epsons or the IBM: most printers are capable of emulating one of these models. Check your printer documentation for compatibility. 3. Capture Port Select an available parallel port to act as the capture port. The capture port is the port you will specify when you use BLAST FAX PC to "print to fax." This allows you to fax directly from a different application, while maintaining all of that application's graphical formatting. When you instruct the application to print to this port, the file is captured, and BLAST FAX PC automatically sends your fax. Be sure that you do not specify the same port to serve as both your printer port and the capture port. You may select LPT1, LPT2, LPT3 or Disable (the default is LPT3). 4. Video Mode Select the video display mode. @ Graphics (Default) @ Text 25x80 @ Text 43x80 For this option to take effect, you must exit and then restart BLAST FAX PC. 5. Palette Specify whether you want to display BLAST FAX PC in color or monochrome. For this option to take effect, you must exit and then restart BLAST FAX PC. --- CHAPTER 4. FAXING WITH BLAST FAX PC --- INTRODUCTION There are four different ways to send a fax with BLAST FAX PC. Files are automatically converted to faxable format, regardless of the method you use to fax. 1. Select Send from the Manual Menu, select a file in the Send Fax window, select a destination, and send the fax directly. 2. Select Send Fax from the File Menu, and specify a later time and/or date for the fax to be sent. This is useful if you want to schedule fax transmissions for off-peak times, when phone line rates are lower. 3. Fax a quick note by sending a coverpage only. This is equivalent to taking a single fax address page, writing a short note on it, and running it through a fax machine. 4. Use the Print-to-Fax option, which allows you to send a fax directly from an application program. For example, if you want to fax a spreadsheet, you can "print" your file to a designated "capture port" without exiting the program and running BLAST FAX PC. SENDING A FAX You can display the Send Fax window by selecting Send Fax from the File Menu or Send from the Manual Menu. To send a fax, you'll need to specify the following information. @ The filename(s) to be faxed @ The destination phone number of the fax @ The fax schedule (time and date the fax should be sent) @ The resolution of the outgoing fax (Normal or Fine) @ Whether a coverpage and a logo should be attached to the outgoing fax @ Whether a special prefix and/or suffix should be inserted with the dialing string @ Whether or not the fax is to be sent manually --Disabling Call Waiting-- We do not recommend connecting your fax modem to a phone line that has Call Waiting service. The Call Waiting signal can interrupt fax transmission and cause the fax to be lost. In most areas of the U.S., it is possible to disable Call Waiting for the current outgoing call by inserting a prefix into the dialing string. Your local telephone company should be able to tell you if this method will work for you. However, there is no way to disable Call Waiting when you are receiving a call. If you are going to be receiving many faxes, you should consider discontinuing the Call Waiting service. --Preparing Faxes Without a Fax Modem-- There may be occasions when you want to prepare a fax, but don't have a phone line available or can't plug in your modem until a later time. This is a common situation for traveling professionals who don't always have access to the same resources they have in the office. In this situation, you can load the fax manager with a special switch that instructs it not to look for the fax modem. Type the following command and press Enter. MFAX/m Be sure to type the letter "m" in lower case. After you start BLAST FAX PC, prepare your faxes in the Send Fax window. If you leave the fax schedule set to the current date and time, and then select Send, the fax manager will maintain the record of the fax and send it as soon as you connect to a fax modem. --Send/Default/Cancel/Help-- These four options are located on the right side of the Send Fax window. @ Select Send after you have entered all your information. The fax is sent immediately, unless you schedule it to be sent later. A pop-up window informs you of the progress of the fax file conversion, and then a line at the bottom of the screen informs you of the fax status. @ Select Default to return each of the fields in the window to the defaults displayed when you first opened it. @ Select Cancel to cancel the fax. You will return to the Main Menu. @ Select Help to display a help screen with information about the current window. --Changing Settings at Send Time-- BLAST FAX PC allows you to change default settings for a fax right up until the time you send it. Coverpage information, dialing prefix and suffix, and resolution settings for a fax can all be changed from the Send Fax window. These settings will apply to the current fax only. The next time you open the Send Fax window, all settings will reflect those specified in the Settings windows. --Aborting a Fax-- After you select the Send option, you can stop a fax from being sent in two different ways. @ As the file conversion is taking place, press ESC to stop the operation. @ If the fax modem is dialing the destination number or sending the fax, select the Abort Current menu option from the File Menu at the top of the screen. This option only becomes available when BLAST FAX PC is in the process of sending or receiving a fax. The Abort Current option is also available in the File Menu of the Send Log and Receive Log. If a fax is scheduled for future sending, you can also cancel it by highlighting it in the Send Log and selecting the Delete Fax option in the File Menu. FAXING FILES BLAST FAX PC maintains an active list of selected files to fax. These filenames are displayed in a scroll list box at the top left of the Send Fax window, under the Add Files button. To add files to this list, select the Add Files button above the scroll list box. The Select Files window appears. With this window, you can add files to the active list in two different ways. @ Type the DOS path and filename directly into the Filename field. @ Navigate through any valid disk drives and directories with the Files and Directories scroll boxes. Choose a file by a single click of your mouse, or press the Enter key. When you select your file, the filename appears in the active files list. To remove a file from the list, select it a second time. Select OK to return to the Send Fax window. --Types of Files Allowed-- BLAST FAX PC automatically checks the format of any files you select. Valid file types include ASCII text, HP-PCL versions 4 and 5 printer output, and black and white formatted .PCX and .DCX files. --Resolution-- The Resolution setting determines whether your outgoing fax will be either Normal (200 x 100 dpi) or Fine (200 x 200 dpi) resolution. Your selection here overrides the default resolution that you specified in the Fax Options window. If you selected Normal for your default, you may wish to change the resolution to Fine for this fax only if your file has graphic detail. This may add slightly to transmission time. The next time you open the Send Fax window, the default value will be displayed. --Coverpage-- There is a check box in front of the Include and Logo options. These fields default to the selections you made in the Fax Options window. They allow you to include a coverpage with your outgoing fax, and optionally place a logo file on the fax coverpage (this adds slightly to transmission time). If you want to include these options, select these boxes with the mouse or press the Spacebar. These fields are indicated as selected when an X appears in the box. You can edit the coverpage and logo information by selecting the Edit box in the lower right corner of the window. NOTE: Any changes you make to the coverpage are for this fax only. The next time you open the Send Fax window, the defaults are reinstated. SELECTING DESTINATIONS Like the list of active file names, BLAST FAX PC maintains an active list of fax destination phone numbers. These phone numbers are displayed in a scroll list box located at the top right of the Send Fax window, under the Add Destinations button. You can add files to this list by selecting existing entries in your Phonebook, or by creating new entries. Select the Add Destinations button immediately above the scroll list box. Scroll through the Phonebook list to select a destination. You can choose whatever combination of group and individual destinations you need. When you find an entry that you want, click on it (or highlight it and press Enter). The entry appears in the active list of destinations. Select OK to close the Select Phonebook Entries window. You can also add destinations not contained in the Phonebook. Select New Entry at the bottom of the Select Phonebook Entries window. In this window, you can enter a Name, Company and Fax Number to identify your destination. For your records, you can also enter a Voice Number, Data Number and Comments that are associated with this entry. When you complete the entry, you can also choose to add it to your Phonebook. Select the Add to Phonebook option at the bottom of the window. The entry is both added to the Phonebook and appears in the box of active destinations. If you do not want to add this entry to the Phonebook, but just want to use it to send the current fax, select OK. The Phonebook Entry window closes, and your new entry appears in the active destinations box. --Dialing-- In the Dialing box in the Send Fax window, you can further define the destination phone number by adding a dialing prefix or suffix. These may be set to different values than the defaults you set up in the Dialing Options window. Select one or both options if you want a prefix or suffix added to the dialing string for this fax only, and enter the prefix/suffix in the text field after the option name. Access codes, credit card numbers, and additional AT commands can be added to the dialing string. If you set the default in the Dialing Options window to include a prefix and/or suffix, and do not require them for this fax, be sure to remove the X from the box in front of the option(s) by selecting it again. To initiate a Transmit fax operation immediately, place an X in the Manual box. This box is automatically selected if you displayed the Send Fax window by selecting Send from the Manual Menu. After the job is submitted, a dialog box is displayed; click on OK to start the send job. SCHEDULING A FAX In the Send Schedule box in the Send Fax window, you can specify the date and time for the fax to be sent. The default is the current date and time; if you do not change this, the fax is sent as soon as you select the Send option on the right side of the window. You may specify a later time and date by entering this information in the Time and Date fields. This is especially useful in taking advantage of lower off-peak phone line rates. The fax will be sent at the scheduled time. You don't need to be at your computer as long as you leave the computer turned on with the background TSR running. --Faxing in the Background-- To program the background operation, fill in information about your fax in the Send Fax window. In the Send Schedule box, enter the time and date when you want the fax to be sent. Then continue with other operations in BLAST FAX PC, or exit the program to run other applications. NOTE: Background operations require the fax manager to be loaded. If you did not modify your autoexec.bat file to automatically load MFAX.EXE and you reboot your computer, or power it off and on, BLAST FAX PC may not be able to send your fax on schedule. However, when the fax manager is reloaded, it reviews the send queue for pending faxes. It then sends all faxes that were scheduled for sending at a time/date prior to the current time/date. FAXING A QUICK NOTE This option is convenient for sending a one-page message. You send a fax coverpage with no attached file. 1. In the Coverpage box at the lower left of the Send Fax window, there are two check boxes marked Indicate and Logo. An X appears in these boxes if you accepted the defaults in the Fax Options window. If you did not set these options as defaults but want this fax to include a coverpage and logo, select the check boxes with the mouse or press the Spacebar. (The fields are indicated as selected when an X appears in the box.) 2. Select the Edit button at the bottom of the box. The Coverpage Information window appears. 3. The Coverpage Information window displays any changes you made to the Sender Name and Logo File Name in the Fax Options window. Edit these as necessary. Any change you make to the Sender Name will appear on the header printed on every page of your fax. 4. In the Coverpage Text box, enter up to 36 lines of 80- column text containing your quick note. You can use popular word processing functions, like Cut and Paste. When you are finished, select the OK button at the bottom of the window. 5. Next, review the rest of the Send Fax window. Remember that you only want to send the coverpage for this operation. a. If there are any files listed in the box at the top left of the window, delete them from the box. You can either click on them or highlight them and press Enter. b. In the Send Schedule box, either leave the time and date at the current setting, or enter a later send time. c. In the box at the top right, select a destination for your quick note. This could be any dialing string previously entered in the Phonebook, or a new entry. d. Check the Resolution setting, and verify that dialing prefixes or suffixes are specified. To begin a manual Transmit operation immediately, place an X in the Manual box. e. Select the Send option at the right of the window. Your quick note is sent immediately or at a later specified time. PREPARING PRINT FILES TO FAX With most applications, you have the option of printing to file instead of a printer. This saves the output normally intended for a printer to a file on your disk drive. When you use an HP-compatible printer driver (PCL output) to print your document to file, the resulting file can be selected for faxing from BLAST FAX PC. The resulting file is the same quality that you get when printing to fax from within your application program. The benefit of printing to file is that you can create custom files that retain the advanced font information from your original documents, and select them at any time in BLAST FAX PC to be sent as a fax. VIEWING NEW RECEIVED FAXES The New Faxes window lets you view a log of received fax files that have not yet been viewed or printed. This is a convenient tool to keep you informed of new incoming faxes. After reviewing the log, you can view or print the fax files. When the fax manager is loaded, BLAST FAX PC monitors incoming faxes and notifies you of them by either an audible and/or a visible cue, as you specified in the Fax Options window. These cues are provided even if you are in another application. The next time you run BLAST FAX PC, the New Faxes window will contain a log of all new faxes received. To access the New Faxes window, select File from the Main Menu, and then select New Faxes. The New Faxes window lists these statistics. Date/Time. The date and time the fax was received. Status. The final or most current result of the fax event. Possible values include Completed, Pending, Receiving, Aborted and Incomplete. From. The sender of the fax. To display a specific fax, highlight it and select View Fax from the File Menu at the top of the window. Then use the view fax editing keys to change the display of the image. To print the new fax, highlight it and select Print Fax from the File Menu at the top of the window. The fax is sent to the printer you specified in the System Configuration window. MANUAL FAX RECEIVE To receive a fax manually, select Manual from the Main Menu, and then Receive. This will cause a dialog box to be displayed prompting "Start manual fax receive?" Select OK and the manual fax receive task can be started when the modem is ready to receive a fax. --- CHAPTER 5. FAXING FROM OTHER APPLICATIONS --- INTRODUCTION TO PRINT-TO-FAX Using print-to-fax, you can send faxes from such application programs as a word processor, spreadsheet, desktop publisher, or paint program, with all of the file's formatting intact. This is similar to printing files to disk and using the DOS PRINT command. Print-to-fax requires that your application program support either the HP LaserJet II or the HP LaserJet III. As long as you set up some preliminary options and have the fax manager loaded, you do not have to exit your application program and run BLAST FAX PC to send a fax. The fax manager is a TSR: Terminate-and-Stay-Resident program. It can be installed or unloaded as needed. The fax manager captures your printed information and prepares it as a fax. INSTALLING THE FAX MANAGER If you added MFAX.EXE to your autoexec.bat file, the fax manager loads every time you reboot or power your computer off and on. If you did not change your autoexec.bat, you must load the fax manager manually. Change to the directory in which you installed BLAST FAX PC, and type MFAX. A message is displayed to indicate that the fax manager has been installed. You must also set up a capture port in BLAST FAX PC, to "print" the file from your application program. The default capture port is LPT3:, but you can change this port in the System Configuration window. USING PRINT-TO-FAX 1. First, change the default printer port in your application program to the capture port that you specified in the System Configuration window. Most applications have a simple method to change the printer port. You should be able to change between your printer port and your fax capture port quite easily. 2. Specify either the HP LaserJet II or HP LaserJet III to convert the file to PCL format. 3. Select your application's print option and print the document to the capture port. The Send Fax window pops up to allow you to select BLAST FAX PC options, and reflects your captured application file in the active files box by the filename CAPTURED.PRN. 4. Specify the remaining fax parameters: destination, schedule, resolution, coverpage and dialing prefix/suffix. To cancel the fax at this stage, select the Cancel option at the right of the window. 5. Select the Send option. If you have placed an X in the Manual checkbox, a dialog box appears; select OK to start the fax. Print-to-Fax returns you to your application. When the fax manager is running in the background, it monitors your print output to see if you print to your capture port. Once the fax manager has captured your print output (which it names CAPTURED.PRN), it temporarily runs BLAST FAX PC and lets you make changes in the Send Fax window. When you select Send, BLAST FAX PC converts the CAPTURED.PRN file to a faxable format. The faxable file is then submitted to a fax send queue. Fax manager moves you back into the application you printed from, and you can continue working while fax manager sends your fax in the background. PRINTING TO FILE There is an alternative method to fax from an application program. This method may be more convenient if your application is already set up to print to a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet. As long as you have the fax manager loaded, you do not have to change your application's print settings to print to the capture port. From your document, select your application's print-to-file option. When you are prompted to enter a filename, type in LPTn, where n equals the number of the capture port you specified in BLAST FAX PC (for example, LPT3). The Send Fax Window pops up, allowing you to complete the fax information. USING BLAST FAX PC WITH MICROSOFT WINDOWS Anything that you can print to an HP printer from your Microsoft Windows applications can be faxed using BLAST FAX PC. Since BLAST FAX PC supports versions 4 and 5 of Hewlett-Packard PCL, you can easily set up Microsoft Windows to print to this file type and then send that file as a fax from BLAST FAX PC. NOTE: This procedure does not capture faxes to be sent immediately. It saves your Windows application files using the HP printer driver, so that all the formatting available in your application is saved to a file that you send from BLAST FAX PC at a later time. To configure Microsoft Windows to print to a faxable format, you'll need to set up a new printer in your Windows Print Settings screen. Follow these steps. 1. Double-click on Control Panel. This is typically found under the Main group window in the Program Manager. 2. Double-click on Printers in the Control Panel. 3. Select the Add Printer button to add a new printer to your list. 4. From the Printers list, select an HP LaserJet model. Ideally this should be a LaserJet III. While any other HP LaserJet selections will work, they will not allow the PCL version 5 scalable fonts. 5. Once you've highlighted the printer, select the Install button. Windows prompts you to insert the Windows Setup disk in your floppy drive. This allows Windows to install the appropriate drivers on your system. If a prompt tells you that a driver already exists, select the Current button to use the driver that is already loaded on your system. 6. Once the printer driver has been installed, it appears in the Installed Printers box. Select the Configure button to set up this printer. In the Printers Configure window, select FILE for the port. Then select the OK button. You may also select Setup from this window to change some of the default settings. However, the default settings are optimum for sending faxes with BLAST FAX PC, and changing some of these may cause unreliable operation. 7. In the Printers window, highlight the HP printer in the Installed Printers list. Make it Active by selecting the button in the Status box to the right of the Installed Printers list. Then select OK to verify this configuration. Windows is now configured to save your output in a format that can be sent from BLAST FAX PC. Before you print your file, select Printer Settings from the File menu in your application and choose the new printer that you just installed. The option should look something like the following. HP LaserJet III on FILE:, Active When you print, specify a path and filename for your output. Then run BLAST FAX PC and select this file to be faxed. --- CHAPTER 6. USING THE PHONEBOOK --- INTRODUCTION The Phonebook is a database in which you can create up to one thousand entries containing frequently used fax numbers and other pertinent data. Select a Phonebook entry as a destination whenever you send a fax or file. You can also create group entries that allow you to send a fax to multiple destinations by making one selection. ORGANIZING YOUR PHONEBOOK Select Phonebook from the File Menu. There are two options at the top of the Phonebook window: File and Help. The options in the Phonebook File Menu allow you to maintain the contents of the Phonebook. Using these options, you can add, delete, or edit Phonebook entries at any time. Additionally, you can import entries from other databases or export to them. You can print a list of your entries if you need a hard copy. ADDING INDIVIDUALS TO THE PHONEBOOK Select New Individual from the Phonebook File Menu to display the entry information box. Enter the appropriate data in the following fields. Name. Enter the name of the new individual, which will appear on the coverpage of faxes sent to this entry. Up to 30 characters are allowed in this field. Company. Enter the name of the company the individual is associated with. Up to 30 characters are allowed in this field. Fax Number. Enter the number to be dialed for fax transmission: hyphens and parentheses are disregarded. Up to 20 characters are allowed in this field. Voice Number. This field is intended for reference purposes. You can record the phone number to use for voice calls to this location. Up to 46 characters are allowed in this field. Data Number. This field is intended for reference purposes. You can record the phone number to use for modem calls to this location. Up to 20 characters are allowed in this field. Comments. Optionally, fill in this field with any further information, such as reminders or descriptors. Up to 40 characters are allowed in this field. ADDING GROUPS TO THE PHONEBOOK This option allows you to create an entry consisting of more than one individual. This is useful if you frequently send the same fax to several standard destinations. You must create entries for each individual to include in the group, if they are not already in the Phonebook, using the New Individual option. Select New Group from the Phonebook File Menu to display the Add Group window. After you have entered a group name, the Edit Group function is invoked to allow you to add individual names to the group. Select the individual entries you want to add to the group. EDITING INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS To edit an existing entry, either highlight the entry in the Phonebook and select Open from the Phonebook File Menu, or simply click twice on the entry. The entry information box appears on the screen. Use the Tab or Enter key to move from field to field, and the Delete or Backspace key to erase characters. Type in any new characters as needed. DELETING A PHONEBOOK ENTRY To delete an entry, select each entry you wish to have deleted, either by clicking on it with the mouse or by using the arrow and Enter keys. Then select the Delete option from the top of the window. You must confirm the delete operation. PURGING THE PHONEBOOK You can delete the entire contents of the Phonebook by selecting the Purge option from the Phonebook File Menu. As with delete, you must confirm the purge operation. IMPORTING AND EXPORTING BLAST FAX PC lets you import or export Phonebook entries from or to commonly used databases. Import. When you select this option, a window appears prompting you to enter the path and name of the Phonebook import file. Enter this information, and select OK to begin the operation. Export. When you select this option, a window appears prompting you to enter a path for the Phonebook export file. Enter this information and select OK. The file FAX.EXP will be created in the designated directory. --Record Format-- The database Phonebook record is made up of six text fields, as described below. Entry Name 30 characters in length Company Name 30 characters in length Fax Phone Number 20 characters in length Voice Phone Number 20 characters in length Data Phone Number 20 characters in length Comments 40 characters in length The format of the import file is a quotation mark around each Phonebook field, with a comma separating each field. Each line of the import file makes up the contents of one Phonebook record. The following is an example of an import file line. "Name","Company","Fax","Voice","Data","Comments" The quotation marks are needed in empty data fields. However, they are adjacent to each other. The following is an example. "Name","Company","Fax","","","Comments" Note that in the above example there is no data in the Voice Phone Number or Data Phone Number fields. --Archiving Your Phonebook-- To archive a copy of your Phonebook for safekeeping, use the Export feature to save your Phonebook information to a file. Store this file in a safe place. If you ever have problems with your disk drive and lose BLAST FAX PC, reinstall BLAST FAX PC, import your archived Phonebook file, and you're back in business. PRINTING YOUR PHONEBOOK From the Phonebook File Menu, select this option to print the contents of the Phonebook. You will be asked to confirm the print job, which will be sent to the printer port you specified in the System Configuration window. --- CHAPTER 7. LOGGING FAX EVENTS --- INTRODUCTION BLAST FAX PC keeps two logs of all fax activities that have occurred or are scheduled to occur: Send and Receive. You can access these logs by selecting Send Log or Receive Log from the File Menu. Both logs provide fax statistics, and allow you to view the fax and manipulate the image. As with most logs, entries are displayed in reverse chronological order from top to bottom. When you open a log, the most recent entry in the log is highlighted. You can scroll down through the list to see older entries. To conserve disk space, you may want to periodically clear the log of older entries. The following statistics are maintained in the logs, according to whether you select the Send Log or Receive Log. Date/Time. The date and time the fax was sent or received. Event. The nature of the fax event. Possible values include Send, Grp Send (in which the fax is sent to more than one destination) and Receive. Status. The final or most current result of the fax event. Possible values include Completed, Pending, Dialed, Sending, Receiving, Aborted and Error. To/From. The recipient of a fax that you sent (Send Log), or the sender of a fax that you received (Receive Log). VIEWING LOGGED FAXES Select Send Log or Receive Log from the File Menu to display a window of sent or received fax entries. The File option at the top of either window provides you with several options for handling the log and the faxes it contains. These options are the same for the Send Log and the Receive Log, except that the Receive Log does not contain a Resend option. To display a fax, highlight a log entry and select View Fax. The Select Fax Files to View window appears. The fax may include a coverpage, and several files may have been faxed at one time. The Select Fax Files to View window lets you choose among the available files in the fax, and display them on your screen. You can display all of the files by choosing Select All. When your file is displayed, you can perform any View Fax edit function, such as zoom or invert video. If you select more than one file to view, press ESC to display the next file. Use these keys to change the display while viewing a fax. Keystroke(s) Description ----------------------------------------------------------- Left Arrow Moves display left Right Arrow Moves display right Up Arrow Moves display up Down Arrow Moves display down Home Moves to top left of displayed page End Moves to bottom left of displayed page PgDown Displays next page of file in viewer PgUp Displays previous page of file in viewer CTRL-Left Arrow Moves to left edge of displayed page CTRL-Right Arrow Moves to right edge of displayed page CTRL-Home Moves to top right of displayed page CTRL-End Moves to bottom right of displayed page CTRL-PgUp Displays first page of file in viewer CTRL-PgDown Displays last page of file in viewer + (plus) Enlarges the fax image - (minus Shrinks the fax image I Inverts the current black/white image ESC Returns to log window CHECKING FAX EVENT DETAILS This option calls up a window that shows more detailed information about the entry currently selected in the log scroll list. This detail includes the fax event, the sender or recipient of the fax, the date and time of the fax (as well as its duration), the number of pages and the current status. RESENDING A FAX If a sent fax reports a status of Completed or Incomplete, you can resend the fax directly from the Fax Send Log window. Highlight the log entry, and select Resend from the File Menu at the top of the window. You must confirm that the selected entry should be resent. If you select OK, the fax is sent as soon as possible. ABORTING A FAX You can stop a fax from being sent or received at any time when a log window is open. During either event, the status of the fax is reported at the bottom of the screen. From either the Fax Send Log or Fax Receive Log, open the File Menu and Select Abort Current. This menu option only becomes available when a fax event is in progress. If you do not have a log window open and want to stop a fax event, you can also select Abort Current from the File Menu at the top of the screen. PRINTING LOGS AND LOGGED FAXES There are two print functions available when you are in the log: Print Fax and Print Log. Select Print Log to send the entire contents of the log to the printer port defined in the System Configuration window. To print a selected fax, highlight an entry and select Print Fax. The Select Files to Print window appears, prompting you to select which fax files to print. To print them all, choose Select All. DELETING FAXES To delete one fax at a time, highlight a log entry and select Delete Fax. You are prompted to confirm that you want to delete the log entry. PURGING FAX LOGS When you select Purge Log, you are prompted to confirm that you want to purge the entire contents of the log. --- APPENDIX A. KEYBOARD AND MOUSE MAPPING --- ACCELERATOR KEYS Press the Alt key in combination with the highlighted letter of a menu item or button. HELP KEYS Press F1 to display context-sensitive help. EXIT KEYS To exit at any time, press Alt-F4 or Ctrl-C. MOUSE FUNCTIONS Use the mouse to select options and edit text, as follows. Action Description ----------------------------------------------------------- Press Left Mouse Button Selects field under cursor Release Left Mouse Button Completes selection or highlight Hold Left Mouse Button and Drag Highlights text Hold Left Mouse Button and Drag then Press Right Mouse Button Copies text to buffer Press Right Mouse Button Cuts text and stores in buffer or pastes in text from buffer TEXT EDITING KEYS Use these keys to perform editing functions in any text field. Keystroke(s) Description ----------------------------------------------------------- Ctrl-Home Moves to start of text field Ctrl-End Moves to end of text field Ctrl-F5 Begins highlighting text Ctrl-F6 Cuts text and places in buffer Ctrl-F7 Copies text to buffer Ctrl-F8 Inserts text from buffer Ins Toggles between insert and overstrike Del Deletes character at cursor Alt-Del Deletes from cursor to end of line Backspace Deletes character to left of cursor Ctrl-Del Deletes entire word and trailing spaces (contd.) End Moves to end of current line Ctrl-left arrow/ Alt-left arrow Moves to first letter of previous word Ctrl-right arrow/ Alt-right arrow Moves to first letter of next word VIEW FAX FUNCTION KEYS Use these keys to change the display while viewing a fax. Keystroke(s) Description ------------------------------------------------------------ Left Arrow Moves display left Right Arrow Moves display right Up Arrow Moves display up Down Arrow Moves display down Home Moves to top left of displayed page End Moves to bottom left of displayed page PgDown Displays next page of file in viewer PgUp Displays previous page of file in viewer CTRL-Left Arrow Moves to left edge of displayed page CTRL-Right Arrow Moves to right edge of displayed page CTRL-Home Moves to top right of displayed page CTRL-End Moves to bottom right of displayed page CTRL-PgUp Displays first page of file in viewer CTRL-PgDown Displays last page of file in viewer + (plus) Enlarges the fax image - (minus Shrinks the fax image I Inverts the current black/white image ESC Returns to log window WINDOW KEYS Use these keys to move between fields and control the windows in BLAST FAX PC. Action Keystroke(s) Description ------------------------------------------------------------ Menu control Alt or F10 Selects a pull- down menu if one is associated with the current window Previous field Back-Tab, Shift-F6, Moves to previous or Shift-Tab selectable window field Next field Tab or F6 Moves to next selectable window field Refresh F5 Redisplays all objects on screen System button Alt-Spacebar Selects a system or Alt-. (period) button if one is associated with the current window, and displays the pop- up menu --- APPENDIX B. PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Although you will find BLAST FAX PC extremely easy to use, you may occasionally encounter one of the problems listed here. PROBLEMS WITH YOUR COMPUTER "I get a message indicating memory allocation problems when I run BLAST FAX PC." @ Be sure you have 640 Kbytes of RAM. @ Remove any unnecessary resident programs. @ Use a memory manager to load resident programs in high memory. @ Reboot your computer to clear up any unknown memory fragments. "BLAST FAX PC appears monochrome on my color monitor." @ Check the Palette setting in the System Configuration window (see System Options in Chapter 3). PROBLEMS WITH SENDING A FAX "I installed BLAST FAX PC and the fax application doesn't seem to run." @ Change to your fax directory and execute from there, or add your fax directory to the Path statement of your autoexec.bat file. @ Reboot your machine or run your autoexec.bat to allow the new path settings to take effect. @ Your video card may not be able to display the default settings. Type FAX/t to start BLAST FAX PC (the t must be lower case). Then select System Options from the Settings Menu, and change the default setting for video to text mode. @ The installation may have been unsuccessful. Reinstall the program. "I run BLAST FAX PC and can't select many of the menu items." @ You must load the fax manager to send and receive faxes and use the logs. Type MFAX from your fax directory. @ If there are no log events present, the menu options in the Log File menus are disabled. "I don't have my modem with me now, but want to set up some faxes to be sent later." @ Load the fax manager using the /m switch: type MFAX/m (the m must be in lower case). This switch specifies that you don't have your fax modem connected. Schedule your faxes, and when you plug in your modem and reload the fax manager, your faxes will be sent. "When I select a PCX or DCX file to be sent as a fax, I get an error message." @ The file you selected is not a black and white PCX or DCX file. @ The file is black and white, but uses color settings in its header. @ The file exceeds the maximum permissible size of 1728 x 800 pels. "I have trouble making international calls." @ Raise the Maximum Retries setting in the Fax Dialing Options window (described in Chapter 3) so your fax modem will make more attempts to get a good line connection. @ Raise the Wait for Connect setting in the Fax Dialing Options window so your fax modem will wait longer for carrier detect. @ Raise the Minimum Fax Rate in the Modem Options window to keep long distance charges down. Available rates are 2400 (default), 4800, 7200 and 9600 bps. @ Check the settings in your modem required for international calls: B, &G, &P and S27 (see your modem manual for more details). "I get Intellifont error messages during file conversion." @ The Files statement in your config.sys file is set to less than 30. @ Your config.sys file has been deleted. @ Some BLAST FAX PC files have been altered, corrupted or deleted. Reinstall the program. @ You changed the FontPath statement in your fax.ini file (which tells the program where to find the fonts). PROBLEMS WITH FAX MANAGER "The command line switches (/m, /r, /t) don't seem to work." @ You're using an invalid command line switch. @ You're not in your fax directory, or haven't added it to the Path statement of your autoexec.bat file. @ You're not typing the switch in lower case. The fax manager can't initialize my fax modem @ Make sure the modem is powered on. @ Check the cable connections to your PC, and make sure you are using a full modem cable. @ Verify the serial communications port setting in the System Configuration window (see System Options in Chapter 3). "When I try to print-to-fax, nothing happens." @ Verify that the Capture Port setting in the System CONFIGURATION WINDOW IS NOT DISABLED. @ Verify that the printer port in your application program is set to the capture port. @ Alternatively, print your document to file and name the file LPTn, where n equals the number of the capture port you set up in the System Configuration window. @ With some older programs, you must exit before the Send Fax window pops up. "I can't seem to unload the fax manager." @ The fax manager is still sending or receiving a fax. Review the Send Log and Receive Log for pending operations, and delete them if desired. @ Another resident program has been loaded on top of the fax manager. You must either remove this other program first, or restart your PC to clear it. @ You are not typing the command MFAX/r with a lower case letter r. "I can't receive faxes after using a communications program." @ Use the recommended batch file (see Using Communications Software in Appendix C). @ Reload the fax manager after using your communications program. PROBLEMS WITH PRINTING "BLAST FAX PC displays an error message when I print." @ Check the Printer Port setting in the System Configuration window to verify that the correct port is specified. @ Check your printer cable and connections. @ Check that your printer is online, has paper and is not jammed. "My laser printer displays a memory error when I try to print." @ Select a lower resolution (dots per inch) for the print operation. @ Add more memory to your laser printer. IF THE PROBLEM STILL HASN'T BEEN SOLVED The problems described above are the most common. If the suggestions we've given don't clear them up, and you've reviewed the manual carefully, call the USRobotics Technical Support Department at 800-982-5151. Our Service Repre- sentatives will be happy to help you over the phone Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Central Time Zone). Or send a FAX message to either 708-982-0823 or 708-933- 5552. --- APPENDIX C. TECHNICAL INFORMATION --- The following technical information is included for users who have a basic understanding of DOS function calls, BIOS interrupts, memory-resident programs, and memory swapping, and want to know how these items relate to BLAST FAX PC. You do not need to read the following information to use BLAST FAX PC. WHAT IS THE FAX MANAGER? Fax manager is a program that manages various BLAST FAX PC operations. It starts out as a file on your computer called MFAX.EXE. When it is executed, it resides in your computer as a TSR (Terminate-and-Stay-Resident program), using some of the computer's available memory. The fax manager manages the following functions. @ Conversion of outgoing facsimile data to a facsimile format @ Notification of received faxes @ Managing incoming and outgoing faxes @ Starting scheduled faxes @ Tracking fax log information @ Background operations @ Print Capture operations --Installing and unloading MFAX.EXE-- Sending and receiving facsimile messages with BLAST FAX PC requires the resident fax manager program (MFAX.EXE) to be loaded. 1. If you choose to include MFAX in your autoexec.bat file, you can confirm that the file has been modified by using the DOS TYPE command (TYPE AUTOEXEC.BAT). The fol- lowing command line is added to the end of the file. C:\BLASTFAX\MFAX 2. If you do not include MFAX in your autoexec.bat file or path, but want to run it in the background, first change to the BLAST FAX PC directory. Then type the following command and press Enter. MFAX 3. When the fax manager is loaded, it attempts to initialize your fax modem. When this is successful, you'll see the following message. "BLAST FAX PC Vx.xx Copyright (c) 1992 U.S. Robotics, Inc. Installed." If the fax manager is unable to initialize the fax modem, you'll see the following message. "BLAST FAX PC Vx.xx Copyright (c) 1992 U.S. Robotics, Inc. Could not initialize modem." NOTE: If this message appears, check to be sure that your modem is installed correctly and that the serial port defined for your fax modem matches your installation. For more details about defining the serial port, see Chapter 3, Settings. If the fax manager has already been loaded, you'll see the following message. "BLAST FAX PC Vx.xx Copyright (c) 1992 U.S. Robotics, Inc. Already resident." 4. The fax manager can be removed from memory by using the /r switch: MFAX/r (the r must be lower case). When you type this command at the DOS prompt, you'll see the following message. "BLAST FAX PC Vx.xx Copyright (c) 1992 U.S. Robotics, Inc. Removed from memory." In some cases, the fax manager cannot be removed from memory. If the fax manager is in the process of sending or receiving a fax, it will not allow you to remove it until the operation is complete. TSRs must be unloaded in reverse order from how they were loaded. You may have problems unloading the fax manager if, after loading it, you loaded other memory-resident programs. In this case, you must remove the fax manager from your autoexec.bat (if it is there), and then reboot your PC to remove the fax manager. If you intend to load and unload the fax manager often, you may want to organize the loading of memory-resident programs so that the fax manager is always loaded last. --Memory Swapping-- The fax manager uses memory swapping to reduce the demands on your computer's conventional memory. When the fax manager needs to load the BLAST FAX PC application, it saves the contents of conventional memory to expanded or extended memory, or to disk. Because of this, any TSRs loaded after the fax manager will not be functional during file conversions or while addressing a captured print-to-fax. If it is important that a TSR other than the fax manager be continuously active, check your autoexec.bat and make sure that the fax manager is the last TSR listed. Some TSRs will malfunction if inactive for a period of time. An example of this is the behavior of many network drivers. These drivers, loaded as TSRs, need to make themselves known to the network on a regular basis. They cannot do this if they have to be swapped out of memory. PRINTING CONSIDERATIONS The cable that connects your computer to your laser printer uses one wire to indicate printer problems. This is how the application program can detect that something has gone wrong. If an error message appears when you try to print from BLAST FAX PC, it could be one of several things. @ The paper is jammed in the printer, or there is no paper. @ The paper size is set incorrectly (for example, to legal instead of letter). @ The printer does not have enough memory to print the page. @ The page data was too complex for the printer to process. --Memory Problems with a Laser Printer-- When a fax image is printed to a laser printer, the full page of fax information is processed in the laser printer memory before being transferred to paper. Since fax images contain large amounts of data, the printer buffer must be large enough to accommodate printing of a complex fax image. If you have a problem printing, try reducing the printing resolution from 300 dpi to 150 dpi. However, the clarity of the fax image will suffer. You may also be able to upgrade the memory in your printer; consult your printer documentation. --Advanced Typeface Support-- The capture capability of BLAST FAX PC provides support for Hewlett-Packard Printer Control Language (PCL) versions 4 and 5. This means you can send faxes with some of the same quality appearance you expect from your laser printer. The following are some of the available features. @ Scalable Univers (Helvetica type) @ Scalable CGTimes (Times Roman style) @ Line Printer (compressed) @ Line drawing and bordering @ Bold, underline and italics @ Superscript and subscript @ Strikethrough and small caps USING COMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE When you run a communications program, it attaches itself to a software interrupt for a particular port. Two programs cannot run simultaneously and use the same port. If the BLAST FAX PC fax manager is using a specific interrupt, and you load a communications program and specify the same port, the port connection is no longer valid for the fax manager. --How to Share a Port-- The fax manager always tries to recover when the fax modem is removed or powered off and on, or if an interrupt is taken by another program and then restored. However, many communications programs available today do not restore an interrupt that they take from another application. When this happens, the connection between the fax manager and the port can be restored by unloading and reloading the fax manager. If you intend to use a single port for fax and data communications, you may want to consider writing a small batch program to do the following. 1. Unload the fax manager 2. Run your communications program 3. Reload the fax manager You may want to experiment with your communications package and the fax manager to see if they work well together before you create a batch file. Your DOS user's manual can provide more information about batch programs. The following example shows a simple batch program that performs these tasks, using COMPROGRAM to represent your communications software. C:\BLASTFAX\MFAX/r COMPROGRAM C:\BLASTFAX\MFAX MOUSE SAVE AND RESTORE Just as the fax manager saves and restores the video state of your application after using Print-to-Fax, it saves and restores the mouse state. The fax manager uses the save- and-restore functions of the mouse driver. If you have problems with your mouse after using Print-to-Fax, you may have a defective mouse driver, or a mouse or mouse driver that is incompatible with BLAST FAX PC. Contact the manufacturer and request the most current version of the mouse driver. --- APPENDIX D. GLOSSARY --- Application (application program) A computer program designed to perform a specific function, such as word processing or creating spreadsheets. ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A 7-bit binary code (0's, 1's) used to represent letters, numbers, and special characters such as $, !, and /. AT Command Set An industry-standard set of commands supported by most dial- up modems. It is so named because most of these typed commands must be preceded by the characters AT (attention). Auto Answer The ability of the fax modem to automatically answer incoming calls. You can set the number of rings on which the fax modem should answer a call, and you can turn auto answer off. Autoexec.bat A file that runs (executes) automatically when DOS is started up. Autoexec.bat can be programmed so that the fax manager is loaded into RAM each time the computer is turned on. Background Operations Operations that the computer can perform while you are in another application or away from the computer. Scheduled fax transmissions and Print-to-Fax are examples of operations that may be performed in the background. Baud Rate The number of discrete signal events per second occurring on a communications channel. Although not technically accurate, baud rate is commonly used to mean bit rate. Binary Digit A 0 or 1, reflecting the use of the binary numbering system (only two digits). Used because the computer recognizes either of two states, OFF or ON. Shortened form of binary digit is bit. Bit Rate The number of binary digits, or bits, transmitted per second (bps). BPS The bits (binary digits) per second rate. Thousands of bits per second are expressed as kilobits (kbps). Buffer A memory area used as temporary storage during input and output operations. Byte A group of binary digits stored and operated upon as a unit. A byte may have a value equal to a character in the ASCII code (letters, numbers), or have some other value meaningful to the computer. 1 kilobyte (Kbyte) is equal to 1,024 bytes or characters; 640 Kbytes indicates 655,360 bytes or characters. Character A representation, coded in binary digits, of a letter, number, or other symbol. Characters Per Second A data transfer rate generally estimated from the bit rate and the character length. For example, at 2400 bps, 8-bit characters with Start and Stop bits (for a total of ten bits per character) will be transmitted at a rate of approximately 240 characters per second (cps). Data File A file that is in a data format, such as .TXT, .DRW, or .TIF, rather than a fax format. Data Transfer The act of sending or exchanging a data file or files. .DCX A DOS filename extension used to represent a graphic image stored as a file. Default Any setting assumed, at startup or reset, by the computer's software and attached devices, and operational until changed by the user. EIA Electronic Industries Association, which defines electronic standards in the U.S. Facsimile A method for transmitting the image on a printed page from one point to another. Commonly referred to as Fax. Fax Board or Machine A device such as your USRobotics fax modem that transmits/receives fax files or computer data in fax form through a communications channel, such as a telephone line. Fax File A file that is in a fax format rather than a data format. Fax files are frozen and cannot be altered without a conversion program. Fax Manager The TSR program that handles background operations for BLAST FAX PC. Hard Drive A static magnetic recording device that is resident in a computer, used for rapid retrieval of data. Kbps Kilobits, or thousands of bits, per second. 9.6 kbps indicates 9,600 bits per second. MFAX.EXE The executable filename of the fax manager. Modem A device that transmits/receives computer data through a communications channel, such as radio or telephone lines. A modem modulates, or transforms, digital signals from a computer into the analog form that can be carried successfully on a phone line. It also demodulates signals received from the phone line back to digital signals before passing them to the receiving computer. PCL Printer Control Language, a Hewlett-Packard proprietary system for formatting files so that they can be translated by a laser printer. .PCX A DOS filename extension used to represent a graphic image stored as a file. Print-to-Fax A BLAST FAX PC utility that lets you capture PCL-formatted files from your application program and submit them to the fax manager. Print-to-Fax uses print capture to perform faxing operations. Print Capture Same as Print-to-Fax. Printer Port The computer port to which a printer is attached, which must be defined in software in order to send a file to the printer. RAM Random Access Memory. A type of digital access computer memory that defines where in memory programs are located, allowing direct access to them. Serial Port A computer port through which data is transmitted serially (one bit at a time). A serial port is used for devices such as a modem, a mouse, or a serial printer. .TIF A DOS filename extension used to represent a graphic image stored as a file. TSR Terminate-and-Stay-Resident program. A TSR program remains active in the computer's RAM, even when you are not in the application. The BLAST FAX PC fax manager, MFAX, which car- ries out background operations, is a TSR.