How to Send a Fax from a Computer

• Introduction
• Requirement for sending and receiving electronic fax
• Receiving a fax
• Sending a fax -- e-mail addressing
• Creating and Sending a Fax
• Sending a fax via e-mail
• Sending a fax via e-mail with an attachment
• Sending a fax via e-mail from a program
• creating a fax with Mircosoft Word and converting to .pdf
• sending a fax with pdf-creator and Tiff Fax G3 TurboBits Printer

Introduction

Besides receiving a fax on the usual fax machines located around the DESY campus, there is also the possibility to send and receive fax messages directly by e-mail. This documentation specifies the necessary requirements and the corresponding  procedure.

Requirements for Sending and Receiving Electronic Fax

The basic requirement for using the electronic facsimile communication is the possibility to handle e-mail. Furthermore, in order to  receive electronic fax messages via e-mail it is necessary to register for this service, however sending a fax is available to everyone, please refer to the UCO for further details. Following registration, you will receive notification via e-mail, informing you that you may also receive fax messages by e-mail.

Receiving a Fax

For receiving a fax by e-mail, the sender must know the fax number of the recipient. Your number for receiving fax messages at DESY consists of your DESY-telephone extension prepended by: (040) 8994 - hence, it is almost identical to your telephone number, via which you receive external calls.

For example:

You will obtain fax messages that are sent to this number via e-mail. The fax message is attached to this e-mail (as TIF-format). The fax can be viewed and printed out with the usual programs. Under Windows for example you should just double-click the e-mail attachment.

Sending a Fax -- E-Mail-Addressing

To send a fax via e-mail, the fax number of the recipient must be embedded within an e-mail address. The syntax is as follows:

faxg3/<country code><fax number>@fax.desy.de

<fax number> should be replaced with the complete fax number of the recipient and the area code - without '0'. Whilst <country code> should be replaced by the corresponding country code. To send a fax to a fax machine in Germany you must always use the prefix '49' (see examples below).

Abstract Examples:

(A question mark is a place marker for a numeric character; <fax number> = fax number without area code)

Practical Application:

If the fax cannot be delivered, the sender receives an error message.

Creating and Sending a Fax

There are different possibilities to create and send fax messages:

• Directly via e-mail
• Via e-mail with an attachment (.pdf, .ps, also via Tiff Fax G3 TurboBits Printer generated .tif)
• From a program (e.g. Microsoft Office, PDF-Creator, IrfanView)

The centrally supported programs Outlook, Thunderbird and Pine/Alpine have been verified.

For sending a document, the printer driver Tiff Fax G3 TurboBits Printer is mentioned. This driver (converts the format to a TIF-format) works together with Outlook and Thunderbird. It can be installed via NetInstall. A link in your e-mail - which you will receive after the fax connection is established - will provide more information on this item.

Sending a Fax via E-Mail

The easiest way to create and send an electronic fax is to use your e-mail program. Write the text of your fax in the body of an e-mail and send it to a fax recipient by indicating the fax number as an e-mail address as described above.
Depending on the e-mail program, there are different ways to compose a message and to change the format of an e-mail. Microsoft Outlook offers the formats "Only Text", "Html" and "Rich Text". When creating a fax directly in your e-mail program it is recommended to use the "Only Text" option. It should be noted that in the case of a more complex fax message in "Html" or "Rich Text", it is possible - though this may depend on the complexity of the document - that the fax recipient will not receive the fax in the same layout as it was sent. It is therefore recommended to compose the fax message with other programs (see below).

Sending a Fax via E-Mail with an Attachment

If a document exists already in the right layout or if a more complex document needs to be created and sent, there is the option to attach the document to the e-mail - provided that it is available in an appropriate format.
Documents of the following formats can be attached to an e-mail and faxed without any losses in quality:

• Portable Document Format (.pdf)
• PostScript (.ps)
• Tagged Image File (.tif, if it was created wit Tiff Fax G3 TurboBits Printer)

It is also possible to write a message/comment into the body of the e-mail message. This text will then be printed on the fax before the attachment.

Sending a Fax via E-Mail From a Program

Basically it is possible to create a fax with Word, though it is not possible to send it with Word  (using File --> Send to --> Mail Recipient (for Review)) or with comparable Microsoft Office Programs (PowerPoint, Excel). Appropriate files have to be converted into .pdf- or .tif-format before sending them (see for this purpose Sending a fax with PDF-Creator and TIFF Fax G3 TurboBits Printer).

Creating a Fax with Microsoft Word and converting to .pdf

The fax message can either be compiled with a cover sheet (without DESY- header) by using the Fax Wizard or it can be written directly into the document. If a fax with a cover sheet is created with the Fax Wizard, you have to choose File --> Send to --> Fax Recipient. When the new window opens, click on "Next", choose "With a cover sheet" and "The following document" (see the picture below). If you choose "Without a cover sheet" an empty document appears in which you can compose your message. In this case it is not necessary to use the Fax Wizard, since the message can be written directly in Word.



Confirm by clicking "Next" and please make sure you  choose the third option in the next picture.



Subsequently you can indicate the name(s) of the recipient(s) and fax address. By clicking "Next", you can choose between three different cover sheets. If you want to indicate personal data, you can do so in the next window. To terminate the program click once again on "Next"- and then on "Finish". For sending, please see the first of the two possibilities listed directly below. Subsequently the document and the cover sheet have to be converted into .pdf-files and you must then attach the documents in your e-mail program.

Sending a fax with pdf-creator and Tiff Fax G3 TurboBits Printer

There are two possibilities: 

• If you have PDF Creator (you can find it under NetInstall and it works with Outlook or Thunderbird as e-mail program)
  File --> Print --> PDF-Creator --> eMail --> indicate disc place--> OK --> Mail program will be opened (if necessary attach corresponding pdf file) --> indicate the fax address --> Send


• If the driver Tiff Fax G3 Turbobits Printer for sending messages exists (you can find under NetInstall and it works with Outlook or Thunderbird as e-mail program)
  File -->Print --> choose: Tiff Fax G3 TurboBits Printer -->OK -->indicate the fax address --> Send