[FaxMail]
[Downloads]
[Faxes via Email]
[Problems]
[History]
[Credits]
[Screenshots]
Update: At time of writing, tpc.int is offline. FaxMail
has not been actively worked on in over 10 years, so this page should be
considered a historical curiosity. If you are looking for Internet fax
service,
this index may be a useful starting point.
FaxMail is a small program to help you send faxes for free via
email. With FaxMail you can write a message, attach an image or two,
include a postscript document, then send the whole lot off as an email
to be delivered as a fax message. It works using the internet's TPC remote printing service.
FaxMail is issued under the GNU General Public
License. As such, you are pretty free to use this software as you
wish. You can modify it as long as you continue to make the source
code available with any redistribution.
Before installing FaxMail, check that your system contains the
following components.
- UNIX:
- FaxMail is known to run on Linux, SunOS, OSF/1 and HP-UX
but should run under most flavours of UNIX.
- Tk/Tcl:
- You will need the Tcl scripting language and the
accompanying Tk widget set (version 4.0 or later). If you
don't have these installed, check out http://www.scriptics.com/
- convert:
- FaxMail lets you fax most popular image formats, but you
will need to install the `ImageMagick' package if you haven't
already got it. ImageMagick provides a utility called `convert'
which can convert most images to postscript. You can download
ImageMagick from
http://www.imagemagick.org
The current version of FaxMail is 2.3, released in November 1998.
Precompiled binaries are available for RedHat linux
systems, and in source form for all other supported platforms.
Contributions of precompiled binaries for other systems would be most
welcome.
Choose the appropriate link, and download straight to disk
(shift-click on most browsers, or `d' if you're using lynx). The
files are also available from the TPC archive, and from metalab.unc.edu
(formerly sunsite.unc.edu) mirrors in the directory "/pub/Linux/apps/serialcomm/fax/".
Download the source FaxMail-2.3.tar.gz 39K from the site nearest
you:
Download RedHat binary or source RPM's:
FaxMail is simply an interface to the Internet's Email-Fax gateway. When you send your
email, a central server figures out whether the desired number is
covered by the system. If so, it forwards your email to a computer
that has agreed to provide a service to that number and that computer
places the phonecall.
As such the service is as efficient as email is. Several attempts are
made at delivering faxes and in all events the outcome will ultimately
reach you via email (so you don't have to guess if the fax got there or
not).
As with almost everything on the internet, it is up to each individual
to make sure that they use the service responsibly (So no faxing of PhD
theses and the like! ). Several ps files are better sent in succession
rather than in one big email. This is likely to be quicker, the only
possible drawback being a replication of the cover sheet at the remote
end. It is perhaps wise not to send material of a highly confidential or
important nature via this means. It's up to you though.
The success of the Email-Fax gateway depends on individuals
and organisations agreeing to provide the local fax service. If you
have a fax-modem and would like to help, check out
http://www.tpc.int/servers/jointpchowto.html for details. www.tpc.int is also the starting point
for information on the Email-Fax gateway.
If you have a problem compiling, installing or running FaxMail, send
an email to mcdavey@mrao.cam.ac.uk
and we'll try to
help. This is also the address you should use if you think you have
found any bugs, have suggestions for improvements, want to include us
in your will, etc.
Known issues
There aren't many known problems right now, but they'll be added
here as and when they are spotted.
- If compilation of the `tryfax' program fails with several
`undefined reference' messages, uncomment the "
LDFLAGS =
-lresolv
" line in the Makefile.
- If your fax fails, the most likely reason is that the number
you are trying to reach is not covered. Check up-to-date
coverage details if
you are unsure.
- On some systems image attachment may be offered even when the
required `convert' utility is not present. Fax then fails to be
sent. Solution: either install
ImageMagick or avoid including any images.
- Image files are converted to postscript before faxing. This
can produce large postscript files, which causes problems if
there is not much room in /tmp. Solution: convert images to
postscript by hand, and include the resultant ps file.
- 2.3 23NOV98
- All occurrences of `faxmail' replaced with FaxMail, to avoid clash with HylaFax package.
- Check added to avoid punctuation in phone numbers
- Attachment of postscript/tiff/text files added
- Removed textbox `BROWSE' button, and renamed RESET button
- `CHECK NUMBER' button added in fax number area (easier to
find)
- 2.2 16SEP98
- Re-issued under the GNU Public License (GPL), to facilitate
distribution, especially as a RedHat RPM.
- 2.1 18JAN98
- Bug Fix: long fax numbers would break integer comparison in
proc fax{}, changed to string comparison.
Thanks to Sven Goldt
- 2.0 12SEP97
- First release as FaxMail.
- Address book, postscript file browser added.
- Installation procedure/Makefile changed.
- Clear button for text box added.
- <2.0
- faxtool incarnation. No frills, unbloated release.....
FaxMail was orignally called faxtool. It was written by Shyamal
Somoroo and David Burns, while they were students at the Cavendish
Laboratory, University of Cambridge. Since 1997 it has been
renamed FaxMail and maintained by Matt Davey. The `tryfax' utility
is based on code originally written by Brendan Kehoe, and reused with
permission.
Matthew Davey <mcdavey@mrao.cam.ac.uk>
Last modified: Thu Aug 26 13:21:56 BST 1999