Working with Fax Cover Pages
In the fax
world, a cover page performs the same function as an email message
header: It specifies who is supposed to receive the fax and who sent it.
Unlike an email message header, which is meant to be read and
interpreted by a mail server or gateway, a fax cover sheet is meant for
human consumption. In a company or department in which several people
share a fax machine, the cover page clarifies who is supposed to get the
fax. And when that person does read the message, she can use the rest
of the information to see who sent the fax.
As I mentioned earlier, Fax and Scan comes with
four prefabricated cover pages. You can use these pages as circumstances
dictate, you can modify them to suit your style, or you can create new
pages from scratch.
Working with Personal Fax Cover Pages
The four predefined cover pages are common cover pages because they’re available to all users and to all fax accounts. Any cover pages that you create are personal cover pages.
Fax
and Scan gives you two ways to create personal cover pages: create a
cover page from scratch or modify a copy of a common cover page.
Creating a Personal Cover Page from Scratch
To create a personal cover page from scratch,
open Windows Fax and Scan, select Tools, Cover Pages to display the Fax
Cover Pages dialog box, and then click New. Fax and Scan launches the
Fax Cover Page Editor and opens a blank cover page.
Modifying a Copy of a Common Cover Page
To create a personal cover page using a copy of a common cover pages, follow these steps:
1. | In Windows Fax and Scan, select Tools, Cover Pages to display the Fax Cover Pages dialog box.
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2. | Click Copy to display the Common Coverpages folder.
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3. | Select
the common cover page you want to copy, and then click Open. Fax and
Scan adds a copy of the cover page to the Fax Cover Pages dialog box.
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4. | If you want to rename the copied cover page, select it, click Rename, type the new name, and then press Enter.
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5. | Make
sure that the copied cover page is still selected, and then select
Open. Fax and Scan launches the Fax Cover Page Editor and displays the
copied cover page.
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Figure 2 shows the Fax Cover Page Editor with a copy of the generic common cover page.
Note
To open one of the four common cover pages directly, select File, Open and then navigate to the following folder:
%SystemDrive%\ProgramData\Windows NT\MSFax\Common Coverpages
Editing a Cover Page
Keeping in mind that cover pages are always
sent as bitmaps, the idea behind the Cover Page Editor is to create a
template for the bitmap. So, as you might expect, the Cover Page Editor
is really a graphics application that specializes in working with fax
bitmaps. The templates you work with consist of three types of fields:
information, text, and graphics.
Inserting Information Fields
Information
fields are placeholders for data. For example, the {Sender’s Company}
field (information fields always appear surrounded by braces) tells the
Fax service to insert the name of the sender’s company each time you use
this cover page when you send a fax. With the Cover Page Editor, you
can insert fields for recipient, sender, and message data:
For the recipient, you can insert
fields for the person’s name and fax number. This information is gleaned
from the properties sheet for the recipient’s address. Select Insert,
Recipient and then click either Name or Fax Number.
For
the sender, you can insert fields for the name, fax number, company,
address, telephone numbers, and more. Select Insert, Sender to see the
available fields.
For the message, the
available fields include the note text, the Subject line, the date and
time the fax was sent, and the number of pages. Selecting Insert,
Message displays a menu that lists these fields.
Inserting Text Fields
Text fields are text boxes that either
describe the contents of each information field or provide titles,
subtitles, and headings. To insert a text field, click the Text button
on the Drawing toolbar (see Figure 2),
drag the mouse inside the cover page to create a box for the field, and
enter your text. To change the text in an existing field, double-click
it. (Note, too, that you can format text fields by using the buttons on
the Style toolbar or by selecting Format, Font or Format, Align Text.)
Inserting Graphics Fields
Graphics
fields are bitmap objects that you can use for logos and separators, or
just to add some style to the cover page. The Cover Page Editor’s
Drawing toolbar enables you to create many kinds of drawing objects,
including lines, rectangles, circles, and polygons. Table 1 lists the buttons available on this toolbar.
Table 1. The Cover Page Editor’s Drawing Toolbar Buttons
| Name | Description |
|---|
| Line | Creates a straight line. |
| Rectangle | Creates a rectangle. (Hold down Shift while dragging to create a square.) |
| Rounded Rectangle | Creates a rectangle with rounded corners. |
| Polygon | Creates a polygon. |
| Ellipse | Creates an ellipse. (Hold down Shift while dragging to create a circle.) |
| Bring to Front | Moves the selected object in front of any objects that overlap it. You can also select Layout, Bring to Front or press Ctrl+F. |
| Send to Back | Moves the selected object behind any objects that overlap it. You can also select Layout, Send to Back or press Ctrl+B. |
| Space Across | Spaces the selected objects evenly across the page. You can also select Layout, Space Evenly, Across. |
| Space Down | Spaces the selected objects evenly down the page. You can also select Layout, Space Evenly, Down. |
| Align Left | Aligns the selected objects along their left edges. You can also select Layout, Align Objects, Left. |
| Align Right | Aligns the selected objects along their right edges. You can also select Layout, Align Objects, Right. |
| Align Top | Aligns the selected objects along their top edges. You can also select Layout, Align Objects, Top. |
| Align Bottom | Aligns the selected objects along their bottom edges. You can also select Layout, Align Objects, Bottom. |
Receiving Faxes
This
section explains how Windows Fax and Scan handles incoming faxes and
shows you how to view those faxes when they’re sitting in your Inbox.
Specifying Receive Options
Before getting to the specifics of receiving a
fax, let’s take a quick look at the various options that the Fax service
provides for receiving. To see these options, follow these steps:
1. | Select Tools, Fax Settings and then enter your UAC credentials to display the Fax Settings dialog box.
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2. | Display the General tab.
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3. | If
you have multiple fax modems installed on your computer, click Select
Fax Device to choose the fax modem you want to use to send faxes.
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4. | Make sure that the Allow the Device to Receive Fax Calls check box is activated.
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5. | Select one of the following options:
| Manually Answer | Activate this option to answer incoming calls manually . | | Automatically Answer After x Rings | Activate this option to have Fax and Scan answer incoming calls automatically . Use the spin box to specify the number of rings after which Fax and Scan answers the call. |
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6. | Click More Options to open the More Options dialog box.
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7. | Edit the CSID setting.
Note
The CSID is your Called Subscriber Identification. This identifies your computer to the fax sender.
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8. | You also have the following options (click OK when you’re done):
| Print a Copy To | Activate
this check box to have Windows Fax and Scan automatically print any
received fax. Use the list that becomes activated to choose the printer
you want to use. | | Save a Copy To | Activate
this check box to store a second copy of each fax in the folder that
you specify. The original copy of the fax is saved in the Fax and Scan
Inbox. |
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Answering Incoming Calls
How
Fax and Scan handles incoming calls from remote fax systems depends on
how you set up your fax account to receive calls: manually or
automatically. I describe both options in the next two sections.
Answering Calls Automatically
Enabling the Automatically Answer After x
Rings option is the easiest way to handle incoming calls. In this mode,
Fax and Scan constantly polls the modem’s serial port for calls. When
it detects a call coming in, it waits for whatever number of rings you
specified (which can be as few as one ring or as many as 99) and then
leaps into action. Without any prodding from you, it answers the phone
and immediately starts conversing with the remote fax machine. The Fax
Status Monitor window appears onscreen so that you can see the progress
of the transfer, as shown in Figure 3.
Tip
If you find Fax and Scan’s sounds (such as
the ringing associated with an incoming call) annoying, you can disable
them. Select Tools, Fax Settings, and then display the Tracking tab.
Click Sound Options and then deactivate the check boxes for each sound
you want to silence.
Answering Calls Manually
If you work with Fax and Scan in manual mode,
when a call comes in you hear a ringing tone and the taskbar’s
notification area pops up a message that says Incoming call from
fax, where fax is the CSID of the remote fax. To answer the call, you have three choices:
Click the taskbar message.
In Windows Fax and Scan, either select Tools, Receive a Fax Now or click the Receive a Fax Now toolbar button.
If you happen to have the Fax Status Monitor open already, click the Answer Call button.
Tip
You can display the Fax Status Monitor at any time by selecting Tools, Fax Status Monitor.
This mode is ideal if you receive both voice
calls and fax calls on the same phone line. Here’s the basic procedure
you need to follow for incoming calls:
1. | When the phone rings, pick up the receiver.
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2. | If
you hear a series of tones, you know that a fax is on its way. In this
case, click the notification message or the Answer Call button, as
described earlier.
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3. | Fax and Scan initializes the modem to handle the call. Wait until the Fax and Scan reports The call was answered as a fax
in the Fax Status Monitor window and then hang up the receiver. If you
hang up before you see this message, you disconnect the call.
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Working with Received Faxes
Depending on the size of the fax transmission,
Fax and Scan takes from a few seconds to a few minutes to process the
data. Eventually, though, your fax appears in the inbox. From there, you
can perform the following chores:
Read the fax— Double-click the fax in the Inbox folder (or select the fax and then press Enter or select File, Open).
Print the fax— Select the fax and then select File, Print.
Send a reply to the fax sender—
Select the fax and then select Document, Reply (or click the Reply
button). Fax and Scan creates a new fax message with the sender added to
the To box.
Forward the fax to another fax number—
Select the fax and then select Document, Forward (or click the Forward
button). Fax and Scan creates a new fax message with the fax as an
attachment.
Email the fax as an attachment—
Select the fax and then select Document, Forward as Attachment (or
click the Forward as E-mail button). Use the email message window to set
up the email message and then click Send.
Save the fax as an image—
Select the fax and then select File, Save As. Use the Save As dialog
box to choose a name and location for the file and then click Save. Note
that the fax is saved as a TIF image.
Delete the fax— Select the fax and then select Edit, Delete (or just press the Delete key).
