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Zetafax, Version 7.5 MultiModemZDX |
Utilities |
| Equisys’
Zetafax reduces faxing throughout an enterprise to a mere click or two from
your desktop. Rather than using an external fax machine, each attorney and
support staff who has access to a networked PC can invoke the Zetafax Client
to communicate with the Zetafax Server across the network. This faxing
procedure boasts simplicity and awesome efficiency. The use of Zetafax avoids inherent fax machine infirmity, such as a paper outage, paper-jam or low toner. All faxes, both outgoing and incoming, are handled through the Zetafax Server, which is, of course, located on a server computer. To prepare your office for Zetafax, a networked computer should be selected to function as the fax server. You can use a Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP fax server or an internal or external fax modem. I used an inexpensive but reliable external fax modem, Multi-Tech Systems’ 56K MultiModem-ZDX (Model MT5600ZDX). Incredibly, this fax modem is a mere 5.75 inches long by 4 inches wide by 1 inch high, and weighs only 8.5 ounces. Indeed, this Multi-Tech device is so small and lightweight it hardly occupies any space on the desktop and can unobtrusively be stacked atop another peripheral. Once interconnected to a serial port, the appropriate Multi-Tech driver is routinely installed from the CD-ROM. After the driver is loaded, the ZDX functions so smoothly behind the scenes you forget it’s there. After the modem is ready, you can install the software. Zetafax is installed on the fax-server. This automatically installs the Zetafax Server, Zetafax Client and Zetafax Configuration program. The fax-server also can be used as a vanilla workstation (i.e., as a fax-client on a normal network workstation from which faxes are sent through the Zetafax Server). In this case, a workstation is located on a computer that is physically removed from the fax-server and communicates with the fax-server over the network using shared files. To install the Zetafax Client on each workstation throughout the network, you identify each user with a Zetafax user name (during installation or after installation by invoking the Zetafax Configuration) and then execute “WKSETUP” from the fax-server on each workstation. The fax network is ready to go. Zetafax-enabled fax communications are convenient and absolutely seamless. When you send a fax from or receive a fax at your workstation, it’s like you have a fax machine sitting adjacent to your display screen. The Zetafax Server screen shows a three-part horizontally-divided display. The top portion shows the status of network faxes: the number of faxes being held for retrying/resending, the number of faxes queued for preparing to send, the number of faxes being prepared to be sent and the number of faxes queued to be sent. The middle portion of the fax-server screen shows the hardware components of the fax network: the fax modems and printers. The lower portion of this screen shows a log of the steps taken to initialize the fax-server and to negotiate each fax transmission. The Zetafax Client screen shows a list of all faxes received and sent from the workstation, itemizing for each fax the title, date, time and from whom received or to whom sent. To view a particular fax that was received or sent, just select the fax and double-click (or click the eyeglasses icon on the toolbar). This invokes the Zetafax Viewer, which allows you to easily move from page-to-page of the fax, and to zoom in or out if necessary. Printing is achieved by simply clicking the print icon. It would be a handy alternative to be able to invoke these recurring viewing and printing functions by right-clicking, but Zetafax doesn’t appear to have implemented this context-sensitive functionality yet. All operational changes to Zetafax are effected through the Zetafax Configuration utility. These changes include users and user groups, peripherals, server settings, cover sheets, letterheads and software registration. Faxes can be sent from applications such as Corel WordPerfect or Microsoft Word by printing via the Zetafax Printer. This is similar to invoking the Acrobat PDF Writer to generate a file in PDF format. For Microsoft Office, Equisys provides a special “Send Zetafax” button from which the Zetafax Printer can be invoked with a simple mouse-click. Fax particulars can be entered ad hoc in a fax-send (addressing) dialog box or can be obtained from a network address book. This addressing dialog box also accommodates cover sheet selection, cover sheet notes, resolution, header specifics, attachments, timing for sending the fax and priority. If convenient, the Zetafax Address Book can be linked to an ODBC (open database connectivity) compliant database, such as Microsoft Access or Borland Paradox. This allows you to have access to already stored information pertaining to fax recipients. A link to contact information stored in Time Matters and Amicus Attorney also should be announced soon. Furthermore, if the Zetafax E-mail Gateway has been configured, you can use your already-established e-mail address book as a replacement for the Zetafax network address book. One of the most intriguing features of Zetafax is its ability to synergize fax transmissions with e-mail. Faxes and e-mails are intertwined via the Zetafax SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) E-mail Gateway. This gateway allows network users to send and receive faxes directly from e-mail client software such as Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Domino and from Novell GroupWise and in-house SMTP mail-servers. For example, if you have the benefit of an in-house mail-server, you can send and receive faxes (and attachments) by using Microsoft Outlook or Qualcomm EudoraPro e-mail software. Happily, the Zetafax Server is built with the intelligence to metamorphose e-mail and attachments into a corresponding fax that can be sent as specified. For confirmation purposes, Zetafax provides a summary (“standard”) and a detailed fax report. The standard report enumerates the date and time, recipient, organization, destination fax number and duration of the fax transmission for each network user. The detailed report, on the other hand, besides the information enumerated on the summary report, includes the fax type (fine or regular resolution), the error code, the number of pages transmitted and the charge code (if any). On the detailed report, an Error Code of “0000” indicates that the fax was successfully transmitted. Unfortunately, there is no option to customize either of these or the other available reports. Since network faxing provides you a log of faxes transmitted to and from the network, and a repository of the transmitted faxes, you now have the capability to invoke optical character recognition (OCR) on the faxed file so that its text can be edited. By invoking the OCR function of the “Tools” menu, and provided that you have OCR software available, such as ScanSoft’s OmniPage Pro, OCR is performed on the selected fax. In spite of its amazing functionality, Zetafax makes a modest footprint on your hard disk space and loads quickly. Unlike other commonly used desktop and network faxing software, Zetafax doesn’t burden your system with demanding overhead operations. Zetafax intuitively performs its tasks with due diligence and with a commitment to hand-deliver the fax to you on your own workstation. |
Zetafax, Version 7.5 Price: $1,000 Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP fax servers MultiModemZDX Price: $149 Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP Reviewed by Al Harrison, a patent attorney and intellectual property lawyer at Harrison & Egbert in Houston. PROS CONS VERDICT |
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