before importing the data into version 5.
8.8
Using the Cover Page Designer
Snappy fax's cover page designed is much improved over previous versions. The cover page
templates are no longer dependent on the screen resolution you are using, the cover page templates are much easier to work with and produce a cover page with a much more pleasing appearance. If you are a current snappy fax version 4 user, your default cover page will have already been converted to version 5 format, you will, however find that you may need to make some minor adjustments to position and size of text objects with the version 5 cover page designer. If you use more than one cover page template then you will need to import and convert your prior version templates using the cover page designer.
Note: version 4 and prior versions of snappy fax cover page template files have a file extension of . fcp, version 5 uses a file extension of .fct
You access the cover page designer by clicking the 'Cover Sheet Designer' button on the Tools & Accounts ribbon tab.
A cover page template is just that, a template. The template contains objects that represent things that will need to be populated onto the cover page at fax time but the value of which cannot be know at the time the cover page template is created. For example, the fax recipient's name. Obviously, you will want to use the same template over and over regardless of who you will be sending the fax to. The fax recipient object will be automatically populated with the recipient's name when the cover page is created. The same is true for other objects like the fax date and time, number of pages in the fax, etc.
Some sample cover page templates are supplied with snappy fax, you can use these as a starting point for designing your custom template or you can use them as is.
Snappy Fax Version 5 Help 96
Logos
You can use the image tool to place a graphic of your company logo on the template. The graphic must be either a .bmp. Do not use color or grayscale graphics, if your logo graphic is not black and white, use an image editing tool to convert the image to black and white before placing on the template. Remember that faxes sent by Snappy Fax are black and white so observe these rules for your logo for best rendering results when the cover page is created.
Text objects
The text objects for fax date, time, recipient name and the like all contain a character between two tildes. For example for date it is ~D~ . The actual object's text is
Date: ~D~. The ~D~ will be replaced with the current date then the cover page is created at fax time. The same applies to the other objects. You can change the text part of the object by pressing F2 on the keyboard after selecting the object with the mouse. You should not change the ~D~ part (in this example). So, you could change Date: ~D~ to Current Date: ~D~, if you like. If the ~D~ is changed then the current date will be blank on the cover page created at fax time. When you exit or save your template, Snappy Fax will audit the template and alert you to these types of errors so that you can fix them before leaving the cover page designer.
Static text objects will always show the exact text that you enter into the object using F2 to edit the object. The term static means unchanging.
For example you might want to place a static text object and edit the text to show your street address. Snappy fax does not need to change this as it will always be the same.
In addition to pressing F2 to edit the text, you can right click on an object and select 'Edit Text' from the popup menu.
Special Topics 97
Snappy Fax Version 5 Help 98
8.9
Full Screen Viewer
Snappy fax has a built in full screen viewer that can be used to quickly view a fax in full screen mode. Any time you see a thumbnail of an image anywhere in snappy fax, you can double click the
thumbnail image to invoke the full screen view. The image will be shown full screen with a small navigator window at the bottom right of the screen. You can grab the dotted rectangle on the navigator window and move it with the mouse to pan around the image or you can simply move the mouse over the large image to pan around the image.
To exit the full screen viewer, click the close button on the navigator window or simply press the Esc key on the keyboard.
Special Topics 99
8.10
What modem should I buy ?
If you already have a fax modem then there is a good chance that it will work with Snappy Fax. All modems are not created equal. A modem can support any or all of the following fax classes: Class 1
Class 2 Class 2.0 Class 2.1
Class 1 modems are typically very cheap modems. While they do offer cost savings, dependability may suffer since Class 1 is very sensitive to timing and fax sessions may fail if timing constraints of the Class 1 protocol are violated. With Class 1, all fax session management is performed by the fax software which requires more of a load on the computer's cpu during the fax session.
The US Robotics model 5637 is an excellent choice for a class 1 modem. Do not take this as a general endorsement of all US Robotics modems as the older models have always been troublesome. The model 5637 is the only USR modem that we recommend and it is an excellent modem, we use them here.
Class 2 modems offer an improvement over Class1 in that the modem itself performs the fax session management functions relieving the fax software and the computer's cpu of some of the burden. Class 2.0 is a further improvement over Class 2 which further refined the Class 2 standard. Class 2.1 is high speed fax with error correction. The fax modem performs the entire session management, and error checking. Class 2.1 modems can transmit and receive faxes at a maximum speed of 33,600 bits per second when communicating with other similarly enabled fax devices. This high speed fax is referred to as "Super G3". The installed base of "Super G3" machines is rapidly growing, you will notice that most fax machines you see in the retail stores boast "Super G3" functionality. In addition, the error correction feature makes less than perfect phone lines less of a problem. Affordable Class 2.1 modems, were virtually non-existent until recently.
If reliable faxing is important to your business, you should invest in a good quality Class 2.1 capable modem. You can get a very good Class 2.1 modem starting at about $125. If you do not care to invest that much in a modem, then expect reduced reliability with Class 1 modems.
Just to give you an example, with a 145 page fax transmitting at 31,200 bps with a Class 2.1 modem, the elapsed time to send the fax was 40 minutes and 52 seconds. That is an average transmission time per page of 17 seconds. With a class 1 modem transmitting at 14,400 bps the transmission time was 1 hour 46 minutes, which is an average of about 45 seconds per page.
Note: Snappy fax (standard edition) support Fax Class 1, 1.0, 2 and 2.0. Snappy fax (G3 Edition) supports all fax classes including Class 2.1 "super G3" with error correction.
We have heavily tested the following Class 2.1 Modems: Multitech Model MT9234ZBA-USB-CDC
Snappy Fax Version 5 Help 100
Multitech Model ISI9234PCIe Multi-Modem Card MainPine IQExpress Multi-Modem Card
The MultiTech ZBA model is a USB modem that has a small footprint, has a stackable design and multiple units can be installed on one computer. We have 4 such modems installed on a single computer in our testing lab. This modem retails for around $125 and is an excellent value. The MultiTech ISI9234 and the MainPine boards are multi-port modem cards that come in 4 and 8 port models, the are more expensive with the MainPine boards being the most expensive. Both of these boards are very dependable.
If you are not constrained by a budget then the MainPine boards offer the ultimate in reliability.
8.11
Receive Mode Scheduling
Snappy fax can set a schedule to start or stop fax receive mode. To access the Receive Mode Scheduler, click the 'Receive Mode Scheduler' button on the 'Fax Home' ribbon tab.
Special Topics 101
The constraints and actions of the scheduler are quite self explanatory. If you want to have a schedule be active when you start Snappy Fax, check the 'Activate Schedule at Startup' checkbox. From this window, you can Activate an inactive schedule or DeActivate an active schedule. Snappy Fax will validate these settings before you can
save the constraints.
Important:
Snappy Fax will adhere strictly to any schedule that is active. If you have set the scheduler to stop fax receive mode at a certain day and time then it will do so without regard to whether you have
manually set fax receive mode yourself. You can view scheduler activity in the 'Thread Messages'
view. When the scheduler issues a command to stop or start fax receive mode, it will log this activity in the thread messages log.
Note that, if Start and Stop action is selected, the Start Receive Time must be before the Stop Receive Mode Time and that when snappy fax is started, if both the start and stop times have passed, receive mode will not be started but rather the target action and time will be to set receive mode at that time
Snappy Fax Version 5 Help 102
for the next day to which the schedule applies.