Electronic Fax

Sending an electronic fax with AirComUSA is as easy as sending an email. From your email client, typically MS Outlook© or Outlook Express©, open a new email window by selecting File, New, Mail Message. You can also click the button, or press Ctrl-N on your keyboard.

While this white paper illustrates this process using Microsoft© Outlook Express©, you can use any email client, including on line clients like Yahoo! and Hotmail.

Figure 6: Opening a Mail Message in Microsoft© Outlook Express©

Outlook Express© will open a blank email message. In the field, type the email address AirComUSA© gives you when you registered for the service. This address will direct your documents to our system, which will then distribute your documents to the fax numbers you specify.

In the field, type a brief summary of your email.

Finally, attach the documents you want to fax to this email. You can attach these files by clicking and dragging them to the space between the subject field and the text formatting fields.

Figure 7: Microsoft© Outlook Express© Mail Message

You can also attach files by clicking Insert, File Attachment. This will open the insert attachment dialogue box. Select the appropriate directory and file(s), and then click .

Your attached files may be any of the following formats:

• doc - Microsoft Word Document
• tif and tiff - Tagged image file
• prn and ps - PostScript
• pdf - Adobe PDF
• txt and text - Plain text
• html - HyperText Markup Language

Creating .pdf and .tif files requires specialized software. Virtually every program allows you to save your document as a text file using the Save As command. From any program with a print menu, you can create a .prn or .ps file.

* NOTE - The .prn file must be created by the correct printer driver. Other PS, post script, drivers will work, but HP LaserJet 4P/4MP PS is known to work. It is a typical driver that can be found on a windows disk.

To create a .prn file, open the print dialogue window by clicking File, Print.

Figure 8: The print dialogue window

Check the box in the upper right hand corner of the window below the button. Click , and one of two Print to File windows will open. See figures below.

Figure 9: Print to file dialogue window 1

Figure 10: Print to file window dialogue 2

If your print to file dialogue window looks like figure 6, type the address and file name of your new .prn file, and then click .

If your print to file dialogue window looks like figure 7, select the appropriate directory in the . Type the file name in the appropriate field, and click .

The order in which you attach your files determines how they will come out of the recipient's fax machine. You should attach your cover page first, and then any additional documents you may have.

For example, in figure 3, Holden's fax machine will print Tom's cover sheet first, and then the invoice for Werther's funeral.

Figure 11: Mail Message with cover sheet and fax material attached

In the body of your message, type the fax number(s) you are faxing your documents to. If you are faxing your attachments to multiple fax numbers, place each fax number on a separate line.

Figure 12: Mail message to send to multiple electronic fax numbers

Because our system looks for 10-digit numbers, you should always include the area code. In addition, you don't need to worry about whether to include parentheses, periods or dashes between the area code, prefix and line number; our software ignores such dividing punctuation.

Be sure to delete any signature files you may be using; otherwise, our system will send your fax to the phone numbers listed in that file.

When your email is ready, click . AirComUSA will then distribute your attachments to the fax numbers you listed in the body of your message.

To protect your privacy, and that of those to whom you fax documents, AirComUSA encrypts the faxes it sends.

Figure 13: Report Email for your electronic fax

When our servers have successfully sent your electronic fax to each number, you will receive a report email confirming that the electronic fax went through. If the electronic fax goes through immediately, the body of this report email will look like figure 10. If, for example, the receiving fax line is busy, the body of the report email will look like figure 11.

Figure 14: Body of report email when fax line is initially busy