Mac Mini used as a fax server

1) Having not ever received a fax using Mac OS X I'm not sure although I'm pretty sure it saves faxes in the Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

2) No. On what criteria would you think the fax software (or fax software for that matter) is able to screen? Apart from possibly the number you are receiving the fax from and the number of pages what other information is there? It's not as if the software can read the fax.

3) Yes, it will be able to both fax and print the faxes it receives.

I've received a grand total of 1 fax on my Mac. But I can confirm that the fax will be received as a PDF.

I agree with Ned that the software will not do any screening of the faxes.

So, basically, you can set up the mini to...
A) Email to anyone or a distribution list of recipients
B) Print the PDF automatically
C) Save the PDF to a shared volume (default is "Shared Faxes")


Dual 1.2 G4/Intel Mini Dual Core Mac OS X (10.4.6)

I have never successfully received a complete fax with OS 10.3.x or 10.4.x.

Every attempt has resulted in receiving the 1st page with the fax being stopped after that first page.

All my attempts have been on an iMac G5 1.8 GHz (first version), and an iMac G5 2.0 GHz (second version), and a 1.25 GHz Mac Mini (first version).

I have tried with various versions of OS 10.3.x and 10.4.x as they became available.

So far, I have never received more than the first page of a fax with any of them.

This has always been using the fax receiving program built-in to OS X, and using the built-in modem in each machine.

My phone lines are all excellent quality lines. They are all hard-wired, and are on dedicated incoming lines. I always get excellent connection speeds using modems, and never have any trouble receiving faxes with my real fax machine.

So, I would approach this idea very cautiously, and experiment with it extensively before you invest money into deploying it.

I never have had trouble receiving faxes with PC's or a real fax machine. So, I am guessing that something in the OS X system is less tolerant of the incoming fax.

Anyway, experiment cheaply first. Don't invest much until you know it works for you.

rvbcave...

I believe that Faxing is so backwards in concept and so '80 and '90-ish it ain't funny. So we are on the right track here, I consider Faxing to be telephone based, not some hacked up computer based concept.

Now before I go any further, if the telephone is indeed needed, you need to get a something more dedicated. Otherwise you already have the capabilities of a Information or Document Server. Its just the software angle that needs to be worked out.

...Ron

If the faxes are coming into the mini properly, and you are having trouble sending them where you want them, then this is what I would do:

In the fax settings on the Mac (In the Preference Pane under Fax), there is the option to e-mail the faxes when they are received.

I would suggest trying that option. Then, have them e-mailed to an e-mail address where everything can be sorted.

For example, set up an e-mail account that will only be used for receiving and sending faxes. Then, have the mini send all the faxes to that address.

Then, configure whatever e-mail program that account will be checked through to:

1) receive the messages from that account

2) use rules (such as: If "qualifier" is true, then forward to this "account") to sort and re-send any faxes to their intended recipient.

That's just my thought.

Hope this helps.

LOL! Right… rvcave's office should do away with faxes because Ron thinks its antiquated. Even if faxing is an outdated technology it's a fact of most of our business lives that's not so easily done away with.

rvbcave...

"I am messing around with the mini today for my employers purposes and the wondows machines are not recognizing it even though I hae all of the setting correctly set. I have had great experiences getting faxes, I just can't send them from another windows computer in the office."

Not for sure if Adobe is making your life miserable here or if there is a missing encoding issue. Have you tried .zip(ing) the file?

...Ron

Ned Snowing...

Now did I say ditch the Fax machine? NO!

They do have their place, but like I stated earlier, those need to be "dedicated".

Microfilm is an antique, but again, it does have its place as well. No ape or forklift is required in caring around 250,000 pages worth of printed paper, once on film. 😉

...Ron

PS Cute Penguin 😉

Ah! Sorry, it looks as though I've read you post in a way that was not me to be. My fault!

I would recommend using a software fax service, such as eFax and eFax Messenger or OS X. You could then use the Mac to simply run the eFax messenger service. Because it is email based, you can incorporate any policies that you would otherwise be able to with the context of an email server and services.

www.efax.com

I use this for my business and love it.