facsBridge – Troubleshooting and Hints
These are frequently asked questions about the facsBridge fax software. If your question is not here then please use our contact form.
Q1. My mail server is an Exchange Server and it is configured for NTLM authentication only. How do I configure T37FSP (for outbound faxes)?
Q2. Why does my Internet Fax Service Provider reject faxes if 'Use dialing rules' is selected in the Send Fax Wizard from the Fax Console?
Should I specify Fax= or Fax=+ in the Prefix for Destination Email Address for my local T.37 device?
Q3. Can Anti-virus programs affect T37FSP?
Q4. My Fax gateway requires MR (Group 3) compression, but the fax generated by the Windows FAX Service is of MMR compression.
Q5. T37FSP is enabled for the send fax operation, but a fax is pending and is never sent.
Q6. Is it possible to use different Internet Fax Service Providers for different area codes in the context of T37FSP?
Q7. Is there a T37FSP for Windows XP or Vista x64 Edition available?
Q8. How do I configure T37FSP for use with the InterFax service provider?
Q9. How to hard-code subject field in the fax-mail, to satisfy my fax gateway special requirements?
Q10. Is it possible to encrypt fax-mail with T37FSP for privacy and security reasons?
Q11. What are the specifics of T37FSP on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008?
Q12. What is facsBridge for Office for?
Q1. My mail server is an Exchange Server and it is configured for NTLM authentication only. How do I configure T37FSP (for outbound faxes)?
A1. Check the NTLM Authentication for Exchange check box on the Mail Server (advanced) page of the T37FSP control panel. This will cause the Account Name and Password fields from the control panel applet to be ignored. Next, run Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services, select T37FSPSuppEmail service, select Action - Properties menu, on Log On tab select an account and fill in a password for the account that will be used to send outbound fax-mail via Exchange.
Q2. Why does my Internet Fax Service Provider reject faxes if 'Use dialing rules' is selected in the Send Fax Wizard from the Fax Console?
Should I specify Fax= or Fax=+ in the Prefix for Destination Email Address for my local T.37 device?
A2. If Use dialing rules is selected in the Send Fax Wizard, Windows translates fax addresses from canonical into dialable format.
This translation depends on your current location (as specified in the Telephony Control Panel applet). Thus, the dialable address is relative
to your current location. However, Internet Fax Service Provider does not necessarily have the same location as yours, and it most likely expects an absolute
fax address (with country code and area code and without an international prefix, e.g. 0011 to call from Australia, or 011 to call from the US).
It is best not to use dialing rules and specify the absolute fax address (in both Send Fax Wizard and programmatically). If you do not have full control
over applications or scripts you are using to submit faxes, and some of the applications or scripts might specify a canonical address (for details,
see Send Fax Sample Script), the
following manual settings in the registry are necessary (be very careful when editing the registry),
1. Set SameAreaRule and LongDistanceRule to be the same as InternationalRule in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Telephony\Country List\your_country_code registry hive. Note, this change will affect all Fax
and TAPI applications on your computer.
2. Add a new string InternationalRulePrefix with the value of the international prefix (that is, InternationalRule from the above step) in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Fax\Device Providers\T37FSP. T37FSP will strip this prefix from the fax number, leaving the fax number composed from country code, area code and a local number (as your Internet Fax Service Provider requires).
Working with a local T.37 device (not an Internet Fax Service), you need to specify the Prefix for Destination Email Address.
If you are
- using dialing rules in the Send Fax Wizard, or
- not using dialing rules in the Send Fax Wizard and specifying a dialable address (including international prefix or long distance prefix when necessary), or
- sending faxes programmatically
then specify the prefix as FAX=.
However, if you have effectively disabled translation from canonical into dialable addresses using registry entries as described above, or if you are
specifying absolute address without selecting Use dialing rules check box in the Send Fax Wizard, set the prefix as FAX=+.
Q3. Can Anti-virus programs affect T37FSP?
A3. There is incompatibility between T37FSP and Networks Associates VirusScan. To resolve it, open VirusScan console, navigate to Access Protection Properties, edit Prevent mass mailing worms from sending mail by adding fxssvc.exe to the list of Excluded Processes. Add T37FSPSuppEmail.exe to the list if you are using Exchange Server as an SMTP server.
Q4. My Fax gateway requires MR (Group 3) compression, but the fax generated by the Windows FAX Service is of MMR compression.
A4. The T37FSP does not directly support TIFF format conversion, but it can call a 3rd party utility to preprocess a TIFF file before it is sent to the provider. TIFF library is a good example of a utility that could be used for this purpose. To activate a 3rd party utility hook, run registry editor to add the string PreProcessCmd to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Sandlerco\T37FSP registry key with an appropriate value. For example, to convert to MR using the TIFF Library, the string value is tiffcp -c g3:2d %s %s (two %s signs represent source and target file names that will be substituted by the T37FSP).
Q5. T37FSP is enabled for the send fax operation, but a fax is pending and is never sent.
A5. This might happen in Windows 2000 and XP if more than one fax device is already present before installing the product. This is a Windows limitation. To learn how to check the number of fax devices currently installed, see How do you start Fax user interface applications in Windows XP and 2000, for more details on the number of supported fax devices click here. To rectify, make sure the Use only T37FSP for sending faxes check box is selected.
Q6. Is it possible to use different Internet Fax Service Providers for different area codes in the context of T37FSP?
A6. In Windows 2003 and 2008, it is possible to map particular devices (FSP) and destination numbers using outbound fax routing rules. However, T37FSP currently implements a single device only.
Q7. Is there a T37FSP for Windows XP or Vista x64 Edition available?
A7. Yes. T37FSP is available for Windows XP/Vista x64 Edition. Receive functionality and f2eRouter are not yet available for x64. Please download and run Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package (x64) from Microsoft before installing facsBridge T37FSP on x64 Windows.
Q8. How do I configure T37FSP for use with the InterFAX service provider?
A8. You need to specify fax.tc in the Faxmail Gateway and + in the Prefix for Destination Email Address. If fax.tc is specified as the Faxmail Gateway, /rs or /rf tags will be appended to the email subject field to designate required fax resolution (draft or fine).
Q9. How to hard-code subject field in the fax-mail, to satisfy my fax gateway special requirements?
A9. Run registry editor to add the string Subject in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Sandlerco\T37FSP registry key with the required value.
Q10. Is it possible to encrypt fax-mail with T37FSP for privacy and security reasons?
A10. Yes. If your SMTP server is SSL/TLS compatible, check the SSL connection check box on the Mail Server (advanced) page of the T37FSP control panel. SSL encryption will be used. It is possible to customise T37FSP for a specified Internet Fax gateway with custom email headers, custom encryption / digital signature, please enquire.
Q11. What are the specifics of T37FSP on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008?
A11. Unfortunately, the Vista Home edition is not supported because Windows Fax Service in not included in this edition.
It is necessary to configure the following items in the process of installing the T37FSP and sending the first fax using T37FSP,
a. Navigate to Control Panel, Phone and Modem settings and fill in Location settings.
b. Navigate to Start, Programs, Windows Fax and Scan (it used to be called Fax Console in XP), navigate to Tools, fill in Fax Accounts (Local Modem account on Local Fax is required to use T37FSP, of course there is no need for a physical fax-modem). Close Windows Fax and Scan.
Due to enhanced security in Vista/2008, make sure the Windows Fax Service is not blocked by the Windows firewall.
Finally, to view help (F1) contents from the T37FSP Control Panel applet, download Help Viewer as it is not included in Vista or 2008 by default.
Q12. What is facsBridge for Office for?
A12. facsBridge for Office is designed to configure Microsoft Office 2003/2007 to interface with your Internet Fax Service Provider
instantly, taking advantage of the Microsoft Office Document Imaging (MODI) printer. In Word or Excel, use File -> Send To -> Recipient Using Internet Fax Service menu
option to send your document to a fax gateway using Outlook. The sent fax will be stored in your Sent folder in Outlook. The Windows Fax Printer /
Fax Service / Fax Console are not involved in this process. To use T37FSP and Fax Service, select File -> Send To -> Recipient Using a Fax Modem menu
option instead (of course there is no need for a fax modem if T37FSP is configured).
Note: the file format generated by MODI driver is not compatible with cisco fax-enabled routers.
For general FAQ on Fax Service see the Fax Service Provider FAQ page.