Using Windows Fax Service


Faxing from Outlook is as easy as sending email, but instead uses the Windows Fax service. In fact, that's why the Fax field in a contact displays as an email address in the Outlook Address Book.

Before you can send a fax, you must set up the Windows Fax service and add the fax service to your Outlook profile. The Windows Fax service must be installed and configured before you can add it as a service in Outlook.

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If Fax is not listed in Printers and Faxes, open the Printers and Faxes folder and choose Set Up Faxing from the Windows Explorer task pane. You might need your Windows CD to complete the installation.


If this is your first time using Windows Fax, double-click on the Fax icon and follow the wizard to set up Windows Fax for sending and receiving.

When you're finished installing and configuring the fax service, you need to add it to your Outlook profile. The fax service is added to Outlook using the same method that you use to add new accounts.

  1. Choose T ools, E-mail A ccounts, and then choose Add a New E -mail Account. Select N ext, A dditional Server Types.

  2. From the Additional Server Types dialog, choose Fax Mail Transport and complete the wizard.

  3. Select Fax Mail Transport in the E-mail Account list and select C hange.

  4. The Fax Mail Transport options include cover page selection, delivery receipt settings, and the default message font (see Figure 7.6).

    Figure 7.6. Select a cover page style for your faxes using the Fax Mail Transport dialog.

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When you're finished selecting the options, close the dialog and restart Outlook to enable the service in your profile.

You're now ready to send faxes from Outlook. Open a new message, attach the files you want to fax, choose the fax numbers from the Outlook Address book, and choose Send. The attachments are rendered by the fax printer driver in TIFF format and placed in the fax console's Outbox and sent using your modem.

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You can mix fax numbers and email addresses on messages. The message is sent by email to the recipients with email addresses, and then faxed to the fax recipients.


When the fax numbers you want to send to aren't in your Contacts folder, you can enter them in the To: field in what is commonly known as one-off format; for example, [fax:14235551212] . Outlook understands this is a fax number and resolves it to 14235551212, and then sends it to the fax transport to dial.

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To fax a file from Outlook without including a cover sheet, leave the subject and message body blank.


Task: Send Faxes from Outlook

When you use the Windows Fax service, you can send documents from Outlook and the text in the message form is included as the cover letter. If you'd like a more professional looking cover letter, you can use a Word template and send it using the Office envelope, even if Word isn't your default email editor.

  1. Open Word and select the fax cover sheet template of your choice using File, New. Then select Templates on My Computer in the New Document task pane.

  2. Select the fax template of your choice from the Letters and Faxes tab.

  3. Complete the fields on the cover sheet with your information.

  4. Choose the email button on the Standard toolbar or F ile, Sen d To, M ail Recipient to display the email fields to open the Office envelope as shown in Figure 7.7.

    Figure 7.7. Use Word to create a fax cover sheet and send using the Office Envelope.

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  5. Select fax numbers from the Outlook Address Book or enter them in one-off format.

  6. Leave the subject line blank in the email message so that the fax transport doesn't add a cover page.

  7. Attach the files you want to include with the Fax and click Send a Copy.

The message goes to the Outbox. The attachments are rendered and printed using the fax printer driver, and then put into the fax console outbox and sent. Two copies of the fax are saved by default: one as the email message in Outlook's Sent Items folder and the fax image in the fax console Sent Items folder.

Using Other Fax Systems with Outlook

When you computer doesn't have a fax modem or you are unable to use it for faxing, you can send faxes by email, for a fee. Two popular Internet fax services that offer Office integration are Venali and eFax. When these services are installed, you can use the F ile, Sen d To, Recipient Using Internet Fa x Service menu to send your faxes from many Office programs. Internet faxes are sent as attachments to email using Outlook, provided that you properly format the fax number as an email address. Check the documentation provided by the Internet fax service for the correct format, which will probably be in fax_number@fax_domain.com format; for example, 14135551212@venali.net. You must send the message from the email account you've associated with the service.

The first time you select F ile, Sen d To, Recipient Using Internet Fax Service, you'll be redirected to the Office Web site where you can select the Internet fax provider of your choice.

Check out the Office Marketplace (www.microsoft.com/office) for a complete list of Office-integrated Internet fax services.



Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
ISBN: 0672325543
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 228

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