WinFax Pro 10.0

WinFax Pro 10.0

"A Full-Featured Fax Solution"

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Type of Product

Symantec's WinFax Pro 10.0, the newest upgrade of their software for sending, receiving, and managing faxes on a Windows PC, features an updated interface, the ability to send faxes through e-mail, integration with address books of popular contact managers and databases, support for drag-and-drop faxing, and more. Letting WinFax Pro 10.0 provide you with complete fax capabilities within a PC environment increases your productivity while controlling your costs. Confidential and time-sensitive fax documents are processed in a secure and timely manner. You can easily fax documents from your computer to any fax number in the world, anytime. Received faxes can be viewed on the screen, annotated, forwarded, manipulated just as a graphic file, or printed from any application. Price: $119.95; owners of any version of WinFax Pro products may upgrade for $69.95 after $50 mail-in rebate. See Symantec's Web site for additional software programs: http://www.symantec.com.

User Level

Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced PC users. WinFax Pro 10.0, with its intuitive interface, easy-to-use features, and tools such as Calling Card wizard, Cover Page Design wizard, Phonebook wizard, is perfect for neophytes to fax software. Its robust advanced features and thoroughness of fax options make it appropriate for Intermediate and Advanced users, also.

Features

The features of WinFax Pro 10.0 are:

Photo-like quality outgoing faxes for crisp imaging of photographs or clip art (New);
Signature button to easily add a signature to faxes (New);
Send clean, clear laser-quality faxes and include a custom cover sheet;
Build a fax from multiple document sources, including your scanner;
E-mail integration to send or forward faxes in a self-viewing format (New);
Use your existing phonebooks from: ACT!, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express, GoldMine, Microsoft Access, Lotus Organizer, dBase, and more (New);
Drag-and-drop a document to the desktop icon for easy faxing (New);
Ability to handle multiple, split, or overlaid area codes (New);
Enhanced user interface lets you find info at a glance and navigate with ease (New);
Ability to store faxes in any Windows folder (New);
"Junk" fax management to automatically discard unwanted faxes (New);
Reporting module that generates detailed, printable reports on sent and received faxes based on date range and/or recipient (New);
Windows 2000 support (New);
Send and receive faxes in the background with up to two modems;
Stay in touch on the road with remote fax retrieval, credit card dialing and auto-forwarding via fax or e-mail;
Network fax sharing for workgroups without buying additional modems or phone lines;
Internet and Broadcast fax saves long distance charges and only takes an instant to get information to multiple destinations (Requires a fee-based service offered by Concord Technologies, Inc.);
With Universal Inbox, retrieve fax, voice, and e-mail messages (Requires a fee-based service offered by Concord Technologies, Inc.).

Review

Installation: The installation is quick and easy. If you are upgrading from an earlier version of WinFax, you don't have to uninstall your previous version because the Setup program automatically detects and upgrades the program. In addition, when you upgrade by installing over a previous version, WinFax retains your data and customizations (your faxes, logs, phonebooks, modem settings, dialing settings, user settings, calling card information, attachments, cover pages, etc.).
New and Enhanced Features: Below is a further look at the new and enhanced features in WinFax Pro 10.0. For a general overview of the product, please see our previous review of WinFax Pro 9.0.

Send fax or forward a fax via e-mail--You can send a fax to any e-mail address in a self-viewing format (viewable on any PC). Recipients do not need WinFax Pro, special viewers, or even a fax machine to receive faxes. Your formatting is intact and recipients can view documents, without worrying about application compatibility. (See the image to the right for a view of e-mail dialog box.)

Enhanced image quality of outgoing faxes--WinFax Pro's new photo-quality print engine automatically generates excellent fax images from documents that contain photographs or clip art images. Instead of mailing out photos, company literature and/or brochures, you can fax them. For textual documents, you can use the standard printer driver rather than the photo-quality print engine. (See the image to the left for a view of printer dialog box showing photo-quality option.)

Easily Add Signature to outgoing faxes--Instead of wasting time manually printing, signing and feeding the fax machine, you can use the new Add Signature option. The signature button on the send screen allows you to quickly stamp your signature on the cover page, or any other page of your fax. WinFax Pro help materials guide you through the process of importing or capturing a signature from a fax.

Automatically configure phonebooks--WinFax Pro 10.0 automatically checks your system for contact applications that it integrates with. Phonebooks/PIMs that are automatically detected include: ACT! v4 and ACT! 2000, Outlook 98 and 2000, Outlook Express 98 and 2000, and GoldMine v 4.0 and 5.0.

GoldMine and Outlook Express Integration--WinFax 10.0 allows you to directly access GoldMine contacts on the send screen as a source of fax numbers. It also allows you to directly access the Outlook Express contact list from the send screen for use.

Drag and Drop faxing--You can easy send a fax by dragging a file to the WinFax Drag and Drop Depot icon on the desktop. The document is automatically converted into fax format, and the send screen appears--with your document ready to be sent. This works well with any document, including spreadsheets and graphics and is quick as you don't have to launch the entire WinFax program.

Enhanced dialing rules--The proliferation of split, overlaid and multiple area codes within metropolitan centers has made automatic dialing extremely complex. WinFax Pro 10.0's enhanced dialing rules accommodate these situations. Area codes can be defined as local, long distance, or a mix of the two. When sending faxes to ambiguous area codes, WinFax Pro will prompt you to select the correct dialing pattern, and learn from your choices over time.

Store faxes outside of WinFax Pro--You can save faxes in any Windows folder, along with other documents. You can select individual faxes to save, or select multiple faxes--each will be saved as a single, multi-page file with a meaningful name. This helps you keep project data centralized and gives you better management of project files, contracts, and communications.

SPAM or "junk fax" management--New Junk Fax management features in WinFax Pro 10.0 leverage CallerID and/or CSID to automatically delete faxes from defined sources. When a junk fax arrives, you just select "Mark as Junk." The fax will be moved to the wastebasket, and the CallerID and/or the CSID will be added to the list. Future faxes from that sender are automatically moved to the wastebasket. (See the image to the right for a view of junk mail dialog box.)

Reporting module--You can generate flexible, printable reports on your faxing. There is a wizard that makes it easy to select which faxes you want a report on (including date ranges and recipients), and also how the information should be sorted and displayed. This feature is excellent for tracking fax costs for your own information or billing purposes, keep on top of your customers, and know who's received your latest price list, or bill.

New Message Manager user interface--The interface has been enhanced to make managing faxes easier. The bottom pane can show: 1) details about the selected fax; 2) a preview of the fax, or 3) thumbnails of the fax pages. This visual reference makes it easy to find faxes by simply scrolling through the event list. The updated details view displays only relevant information, in an easy-to-read format. SideBar icons let you quickly switch between fax logs, phonebooks, cover pages and the attachment library. All of these views share a consistent folder and list approach, so learning WinFax Pro is uncomplicated. (See the image to the right for a view of Message Manager interface.)

Live Advisor--The LiveAdvisor is a new "personal agent" that checks with Symantec and delivers messages about product upgrades, updates, and technical tips, virus and critical service alerts, and product information. Users may sign up for LiveAdvisor when they register WinFax Pro--or at any point in the future.

Personal Comment

PC Cafe has used WinFax Pro almost from our inception. It is easy to use and hassle free, which we need with everything else we have to attend to. WinFax Pro 10.0 is a worthwhile upgrade with its e-mail abilities, signature options, photo-quality printing capabilities, and, ability to use phonebooks from other software.

System Requirements

Processor: Pentium
Operating System: Windows 2000, 98, 95 or Windows NT Workstation 4.0
Memory: 32 MB RAM (64 recommended)
Hard Disk Space: 57MB
Video Requirements: VGA video capable of running 257 colors
Modem: Class 1, Class 2 or Class 2.0, CAS-compatible or fax-capable CAPI 2.0 ISDN board
Fax sharing: Network configured with TCP/IP

Technical Support

Symantec's technical support has always been excellent. You have the options under the Help menu and their Web site support. They are also prompt and courteous when you call. http://www.symantec.com

Graphics: DeMorgan WebSpice 1,000,000 Page Design Edition
Web Page Editor: Macromedia Dreamweaver 3.0

WinFax Pro 10.0 "A Full-Featured Fax Solution"

Click on a thumbnail to enlarge it. Use your browser's "BACK" button to return to this review when done.

Type of Product

Symantec's WinFax Pro 10.0, the newest upgrade of their software for sending, receiving, and managing faxes on a Windows PC, features an updated interface, the ability to send faxes through e-mail, integration with address books of popular contact managers and databases, support for drag-and-drop faxing, and more. Letting WinFax Pro 10.0 provide you with complete fax capabilities within a PC environment increases your productivity while controlling your costs. Confidential and time-sensitive fax documents are processed in a secure and timely manner. You can easily fax documents from your computer to any fax number in the world, anytime. Received faxes can be viewed on the screen, annotated, forwarded, manipulated just as a graphic file, or printed from any application. Price: $119.95; owners of any version of WinFax Pro products may upgrade for $69.95 after $50 mail-in rebate. See Symantec's Web site for additional software programs: http://www.symantec.com.

User Level

Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced PC users. WinFax Pro 10.0, with its intuitive interface, easy-to-use features, and tools such as Calling Card wizard, Cover Page Design wizard, Phonebook wizard, is perfect for neophytes to fax software. Its robust advanced features and thoroughness of fax options make it appropriate for Intermediate and Advanced users, also.

Features

The features of WinFax Pro 10.0 are: Photo-like quality outgoing faxes for crisp imaging of photographs or clip art (New); Signature button to easily add a signature to faxes (New); Send clean, clear laser-quality faxes and include a custom cover sheet; Build a fax from multiple document sources, including your scanner; E-mail integration to send or forward faxes in a self-viewing format (New); Use your existing phonebooks from: ACT!, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express, GoldMine, Microsoft Access, Lotus Organizer, dBase, and more (New); Drag-and-drop a document to the desktop icon for easy faxing (New); Ability to handle multiple, split, or overlaid area codes (New); Enhanced user interface lets you find info at a glance and navigate with ease (New); Ability to store faxes in any Windows folder (New); "Junk" fax management to automatically discard unwanted faxes (New); Reporting module that generates detailed, printable reports on sent and received faxes based on date range and/or recipient (New); Windows 2000 support (New); Send and receive faxes in the background with up to two modems; Stay in touch on the road with remote fax retrieval, credit card dialing and auto-forwarding via fax or e-mail; Network fax sharing for workgroups without buying additional modems or phone lines; Internet and Broadcast fax saves long distance charges and only takes an instant to get information to multiple destinations (Requires a fee-based service offered by Concord Technologies, Inc.); With Universal Inbox, retrieve fax, voice, and e-mail messages (Requires a fee-based service offered by Concord Technologies, Inc.).

Review

Installation: The installation is quick and easy. If you are upgrading from an earlier version of WinFax, you don't have to uninstall your previous version because the Setup program automatically detects and upgrades the program. In addition, when you upgrade by installing over a previous version, WinFax retains your data and customizations (your faxes, logs, phonebooks, modem settings, dialing settings, user settings, calling card information, attachments, cover pages, etc.). New and Enhanced Features: Below is a further look at the new and enhanced features in WinFax Pro 10.0. For a general overview of the product, please see our previous review of WinFax Pro 9.0. Send fax or forward a fax via e-mail--You can send a fax to any e-mail address in a self-viewing format (viewable on any PC). Recipients do not need WinFax Pro, special viewers, or even a fax machine to receive faxes. Your formatting is intact and recipients can view documents, without worrying about application compatibility. (See the image to the right for a view of e-mail dialog box.) Enhanced image quality of outgoing faxes--WinFax Pro's new photo-quality print engine automatically generates excellent fax images from documents that contain photographs or clip art images. Instead of mailing out photos, company literature and/or brochures, you can fax them. For textual documents, you can use the standard printer driver rather than the photo-quality print engine. (See the image to the left for a view of printer dialog box showing photo-quality option.) Easily Add Signature to outgoing faxes--Instead of wasting time manually printing, signing and feeding the fax machine, you can use the new Add Signature option. The signature button on the send screen allows you to quickly stamp your signature on the cover page, or any other page of your fax. WinFax Pro help materials guide you through the process of importing or capturing a signature from a fax. Automatically configure phonebooks--WinFax Pro 10.0 automatically checks your system for contact applications that it integrates with. Phonebooks/PIMs that are automatically detected include: ACT! v4 and ACT! 2000, Outlook 98 and 2000, Outlook Express 98 and 2000, and GoldMine v 4.0 and 5.0. GoldMine and Outlook Express Integration--WinFax 10.0 allows you to directly access GoldMine contacts on the send screen as a source of fax numbers. It also allows you to directly access the Outlook Express contact list from the send screen for use. Drag and Drop faxing--You can easy send a fax by dragging a file to the WinFax Drag and Drop Depot icon on the desktop. The document is automatically converted into fax format, and the send screen appears--with your document ready to be sent. This works well with any document, including spreadsheets and graphics and is quick as you don't have to launch the entire WinFax program. Enhanced dialing rules--The proliferation of split, overlaid and multiple area codes within metropolitan centers has made automatic dialing extremely complex. WinFax Pro 10.0's enhanced dialing rules accommodate these situations. Area codes can be defined as local, long distance, or a mix of the two. When sending faxes to ambiguous area codes, WinFax Pro will prompt you to select the correct dialing pattern, and learn from your choices over time. Store faxes outside of WinFax Pro--You can save faxes in any Windows folder, along with other documents. You can select individual faxes to save, or select multiple faxes--each will be saved as a single, multi-page file with a meaningful name. This helps you keep project data centralized and gives you better management of project files, contracts, and communications. SPAM or "junk fax" management--New Junk Fax management features in WinFax Pro 10.0 leverage CallerID and/or CSID to automatically delete faxes from defined sources. When a junk fax arrives, you just select "Mark as Junk." The fax will be moved to the wastebasket, and the CallerID and/or the CSID will be added to the list. Future faxes from that sender are automatically moved to the wastebasket. (See the image to the right for a view of junk mail dialog box.) Reporting module--You can generate flexible, printable reports on your faxing. There is a wizard that makes it easy to select which faxes you want a report on (including date ranges and recipients), and also how the information should be sorted and displayed. This feature is excellent for tracking fax costs for your own information or billing purposes, keep on top of your customers, and know who's received your latest price list, or bill. New Message Manager user interface--The interface has been enhanced to make managing faxes easier. The bottom pane can show: 1) details about the selected fax; 2) a preview of the fax, or 3) thumbnails of the fax pages. This visual reference makes it easy to find faxes by simply scrolling through the event list. The updated details view displays only relevant information, in an easy-to-read format. SideBar icons let you quickly switch between fax logs, phonebooks, cover pages and the attachment library. All of these views share a consistent folder and list approach, so learning WinFax Pro is uncomplicated. (See the image to the right for a view of Message Manager interface.) Live Advisor--The LiveAdvisor is a new "personal agent" that checks with Symantec and delivers messages about product upgrades, updates, and technical tips, virus and critical service alerts, and product information. Users may sign up for LiveAdvisor when they register WinFax Pro--or at any point in the future.

Personal Comment

PC Cafe has used WinFax Pro almost from our inception. It is easy to use and hassle free, which we need with everything else we have to attend to. WinFax Pro 10.0 is a worthwhile upgrade with its e-mail abilities, signature options, photo-quality printing capabilities, and, ability to use phonebooks from other software.

System Requirements

Processor: Pentium Operating System: Windows 2000, 98, 95 or Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Memory: 32 MB RAM (64 recommended) Hard Disk Space: 57MB Video Requirements: VGA video capable of running 257 colors Modem: Class 1, Class 2 or Class 2.0, CAS-compatible or fax-capable CAPI 2.0 ISDN board Fax sharing: Network configured with TCP/IP

Technical Support

Symantec's technical support has always been excellent. You have the options under the Help menu and their Web site support. They are also prompt and courteous when you call. http://www.symantec.com


Graphics: DeMorgan WebSpice 1,000,000 Page Design Edition Web Page Editor: Macromedia Dreamweaver 3.0