README File

Thank you for purchasing Eclipse FAX.  Most of your questions can be answered by looking in the Eclipse FAX manual or the on line help. However, there are a few other things we thought you should know. Here's a list of subjects covered:


INSTALL
REGISTRATION CARD
RE-SETTING YOUR MODEM
EGA AND CGA
ZOOMING IN THE PLACE IMAGE WINDOW
PCX FILES
LOTUS 1-2-3 FOR WINDOWS
DELETING FILES FROM THE LOGS
AUTOMATIC FILE NAMES
PRE-FORMATTED COVERSHEET
STATION ID'S
ABORTING FAXES
CHANGING MODEM PARAMETERS
RECEIVE LOG TROUBLESHOOTING


INSTALL
The install process has been improved since the manual was printed. Therefore, the look of the install screens may be different, although the basic functions are the same.


REGISTRATION CARD
As you may have noticed, a registration card is included on this disk. For those of you who would rather fax us this card, our registration fax number is included in the program's phonebook. Simply fill in the blank areas (including the serial number) on the card by clicking on the appropriate section and typing in your information. Remember to use your mouse to click next to the fields; you cannot use the TAB key to move around! When the card is complete, choose 'print' from the file menu (with Eclipse FAX as the selected printer). The send dialog box will appear. Our number is listed under 'Registration'; choose this entry and click on 'Send Fax'.


RE-SETTING  YOUR MODEM
From time to time, Eclipse FAX will not be able to take control of your modem due to some unusual circumstance (dropped phone line, etc.) In these cases, the modem will carry on as though nothing were wrong and ignore commands from Eclipse FAX. To correct this on an external modem, exit the program and turn off the modem. Then turn it back on and restart the program. If you own an internal fax modem, exiting the program and restarting it will usually be sufficient. Also, clicking 'OK' in the Receive Setup dialog will send a reset command to the modem; this may also work in some instances.


EGA AND CGA
Eclipse FAX was designed for VGA or better displays; it will not appear correctly using an EGA or CGA display. However, the program is still completely functional.


ZOOMING IN THE PLACE IMAGE WINDOW
When if you zoom in on a graphic in the Place Image window and wish to return to the original view, press the spacebar.


PCX FILES
If you use Paintbrush to create or edit images for use in Eclipse FAX, turn off colors in the Image Attributes dialog. Images will appear distorted if you leave color turned on.
Also, faxes that have been edited and saved with Paintbrush will appear distorted when loaded back into Eclipse FAX. This is because Paintbrush changes the resolution of a fax from 200 dpi to  640 by 480 pixels. You can avoid this distortion by faxing the image to file from within Paintbrush. Be sure to turn off the margins (in the Page Setup dialog) and click 'Use Printer Resolution' in the Print dialog.


LOTUS 1-2-3 FOR WINDOWS
Because of the way Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows uses memory during printing, Eclipse FAX functions that require secondary dialog boxes (Fax to File, Cover Page Notes, etc.) will cause the system to hang. Simply faxing (without using these functions) will work properly. If you must fax to file or include notes, try sending the fax, then aborting before a connection is established. Then open the aborted file from the Send Log and make your changes or additions.


DELETING FILES FROM THE LOGS
When you click on Delete in either log, you will be presented with a dialog box asking if you wish to delete the file only, or both the file and the log entry. This change was made to allow you to keep a record of a fax without having to keep the file itself.


AUTOMATIC FILE NAMES
When Eclipse FAX creates an image file, it will automatically assign a random filename beginning with a 'Z'. Use the Save As or the Save with Index functions to give the file a more enlightening name.


PRE-FORMATTED COVER SHEETS
The cover sheet which are provided with Eclipse FAX (found in the IMAGES directory) also has a special control file associated with it to place the TO, FROM, FAX, NOTE and other information. This file has a .CCF extension. If you delete this file, the cover sheet will not have any information placed on it when you use it.
Also, it is not possible to create a .CCF file for user-defined cover sheets in this version of Eclipse FAX. If you wish to have this information on your custom cover sheet, you must add it yourself manually using the drawing or image placement tools.
The cover sheet has open areas for you to place your company logo. Use the place image option to paste your image on the cover sheet.


STATION ID'S
Almost all standard fax machines have a Station ID capability; this is not necessarily true of computer fax modems. Some units lack the capability to store this information, and the Station ID  will not be displayed (or a nonsense string will be displayed) on your Status Dialog if you connect to such a machine.


ABORTING FAXES
It is best not to abort a transmission (either a send or receive) while the modems are handshaking. Handshaking is the exchange of tones (the hissing and screeching) that connect the two modems. Aborting during this process can cause the modem to 'hang' and ignore any further commands from Eclipse FAX. If this happens, you will need to re-set the modem (see the first README entry). We have tried to make it as difficult as possible to hang the modem, but it can still occur. In addition, if you abort a fax during transmission, the fax will continue until it reaches the end of the current page.


CHANGING MODEM PARAMETERS
Attempting, in rapid succession, program functions which interact with the modem will evoke a "Cannot change modem parameters during communication." message. Actions which can cause such a message include clicking OK in the "Send Fax Setup" and "Receive Fax Setup" dialog boxes. Wait a few seconds and tray again when you receive such an error during normal operation of the program.


RECEIVE LOG TROUBLESHOOTING
Occasionally, faxes interrupted during transmission will create partial files in the QUEUE\IN directory which may or may not be viewable. Attempting to view these files can cause the program to either display an error or, in some cases, stop completely. The existence of these files in the QUEUE\IN directory may cause the program to report that faxes have been received when there are no faxes in the receive log. To correct this condition:
1)  Exit Eclipse FAX.
2)  Copy the files in the QUEUE\IN directory to another location.
3)  Delete the files in the QUEUE\IN directory.
4)  Run Eclipse FAX, view and save or delete the relocated files as you wish. Delete corrupt files in DOS or with the File Manager.