********************************************************************* BitFax for Windows Version 2.05 BIT Software, Inc. README.DOC September 10, 1992 ********************************************************************* Welcome to BitFax for Windows. This is an update on BitFax for Windows. It contains information that was not available when the User's Manual was printed. __________________________________________________________________ Supported Modems BitFax supports fax modems that use the following standards: * Intel CAS. * EIA TR-29 Class 2. * EIA 578 Class 1. * Sierra SendFax standard. BitFax also supports many fax modems that use Sierra, Rockwell, EXAR, and OmniTel modem chipsets. __________________________________________________________________ Supports High-Speed Fax Modems BitFax for Windows supports fax modems that can send faxes at 12,000 bps and 14,400 bps. __________________________________________________________________ Improved View Fax * Converts Faxes into PCX, DCX and BMP Graphic Formats. In addition to BMP (the Windows graphic file format), BitFax for Windows version 2.01 now lets you convert faxes into two new graphic formats -- PCX (a popular format used by many graphics applications, including PC Paintbrush and BitPaint) and DCX (a multipage version of PCX). BitFax also lets you save specific pages of a fax. To convert a fax into a graphic file, open View Fax and then open the fax you want to convert. Next, choose the Save As... command (previously the Save Page... command) from the File menu. In the File Format pull-down list box, choose the graphic format you want to convert the fax into. (Note: BMP and PCX are single-page formats, so you can convert only one page at a time. The DCX and BFX are multipage formats that let you convert two or more pages of a fax at once.) Next, enter a file name in the Save File Name field (do not change the extension) and click on Save. * Send Faxes Directly From View Fax. View Fax now lets you fax the currently opened fax file. This new option is useful for resending and forwarding faxes. To send a fax from View Fax, choose the Send Fax... command from the File menu. Fill in the Dial Fax dialog box that appears and click on Start/Fax. * New Close File command. View Fax now lets you close the currently opened fax file. This option is useful for saving system memory. * New Tool Bar View Fax's tool bar now shows the resolution and the number of pixels that make up the open fax page. * Remembers Last View Mode. View fax now remembers the magnification the last fax you opened. For example, you viewed the last fax in Detail mode, View Fax will open the next fax in Detail mode. View Fax also remembers the last position of the View Fax window. * Changed the Menu Bar. Removed the Page Up and Page Down commands from the menu bar and replaced them with the Help command. __________________________________________________________________ Using COM3 and COM4 in Windows 3.0 If your modem is configured to COM 3 or COM 4 and you are running Windows 3.0 in Enhanced mode, there is a good change you will get the following error message: "The COMx port is currently assigned to a DOS application. Do you want to reassign the port to Windows?" To use COM3 and COM4 in Windows 3.0 Enhanced mode, you need to add a few lines to your SYSTEM.INI file, located in your Windows directory. Windows 3.0, when running in Enhanced mode, uses nonstandard settings for COM3 and COM4. By modifying the SYSTEM.INI file, you are telling Windows to use standard settings. NOTE: Windows 3.1 uses standard settings for COM 3 and COM 4 and does not require you to change the SYSTEM.INI. Use Windows Notepad to open and modify your SYSTEM.INI file. In the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file, add the following four lines: [386Enh] COM1Base=3F8h COM2Base=2F8h COM3Base=3E8h COM4Base=2E8h If you are using an MCA or EISA system, you may also need to add the following line in the [368Enh] section, so that these COM ports can share the same interrupt signal: [368Enh] ComIRQSharing=true RESTART WINDOWS after adding these lines. You must restart Windows for these changes to take effect. __________________________________________________________________ Using COM3 or COM4 While Avoiding IRQ Conflicts If your modem is configured to COM 3 or COM 4, you will probably receive the message "Modem does not exist" or "Modem not found" when you try to send or receive a fax. Your modem is probably sharing an IRQ (interrupt request) line with another active serial device. This usually happens when more than two serial (COM) ports are used. The problem is that your computer uses two IRQ lines for its four COM ports. COM 1 and COM 3 use IRQ 4, while COM 2 and COM 4 use IRQ 3. Thus, if you are using COM 1, you cannot use COM 3 at the same time -- unless COM 3 is configured to a different IRQ line. On some modems and I/O serial cards, you can change the IRQ line setting. For example, if you configure your internal modem to IRQ 2 , this lets you configure your mouse to COM 1 and your modem to COM 3. Consult the documentation that came with your internal modem or I/O serial card for instruction on how to change the IRQ line setting. Changing IRQ settings usually requires you to change jumper switches. (Not all modems and I/O cards let you change the IRQ-line setting.) After you have corrected the IRQ-line conflict, you need to tell Windows. Windows 3.1 makes this easy. From the Control Panel, select Ports and click on the COM port you want to reconfigure. Next, click on Advanced... to see the base I/O address and interrupt request line. Pull down the menus of each of these options and select the correct address and IRQ line. Restart Windows for these changes to take effect. If you are using Window 3.0, you must modify your SYSTEM.INI file, which is located in your Windows directory. To edit the SYSTEM.INI file, open Windows Notepad and choose the Open... command from the File menu. Next, enter SYSTEM.INI in the File Name field and click on OK. The SYSTEM.INI file will appear. Find the [386Enh] section and enter COMxIRQ=, replacing the "x" with the correct COM port number and with the correct IRQ line number, for example, COM3IRQ=5. You must restart Windows for your changes to take effect. __________________________________________________________________ Corrections and Clarification * WYSIWYG Faxing and Fonts. For best results, we strongly recommend that you use Microsoft's TrueType fonts (included with Windows 3.1) or fonts generated by a Windows font rasterizers, such as Adobe Type Manager or Bitstream Facelift. These programs generate fonts and then send them to your printer or, in this case, to BitFax/OCR, which acts as a Windows print driver. The advantage of these fonts is that they appear the same on the screen as they do when printed. Each printer you have installed to your system has its own set of fonts. These printer fonts are stored either in your printer's memory or in a cartridge that plugs into your printer. The problem with these fonts is that they are generated by your printer, not by Windows. Thus, when you send a fax with printer fonts, Windows will attempt to find rasterized fonts that match those of the printer fonts. Many times, Windows will make bad substitutions, and the wrong fonts will appear on your fax. To avoid this problem, use TrueType fonts or other rasterized fonts in the documents you fax. * dBASE III. When editing or creating a phone book with dBASE III, you cannot use dBASE to edit or add a group number in the FAX_GROUP field. This field uses special codes to represent group numbers. You must use BitFax to add a group number(s) to a phone book record. If you are creating a phone book with dBASE, add the FAX_GROUP field, but leave it blank. * Dialing Long Distance Number Automatically. In the Long Distance # text-entry box of the Dial Fax dialog box, enter the access code of your long-distance company. If the phone line you are sending a fax from is already using your long-distance service, just enter a "0." If the phone line does not use your long- distance phone service or uses another service, enter the access code followed by a "0." For example, if you use AT&T, you would enter "0" (or "10288-0'' if the phone system you are calling from uses another long-distance service). If you are using US Sprint or MCI, place a pause between the access code and the 0, for example, "1-800-877-8000 ,,, 0." The commas represent a six-second pause. The pause tells BitFax to wait for the access tone and then continue dialing. To determine the length of the pause, manually dial the access code, and note how many seconds pass before you hear the access tone. If your modem can detect the credit-card tone of your long-distance service, use the W command in place of commas, for example, "1-800- 877-8000-W-0." The W command tells your modem to wait for a credit- card tone before it continues dialing. This provides more accurate timing. * Sending a fax to a group. If BitFax cannot send a fax because of an error or a busy line, it will move on to the next fax number in the group. When BitFax has gone through the whole group, it will loop back and try to call all the destination it missed the first time. The number of cycles BitFax goes through depends on the number you entered in the Dial Retry field of the Setup Transmit Options dialog box. By default, the Dial Retry field is set to zero. So to have BitFax redial a busy fax number, enter a number other than zero in the Dial Retry field.