chris@genly.UUCP (04/23/91)
Introducing
ClickFax
Black Belt is extremely pleased to introduce ClickFax, our Send/
Receive fax system for the Amiga line of computers. This announcement
is written especially for comp.sys.amiga.announce, so it's more
technical than an announcement for the general public.
COMPUTER FAXING
A computer-based fax system produces high quality output. A
conventional fax machine must scan the document. This scanning
process introduces alignment errors resulting in documents with the
well-known "fax look". The scanning process can also introduce
spots in the output from scanning flecks in the document, which
become overemphasized by the thresholding process the scanner uses.
A computer-based fax transmits computer-generated documents. There is
no scanning process involved. As a result there are no alignment
errors, no flecks, and no "fax look". The output is very clean.
Also, there is no need to waste paper. You can inspect incoming faxes
on the screen and print only those you wish to keep. You also
eliminate the use of thermal paper. You print faxes on regular paper.
They'll have a better feel, and they will not darken over time the way
thermal paper does.
CLICKFAX
ClickFax is a system that consists of software, an external modem, and
a cable. Manuals for both the software and the modem are included in
the package.
ClickFax will run on any Amiga with 1 Mb of memory or more.
MODEM
The ClickFax modem is a combination fax and telecomm modem. It
connects to the serial port on the back of the Amiga. The combination
modem allows you to send faxes, use Matt Dillon's uucp, or call
bulletin boards without having to have two serial ports, or having to
switch the serial cable between a data modem and a fax modem.
The modem can send at 9600 baud in fax mode. Telecomm features
include full AT command set, 300, 1200, 2400 baud with MNP 3, 4, 5.
INTERFACES
ClickFax has three complete user interfaces. You can utilize all of
the system's features from the WorkBench using the mouse, from your
CLI or Shell using simple typed commands, or via ARexx from any
application, script or macro.
The ClickFax system is implemented as several programs: ClickFax,
CliFax and FaxServer. The heart of the system is the FaxServer. The
FaxServer is sort of a software fax machine. It can be started when
you boot your machine to listen for incoming fax calls. The
interfaces to the FaxServer are also capable of starting the
FaxServer, if it hasn't been already.
ClickFax is the program that provides the point and click interface.
This is a user-friendly interface for the non-technical. This
interface is probably what the user thinks of when they think of the
ClickFax system. It's very visual, so not easy to describe in a message
like this. I hope you'll get a chance to see it some time.
The point and click interface communicates with the FaxServer via
ARexx-style messages. When you're not using ClickFax you can shrink
it to a tiny window on the Workbench screen. When the tiny window is
selected, it expands back to a full screen.
CliFax is the Cli interface to the FaxServer. It simply collects
its arguments into an ARexx style message, which it sends off to the
FaxServer.
All of ClickFax's features are available via the ARexx interface.
However, ARexx is not required to use ClickFax.
INPUTS/OUTPUTS
ClickFax is able to transmit ASCII text files, ILBM graphics files and
fax files. ASCII text will be scan-converted using the font of your
choice. There is a non-proportional font supplied with the system
designed to give 80 characters per line and 66 lines per page on a low
res fax. This font will provide a fax that looks like what you would
expect if you had printed the ASCII file on a conventional printer.
ClickFax is able to read and write IFF files. When reading an IFF
file, it will scan the file for ILBM forms (InterLeaved Bit Map).
Each ILBM form will be sent as a separate page.
There are two ways to write an IFF file. The first way is to put all
the pages from a fax into one file. Each page will be in an ILBM
form. All the forms will be contained in a CAT. The second way is to
write each page of the fax into a separate file without using the CAT.
A fax file contains an image or set of images encoded using 1D or 2D
encoding. A fax file is the only kind of file ClickFax can actually
send. ClickFax will convert ASCII and ILBM files into a fax file
before transmission. You may explicitly convert a file to a fax file
for later transmission. If you attempt to send an ASCII or ILBM file,
ClickFax will convert it for you before actually making the fax call.
In addition you can also send fax files produced by Applied
Engineering's SendFAX. I hope you don't have much of a use for this
feature.
PRINTING
You can print a fax on any graphics-capable preferences printer.
Inexpensive printers these days have fairly high resolutions. For
example a Citizen 200GX dot matrix printer costs about $200.00 and can
print 240 dpi. That's a greater resolution than a fax. As a result
printed faxes look very good.
VIEW WINDOW
A view window enables on-line examination of fax files. The fax file will be
decoded and displayed in the window. Since a fax is 1728 pixels wide
and about 1100 pixels long, much bigger than the screen, scroll bars
are provided to look at various portions of the fax. In addition, the
view may be scaled down, or rotated 180 degrees.
PHONE BOOK
ClickFax manages a phone book of the fax sites you communicate with.
Each entry has the names of the fax site, the phone number, and the
capabilities of that fax (1D, 2D, high res, low res, page size). If
you don't know what the capabilities of a fax site are, ClickFax will
set them for you the first time you call that site.
EXAMPLE CLI COMMANDS
Here are some examples of how to use CliFax. The syntax of AREXX
commands is very similar, but without the leading 'CliFax', and some
things may need to be quoted.
Many commands are devoted to such things as the phone book, and
configuration. However there are only a few core commands: send,
receive, convert, view, print.
CliFax Convert my.txt to my.fax 1D Low
This command will convert the ascii file my.txt to a 1D
encoded low res fax file named my.fax.
CliFax Send my.fax to BlackBelt
This command will send my.fax to BlackBelt. BlackBelt is the
name of a fax site stored in the phone book.
CliFax Receive a.fax from HarrysHouse
This command will poll HarrysHouse and store the resulting file
in a.fax.
CliFax View a.fax
This command will put up a view window so you can read a.fax.
CliFax Print a.fax
This command will print a.fax.
CCITT Group III
ClickFax complies with the the CCITT Group III fax standard, as do
almost all fax machines in use today. The standard provides for two
kinds of image compression, one-dimensional and two-dimensional. 1D
compression compresses the fax image a line at a time. Each line is
compressed using the same method.
2D compression encodes a pair of lines at a time. The first line is
encoded using the 1D method. The second line is encoded with respect
to the first. If the second line is similar to the first, the amount
of compression can be very high. On some images, 2D can compress the
data to a bit more than half of 1D.
The standard requires every fax to implement 1D compression; 2D is
optional.
The standard also provides for two resolutions. The horizontal
resolution is always 200 dots per inch. A low res fax is 100 dpi
vertically. A high res fax is 200 dpi vertically. High res faxes
clearly look better than low res faxes, although they require
twice as much data, and thus twice as much phone time. If your fax
call is a toll call, you may prefer to send a low res fax.
The standard requires every fax to implement low res, high res is
optional.
The standard also specifies acceptable transmission speeds: 2400,
4800, 7200, and 9600 baud.
A fax transmission is strictly black and white. There is no color or
gray scale info transmitted. For best reproduction, gray scale images
must be half-toned before you attempt to fax them. Half-tones on a
computer fax actually look quite good.
There is no error recovery in a fax system. A short burst of noise
may cause the loss of a line of data. If two-dimensional encoding is
used, a single noise pulse could cause the loss of two lines.
At the start of a fax transmission the fax machines communicate using
a half duplex packet protocol, HDLC, at 300 baud. The called fax
machine declares what it is capable of in terms of sending speeds,
resolution, encoding method, and so on. The calling fax machine then
selects the parameters it can work with and notifies the called fax
machine.
The fax document is then sent at the selected baud rate, using the
selected resolution and encoding method.
ClickFax supports 1D and 2D encoding, low and high res, and all
standard baud rates.
ORDERING
ClickFax is priced at $449.95 and is available only direct from Black Belt
Systems. For more information, call (406) 367-5509. To order, call Black
Belt Systems toll free at (800) TK-AMIGA in the US or, outside of the US
call (406) 367-5513. We accept VISA, Master Card, C.O.D, personal and
company checks (we must allow 15 days for checks to clear), purchase orders
from large institutions, and money orders.
NOTICE
Until June 30th, 1991, Black Belt Systems makes the following offer:
For owners of other Amiga FAX systems, such as Advanced Engineering's
"SendFAX" or Michtron's "FastFAX" or any other Amiga FAX system that
is sent to us with accompanying manual(s), Black Belt Systems will
provide a $75.00 credit towards the purchase of our advanced ClickFAX
system.
This is a time-limited offer! We must receive your previous FAX
hardware, manual(s) and remittance for the balance of the $449.95
price of ClickFAX by June 30th 1991.
Black Belt Systems
RR1, Box 4272, Glasgow, MT, 59230
US Sales: (800) TK-AMIGA International Sales: (406) 367-5513
Fax: (406) 367-AFAX BBS: (406) 367-ABBS
Tech Support: (406) 367-5509
--
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