© Jan Jasper; 2001-2008
E-mail has mostly replaced the fax machine. But there are times when a fax machine is indispensable, like when you must fax something
that doesn't exist in your computer. And occasionally you come across people who prefer receiving faxes to emails.
There are computerized faxing software programs that use your computer's internet connection. Probably the best known is Symantec's WinFaxPro.
This allows you to send a file directly from your computer to the recipient's fax machine. If you often fax information that exists
in your computer, this is much faster than printing it out and feeding it into the fax machine, and the image is clearer. Sending the same fax
to a large number of recipients (broadcast faxing) is quick and easy. And the fax software keeps a record of what you faxed to whom and when.
Programs like WinFaxPro work with your contact management software such as Act! or Goldmine, so once you've added a fax number to the contact's
record, you never need to type it in again to send a fax. Your software will add the fax event to the contact's history, which is great for
keeping track of what you faxed, when, and to whom.
Why would you want to send a fax when you can email? Because emails can be caught in the recipient's spam filter. And sometimes recipients
prefer to receive a fax. Of course, faxing from your computer doesn't work unless you have the document in your computer. For something
that exists only on paper, you'll need a fax machine.
You can also receive faxes with WinFax, but unless you have a very fast computer, whatever you're doing on the computer may be painfully slow while
faxes are coming in. And you can't get incoming faxes unless your computer is turned on, which means leaving it on all the time.
Receiving Faxes via the Internet
A better option for receiving faxes is to get them via the Internet, with a free service such as eFax. Faxes arrive as email attachments. The only
software required is a free, easy-to-use program that you download from efax.com. This allows you to retrieve your faxes anywhere you have
access to e-mail. It's invisible to the sender who doesn't know that you're not receiving their fax on an actual fax machine.
Internet Faxes Are Easier to Handle and Store
This is a great help when you're traveling or working from more than one office, for 2 reasons: You don't have to give people a different fax number for all
your different locations, which is easier on them. And you have less to lug along on business trips -- instead of a briefcase bulging with
paper, you just bring your laptop.
Still another plus of receiving faxes digitally is the ease with which you can share them with others. You simply forward the e-mail attachment,
which is much faster than stuffing the paper back into the fax machine, punching the number, getting the usual busy signals, then waiting to
make sure your fax goes through.
A more subtle benefit - but one of the most important - is the reduction of office clutter and the time saved by having less paper around.
Receiving faxes electronically and not printing them will save you the time normally spent filing, retrieving, then re-filing.
*The usual disclaimers apply. My mentioning these products is not a guarantee of any sort.
Obviously, you should not change anything until you've completely backed up your files.
You already do that, right?
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About the Author:
Jan Jasper has been training busy people to work smarter, not harder since 1988. She helps clients streamline
work procedures, manage information overload, and use technology efficiently.
Her specialty is helping people who've already worked with professional organizers and coaches and are still not able
to get it all done.
Jan is the author of Take Back Your Time: How to Regain Control of Work, Information, & Technology
(St. Martin's
Press). She recently completed a North American media tour as the national efficiency spokesperson for IKON
Office Solutions, Inc. She has appeared on radio and TV all over North America and is quoted regularly in print. Jan is an adjunct
instructor at
New York University.
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