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Index


How do I send a single Fax?
There are a few ways to achieve this:
1. Send it through our html-fax-center (or Webfax for short).
Fill out the simple form and enter the recipient(s) fax number in the following format: In the field where it say FAXNUMBER@ Instead of FAXNUMBER add the fax number of the recipient, including country code, area- or city code. For example a recipient in Frankfurt Germany (area code 69 and country code 49) with the fax number 12345678 would yield the code: 496912345678@
2. Send it via an email account
It is possible to save an email address with our Fax service that can be used to send Faxes.This email address can then be used to send Faxes in the following manner:
Add the information you want to send to the text field and then as recipient enter FAXNUMMER@abacusfax.de following the same steps as described in 1. For example in order to send a fax to a recipient in Frankfurt Germany (area code 69 and country code 49) with the fax number 12345678 we would have to enter the code 496912345678@ into the recipient field of our email program. The 'from' field of your email program must contain the address you registered with Abacus in order to be able to send a fax.
To send a document
Fill out the 'to' field of your email and attach the file you wish to send. Even though the subject field can be left blank it is recommended you fill it out anyway. The subject will not be sent with the fax but will greatly simplify your search for a specific Fax you may have sent in the Fax reports and billing documents. It is not advisable to enter additional text in the text-field of your email. This text will be transmitted with the Fax and will result in an extra page being generated specifically for the text you added (in addition to the document you sent. This can result in longer transmission time and higher transmission cost.
The 'to' field is filled out exactly as described under 'Send it via an email account' (reminder FAXNUMMER@abacusfax.de) where FAXNUMMER is your recipients fax number preceded by country and area code).





Which file formats can I attach to my email?
Below you will find a short listing of files you can attach to your email that are currently capable of being sent as a Fax. The files are separated by graphical and text file formats:

World Wide
Text Formats:Graphic Formats:
PDFTIF
TXTPS
To Germany Only
Text Formats:Graphic Formats:
DOCBMP
WRIJPG
PDFTIF
TXTPCX
RTFPPT
If a file format is attached that is not supported by our service the email will automatically be rejected
the html-format is in preparation. Please do not send graphic-files with big size. It makes no sense, because of faxes will sent in a low level resolution generally and big files makes problems a lot of times.
It is very easy and secure to use our printer-driver. It generates a ready mail with a tif-file and best resolution and size. You can use the printer-driver from each Window-software, even for html-files.
You can use different files in one email. But if there is one file with a wrong format, the whole fax will not sent.


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How to send a fax to several recipients? By separating the different recipient's destination numbers in the 'to:' field (in combination with the domain name, as is described later on) by a comma ( , ) you will be able to send the same fax to multiple recipients. This method is perfectly suited to send out multiple contracts to different customers or to send out last-minute invitations to a birthday party.
This method can be easily be used for 10 - 20 recipients. Should you have more recipients you wish to send the same Fax to then it is recommended you use our Broadcast-fax (mass-fax) system.
ATTENTION! Some email-software configures the emails in a kind that we get a separate email for each faxnumber, but with all your faxnumbers in From-field. If this happens our faxserver sends a lot of mails to each faxnumber. Before you use this feature, please make a test with only 2 faxnumbers and wait what happens. If each fax-machine get more than one fax, please do NOT use this feature.


What to know about sending word documents
Word documents are not a standardized format. It is very important to know what program created the file. Additionally the settings of your printer and special character fonts may affect the quality of your documents. Do not link to external files!
IMPORTANT: The word document must have a minimum value for it's edges. The horizontal (left and right) edges must each have a blank space of at least 0.5cm (0.2 inch) and the vertical (top and bottom) edges must have a blank width of 1.2 cm (0.5 inch). The outcome of the fax may vary from the original content so a test fax should be sent to yourself before you send it to the actual recipients. This counts especially for broadcast and chain-faxes.

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What is the difference between a broadcast fax and a chain fax?
With a broadcast fax you can dispatch a fax with same contents to a large number of recipients. (Each recipient will get an identical fax.) A chain fax is similar to the broadcast fax but allows for additional personalising fields, which can be changed for each recipient (e.g. a different salutation per fax).


How many faxnumbers can I add to an order?
A maximum of 100,000 faxnumbers can be added to the csv file. It is important to note that if you are filling a large order of 50,000 two fax broadcasts of 25,000 instead of one of 50,000 will transmit a lot faster.

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How is a broadcast fax sent?
In a broadcast fax the various fax numbers have to be added to a text file. This textfile must have the extension .num and is simply added as an attachment to the broadcast fax. Every fax number must have its own row and could result in the following table:

496912345678
49711645885466
498982746353

The above would indicate a broadcast fax to three recipients. The name of the number file (in this case liste1.num) can be chosen freely as long as the extension .num is maintained. Every broadcast fax can only have one number file attached.


How can I insert a personal headline into a broadcast fax?
Generally all broadcast faxes are identical for each receiver. Abacus however makes it possible to personalize each recipient's fax headline with your own text (max 20 characters). In order to do this you have to enter the desired text for each recipient behind the corresponding recipient's number in the num file separated by a comma or a semicolon. An example of such a numeric file (.num) would be liste2.num which could look as follows:

496912345678;Mr Smith
49711645885466; Administration
4969791253271;Hello Mr. Smith
.



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How do I send a chain fax?
Chain faxes differ from broadcast faxes by personalisized fields often used for address information and/or particular personal messages. Initially a chain fax document must be created with the associated data source file. Valid chain fax documents are provided through MS word and the data source file must be a CSV file with the entries separated by a semicolon (;). IMPORTANT: In the first line of the file the recipient's fax numbers must be entered! Example of a CSV file (sb1.csv):

FaxTo;Title;firstname;Name:
4969791253271;Mr;John;Smith
4969791253271;Mrs;Helene;Green
4969791253271;Miss;Gabriella;Brown



IMPORTANT: The file must not have any empty lines in the table! Especially the first line must be filled with valid recipient's numbers. This file is then attached to the mail and the address faxmaster@abcusfax.de must be the receiver.


What separators can I use in the CSV file?
Only the semicolon (;) can be used as a separator in the CSV file

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What formats do received faxes have?
All received faxes standardly come as Tiff group 3 files (1 dimensional).


What programs are suitable for viewing the received faxes?
The current windows versions (Windows98, WindowsNT, Windows2000, Windows XP) have default viewers in place that make it possible to view the TIFF files. Alternatively an excellent program such as Irvanview can be used to open the tiff files (and other files). The program can be found at http://www.irfanview.com.
For mac users we recommend a program called Tiff-sight found at http://www.blueglobe.com

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