Send faxes from Unix or Linux

Send faxes from Unix or Linux

 

Sending faxes and emails from Unix or Linux systems requires a prior installation of the fax server on a Windows based system connected to a TCP/IP network. The fax server can be accessed like a normal network printer through the LPD/LPR protocol from Unix/Linux in that case. As an alternative it would also be possible to send fax jobs through a Samba or NFS printer as well as sending fax files through a shared directory or with FTP or TFTP.

Depending on your Unix system, follow these steps to install a LPD/LPR network printer to send fax jobs to the fax server:

IBM RS/6000 (AIX)
  • Login as user root.
  • Start the system administrator program smit.
  • Choose the menu Devices, Printer/Plotter, Manage Remote Printer, Client Services, Remote Printer Queues and Add a Remote Queue.
  • Fill out the dialog box. In the field Destination Host enter the host name of the computer where the fax server has been installed. In the field Queue Name you can enter any printer name (i.e. "fax").
HP-9000 (HP/UX)
  • Login as user root.
  • Start the system administrator program sam.
  • Choose the menu Printers and Plotters, Actions and Add Remote Printer.
  • Fill out the dialog box. In the field Remote Printer Name enter the host name of the computer where the fax server has been installed. In the field Queue Name you can enter any printer name (i.e. "fax"). Also enable the option Remote Printer is on a BSD System there.
Other Unix systems (SCO Unix) and Linux
  • To configure a network printer on such systems, have a look at the documentation of your Unix system. Usually a LPD/LPR printer can be created with an entry in the /etc/printcap file in that case. Entries in /etc/printcap are built in the following format:

    printername:\              fax:\
       :rm=hostname:\             :rm=192.168.0.1:\
       :rp=queuename:             :rp=fax:

 

On some Unix systems (i.e. SCO-Unix) it could also be required that the LPD/LPR protocol needs to be activated before network printers can be used. In the case of SCO-Unix, this can be done with the Unix command "mkdev rlp".

After the network printer has been configured on your Unix system, print jobs can be sent to the fax server with the Unix command "lp". For example, to create a print job with "lp", one of the following Unix commands can be used:

  • lp -dprintername filename
  • cat filename | lp -dprintername

 

With the Unix command "lpstat -t" or "lpstat -oprintername" the current status of the network printer can be displayed.

ActFax automatically processes the printer commands of HP-LaserJet (PCL), Epson-LQ and optionally Postscript and PDF (requires the add-on software Ghostscript to be installed on the fax server). The formatting of the print jobs sent to the fax server is preserved that way.

More information about the automatic definition of the recipient of a fax in a print job can be found later in this chapter and in the online help of the fax server as well as in the user's manual, available for download in the download area.

 

 

back