Reviews

 



 
WinFax Pro 9.0
By Alfred Poor, PC Magazine
August 27, 1998
Symantec Corp.'s WinFax is one of those products that define the standard for their market segments. Yet the company has worked hard to make sure the program keeps up with the changing needs of users. The newest version is WinFax PRO 9.0, and it is chock-full of features that give buyers superb value.

 



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By this time, most Windows users are already familiar with the advantages of computer-based fax. Most modems include fax capability, computer fax is faster (so long-distance charges are lower), and your fax pages are of much higher quality than the average scanning fax machine can produce. Besides, you don't have to print out pages and then feed them through a fax. And with WinFax, macros give direct access to fax features in many programs; you can also simply print to the fax driver from any Windows program.

Speed, efficiency, and quality are important factors, but they are a given in this market segment. The extra features in WinFax PRO 9.0 are what create its appeal.

For example, the software includes modem-sharing support. You can set up one computer as the server on any network with IP support, then set up other computers as clients. You still need a separate license for each computer using WinFax, but you don't need any special network or server versions. The software also supports multiple modems at one time and Internet fax services, as well as other devices, such as ISDN adapters.

WinFax PRO 9.0 also includes mobile support. You can define different locations quickly, and calling-card configuration is simple using a wizard that already knows the formats for most major long-distance services. Incoming faxes can trigger pager notification or automatic forwarding to another fax number or an e-mail account. There is also special support for cellular-phone connections.



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The program comes with a huge collection of cover pages, though the Cover Page Designer makes it easy to create your own quickly. A new, integrated interface has the familiar look of Windows Explorer, and you can use the same screen to view faxes and attachments and access the address book. You can create and fill out a new outgoing fax on the same screen.

WinFax PRO supports multiple address books, and it can automatically link to a PIM database, such as ACT!, Lotus Organizer, or Microsoft Outlook. In our tests, the software automatically located and installed a Day-Timer Organizer database, making all the address book entries immediately available.

Installation and setup are relatively quick and easy, though a full-boat installation requires 57MB of hard disk space. Dialing and transmissions are quick and effective, and the animated status window makes it easy to keep track of progress. The program also includes Xerox TextBridge, an OCR (optical character recognition) program; we tested this feature on files that had been converted to fax attachments, and the conversion back to text was nearly perfect (though TextBridge did not do well on preserving layout and text formatting).

The program runs under Windows 95, 98, and NT and supports a wide range of fax modems (which are listed on the company's Web site). Symantec is so confident in the product that it offers a 60-day money-back guarantee. With a wide range of features, ease of use, and attractive pricing, chances are good that users won't be taking Symantec up on the return offer; this one's a keeper.

WinFax PRO 9.0. Requires: 16MB RAM (32MB recommended), 57MB hard disk space (for full install), CD-ROM drive, fax modem. Symantec Corp., Cupertino, CA; 800-441-7234, 541-334-6054; http://www.symantec.com/.