ProFax

Currently, netFORUM integrates with ProFax by OneOutBox. ProFax by OneOutBox is an XML-based fax service. netFORUM integrates with ProFax by consuming the ProFax Web service. If the user uses netFORUM for the mass communicate and have set up the relationship with OneOutBox, then when a mass communicate occurs, an e-mail will go to those with 'e-mail' for preferred communication method and an valid e-mail address, a fax will automatically go to those with 'fax' for preferred communication and a valid fax number.

For more details on types of services offered by ProFax, go to http://www.oneoutbox.com/services.html.

Client Tasks

Clients may initially register with the Free fax service from OneOutBox to try out their fax service, however they will need to activate the account first and pay the initial registration fee so the account is taken of hold by OneOutBox.

Clients need set up the relationship with OneOutBox by completing the registration form on OneOutBox's registration web site.

Abila Tasks

  1. Create a netFORUM user with the same names as the Login ID as registered with OneOutBox (see also FaxServiceAccount system option below). Hosted clients will have to contact Support to get the netFORUM user account created.
  2. Set up the following five System Options:
  • FaxService - for OneOutBox integration, this must correspond to one of these four types of services from OneOutBox. Just enter the code, without the doublequotes:
  1. "free" for text Fax, sent through TPC.INT volunteer network.
  2. "text" for text commercial Fax, with no advertising.
  3. "pro" same as "text"
  4. "html" for HTML formatted commercial Fax, with no advertising.
  • FaxServiceAccessCode - corresponds to the OneOuBox Web Services password (may be different than user password)
  • FaxServiceAccount - corresponds to the Login ID as registered with OneOutBox
  • FaxServiceProvider - set the current setting to OneOutBox if integrating with OneOutBox (see screen shot below)
  • SMTPServer - Make sure that this system option is set up to get the e-mail if a fax transmission fails. Keep in mind that this system option is used throughout netFORUM, not just by OneOutBox.

Costs

See OneOutBox's registration web site for current pricing based on the type of account selected.

Integration Costs

Troubleshooting

To view fax transactions logged in OneOutBox you must log in with the account maintenance login which is generally different from the Fax Service Account and Access Code used by netFORUM to send out the actual fax transmission. Once logged into the OneOutBox account profile, click on the 'view' link under the Current Activity section, to see the fax activity.

Q&A

Q: What is the expected latency of the actual fax being sent to the recipient?

A: "The free Fax service does have an issue with status updates that can leave a message in the "pending" state even after it has been sent or rejected as undeliverable. That's caused by format changes in the status return message we get from TPC.INT, the free fax provider, and every few releases we have to make updates to accommodate changes in their message structure. It does not effect the actual transmission of the fax, so there should be no inherent latency in the system...the free fax is advertising-supported and is available to both paid subscribers and free trial members." -- OneOutBox Customer Support

See Also

http://www.oneoutbox.com/frames_support.html