Folks, I have an old notebook (IBM T23) running as my print server on the home network. Recently my wife needed to fax some documents. No problem, said I, I will just set up a fax server. That was months ago and I have achieved nothing more than dig a deep pit. Sigh.

Could some kind person give me step by step instructions for this?

Setup: LAN including IBM T23 with an external modem (it has an internal winmodem, but I expect using that to be just too hard) and running FC10. This machine currently has the only printer, accessible from all machines on the LAN.

Wish list: Be able to fax from any machine on the network, via the T23->modem. Preferably, to see the fax device as a printer on client machines, so it is a simple matter for my wife to 'print' to the fax. Machines on the LAN are FC10 (wife) and FC11 (me). Ability to receive faxen is not necessary, but if it is feasible I MIGHT try to set up for it too. The phone line is our normal house line, so I don't want the fax to pick up any incoming call unless I instruct it to.

Current status: Hylafax installed on the T23. So far cannot make it recognise the external or internal modems. Have not figured out how to make it appear as a printer on the T23 or over the LAN. The problem is me, but at my advanced age I am not too proud to admit my failing grey matter and ask for help.

Kind regards, Doug.

I'd point you here http://www.hylafax.org/content/Handb...ing_From_Samba for printing.

What have you done to recognise the modems? Have you seen http://www.hylafax.org/content/Handb...on:Faxaddmodem?

What sort of modem is it, how it it connected, etc.?

billymayday, Modem is a 56k Dynalink external fax/modem.
I am trying to follow through the Hylafax manual, but have not found the magic incantation to get everything up as yet. Looks as though I will just have to go back and beat my head against the wall for a bit longer.
Cheers, Doug

faxaddmodem did not barf when I attached /dev/ttyS0, so I assume that much is done.

HylaFAX does not create a printer device which can be printed to by programs like Open Office Writer, but that is exactly what I am wanting to do. A command-line interface will not work with my wife and it is for her that I am trying to do this.

What I really want is an equivalent to the Windoze 'Print to Fax' function.

Did you read the printer link I gave? I assume that this gives a visible printer queue that you can print to.

Yep, read that. Not using Windoze, so the Samba stuff does not apply.

You have started me in the right direction, though. Having used faxsetup, faxaddmodem and faxmodem (I am a send-only station), I am pretty sure Hylafax is humming away OK. To create a printer, I found fax4CUPS "http://vigna.dsi.unimi.it/fax4CUPS/" and created a printer using the Cups web admin page. Viola! I now have a fax printer device on the server, shared to all the other computers.

The problem now is that the fax printer does not ask for a phone number when it is invoked, so all my faxen go onto the queue as held. I guess what I need is something to fit between the application and the fax4CUPS driver, to ask for the fax number and inject that as a -j option in the stream going to fax4CUPS, so it can hand the fax off correctly to Hylafax. The printer options applet for fax4CUPS 'knows' this is a fax device and asks for all sorts of stuff other then the job name (the -j option which needs to be set to the fax number).

I will keep on bashing - someone must have been down this path before!

1) you can use samba from Linux
2) there are specific comments at the end about using in CUPS
I'd follow this link provided (use the archive link)

OK thanks - will look into it later.

The sambafax site seems to be dead. Both the links given are directed to the http://www.purpel3.nl home page.
The addition to /etc/printcap is ephemeral, as Cups will destroy it next time I maintain a printer.

However, I have installed everything as far as possible. It is fragile and patchy. I still cannot print to the fax modem from any machine.

This has all become too hard. It is not worth wasting any more time on. My wife will have to get an email address instead of a fax number in future!

Thanks anyway for your help
Cheers, Doug

I don't want to sound rude, but you really need to pay at least a little attention to what people tell you, and to read the links provided.

And read the initial link for the samba solution I gave you

No need to apologise - I appreciate the help and realise I am making it harder than it has to be. I am recovering from a breakdown and the medication makes it hard to think.

I did indeed miss the link to salsafax on the archive site. I am looking at it now and will let you know how I get on.

Again, apologies if you feel I am being a pain - not intentional I assure you.

Cheers, Doug

No, that was why I posted a qualified comment.

The other option (an I know this one works, since I tried it a while back) is to use the email to fax solution posted on the same site.

Good luck with everything.

Let us know how you go an if we can help.

I can't give particularly specific advice on this one, since I'm not currently using hylafax (although I have).

Rgds

I have installed salsafax on the server and networked machines see it OK. Now I need to set up a Samba environment on my server and my clients - no? The salsafax instructions include a block of amendments to the samba configuration file: is this amendment made on the server, or on each client?

If I understand the whole process, what I am doing is creating a salsafax printer on the server, designed to take a postscript stream, parse the fax number from the stream and send the stream as a fax to the parsed number; each client then needs to create a printer 'pointing' to the salsafax on the server and using a local postscript printer driver to create the ps stream.

I am going to have a break before trying to set up samba - my brain is fading. If you could confirm that I have grasped the overall picture correctly, I would be grateful. Also, is there a dummies guide to setting up samba?

Still plugging away ...

This shoul pretty much do it.

http://samba.ausics.net/samba/docs/m...plePrintServer

Solved by installing a Brother MFC7360N printer/scanner/fax and using the drivers available on their web site. Works a treat.