Rendering

A detailed document on Facsys Enterprise Rendering is available in the Documentation Package.

Before the Facsys fax server transmits an outbound fax message, Facsys converts the message into fax format. If a message includes file attachments, the attachments are also converted into fax format.

The process of preparing a message for faxing is referred to as "rendering". Facsys renders files by using the print services of an application to output file attachments into a faxable file format. Depending on the way in which the server is configured, file attachment rendering may occur at the client workstation or at the fax server.

How and where rendering occurs:

Supported File Formats

The print services of the Facsys server software include the ability to render the following image file types. This means that no additional configuration is required to enable users to attach the following file types to outbound faxes.

• TIFF  G3/G4/MH
• PCX
• ASCII Text
• BMP (1,4,16,256, 24-bit color)
• Intel DCX
• HPGL2
• Basic-RTF Documents
• Postscript Level 1 & 2 and PCL5e w/ TrueType**

** NOTE: With the optional add-on Facsys HPCL renderer: Postscript Level 1 & 2 and PCL5e w/ TrueType.

Rendering of Adobe PDF documents REQUIRES the installation of Adobe Acrobat FULL PRODUCT Version 7 or greater on the Facsys server. It is not sufficient to install Acrobat Reader only. Another option to installing the full Adobe Acrobat product on the Facsys Server is to install Ghostscript.

Rendering PDF files with Ghostscript

Starting with Facsys 4.91, it is possible to have the Facsys server use the external GhostScript application for rendering PostScript and PDF files. Here's the procedure for enabling this feature:

Download and install the most recent version of GhostScript. There are various places on Internet where it can be obtained. Also, some of the Facsys files need to be updated. The updates can be downloaded from: http://na.solgenia.com/support_downloads.aspx

To install these files:

• Stop all the Facsys services and close the Desktop client from the System Tray
  
  
• Replace C:\Facsys\faxmngr.exe with the one included in the ZIP file
  
  
• Replace the C:\Windows\System32\imglib32.dll and C:\Windows\System32\FxPrinter.dll with the ones included in the ZIP file
  
  
• Edit the following registry key HKLM\Software\Facsys\ImageLibrary\ShellFlags and add 40 hexadecimal to the current value. For example if the ShellFlags are 0, make it 40 hexadecimal, if the ShellFlags are 8, then make it 48 hexadecimal and so on.
  
  
• Start all the Facsys services and test

Faxing Document Files

Facsys provides several ways for users to include existing documents with their outbound faxes. The methods and configuration requirements are discussed below.

• Printing to Fax
  Facsys gives users the ability to "print documents to fax" from some Windows applications. Simply by printing a Windows document to the client's Facsys Fax Printer, the printed output is included as a file attachment in a new fax message. Depending on the type of print driver used by the Facsys Fax Printer, the format of the attachment is in either PCL/postscript format or TIFF-image format.  If you configure the printer driver for HPCL or Postscript you need to purchase the optional add-on HPCL Renderer. To give users the ability to print documents to fax, users simply "print" their documents to the Facsys Fax Printer installed on their workstation. The Facsys Desktop client setup program installs and configures the Facsys Fax Printer automatically.
  
  
• Printing to Mail
  When a Facsys client is configured to "print to email," printing a document to the Facsys Fax Printer causes the printed output to be included as an attachment in a new email message (rather than in a new Facsys fax message). The user's message and printed document attachment is then sent via the server's Facsys mail gateway.

SEE ALSO:

Configuring email gateways.

To give users the ability to print documents to email, the email gateway must be configured at the server. Also, at the client workstations, users must select the Facsys Desktop delivery option 'Use electronic mail transport when printing'. This option is on the Advanced Options window accessible from the Sending tab.

• Printing to Mail Without the Facsys Desktop
  The Facsys Mail Printer is a tool for Outlook and Lotus Notes users that provides the "print to mail" features and benefits of the Facsys Desktop program without requiring the Facsys client software to be installed.  By installing the Facsys Mail Printer on the client workstation, the client user can simply "print" a document to the Facsys Mail Printer. The user's document is converted to .TIF format and placed as a file attachment in a new Outlook/Lotus Notes mail message. See Instructions for installing the Facsys Mail Printer. Instructions for using the Facsys Mail Printer are in the Facsys Desktop manual.
  
  
• Attaching Document Files to Faxes
  The document types supported by Facsys are listed above. Facsys users can also attach document files to their outbound faxes. Depending on the way in which you configure Facsys, the document files are rendered either at the fax server or at the user's client workstation.

To Render Document Attachments at the Client note the following:

• The user must have a Facsys Fax Printer installed on their workstation. (The Facsys Desktop client setup program installs and configures the Facsys Fax Printer automatically).
• The user must enable the 'local rendering' option in their Facsys Desktop (this is the default setting).
• The applications in which the document attachments were created must also be installed on the workstation.

Using Native Applications to Render Document Attachments at the Server

• Document attachments can be rendered into fax format at the fax server by the native applications (eg. Word, Excel)

To Instruct Facsys to use the native application(s) to render document attachments at the fax server, you must configure the following:

• On the fax server, you must install the applications in which the document attachments were created. For example, to render Word attachments, you must install Microsoft Word on the fax server. Also, the application versions on the server must be the same as or greater than the application versions used at the Facsys clients.
  
  
• On the fax server, the Facsys Fax Device Manager must be associated with a Windows account that has local administrative privileges. See Services Associations.
  
  
• To satisfy any initial program prompts that may display the first time an application is opened, do the following: Using the Windows account that is associated with the Facsys Fax Device Manager service, log onto the fax server. Open and close every application that will be used to output/print attachments. Clear any 'automatic update' dialogs and change them to 'manual'.

Configuring Word to Render HTML Attachments

When opening and closing Word to satisfy initial program prompts for the rendering of HTML attachments, do the following:

1. On the fax server, launch Microsoft Word.
2. Open an HTML file that WAS NOT created with Word. When you are prompted to use Word as your default HTML editor, answer NO.
3. Close the Word application.

Notes on Supported File Formats and Fonts

• Server-based rendering of Adobe Acrobat PDF file attachments requires that the fax server be running Windows 2000 or better.
  
  
• Note that the FULL Acrobat product must be installed on the server (i.e., not the Acrobat Reader). As of the printing of this manual, Acrobat 7 or better is the minimum supported version required for server-based rendering.
  
  
• JetForm Central rendering by Facsys requires that the path to the JetForm Central Program directory be defined in the in the fax server's Registry. Detailed instructions are listed in a Technical Support Bulletin available from the Facsys Web site.
  
  
• When preparing a fax message, Facsys will render cover page text and document attachments using the exact or closest True-Type font available. If users require specific fonts, then the fonts must be installed on the sending fax server.

Configuring Word to Render All RTF Attachments

• By default, basic-RTF formatted attachments are rendered directly by Facsys without invoking the print services of another application. However, Word-RTF files generally include many extended RTF features. As a result, when Word-RTF attachments are rendered by the Facsys print services, the quality of the resulting faxed files may not be acceptable.

To force Word to render all RTF attachments (regardless of whether they were created in Word), do the following:

• Select the 'Microsoft Word (Rich Text Format)' option on the server Properties Rendering tab.
• Define a WordRTF registry key according to the Technical Support Bulletin on the Facsys Web site.

NOTE: Changes to the Facsys Rendering System since V 4.7SP4a

The Updated Rendering System

• Research has shown that the majority of Facsys customers no longer use HPCL files to submit attachments to the rendering engine.  Therefore, with the release of version 4.7 SP4a the HPCL rendering tool was removed from Facsys in favor of a new Enterprise Fax Rendering System designed to accommodate more file types and produce better results using native application rendering. 
  
  
• Any user who purchased Facsys 4.1 through Facsys 4.7 SP3 will receive the HPCL renderer at no cost.
  
  
• The HPCL rendering functionality will continue to be available as an add-on option at additional cost.

Client-Side Rendering

• Users who submit jobs to the Facsys desktop printer, by 'print to fax' or 'e-mail to fax', will continue to create a faxable image on their workstation. This process uses the native application on the desktop, in conjunction with the Facsys FAX Printer installed by the client software. If the Facsys Fax Printer is configured to use a PCL or PS printer driver then the add-on renderer must also be purchased.

Server-Side Rendering

The remainder of this discussion refers only to file attachments, submitted through:

• a mail gateway
• the AFM/SDK (Active Fax Messaging Software Development Kit, sometimes also referred to as an API – Application Programming Interface)
• the Facsys Desktop Client as an attachment (if 'render locally' is not enabled on the client)

Any user who wants to submit HPCL (Hewlett-Packard Control Language) files to the Facsys system will need the add-on renderer.  This will include any application program that creates an HPCL print image and submits it to the Facsys system as an attachment.  

Any user who wants to submit PS files of type I or II (with the exception of Legal and A4 sizes) MAY also use the add-on HPCL-PS renderer.

If, in the "Facsys Admin program, properties, rendering tab", no native applications are checked as being installed THEN, Facsys will:

• Check the file content. If the file is HPCL:
  • The HPCL attachment will be converted to TIF (if the HPCL-PS renderer service is present)
  • If the renderer is not present, it will fail.

Resolution: install the optional HPCL renderer.

1. If the file is a Postscript File:

• Facsys will first try the add-on HPCL-PS renderer.  If the add-on renderer is present, and the file content is compatible with the add-on renderer (PS Level I and II), it will be converted to a TIF image and be submitted to the queue.
  
  
• If that process fails, and if Acrobat 7 or better full product (not just Reader) is installed, Facsys will launch Adobe Acrobat, convert the PS file to a PDF file, submit to Acrobat and convert to TIF. This is the default process.This process will take longer than converting the document with the optional HPCL Renderer.
  
  
• If you have the renderer installed but don't want Facsys to ignore the renderer and want to FORCE the use of application rendering, then set the TryApplication Key to 2 as shown below:

NEW  TryApplication Key

HKLM System\CurrentControlSet\Services\FaxManager\System\TryApplication

TryApplication = 0 - If renderer is installed use only the renderer for PS even though the application is installed

TryApplication = 1 - If renderer is installed then use it first. If that fails then use the application. This is the default.

TryApplication = 2 - Always use the app even though renderer is present.

2. If the file is an MS Office-type file, then Facsys will launch the native application, convert to a TIF image, and submit to the queue.

• Note that the behavior of MS Office attachments is different depending on what version of Office you have installed. There are known issues, for example, with Powerpoint attachments. MS Office 97 and XP behave one way, and Office 2000 behaves another way. To accommodate this, Facsys has introduced a new registry key as follows:

Use the 'ShellFlags' DWORD key only if you have problems with Excel, PPT or Word. If you have difficulty with rendering RTF (Rich Text Format) documents (particularly those created by programs other than Microsoft Word), you may need to add a DWORD key as follows:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facsys\ImageLibrary\WordRTF and set the value to 1

Facsys can render Landscape XLS files with ShellFlags set to 2 or 7. There is a new feature to use the application rendering for any unknown file type like WMF, etc.

See Also:

Document Attachment Rendering Options