README file for Renaissoft Qfax 1.0 (7 Sep 1994)

What is Qfax?
-------------

The Qfax utilities are designed to work with Ed Casas' great little
fax program, efax.  Efax was designed for a single-user system,
however, and lacks some of the functionality necessary to make it a
multi-user fax server.  That's where Qfax comes in.

The Qfax suite adds an e-mail-to-fax gateway to efax, a phonebook
database system, automated cover page generation, and fax spooling for
delayed transmission of faxes.

For example, once Qfax is installed, a user on your system can send
e-mail to "joe@acmecorp.fax" and have that turned into a fax
(complete with a custom cover page), which is then put on the queue to
be sent out the next time you process it via cron.  When it finally
goes out, it gets faxed to "Joseph P. Smith" at "Acme Incorporated".
After the send is complete, the user gets mailed a receipt that tells
her the time of the transmission, and a list of any failed attempts.

The Qfax utilities are comprised of several programs:

Qfax accepts its input directly from your mailer (sendmail or smail)
and produces the cover page and fax pages, then deposits the files in
the queue to be sent out later.

Qsend effectively replaces "fax send"; it allows you to send non-mail
files the same way Qfax does--complete with cover page.  It prompts
the user for some cover page information about the recipient, then
behaves just like Qfax.

Qrun is the fax spool processor.  Usually run from a crontab entry at
regular intervals, its job is to scan the spool directory to see if
there are any faxes waiting to be sent.  If it finds any, it sends
them out one at a time.  Optionally, Qrun can make sure that
long-distance fax calls are only placed during certain hours.

Qstat lets users list their queued faxes and check on their status
(root can list all queued faxes).  Each fax is identified by a unique
prefix.

Qdel removes one or more faxes from the queue, as identified by its
unique prefix.  Users can only delete faxes they sent, while root can
delete any fax.


What you need:
--------------

Linux Kernel: 1.0.x OR 1.1.42+

The early 1.1.x kernels had problems with software flow control
handshaking, which made fax send/receive operations unreliable.  To
use efax and Qfax you should either use a 1.0.x kernel or upgrade to
kernel 1.1.42 or later.

efax: 06a OR 06b

Qfax does not come with efax, which was written separately by Ed
Casas.  Version 06a is available by ftp from sunsite.unc.edu as
"/pub/Linux/apps/comm/efax06a.tar.gz".  The 06a-06b patch is included
in this distribution, but is not necessary for Qfax.

Mailer: sendmail OR smail

You will need either sendmail or smail to use the e-mail-to-fax
gateway, and some kind of front-end software for it, such as elm,
pine, etc.


What do I do next?
------------------

Read the INSTALL file to find a step-by-step guide to walk you through
the setup process.


Help!  I'm lost!!!
------------------

First try looking through the man pages for qfax(1), qsend(1),
qrun(1), qstat(1), qdel(1), and qfax.phonebook(1).  If that doesn't
help, you can try looking through the files in the doc subdirectory,
which can help you if your problems are modem-related.

If all else fails, there's a mailing list for Qfax users.  To
subscribe just send e-mail to qfax-request@renaissoft.com with the
word "subscribe" in the subject field; the body of the message will be
ignored.  Once subscribed, the actual mailing list can be posted-to by
sending your post to qfax@renaissoft.com.

The purposes of the mailing list are to:

	(a) Announce updates and patches to Qfax.
	(b) Provide a forum for feedback and discussions about
	    features you'd like to see in the next version.
	(c) Provide a degree of technical support for those who have
	    difficulty getting Qfax setup.

While this is not specifically a forum for discussing efax
configuration problems, you may find a knowledgeable list subscriber
who can help with your difficulties.  In the absence of any other
mailing list for efax, the qfax list may be a useful forum for efax
users.
