Quadrant Gives FastFax More Control Over E-Mails, PDFs

August 4, 2009 Alex Woodie

System i shops that use Quadrant Software FastFax solution to distribute i OS spool files via fax or e-mail gained several new features with the latest release of the product unveiled last month. Most importantly, version 4.7.5 gives customers more customization options when it comes to delivering e-mail.

FastFax is a suite of products that enables users to distribute i5/OS spool file output as either a fax or an e-mail. The version that supports System i functionality is called FastFax/Enterprise, but there are other versions dedicated for client-server environments.

FastFax/Enterprise includes its own dedicated hardware for delivering faxes, while optional add-on components, such as FastFax E-Mail Gateways, allow users to receive faxes and manage them from their favorite e-mail environments (Domino, Exchange, or GroupWise). With the addition of eDocMail, customers can send faxes or e-mails directly from their favorite i OS-based ERP products, such as JD Edwards, BPCS, or even MAPICS.

With FastFax version 4.7.5, Quadrant has added a new API that gives users more control over the appearance of e-mails that have been generated with FastFax. For example, the API allows users to programmatically customize the e-mail subject line to apply to a particular customer. Similarly, the API gives naming control over any documents attached to the e-mail, making it easier for the recipient to identify a receipt or a purchase order.

On occasion, a company might run into a customer that prefers to have all e-mail correspondence with a vendor to contain the same subject line. The new API in FastFax 4.7.5 supports this option as well.

This release also brings enhancements to FastFax’s PDF functionality. The product has been able to generate PDF documents for years. With the new release, Quadrant is introducing a new API that can be embedded into the PDF, providing more control over options involving names, e-mail addresses, and fax numbers.

Quadrant has also improved the print driver with FastFax 4.7.5. With this release, customers can access FastFax distribution capabilities by simply selecting it from a list of printers using the File-Print command under Windows. The new driver works with 64 bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Terminal Server 2003 and 2008.

Some customers run FastFax in conjunction with Microsoft Exchange. With this release, those customers can now take advantage of load balancing features in Exchange 2007, without requiring major changes or modifications to their FastFax implementation.

This release also brings support for Lotus Domino version 8.5 running on i OS and Windows, and also includes a new audit table purge function. For more information, visit www.quadrantsoftware.com.