Fully detailed instructions on how to install the
NetCFax Networked Fax System

WE RECOMMEND YOU PRINT THIS OUT ! (It is only 7 pages when printed)

NetCFax really is very easy to install and configure, but in case you are a little worried, having never installed a product of this type before, we hope these notes will help you understand what you need to do.

Firstly, you have to install the Fax server, which is of course at the very heart of the entire system.  This should be installed on a PC that has one or more fax modems installed and already working, and of course, it must be accessible via TCP networking so that the fax clients can connect to it. 

The machine chosen does not have to be running a Windows "Server" operating system at all, as the NetCFax Server and/or clients can be installed on any W98, ME, W2000 Pro, XP (with or without SP1/SP2), Windows Server 2000 or 2003, (including server 2003 R2), SBS and IIS servers etc etc.

IMPORTANT - To install the NetCFax server or the NetCFax client(s), you MUST log into Windows using an account that has full administrator rights, or the install programs will not allow you to continue. 

INSTALLING THE FAX SERVER

Although with the release of NetCFax Pro v3.16 and PRO+ v3.60 on Dec 31, 2006, the Fax Server can now be installed and run as a Windows Service, it must be installed and configured BEFORE you try to do so.  If you try to run the Services Controller or Remote Fax Server Controller before you have done this, they will warn you to install and configure the Fax Server FIRST.

The installation file that you download from our web site handles this for you with very few prompts, and even offers to start the server once the installation is completed.  The file you have downloaded may be called NCFXSERVER.EXE, or NCFXSERVER3xx.EXE or even NCFXSERVER2xx.EXE, but they are all Fax server installations that include the fax client installation system as well.  Just execute (run)  this file by double clicking it from the folder you downloaded it into.

NB - In the same way as for most other systems, you must be logged into Windows with Administrator rights to install the server or clients.

On completion of the server or client installation, and if you are prompted to restart the machine once the setup program has finished - YOU REALLY DO NEED TO DO SO before trying to run the NetCFax server.

When the fax server first starts up, a configuration wizard will pop up to ask you a few very basic questions.  The only wizard pages you actually need to enter anything into are the two password pages.

The first one (shown below) is simply the initial user access (login) account user name and password. This is just an account that will allow you to login to the fax server from any fax client.  Because this will be the first (of probably many) login accounts you create, the system initially assumes this account is going to be the administrator's (your) account, and is automatically given full administrator access rights.  Naturally, you can change this at any point in time later.

The login ID may contain spaces if you wish, but the passwords cannot do so.  Passwords must be unique, and may only contain upper and/or lower case letters and any digits, plus a period and/or $ sign.  Passwords are ALWAYS Case Sensitive !

The second one (shown below) is the password that you will use to "secure" access to the fax server itself if you wish to do so, which stops other people from making configuration changes etc.  Please ensure that you note this password down as if you do lock the server down, and then cannot remember it, we have to make a charge of $25 to recover it for you.

Once the wizard is completed, the server will load, and then automatically pop up a window as shown below while it performs a scan of the PC for all installed (and hopefully already working and tested) fax modems. 

Once the modem scan is complete, the list box at the top of the main fax server window will list all identified modems.

The server will then tell you it needs to be closed down to save all this information securely, but it should restart for you automatically in a few seconds.

The entire initial installation of the Fax Server is now completed.  We set most of the configuration options to default values that are very likely to be just fine for you, at least initially, so unless you want to go through the menu options and look at these, which we certainly recommend that you should, you can move straight on to installation of the fax client(s).

IMPORTANT - if you have installed the NetCFax Server on a Windows "Server" system such as Window 2000 Server or Windows 2003 Server, we do NOT recommend that you install and run the fax clients on the same machine if they will be accessed via multiple RDP sessions, as this may cause the fax server to have problems sending and receiving faxes due to the way the Windows Server support RDP sessions..

If you are not providing access to the fax client on a Window "Server" machine via RDP sessions then the NetCFax server and the NetCFax client can be run on the same machine without any problems at all.

INSTALLING THE FAX CLIENTS

To be honest, it is even easier to install the fax client than the fax server.

On the server menu bar, click the option named "Fax Clients", and then select the option on that menu to "Copy fax client installation to networked PC's"

This displays a standard windows file selection dialog that lets you navigate across your network to all your networked machines (assuming you have access to them from the fax server machine)

Use this window to navigate to the networked machine, and then select the folder on whichever networked machine you want the NetCFax server to copy the fax client installation program to.

The NetCFax server will then copy the fax client setup program to the selected networked machine for you.  To make your task even easier, it also copies across a small configuration file that is used to pre-configure the fax client so that you do not even have to enter details of the fax server before you can login to it with the fax client.  The setup program that is copied is named NCFAXCLIENT.EXE, and the the default configuration file is called CLIENTSETTINGS.TXT.  These two files can be found in the \CLIENTS sub folder of the NetCFax server installation tree if you want to do this manually.  To make this as easy as possible for you, you can go directly to the NetCFax server installation folder quickly and easily using the option on the View menu labeled "Open NetCFax installation folder (in Windows Explorer)"

The final step is to run the fax client setup program (NCFAXCLIENT.EXE,) on as many of your networked machines as you want.  This is a very simple install that does not ask you any questions at all, and once it has completed you can have the Fax Client started automatically.  You may install as many fax clients around your network as you wish.

Once the printer has been installed, the client will automatically display the login window, and the details of the fax server you just installed will already be listed.  (The one shown below is the NetCFax Pro login window)

Our Copy facility from the server will also have provides the initial login details, otherwise you will  need to enter the login name and password in the appropriate fields of any user access account that is configured in the fax server.  (Remember - you created the first user access account (assumed to be the fax server's administrators account) in the wizard when you installed the server, so you can just use those details).

Providing your TCP network is working, and you do not have a firewall or router blocking communications between the fax client and the fax server, the client will then log in successfully, and you can then create faxes, view faxes, and use the fax system as you want to.

If the NetCFax server is not running, or the client cannot connect to it across your network, a warning message (shown below) will appear.

Once you have logged into a fax server, the fax client will automatically offer to install the NetCFax printer driver.  You should let it go ahead and do this as this is how faxes are created from Word or any other application.

Your initial NetCFax system should now be installed and working !!

We strongly recommend that you go to the Help menu of both the Fax Server and the Fax client, and at least browse through the Manuals and the other "Information on..." options that we have provided throughout the system. These contain full and detailed information on the entire system, and it is highly recommended that you print these out for reference as you go through the various configuration options.

For more information on running the Fax Server as a Windows Service, please see the information that can be accessed from the Services menu of the Fax Server.