VsiFax and filePro -- frustration!

[John Esak]

I know this is not close to the answer you want. But, I wrote a fairly
simple process to capture the output of the vsi command which sends the fax.
This number is used by the ongoign VSI logs to track whether a fax is
eventually successful or not.  I then attached the output of the logs
(filtered by this number to the appropriate customer/order record in
filePro, so anyone could press an @key and trace all the faxes and whether
they were successful or not.  It was just a matter of storing the value
returned by the fax spooler. To the appropriate  filePro record and
depositing it in a field.  When it became obvious that there were going to
be several faxes attached to that filePro record, I started storing the
retrieved spool/log ID's in a detail file attached to the order/customer
record.  This was not a lot of processing, just a few lines.

So, I am just responding to the thing you said about VSIFAX not keeping a
log of what happens to the faxes... It does.

John 
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: filepro-list-bounces+john=valar.com at lists.celestial.com 
> [mailto:filepro-list-bounces+john=valar.com at lists.celestial.co
> m] On Behalf Of Steve Parker
> Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2010 12:44 AM
> To: filepro-list at lists.celestial.com
> Subject: VsiFax and filePro -- frustration!
> 
> Dear All,
> 
> I am finally at a point of total frustration trying to get VisFax to
> interface properly with a filePro "report" I need to process.
> 
> SCO Unix 6.0	Problem #1	I have not been able to install 
> the latest
> version of VsiFax. Unknown errors to their technical support, 
> so I finally
> have ignored it, as it is not that important. At least not at 
> this point,
> but who knows about later. LEAST of my problems right now. 
> Using version 6.0
> and not 6.1.
> 
> I simply want to be able to FAX monthly statements and be 
> able to track
> their success / failure through a log. (There are about 2000 
> +- sent each
> month.)
> 
> So we have a statement form that prints monthly and works 
> fine. So far, so
> good.
> 
> But there is only one way I've found that will send an entire 
> file by FAX,
> and that is by embedding codes through filePro that VsiFax 
> can interpret for
> FAX the number, etc. And one person suggested taking that 
> file and parsing
> it with a Unix shell script into separate files organized by 
> customer number
> and date (embedded in the "report" file for each customer, 
> copied out to the
> VsiFax auto-send directory and away they go.
> 
> But once done, there is no way to track what fails, as there 
> is not log file
> created by VsiFax using this process.
> 
> So I opted for an alternate method where a file is created on 
> the fly, a
> system command sends the FAX, another system command removes 
> the file and
> then the next customer is run. This method uses the -p 
> /path/filename on the
> menu's command line, and a careful sprinkling of the "PRINT" 
> command to
> create the file in question.
> 
> After I was all done, it worked -- except after the first FAX 
> was sent, the
> second, and every succeeding FAX, contains ^M (line feeds / carriage
> returns) at the TOP of the next record. I was told this was 
> because the Unix
> "spooler" was open and that there is no way around it.
> 
> And so approach #3 (or so) where I am NOT using a -P command 
> (or if I do, it
> is to a /path/junk file that is not used) but instead am 
> trying to use the
> "PRINTER FILE" command. Problem is that I cannot seem to 
> "assemble" a full
> document! Mostly what I get is just the END of the form, with 
> the totals and
> closing information from the sub-total lines, like "THANK YOU FOR YOUR
> BUSINESS" or "WE BUY USED CAT LITTER AT TOP DOLLAR" at the 
> very bottom.
> 
> I'm pretty sure the problem is that I don't entirely 
> understand how the
> PRINTER FILE command works, unlike the PRINT command that I 
> DO understand!
> If not, then this approach may not work at all.
> 
> The records are selected through a -v process.
> 
> The selected records are processed one by one through the 
> report, hitting an
> "end" statement at the end of each record. When the customer 
> number changes,
> a GOSUB statement sends the FAX. I've even gotten clever 
> enough that the
> file names are unique with the "customer number" { "-" { date (without
> slashes) so the failed FAXes can be easily tracked and 
> processed manually.
> 
> At this point I'm looking for some ideas. I'm pretty lost on 
> this right now,
> and pretty burned out as well!! LOL!
> 
> Any ideas? In particular, can anyone shed light on "block" #1 
> with the extra
> line feeds, or with "block" #2 some insight on the PRINTER 
> FILE command that
> will help me understand what I am doing wrong?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Steve Parker
> ABC Computing Services
> 
> 
> 
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