VsiFax and filePro -- frustration! --- RE: Filepro-list Digest, Vol 79, Issue 39

[Bob Rasmussen]

I'm sure you must sleep sometime, but...

See below.

On Mon, 30 Aug 2010, Fairlight wrote:

> Confusious (Bob Rasmussen) say:
> > Back on subject a bit...
> > 
> > First, the possibility of PDFs being encrypted in and of themselves was 
> > glossed over. This is quite easily done, at a variety of encryption 
> > levels/security. With Print Wizard you can even digitally sign a PDF with 
> > an authorized certificate, which, it turns out, is required in Europe for 
> > emailing invoices (to prove you're a legal agent to collect VAT).
> 
> Well, I raised it, but dismissed it.  I know they have AES256 now.  I just
> glossed over it because I seem to remember a weakness in the format
> originally that let someone crack them really easily.  I remember it
> because it was one of the first major DMCA suits brought in the industry.

It MUST be more secure than an analog phone line, I would think. Maybe 
not.
 
> > Also, PDFs don't have to be huge. Fullpage-image PDFs tend to be, but this 
> > can be mitigated by wise use of compression schemes. And 
> > text-and-linedrawing PDFs can be quite compact.
> 
> And -not- embedding fonts.  That eats a lot of space, depending on the font
> complexity.

We make a point of using the built-in fonts where we can, such as 
Helvetica for Arial, but for other fonts, we embed them. Currently we 
embed the entire font, which is something we need to remedy.

> ... 
> You know, it just dawned on me that I can't remember the last time I heard
> of someone buying a new fax modem.  Serial ports have become a -bit- more
> scarce, in favour of USB.  There are alternative modem types, but I just
> have not heard of anyone buying a real analog/fax modem in like five years.

What is rising in popularity, it seems, is the idea of a fax server. 
Windows 2003 Server, 2008 Server, and SBS all have this capability. This 
means you can fax from multiple client machines, via the server, and have 
one analog line and faxmodem. Beats pulling analog lines all over the 
building if they're not already there. Print Wizard allows use of fax 
servers.

Something else y'all might now have thought of is attachments. Besides the 
primary document being faxed, one might to include drawings, specs, a copy 
of the PO, boilerplate text, or whatever. Print Wizard handles all that, 
making one fax out of all of it.

Finally, I don't want to discount the idea of posting a document on an 
HTTPS server and notifying a user about it. We are working on some 
enhancements in that direction too. Someone even suggested we add a 
capability of text-messaging a recipient that their document is ready: 
"You've got invoice!"

There's just no end to this!

Regards,
....Bob Rasmussen,   President,   Rasmussen Software, Inc.

personal e-mail: ras at anzio.com
 company e-mail: rsi at anzio.com
          voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time)
            fax: (US) 503-624-0760
            web: http://www.anzio.com
 street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc.
                 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9
                 Portland, OR  97223  USA