Use Your PC as a Fax Machine!

Windows comes with some very useful fax sending software which is easily accessible from the various applications within the Microsoft Office suite. This of course has huge benefits - it’s rare to find a fax machine in every office these days, yet there is always a requirement for such devices, for sending signed documents, for example.

Using Microsoft Office to send faxes can save a lot of time, energy and money by avoiding the need to print out the document to be faxed, queuing at the fax machine and dialling and redialling the number, not to mention waiting to collect your potentially confidential document after it is eventually run through the fax scanner.

First of all, you need to make sure you have the fax component installed on Windows.

In Windows XP, go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > Communications > Fax > Send a Fax...

You may find that the fax component isn’t installed – if this is the case, find your Windows XP installer disc, and go to Start > Control Panel > Add and Remove Programs and on the left pane select Add/Remove Windows Components.

Find the entry Fax Services and tick the box, then click Next. Windows will then attempt to install the Fax Services set of tools.

Using Microsoft Office – in this guide we’ll use Word – you can utilise the Windows XP Fax Services to send a fax. This fax will then be received by the intended recipient on their computer after you have signed up with one of Microsoft’s recommended fax service providers.

These providers charge for using their online faxing services however, so you’ll need to choose one that is compatible with both your requirements and those of your intended recipient.

Some require that both sender and recipient are signed up, whereas others just need the sender to be a member in order to send a fax. It's simply a case of uploading your document to the fax providers website, and they do the rest.

There is a good and much simpler alternative however, that neither requires Windows Fax Services or an online fax service provider.

With the proliferation of scanners in the office – often as a component of multifunction printers – it is an easy task to scan a document and send the digital image via email.

As long as your recipient has an email address, you can use this method for faxing to a computer using Microsoft Office.

Using the scanner software provided with your hardware or that provided in Start > Control Panel > Printers and Faxes, scan a copy of the document you wish to send. Save this to your PC (ideally as a TIFF file) and then in your email program attach the scanned document.

Once you’ve sent this, your document will be received by the recipient via email.