Snappy Fax

THE GOLD STANDARD IN FAX SOFTWARE

Trusted by thousands for over 20 years, Snappy Fax is the best integrating fax software on the market today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Installation Questions

Do I need to uninstall snappy fax before installing an update?

No, it is not necessary.  You will not lose any of your fax data or configuration settings.

I received an error message during the installation, the printer driver will not install, what should I do ?

If the error message indicated an error number 3006, simply rerun the installer… An error code #3006 (regarding the port monitor) is due to windows not allowing the print spooler to be shutdown so that the port monitor can be installed. This is usually because other applications are running.

If you re-run the installer after receiving this type of error, it will usually succeed.

If you receive any other message… Restart your computer. After restarting, shutdown all running applications including snappy fax if it is set to start when windows starts. Re-run the installer. If you receive any error message record the exact text of the message and contact technical support. We will need to know the EXACT text of the error message.

Hint: If you press Ctrl-C on the keyboard when the error message box has focus, it will copy the contents of the message box to the windows clipboard.  You can then press Ctrl-V in the body of your email to tech support to copy the exact message to your email

Modem Questions

My modem is not answering incoming calls, why?

Make sure that the modem is connected correctly to the wall jack, that is make sure the phone cord is connected to the modem’s ‘Line’ jack. If your modem is connected to the wrong jack then it may attempt to answer a call but will not be able to detect the signals on the line. Internal modems and many external modems have two jacks on the back of the modem, connecting the phone cord from the wall jack to the correct jack on the modem is critical.

If you have other devices connected to the wall jack by means of a splitter then the othere devices may degrading the ring signal to a level that the modem cannot detect. Try removing some of the devices and then see if the modem can detect the ring.

Replace the phone cord from the wall jack to the modem to ensure it is not damaged.

Note that the modem processes the ring detection and answer sequence.  Snappy Fax cannot detect that the line is ringing as this is a hardware operation. Of course, snappy fax must have been put in receive mode which in turn puts the modem into answer mode before any of this can proceed as designed

I have call waiting on my phone line, is that a problem?

YES !!!

Call waiting is your worst enemy ! You must enter the call waiting disable code in your settings->modem, dial prefix in snappy fax. A common disable code is *70, (note the comma, it is necessary). The disable code for your phone service may be different, check with your phone company to be sure. When a fax session is in progress and an incoming call occurs, a call waiting signal will be emitted on your phone line. This will always destroy the fax session and the modem will respond ERROR and that will be translated as ‘Modem said ERROR’ by snappy fax. For outgoing faxes, always use the call waiting disable code setting in snappy fax’s modem settings so that it can disable call waiting for the duration of the outgoing fax call.There is no way at all to disable call waiting for fax receiving since it is not known when a fax call will occur or how long it will last. If fax is important to you then have the call waiting feature removed from your phone line.

Why is my modem reporting no dial tone?

Make certain that the modem is properly connected to the phone jack. The modem’s ‘Line’ jack should be connected to the wall jack. If the phone cord is connected properly then make sure that the cord is not damaged. If your modem has two jacks (most internal modems do), make sure the phone cord is connected to the correct jack. One should be marked ‘Line’ the other ‘Phone’. The ‘Line’ jack is the correct one. Make sure the wall jack is ‘live’ plug a phone into it and make sure you can hear a dialtone when you pick up the phone receiver. Also, certain phone company features like voice mail may cause a stuttered dial tone to be heard when the phone line is accessed, for example indicating the presence of a voice mail in your mailbox. These signals eventhough you consider them to be a dialtone, the modem does not. If you have such features on your phone that cause non-standard dialtones then check the ‘blind dial’ in snappy fax’s modem settings. Checking the ‘blind dial’ option will cause the modem to ignore the absence of a dial tone and ‘blindly’ dial the number. You should only check this option after you have diagnosed why the modem isn’t detecting the dial tone as this condition usually indicates a problem with your modem connection/setup.

What modems will work with your software?

Most any modem will work with our software with the exception of:

  1. US Robotics older models (Sportster, Courier)
  2. Smartlink modems (do not consistently adhere to the modem E0 command)
  3. Motorola (we have users using Motorola modems successfully, but they can be troublesome and should be avoided)
  4. Diamond Supra/ModemBlaster (poor reliability)

If you are using a USB modem, we recommend you connect the modem to your computer via a *powered* usb hub (the hub has its own A/C power supply). If you connect the modem directly to a usb port on the computer, there is a chance that the motherboard mail fail to deliver the constant minimum voltage requirement to the modem. If this happens, even for a millisecond, the modem will become unresponsive and will need to be power cycled to revive it. USB modems get power from the USB cable and power cycling the modem requires that you disconnect the modem from the USB port and then wait about 20 seconds and then reconnect it, your computer should also be restarted. Using a powered USB hub will minimize the chance of this occurring.

If fax reliability is critical to your business, (medical clinic, dentistry practice, pharmacy, hospital, law office, CPA practice, etc.) then we strongly encourage you to invest in a good quality class2 fax modem. The modem we use here, as do many customers is this one: 
MT9234ZBA-USB-CDC-XR 

Snappy fax tells me my modem is in use, what does this mean exactly?
  • Only one  process can use the modem at any given time, the modem cannot be shared among several applications. If you receive a message that the modem is in use, the Windows is returning this error code when snappy fax tries to access the modem’s com port. When you get this message you can be assured that some process is using the com port eventhough you are not aware of which process it is. To further complicate this situation, Windows provides no way for snappy fax itself to discover which process it is. The most likely culprit, if you have Windows Vista or Windows 7, is the Windows Fax and Scan service. There is a video tutorial available on our tutorials page showing how to disable the Microsoft fax service. If you were a previous WinFax user then the WinFax service is the likely culprit. The steps to disable the WinFax service is similar to that of disabling the Microsoft fax service. Another likely culprit is Windows Media Center. If you have media center tools installed that detect caller id and report them on your computer’s monitor when you receive incoming calls then you will need to disable that media center functionality. 

    In Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012 and small business server, you may receive this message if either or both of these “Roles” have been installed:

    1. Fax Server Role
    2. Network Policy and Access Services->Routing and Remote Access

    Snappy Fax server does not require the “Fax Server” Role to be installed in Windows Server. If it is installed then you can either remove the “Fax Server” role by right clicking on the top node “Server Manager” and select ‘Remove Roles’ from the pop up menu or you can disable your modem from the sending and receiving configuration in the Role. To do that open the Server Manager and expand the “Roles” node. Expand the “Fax Server” nodes until you see your modem under the “Devices” node. Right click on the modem and uncheck the receive and send items at the top of the popup menu or click ‘Properties’ on the popup menu and disable receiving and sending on the Properties Page.

    If the ‘Routing and Remote Access’ Role is installed and configured then you will need to disable the modem’s com port from listening for incoming connections. Under the “Routing and Remote Access” node, select the “Ports” node and right-click and select “Properties” from the popup menu. Select your modem(s) and click the ‘Configure…’ button and uncheck the “Remote access connections (inbound only)” and the “Demain-dial routing connections (inbound and outbound)” check boxes.

Will my modem and snappy fax work with Vonage or MagicJack?

Vonage and MagicJack and other VOIP phone services are very problematic. VOIP means Voice over internet protocol. It was invented for voice communications and does not reliably transport fax communications. Your VOIP provider will not admit to this readily , nor do they advertise this, so be wary of VOIP based phone providers that claim to reliably process fax communications and if fax reliability is important to you, avoid VOIP as a solution.

I do not have a fax modem, can snappy fax use my All-In-One machine to send and receive faxes?
  • The AIO’s do not have a fax modem, they are standalone fax machines and we cannot use them as a fax device for sending or receiving faxes. They provide no way to interface with them do detect fax activity. The only exception we have found to this is some Brother fax machines do have a fax modem internally which can be used for sending faxes, unfortunately it cannot be used to receive faxes into snappy fax.


Capabilities

Does your software support caller id ?
  • Yes, caller id support was added in build 5.13.1.1 desktop client and 3.13.1.1 of the fax server software. If you have caller id on your phone line and a modem that supports caller id it is supported. You will need to set the ‘answer on ring’ option to 2 or higher since caller id information is available on the line between the first and second ring. If caller id information is available the caller id number will override the CSID (calling station identifier) that is sent by the remote fax during the fax session negotiations. Note: if you have a Rosewill USB modem… Rosewill support has confirmed that due to a change in manufacturing, their USB modem does NOT support caller id. The modem documentation states that caller id is supported, that is in error.

    Note: Some modems support both caller id and distinctive but not *simultaneously*. If you enable distinctive ring then you may lose your caller id information. The US Robotics model 5637, Multitech and Encore USB modems both give caller id *and* distinctive ring information, TrendNet modems do not give caller id information if distinctive ring is in effect.

Does your software support distinctive ring ?
  • Yes, DR support is available in the desktop version of snappy fax and implemented in build 5.13.1.1 and higher and snappy fax server build 5.52.4.3 or higher. The setting for distinctive ring support is on the settings->modem settings->line properties page. The most common method of DR reporting is the “DRON/DROFF” method. You will need to determine the DRON value that you modem reports for your DR line. We will be happy to help determine that for you if you will send us a transmission log that was generated when the caller id option was engaged and a call was generated to your DR line. First make sure that ‘Keep transmission logs’ and ‘Include page data in log’ modem options are set in snappy fax. Start receive mode and call your DR number. You can cancel the receiving session after two or three rings. Send us the transmission log from the resulting item logged in the inbox. To do that, right click the item select ‘View transmission log’, save the log to a .txt file and attach to an email to support@snappysoftware.com. Make the email subject ‘Help with DR Log’. We should then be able to tell you what the DRON value should be for your modem and DR line.


What is the difference in the Standard and SG3 Editions?

The only difference is that the SG3 editions support fax class 2.1 which allows sending faxes at speeds greater than 14400 bps when communicating with other Super G3 fax devices. The SG3 editions will not transmit or receive at the higher speeds unless you have a class 2.1 capable modem. The vast majority of modems on the market are not class 2.1 modems.

How to’s

How can I create a single fax from multiple 'attachments'?

The term ‘attachments’ came out of the WinFax world, you actually don’t attach anything to a fax like you do to email. 

To create a multi-page fax in snappy fax from multiple sources you should use draft mode. Draft mode will allow you to create the fax from multiple files, print operations, scanning, etc. to create the final document that can consist of any number of pages. You can then fax the entire document. There is a video tutorial on our tutorials page showing how to use draft mode. 

Fax Server Questions

Do I need the fax server software?

You only need the fax server software if either of these apply:

  1. You need to support multiple modems/fax lines
  2. You need to support fax capability for modemless workstations on a local area network

If neither of these apply then all you need is snappy fax desktop to enable sending and receiving faxes from your computer.

There are pending jobs in the fax server that are not being processed, why?

The most likely reason is that the client computer that submitted the job to the server is not included in the list of enabled network clients in the fax server’s settings. If a client computer submits a fax job to the fax server and that computer’s network name is not included in that list, the fax server will ignore the fax job.

Go to settings->network clients and add the network name to the list. Also, in the privileges section, make sure that client has been given fax sending privileges on at least one modem.

When I submit a fax to the server with a cover page, I don't see the cover page image in my outbox in the client software, why?
  • The fax server software actually prepares the cover page image and populates it with dynamic data like date and time. The fax server will prepare the cover page image and include it with the fax image at the time of transmission and accordingly at the time of submission there is actually no cover page image in existence. When you update the status of jobs submitted to the fax server in the client software, the image actually transmitted will be retrieved from the server and the image in your outbox data in the client software will updated to include the cover page image.