Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1993 18:28:32 -0800 (PST)
From: Brian Amira <brian@scs.unr.edu>
Subject: Fax STF v3.0 Info (By Request)

I have now used every Fax program made for the Mac and think Fax STF 3.0 
is by far the best. Thus I will not talk about the others.

Is Fax STF Pro worth the extra moeny?
-------------------------------------
Hummm, well the PRO version is not out yet so it is kinda hard to tell. 
STF Pro adds AutoOCR - if you need fax OCR then this is good, if not is 
is a waste. AutoPrint - Auto printing of faxes, I don't really need this. 
Bacground Fax Imaging - Something nice to always have, but it will be 
slower. FaxView - Improved on screen viewing of faxes, the one thing I 
feel I would use most often. System 7 PRO PowerTalk Support - Useless to me.

As you can see it is really on a do you need it basis. I don't need PRO, 
but I might get it if it is a VERY CHEEP upgrade from normal STF.


How about some info about Fax STF 3.0?
--------------------------------------
At $39 mail order I would say buy it. When you do use the fax it will save
you alot of time. As far as whats new this could be rather long so I will
make it short and sweet. STF Tech can fax you more detail I would think. I
will be the first to admit that STF Tech is weak, but I have descovered
how to get good tech support from them after months of dealing with them,
DON'T CALL - FAX! When you fax them it gives them time to get the right
answer from the right person, if you call they crack under pressure. If
you need any help with STF please feel free to contact me and I will see
how I can help. When all else fales, ask STF tech. I am in now way related
with STF, I just hate to see a great product ruined by bad tech support. 

The Fax Print is the same PLUS GREYSCALE, but it no longer contains the 
settings. To change the settings you run a Settings app. or call them up 
from within Fax Manager. This makes for MUCH FASTER settings control. 
There is no loger that delay between clicking the setup button and the 
options coming up. It also suports Line Manager for Data and Fax 
reception with ARA. Also, if you don't choose a person to send to, the 
button says Save instead of Fax and the fax will just be created but not 
sent. It can then be placed in Include or Archive folders (see below).

Fax Status now has neat color Icons in it.

FaxMonitor init no longer puts the modem to Auto Answer, it just looks 
for the ring signal (A big improvment to me).

Quick Fax Does the same thing but has changed to support new features 
listed below. It also has a better interface and the ability to choose 
High or Low rez for the QuickFax.

Here is were the changes really start. FaxManager now STF Manager, has an 
entirely new interface and display of windows. It is in NO WAY like the 
old Fax Manager. The Activity Log is now a fully formated document with 
VERY percise control over what it desplays. It is important to understand 
that EVERY window I talk about from this point on functions like a 
spreadsheet. You can rearange the collums of information and sort by any 
of them. The activity log is now an interactive document as is EVERY 
window. You can delete specific entries without clearing the whole thing, 
and can get detailed info about that fax transmission/reception by dubble 
clicking on a entrie. The log now has collums desplaying: In Or Out icon, 
Name, Who, Result, Date/Time, # Pages, Elapsed Time, Speed, # Dialed, 
Station Message, From. All of there collums can be rearanged in order and 
sorted by any.

There is now a window displaying all the Fax Phonebooks. It has buttons 
and stuff that are of no sence for me to describe. When you open a fax 
phonebook it creates a new window with collums and stuff like the 
Activity Log and it has buttons & such for use.

There are now seprate folders for Fax In, Out, Hold, Include, and 
Archive. Each has a corrisponding window that you can drag and drop 
between to move faxes and/or send etc. Double click on any fax and you 
get info about it like who from, to, stuff like that. The whole interface 
is now Drag and Drop so if you have a fax in hold that you want to send 
out, you drag it from hold to send. You then drag and drop onto the fax 
the names of who you want it sent to. When you send faxes you can have 
them deleted, put into Archive, or into Include. Include is a place to 
store faxes you use alot and they can be attached to any fax you send 
out. Archive is self explanitory

The whole program now has alot of info to offer. What to know how manny 
errors there were in a fax, maby view them? Number of scan lines? Percent 
of errors? This is just a sample of the control you now have.

If I did not cover something you were interested in please feel free to 
ask me for more info.

<| Brian M. Amira  | Internet E-Mail: Brian@scs.unr.edu |>