Information Systems:SRFax (desktop faxing) Administration
This is a technical guide. For user guides (e.g. how to send faxes), consult the Fax category.
Overview
uniPHARM uses a hosted fax service, SRFax, to send and receive fax documents such as recall notices to and from our business partners. This replaced Xerox/device-based faxing.
How it works
Users fax PDFs (or other supported documents) from the desktop as they would print something. A fax printer driver (downloadable from SRFax) is (or should be) installed on each computer, and printing from Windows applications should summon a pop-up where you configure cover pages, enter destination numbers etc., and finally, send the fax.
Administration
Account Details
| Website (administration/user portal) | https://www.srfax.com |
| Login credentials | admin@unipharm.com / NewVisionIT2051 |
| Subscription Details |
|
| Company Info | Located in Sydney, BC |
SRFax Accounts
If you really want a full understanding of the SRFax setup, make the effort to understand this section. The way the accounts are setup is a little complicated but achieves the best outcome (with regards to user ease-of-use and convenience of administration).
| Account Name | Account type (Main/Sub) | Actual account type (Inbound/Outbound) | Purpose | Fax number | Username/login | Mapped aliases | Account number | Header text |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administration Account (Master account) | Main | Inbound/Outbound | For receiving inbound faxes to main fax number, and is the route through which all outbound faxes are sent | 604-276-8478 | admin@unipharm.com | norwinu, darrenf, jeremym | 92531 | Example |
| Outbound Fax - Company Main | Sub | Outbound only | Outbound faxes | 604-276-8478 (routes through Main account) | fax@unipharm.com, or aliased users | Most staff members, with their usernames in AD format (e.g. norwinu) | Example | |
| Outbound Fax - Purchasing Dept. | Sub | Outbound only | Outbound faxes | 604-276-8478 (routes through Main account) | purchasing@unipharm.com, or aliased users | Example | Example | Example |
| Inbound Fax - Receiving | Sub | Inbound/Outbound | Receiving faxes destined for Receiving department copier (reccopier) | 604-276-5283 | faxreceiving@unipharm.com | example | ||
| Inbound Fax - Returns | Sub | Inbound/Outbound | Receiving faxes destined for Returns department copier (rtncopier) | 604-276-5283 | faxreturns@unipharm.com | Example | ||
| Inbound Fax - Elaho | Sub | Inbound/Outbound | Receiving faxes destined for 2nd-floor copier (elaho) | 604-270-9728 | faxelaho@unipharm.com | Example | ||
| Inbound Fax - Stein | Sub | Inbound/Outbound | Receiving faxes destined for 1st-floor copier (stein) | 604-270-8537 | faxstein@unipharm.com | Example | ||
| Angela Chan | Sub | Inbound/Outbound | Single-user account for sending/receiving inbound/outbound faxes | angelac@unipharm.com | Example | Example | ||
| Ron Gracan | Sub | Inbound/Outbound | Single-user account for sending/receiving inbound/outbound faxes | 604-276-5283 | rong@unipharm.com | Example | Example |
The primary justification for the level of complexity in the way the users were set up came from the desire to keep the inbound fax "experience" the same as when uniPHARM used traditional Xerox/device-based faxing. Each Xerox had a phone number and thus represented a distinct inbound route. Each Xerox was also a distinct outbound route, yet this was not important (i.e. origin of the fax was not important; the cover page always indicated the return fax number). There is also the fact that faxing is an infrequently used (and outdated) means of communication, so it was not ideal to set users up as full-featured sub-accounts, as that would've incurred unnecessary administration burden. Lastly, it was sensible to have a group like Purchasing to have a group-local address book. Thus to translate all these requirements to hosted/internet faxing, users were set up as shown above.
Main takeaways:
- There are 2 types of "users" - user accounts and aliases. User accounts are listed in the table above and most are symbolic (with the exception of Ron and Angela's). Staff members are not users accounts, but are aliases, aliased to one of the symbolic "Outbound" users.
- The concept of users only really comes into play in outbound faxing. Inbound faxing occurs through pre-defined routes, with phone numbers mapped to email addresses, which in turn are mapped to printers. The exceptions are Ron and Angela.
- Logging into the admin/main account lets you see everything across the sub-accounts, but some settings may require you to "admin-log-in" to the sub-account (similar to Barracuda administration, where you can enter into each user's account from the admin account).
Basic administration
Automatic Email Manager
Automatic Email Manager is a piece of software that checks emails and auto-processes (print or file) any contained attachments. It is an important part of the fax workflow as it prints inbound fax documents automatically to their designated printers (determined by destination email address, which in turn, is mapped to a specific inbound phone number).
Because inbound faxes are Automatic Email Manager is installed on superserver.