Today, in honor of Earth Day, we are re-posting some of our featured blog posts on saving paper, making better decisions about waste and the like. Enjoy this trip back in time as we check out some of these posts from the past.

Did you know  that there is actually a “World Paper-Free” day? Check it out here. 

Click here to Go-Green with RightFax! Lastly, here is a funny video showing how paperless our culture has become.

Also, 5 fun facts about Earth Day:

1. Green roots: Earth Day got its start in the wake of the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s. After visiting the site of an oil spill near Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1969, Sen. Gaylord Nelson, a Wisconsin Democrat, envisioned a way to mobilize a grassroots movement to raise the profile of environmental issues, modeled after Vietnam War teach-ins. His idea spread and people held rallies in cities throughout the country on April 22, 1970.

 2. Political impact: Though Earth Day may now be synonymous with small-scale tree planting and volunteer cleanup projects, the first Earth Day actually had its sights set on bigger political projects. Earth Day demonstrations created public support for the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, authorized by Congress in December 1970. Earth Day also contributed to the passage of the Clean Water, Clean Air and Endangered Species acts.

 3. Equinox day: There are actually two Earth Days — the April 22 holiday and the one celebrated on March 20, the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumnal equinox in southern latitudes. To this day, at the exact moment of the equinox, when the sun crosses the plane of the equator and day and night are equal length, the Japanese Peace Bell is rung at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, followed by two minutes of silent prayer or meditation. The Equinox was chosen as a symbol of harmony in nature and an appropriate time to dedicate efforts to peace and care of the Earth.

 4. Global Movement: Earth Day may have been conceived in 1970, but it didn’t truly go global until 1990. That year, more than 200 million people participated in environmental activities in more than 141 countries. This year, more than 1 billion people are expected to participate in 192 countries.

 5. Other holidays: Nelson originally chose April 22 because it didn’t seem to coincide with other big holidays in the United States. However, the date was once a big deal in the Communist Soviet Union: it was also the birthday of Vladimir Lenin

Learn how RightFax and fax automation can help you go green here!

Happy Earth Day!

RightFax Supported Versions (Captaris RightFax)

The following table provides information regarding the release dates and subsequent support expiry dates for Fax & Document Distribution Group (Captaris) products.

Open Text will provide patches and bug fixes to each version for a period of at least eighteen (18) months after the subsequent version is made available to subscribers of the Software Maintenance Program and its licensees.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the Open Text Support Lifecycle, please do not hesitate to contact us at support@thefaxguys.com

We just thought you should know…OpenText RightFax 10.5 Feature Pack 1 Service Release 2 Is Now Available! 

As part of their regular update schedule, OpenText™ is pleased to announce the release of RightFax 10.5 Feature Pack 1 Service Release 2.

Service Release 2 is a cumulative update containing a collection of bug fixes. OpenText recommends the installation of Service Release 2 for all RightFax 10.5 Feature Pack 1 server and client installations. It includes a number of important fixes which may be essential to the operating environment. For a complete list of fixed issues and installation instructions, refer to the Readme.

SYSTEMS AFFECTED:

OpenText RightFax 10.5 Feature Pack 1 server and client installations.

MORE INFORMATION:
For more information, contact The Fax Guys at 952.224.3340.

As our valued customer & friend, you can download Service Release 2 and the Readme below:

Once again The Fax Guys have been named one of the top 100 places to work in Minnesota! Pretty cool, huh? We think so! The award is given to companies of all sizes that make employee satisfaction a high priority. Our culture is supported by leadership that knows when people are happy and enjoy their jobs, everyone wins!

Recently we surveyed our customers and found that our company received high marks (more than 90 percent agree or strongly agree) on responsiveness, collaboration, knowledge, professionalism, and most importantly, value. Additionally, 90 percent of customers surveyed indicated that they would recommend The Fax Guys to other businesses. Of note, The Fax Guys’ technical support team received the highest ratings (way to go guys!).

We think it’s no surprise that our happy employees rank highly with our very satisfied customers. It’s a lot of little things, but when added together, it is a recipe for success!

We also want to mention some of our friends and customers who also were honored by Minnesota Business Magazine as top workplaces in alongside us. Congratulations to:

Accenture
Capitol Lien Records & Research
Fishbowl Solutions
Greene Espel 
Hanratty & Associates
Loffler Companies
Marco
Merchant & Gould
Modern Climate
PCL Construction Service
Room & Board
RSP Marketing
SJF Material Handling
Western National Mutual Insurance Company

Organizations depend on fax for secure, compliant, auditable, and reliable communications. Fax use is expected to remain high and increase yearly as millions of business-critical documents continue to be faxed every day.  And with voice over IP (VoIP) now commonplace, fax over IP (FoIP) allows organizations to exchange high volumes of these business-critical documents over their VoIP networks.

For companies extending communication strategies with IP-based document delivery, using software-only fax solutions such as OpenText RightFax helps facilitate these efforts.  This also future-proofs an IP network investment by providing a scalable architecture and easing the transition from traditional PSTN to IP communications. Importantly, RightFax integrates directly with all the most popular business systems, including those provided by market leader CISCO. RightFax 10.5 is duly certified by CISCO to work with Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) and Unity Connection version 9, and has been recently approved for CISCO’s Solutions Incentive Program (SIP).

Effective FoIP solutions leverage IP network resources, enhance unified communications, and speed investment returns on IP equipment and VoIP applications. Additional benefits include:

• Improved document and communication security
• Reduced document delivery costs
• Resource consolidation
• Simplified IT management
• Bridged data and voice networks
• Enhanced compliance (i.e. with HIPAA, SOX, GLBA)
• Server virtualization

Centralizing and consolidating fax also reduces administrative costs, eliminates fax machines and consumables (often by leveraging MFPs), and unifies voice, fax, and data onto a single network.

As always The Fax Guys are available to help, give us a call today – 952-392-8929!

*This post was originally posted on the OpenText Fax Solutions Blog, by Manish Chhokar.

In this recent article by CNN Money, the faithful fax machine gets a bad wrap (again!). The fax machine is an easy target for the schoolyard bully.  Not everyone “gets” the fact that faxing is still one of the most reliable, secure, widely recognized forms of document transmission out there.  Email is great.  We love email! Unfortunately, email can’t compete with faxing when it comes to 100% certainty that your document made it to the desired recipient (unless you miss-dialed, but that isn’t the fax machines fault!). Every single fax that leaves your fax machine, will be date and time stamped and a confirmation of receipt will accompany all successful transmissions.

Can email tell you without a doubt that your  loan officer received your document locking your mortgage rate in?
What about when your doctor needs to get a prescription over to  your pharmacy, so you can pick up the medication for your baby who has a double ear infection?

Emailing private medical information is  not HIPAA compliant and you are going to have more  sleepless nights if you drive to Walgreens and they have no record of the doctors orders to dispense Zithromax for your little one. With fax they have compliance, security and peace of mind knowing that if the fax didn’t get through, they would know right away. 

We’ve been selling fax server software for 15 years and we often joke that we could quit working if we had a nickel for every time someone said “faxing is dead” or dying. The reality is, that until there is a better way, faxing is the way! Your grandpa always said, “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” (we really like your grandpa!).

It’s easy to put the cart before the horse and get started with a project without really understanding what you’re getting yourself into. Remember the gas grill or your kid’s bike you tried to put together without reading the instructions? Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. You know, when it comes to RightFax, we take the time to really figure things out before we roll a new version out to you. We take the guess-work out of RightFax and spend time stumbling (a little) and navigating the unknown, so you don’t have to. Have you been thinking about upgrading to RightFax 10.5? If so, start here. Those are the easiest instructions you will ever have to follow.

Join us for an informative and interactive webinar with one of our expert Fax Guys.  Not only will he highlight the features and benefits of this latest release, but exactly what we have learned first-hand about the nuances of this product.  

Give us 60 minutes and save yourself hours of work!  See for yourself why RightFax 10.5 is the most exciting release ever! 

When: June, 6, 2013 at 11:00 AM Central

Reserve your spot today! Register here!

CHECK OUT SOME OF THE NOTABLE FEATURES:

RightFax 10.5 includes businesses tangible improvements to the way faxes are transmitted:

• The fax industry’s first Internet connector for transmitting faxes across the Internet, allowing users to send and receive faxes at Internet speeds with unmatched fidelity, scalability, and more intuitive administrative controls.
• Prebuilt with enhancements to take advantage of the OpenText Cloud. RightFax OnDemand customers will immediately benefit from the EasyLink expertise, technology and data center operations

You need speed and security? You got it!
The new RightFax Internet Connector marks a significant change in the face of the fax market by offering businesses tangible improvements to the way faxes are transmitted. By providing an internet connection point between two RightFax fax servers, the RightFax Internet Connector enables businesses to:

• Decrease the cost of fax transmission - The RightFax Internet Connector provides a non-telephony route to send faxes to other RightFax users. The fax is routed via the connector to another RightFax Fax Server anywhere in the world, eliminating telephony charges.
• Increase the speed of faxing - Because the fax is transmitted via the RightFax Internet Connector, businesses can now send hundreds of pages exponentially faster than via traditional faxing over the public switched network or PSTN.
• Improve security and privacy - With the RightFax Internet Connector, faxing has never been more secure. Each RightFax fax number used by the RightFax Internet Connector is individually registered and verified, helping to ensure that each number belongs to the intended recipient. Each fax transmission is also encrypted for higher information security and privacy. RightFax is the first solution ever to offer this level of rigor in authenticating fax numbers.

We have barely tipped the iceberg here, so don’t miss out! Register here today and join us on June, 6, 2013 at 11:00 AM Central.

Reserve your spot today! Register here!

In observance of Memorial Day,
our offices will be closed on Monday, May 27, 2013.

Customers with 24x7x365 Support are able to request support if they experience a production emergency.  To do so, please call our main phone number and press “2” for technical support.  You will be directed to our answering service and an on-call engineer will return your call within 20 minutes.

 
For information about our support offerings or to upgrade to 24x7x365, please contact Zack Reilly at 952.224.3340 x606

Good morning friends of fax! The sun is finally shining in Minnesota (it’s been a LONG time since we’ve had nice weather!) and it’s a new week. Does anyone else find any joy in the fresh start of a new week? Or do you all loathe Monday morning for showing its ugly face after the two day break from reality? Why am I so chipper? Well, I just think it’s going to be a really great week for several reasons:

1.} We are hosting a great webinar on RightFax 10.5 on Thursday morning at 11am (Central Time)– there is still time & space, so sign up! It’s a small investment of time to learn about the benefits and features of this latest release.  The best part? Our expert Fax Guys will give you time to ask all the questions you can think of, to make sure upgrading is the right move for your organization.  Register here.

2.} Details about our awesome upcoming customer event will be released later this week. Just to let you in on a tiny tidbit…{Save the Date: July 24, 2013 in Edina, Minnesota}. If you have been to any of our past events, you know we throw a pretty good party!  More details coming later this week!

3.} Um, did I mention the sun is shining? This really is a noteworthy highlight of this week! Seriously, Seattle may have more nice days than Minnesota lately!

4.} We have a new “Bags” Champion in the office. Congratulations to Nate, our Project Manager on his wins over Brent and Zack.  Bags is a tailgating-type game that is played in our office parking lot when weather permits. It tends to be about as heated as the foosball competitions played indoors in the colder months. Next time you talk to Nate, congratulate him.  If you happen to to talk to Brent or Zack, feel free to heckle them as well! 

5.} Oh yes, trivia! How can I forget?!  So, Saturday evening, we were playing Trivial Pursuit with friends (one of the chief fax guys was there too), and low and behold, under the brown- “Science & Nature” category for this edition, we get this questions:

Which is the oldest invention- radio, telephone or fax machine?

Now of course Fax Girl immediately says “fax machine”, but I was unsure if I really thought that was the answer or if I was just being biased to my favorite technology. I vaguely recalled a blog post I had done on the invention of the telephone a few years ago. I felt really good about this, but could not convince my teammates.  Radio was our “final answer” for the women’s team.  We were wrong.

Should have gone with Fax Girl. Bummer. 

Have a great week everyone! Join us on the webinar on Thursday and stay tuned for more information on our upcoming event!

Fax Export Module –Connector for imaging and workflow systems

In the past, your business used a traditional fax machine. This was time consuming and often unreliable. Your business became more efficient by implementing a network based fax solution. This saved time  and money, translating directly into revenue growth. As your company grew, so did your volume of business communications. Managing (filing, printing, storing) all of these documents has become the new bottleneck. Now an increasing amount of time and money you initially gained is beginning to evaporate.  

Problem solved. Meet Fax Export!

• Automates the storage of these documents in a more efficient and reliable manner.

• Connects your RightFax® server with your imaging or workflow services.

• Provides flexibility, allowing you to customize, making the application work specifically for you.

• Giving the time back to your organization and the dollars back to your bottom line.

Features:

• Choose to export faxes to TIF or PDF (RightFax® PDF module required)

• Choose to export a single data file for all faxes, or a separate data file for each fax

• Determine in what file format the metadata will be created—Standard CSV, Tab or custom delimiter

• Customize your output data format from dozens of available fields

• Export all faxes, all successful faxes, or only failed faxes

• Choose to export received faxes, sent faxes, or both

• Move processed faxes to a separate RightFax® folder in FaxUtil

• Runs as a Windows service

• Integrates with document management applications such as: Onbase®, AnyDocs® and LaserFiche®

• Compatible with RightFax® v9.3 and higher

Call The Fax Guys today for more information and to try Fax Export for 14 days for free. 952-392-8929

 We’ve been loving our customers for 15 years and this year is no exception!

Join us in July for our Annual Customer Appreciation Event and our 15th Anniversary Celebration! We’re hosting a BIG party and we hope we’ll be partying with YOU!

You deserve a little time away from the office, so come and hang out with the coolest Fax Guys in town!

Where: Centennial Lakes Park, 7499 France Avenue South, Edina, Minnesota 55435

When: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 11:30 PM – 3:30 PM (Rain or Shine!)

We’ll start the party with a fabulous catered lunch. Later we’ll head outside for some fun in the sun! Partake in a round of lawn bowling or croquet or even enjoy a round of golf (miniature golf, that is!) Not a gamer? Come and enjoy our tasty lunch and then stroll the gorgeous 24-acres of this hidden gem in the city! We’ve even arranged for paddleboats if you want to enjoy the park via water and a little exercise! Just don’t forget your shades and the sunscreen!  

What if it rains? We’re The Fax Guys and we know how to have fun. Should rain clouds roll in –we’re set to enjoy an afternoon of indoor fun! In true Fax Guys fashion, we’ll have lots of goodies to take home and prizes for everyone!

Please RSVP so we can get an accurate head count. We can’t wait to see you! Feel free to bring your boss or a co-worker too (but please RSVP for them as well)!

Have questions? Just ask! Call 952-224-3340 x611 and Tonia will be happy to chat with you!

Don’t forget to RSVP!

As part of their regular update schedule, OpenText™ is pleased to announce the release of RightFax 10.0 Service Release 4. We recommend the installation of Service Release 4 for all RightFax 10.0 server and client applications. This release includes a number of fixes that may be essential to the operating environment. The service release updates the OpenText RightFax 10.0 product suite. 

To answer a relatively common question– “How do I find my RightFax SUID (System ID)?”, we’ve created this short video. 

Let us know if we can help with anything else. Have a great week!

Look what we just came across…a brand new OpenText Knowledge Center!
It looks great and the ease of use is amazing! Check it out!
Don’t you just love when things get better?
We do!

Do you need OpenText Knowledge Center credentials? Register here to login.

In observance of Independence Day- July 4th all of our offices will be closed.  

Customers with 24x7x365 Support are able to request support if they experience a production emergency.  To do so, please call our main phone number and press “2” for technical support.  You will be directed to our answering service and an on-call engineer will return your call within 20 minutes. 

Our offices will remain open for business as usual the rest of the week. The Fax Guys hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday with your family & friends.

 
For information about our support offerings or to upgrade to 24x7x365, please contact Zack Reilly at 952.224.3340 x606

Check out this video with step-by-step instructions for RightFax coversheet management. RightFax Administrators can learn how to create and import fax cover sheets into their database, set system default and configure group access.

ASK THE FAX GUYS:

Is it legal to fax a prescription?

Yes! Actually, fax is the most secure form of electronic transmission available today. In order for a prescription to be sent between prescribers and pharmacists there must a secure system for electronic transmission from one to the other. A fax line makes that possible and ensures the security and confidentiality of the transmission. Faxing a prescription is a must to prevent unauthorized access, alteration or use.  

Isn’t email good enough?

No. Without special security features and safeguards, email transmissions do not independently assure the required confidentiality of patient records and do not, therefore, meet the regulations for electronically transmitting a prescription. 

How is RightFax beneficial in the transfer of prescriptions between prescribers and pharmacists?

The beauty of using RightFax is you get the compliance and security you need while easing the process of tracking and managing prescriptions. Having electronic records allows you to know the date and time of delivery and the destination. Eliminating paper (that can fall into the wrong hands) can be not only a cost saving measure, but another safeguard in securing the patients private information.

What else do you want to know about faxing in the medical industry? We’d love to tackle more of your questions–just ask! Call a Fax Guy today 952-392-8929

SUMMARY: In RightFax, after you rename a RightFax 10.5 server that has already been licensed, when you utilize a virtual fax board or Fax over IP (FoIP) solution, an “Error reserving channels: Maximum OEM channels exceeded” message may appear.

SYMPTOMS THAT MAY OCCUR:

The DocTransport module can be started and, shortly afterward, stopped automatically.

The RightFax application log displays an “Error reserving channels: Maximum OEM channels exceeded” message.

The DocTransport module may be configured without errors.

The Brooktrout Configuration has no licensing issues, and the Dialogic Boston Host service can be stopped and started without errors.

The RightFax Product Licensing Utility indicates the proper amount of FoIP channels are available, and the DocTransport has not been configured to exceed this amount.

ERROR MESSAGE (After you rename a fax server, this issue may be caused by an improperly configured LicenseServer.state fil): “Error reserving channels: Maximum OEM channels exceeded.”

 SOLUTION (Perform the following steps):

1. Browse to C:\ProgramData\RightFax\Licenses. NOTE: This is a hidden system folder.
2. Locate the LicensingServer.state file, and open it with a text editor (such as notepad.exe).
3. Find the entry similar to <Name>SERVERNAME</Name>, and verify that SERVERNAME is incorrect. Do not make any changes to the LicensingServer.state file at this time.
4. Close the editor, and stop all RightFax services. NOTE: The RightFax Licensing Service must be stopped manually from the Microsoft Windows services list (services.msc).
5. Rename the LicensingServer.state file to LicensingServer.state.old (or something similar).
6. Access the Product Licensing Utility, and proceed through the activation process again (go to RightFax Server Module > Configuration > Feature Activation tab >[Product Licensing Utility]). NOTE: You need a valid SUID for this procedure.
7. Start all RightFax services.
8. Verify that a new LicensingServer.state file has been created in C:\ProgramData\RightFax\Licenses and now references the correct SERVERNAME.

In a perfect world, RightFax coversheets would be really easy to create. It seems like everything we do is getting easier all the time. . .except creating RightFax coversheets! It is probably the number one question we get and our most read blog post since our blog began.  Why is it such a pain? Well, since Word 2000 was released, Microsoft has changed the way that Word renders files that are printed to PCL.  Word 97 and Windows 98 work really well but anything newer is asking for trouble. It highly likely that a great deal of you are operating with a newer Microsoft version, therefore encountering the problems we so often are asked about. 

Enter, the work-around:

The easiest way we have found is to create them in Microsoft Excel and then print to PCL.  MS Excel doesn’t seem to have the same rendering bugs that Microsoft Word does.  Here is a link to a sample The Fax Guys coversheet in Excel format.

https://dsgi.box.com/s/udjiq9gjhigtuxo0qv06

You can download this file, edit it in Excel, then print to a HP LaserJet 4 / HP LaserJet 4000 printer.  Complete instructions on how to create the PCL files are posted in the Administrators Guide.

Another resource that might be helpful too is this video:

It might help to watch this coversheet management video once you have created your own coversheet: 

Hey, we just want to help! What else do you need to know? We are happy to assist you with anything RightFax- related! Have a great week! 

Last week we were in full celebration mode around here! We had a wonderful afternoon in Edina celebrating our fabulous customers and friends! It was also only fitting to celebrate our 15th Anniversary at the same time, so we did! We are so grateful for those local customers and friends who were there with us and we are sorry that many of our out-of-town customers and friends could not attend. 

The weather was great! We were thrilled when the sun came out just in time for the festivities to kick off! Guests played golf, enjoyed the paddle boats and bowled on the lawn (bocce ball!). 

Something fun we put together was a slide show highlighting the past 15 years. So many of our customers are included in the presentation and we wanted to share it again here! 

Thank you again for your business and friendship over the past 15 years! We would not be here without you!