flexfax: Re: format files M$ Word - solution to automation ?

[ninja@hutch.com.au (Anthony Green (HTAL))]

> 
> On Fri, Aug 22, 1997 at 10:01:54PM +0800, Super-User wrote:
> ...
> >does anyone know of ANY way to convert microsoft word documents for fax in
> >an automated way?  has anyone even heard rumors of a unix ms-word
> >viewer/converter?  if it must be done through windows, does the
> >word-viewer microsoft gives away accept command-line options to simply
> >print a file on command line (to a captured postscript virtual printer)?
> >in this case i imagine you could get away with sharing a directory via
> >samba, and calling a batch file through hummingbird's inetd (part of
> >exceed for nt)..
> >anyone??
> 
> We do this via a Unix printer accessed via SAMBA on the Unix box.  As far
> as M$-Word is concerned, it's just a PostScript printer.  We have a SYSV
> type printer interface script that extracts the fax number from the
> PostScript using ps2ascii (after stripping the M$ garbage memory tests :-).
> The fax number is simply a pattern ``Fax: phone_number'' where phone_number
> is a pattern that looks like a telephone number.  Once it has the phone
> number it sends that via sendfax with the cleaned up PostScript file as
> input.
> 
> This printer interface works with any text or PostScript file so can be
> used from any Unix or DOS/Windows client.
> 
> Bill

Ok, so people want to automate this process from a client that may not be on
the same network as the Windows box, or from just sending email...

So .. how bout this .... You setup locally on the same network the above 
configuration and then setup a mail server on the windows box. All mail
that is to be faxed gets sent to the windows box first to the mail server,
its then pre-processed like the above and then this gets sent sent via
samba to the unix box running hylafax for sending ...

Now, yes this is VERY messy, and i dont even know how or what functionality
the windows box running the mail server will give you with regards to 
submitting the fax to the HylaFAX server .. there may be all types of problems
with it ... namely .. this is only an email solution .. the pc/mac client
programs wont work? .. also there is the problem of getting to mail server
run on the windows machine to pass along all the relevant info on the origin
of the mail message so the HylaFAX server's notify script can work properly..

So .. yes this is a very hap hazzard solution .. but it is automated, once
you can get the samba/windows mail server/hylfax server all talking and 
passing all the correct information to each other.

And yes, as some have mentioned .. a UNIX M$ word converter would be PERFECT!
but alas, none are around and I dont see Microsoft trying to make one .. 
and the chances of reverse engineering a M$ word viewer and coding it for
unix are pretty slim ;)

just my thoughts on the situation .. 

Regards,

-- 
ninja@hutch.com.au
Anthony Green

Hutchison Internet					Level 1, 40 Pacific Highway
Technical Sales Consultant				St Leonards NSW 2065
Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) Limited	Phone: +61-2-99644888
Telecommunications from Hutchison Whampoa Limited	Fax:   +61-2-99644848

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