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Doc2Fax API
Configurable Programming Interface for your
own Fax application
The Direct Fax Problem and its
solution
Obviously it is quite complicated and inelegant to first
print a digital document and then to have the fax device
re-digitalize the printed paper again before
finally sending it to the addressee.
Hardware components like Fritz Card, ISDN Card and
such overcome this problem by virtually establishing
a short circuit between computer and telephone line
- and along with them a huge market for Fax Software
arised, which drives these hardware components in order
to send data through them.
Now if you as a programmer or software developer
intend to offer your clients a tailor-made Fax Software,
by which the end user can print his digital documents
- for example think of an MS Word *.doc - without fax
device, virtually directly into the telephone line,
then you encounter two basic problems:
- How is my software supposed to know when
the user requests the print process, or fax process,
respectively ?
- How is my software supposed to get access to the
graphical data and the text of the digital document
destined to be printed, or faxed, respectively ?
The only solution:
A printer driver, which writes the graphical data and
the text of the digital document destined to be printed,
or faxed, respectively, into files, and notifies
your software about all print processes, print events
and filenames, so that your software can react to
it – and all that is done by Doc2Fax printer driver.
Target Group: To whom does Doc2Fax
API address ?
Occasionally
prospective buyers call us asking why they would want
to buy Doc2Fax API, when for example the driver of company
Peernet, which in principle works the same way
as the Doc2Fax driver does, is on the market for less
than 100 Euro ? – Quite simple:
The mentioned price refers to one
single end user licence only. The Peernet driver
addresses to end users who e.g. do not mind the
Peernet logo to appear on the driver’s every
Property Page (where users for example set page size
and resolution), and for whom it does not matter which
printer name and manufacturer e.g. is
displayed on the Print Dialog or during installation.
Doc2Fax API on the other hand addresses to software
developers who want to offer their customers a Fax
Software including a driver, which displays a printer
name and manufacturer freely selectable by the
software developer. So Doc2Fax API’s price refers
to a developer licence with unlimited number
of end user licences.
Doc2Fax API enables you to configure a printer driver
as required without any entry knowledge on printer
driver programming or generally on programming at all:
//
Doc2Fax.ini
// copyright DriverLab 2007
[Setup]
DeviceName=Doc2Fax API
DriverName=Doc2Fax API Driver
Manufacturer=DriverLab
FaxResolution=209
OutputPath=C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\
// +++++++++++ applications to notify at certain
events +++++++++++++
// if you do not need to take any action at a
certain print event, for
// example StartDoc, then just leave the right
hand side of the "=" empty
[NotifyApp]
StartDoc=C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\NotifyApp.exe
SendPage=C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\NotifyApp.exe
EndDoc=C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\NotifyApp.exe
// +++++++++++ paper sizes - unit: 1/10 millimeter
+++++++++++++
[Paper1]
PaperName ="A4"
ShortEdgeLength =2100
LongEdgeLength =2970
ImageableAreaShortEdgeLength =2100
ImageableAreaLongEdgeLength =2970
[Paper2]
PaperName ="A4 three quarters"
ShortEdgeLength =2100
LongEdgeLength =2227
ImageableAreaShortEdgeLength =2100
ImageableAreaLongEdgeLength =2227
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Mode of operation
When user requests a digital document (for example
*.doc., *.ppt, *.xls, *.html, …) to be printed,
the Doc2Fax printer driver
-
puts out one black-and-white-image in bitmap
format (*.bmp) containing the graphic information
for each page of the document to be printed (alternatively
on demand a multipage TIFF-F aka Fax Group
3)
- puts out one txt-file containing the text information
for each page of the document to be printed. This
later on allows keyword search, especially
in large fax documents.
- on print events like
it starts the program or application, which
you as software developer have scheduled for this
case in configuration file Doc2Fax.ini. Depending
on the type of print event, the driver provides
useful information in the command line arguments
like for example the name of the bitmap-file
or txt-file it just recently put out.
Typically e.g. in the program for event "EndPage",
which receives the name of the bmp-file containing
the graphic information of the page just recently
put out by the driver, you as the programmer would
open this bmp-file, then eventually convert the
*.bmp to a *.jpg or manipulate the image in any
other way and then forward it for example to the
ISDN card.
References
Since 2001, Doc2Fax API printer driver has been
used (amongst others) in the following software products:
Price:
A developer licence for Doc2Fax API costs 298
€.
Operating system:
Printer drivers are no programms, but extensions
of the operating system. Doc2Fax API is suitable
for
- Windows 2000
- Windows Server 2000
- Windows XP
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows Vista
- and Windows Server 2008
(Furthermore, so to speak for reasons of downwards
compatibility there is a version for
- Windows 95
- Windows 98
- and Windows ME,
which you can request at info@driverlab.de
at a small surcharge.)
Doc2Fax API does not work under any other operating
system.
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