Dear Users... (A thread for Sysadmin, Technical Support, and Help Desk people)

[Norman Alexander]

Just took a call about whether/how we can receive faxes.

We can, by the way. But it's been a very long time I've been asked about that.

Vaguely recall there's basic fax software as standard in Windows. Although the last I saw of that was back in Win2K IIRC...

[looks]

Yep, Windows Fax and Scan in Win7 and Win10. But it's an optional feature you need to enable.

 

[arthwollipot]

Vaguely recall there's basic fax software as standard in Windows. Although the last I saw of that was back in Win2K IIRC...

[looks]

Yep, Windows Fax and Scan in Win7 and Win10. But it's an optional feature you need to enable.

Yeah, we have it as a function of our MFDs. Anyone can request access to it, but it isn't enabled by default.

 

[Norman Alexander]

Yeah, we have it as a function of our MFDs. Anyone can request access to it, but it isn't enabled by default.

What, MORE paper??

 

[zooterkin]

What, MORE paper??

Not necessarily, I think there’s an option to receive it as a PDF.

 

[Trebuchet]

When we were selling my parents' old house, my Mother-in-Law's old house, and our old house, I was astounded by how dependent the real estate business is on sending faxes.

 

[JoeMorgue]

When we were selling my parents' old house, my Mother-in-Law's old house, and our old house, I was astounded by how dependent the real estate business is on sending faxes.

Yep. I sent more faxes while buying a home then I though possible.

 

[Hellbound]

I prefer alternative fax.

I use a scanner and email.

 

[Donal]

My company's European HQ opened a new office that has no faxes at all. That has led to a few uneasy conversations with some of our more...entrenched employees.

 

[JoeMorgue]

Jesus Christ I will never get over how picky users are about how software "looks" when it functions exactly the same.

This seriously is becoming the biggest timesink of my job.

Every time anything changes, every time anyone moves to a new computer, every new person, every person that takes on a new job or new roll I have to hand hold them making their screen "look like it used to."

These people are insane. Every icon has to be in the exact same place on their desktop or they shut down. If they move from a duel monitor to a single monitor or vice versa they shut down. If their GODDAMN RESOLUTION CHANGES BY ONE MICRON they shut down.

 

[JoeMorgue]

My company's European HQ opened a new office that has no faxes at all. That has led to a few uneasy conversations with some of our more...entrenched employees.

Well have a doctor that does consulting work for our office. He demands everything be sent to him via traditional fax. If he suspects we used a software based fax solution he rejects anything sent to him. He asks the nurses when they are sending stuff to him how they are sending it.

 

[Hellbound]

This seriously is becoming the biggest timesink of my job.

Every time anything changes, every time anyone moves to a new computer, every new person, every person that takes on a new job or new roll I have to hand hold them making their screen "look like it used to."

These people are insane. Every icon has to be in the exact same place on their desktop or they shut down. If they move from a duel monitor to a single monitor or vice versa they shut down. If their GODDAMN RESOLUTION CHANGES BY ONE MICRON they shut down.

Write a quick script to randomly re-order desktop icons and resolutions throughout the day. Let it run. Tell them to let you know when it gets to how they like it sop you can turn the app off.

 

[Blue Mountain]

This seriously is becoming the biggest timesink of my job.

Every time anything changes, every time anyone moves to a new computer, every new person, every person that takes on a new job or new roll I have to hand hold them making their screen "look like it used to."

These people are insane. Every icon has to be in the exact same place on their desktop or they shut down. If they move from a duel monitor to a single monitor or vice versa they shut down. If their GODDAMN RESOLUTION CHANGES BY ONE MICRON they shut down.

Yeah, I hate it when my monitors start duelling. I wish there was a better way for them to come to a resolution on their own.

 

[xterra]

Yeah, I hate it when my monitors start duelling. I wish there was a better way for them to come to a resolution on their own.

I see what you did there.

 

[catsmate]

Not necessarily, I think there’s an option to receive it as a PDF.

Yeah, our system automatically emails a tax sent to one of the landline numbers to the corresponding address in the directory.

 

[Blue Mountain]

I see what you did there.

 

[Norman Alexander]

Not necessarily, I think there’s an option to receive it as a PDF.

So how do you know when it has arrived? Does the MFP go ping?

This is also readily available in the free Windows add-in. But as others have said, why not just email the ******* thing in the first place.

 

[novaphile]

So how do you know when it has arrived? Does the MFP go ping?

This is also readily available in the free Windows add-in. But as others have said, why not just email the ******* thing in the first place.

This is one thing about modern offices that I love.

I can receive a fax from anywhere in the organisation, I can retrieve a printed document from any printer (MFD), no matter where I am, I can log into any computer, and do my work there. (Well except for everything that requires me to connect to any of our environments* , because that requires fixed IP addresses and holes drilled through the metric ****-ton of firewalls.

(Fortunately I never have to do that stuff away from my desk)

*environments are a full set of everything, each in their own network segments, some of the elements are virtualised, but lots of the elements are in different places and different organisations.

 

[ShowMe]

These people are insane. Every icon has to be in the exact same place on their desktop or they shut down. If they move from a duel monitor to a single monitor or vice versa they shut down. If their GODDAMN RESOLUTION CHANGES BY ONE MICRON they shut down.

There have been many times I wanted to go to HR, see if I could get their job application letter, check to see if it said "computer skills" anywhere on it and have them fired for lying on their application.

OK, a bit drastic perhaps. But folks who claim to "know Office and Word" (yes, I have actually seen that) should be able to figure out the difference between pallets and sliding menus.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

Vaguely recall there's basic fax software as standard in Windows. Although the last I saw of that was back in Win2K IIRC...

[looks]

Yep, Windows Fax and Scan in Win7 and Win10. But it's an optional feature you need to enable.

More than that, you need a way to connect the computer to the "voice" side of the phone network. Not many computers have modems these days!

 

[zooterkin]

More than that, you need a way to connect the computer to the "voice" side of the phone network. Not many computers have modems these days!

Yes, you either use an MFP (multi-function printer) with a phone line, or a fax gateway on your email server.