What fax software are you all using?

I'm thinking about picking up a fax machine, but everyone keeps telling me I should just grab some fax software and install it on my PC instead...

Are the features of this kind of software actually identical to what you get with a physical fax machine? Can someone walk me through how the software side even works?

Does my computer need to stay powered on and connected to the internet to receive a fax... Or does the message just sit there waiting for me to "download" it once I log on? What kind of number or address would I actually use? How does it work???

For those of you with experience using either hardware or software, please clarify how this all functions together.

Thanks!

😕

Well, obviously the computer has to be powered on. I mean, try turning off your fax machine and then see if it just sits there waiting in memory until you boot it back up...😁

Please, stop messing around and let someone actually address this. I recall there being some discussion about Mooni a few months back, but my specific grievance lies with the software for Billion ISDN hardware, as I've been running into constant compatibility headaches. Come on, geniuses, I'm waiting...👋

Robert Hughes45 said:I'm thinking about picking up a dedicated fax machine, but everyone keeps telling me I should just grab some fax software and install it on my PC instead...

Are the capabilities of that kind of software actually identical to a physical fax machine? Can someone walk me through how fax software even works?

Does my computer have to be powered on and connected to the internet just to receive a fax... Or does the message just wait for me until I log on and then I can just "download" it? What kind of number or address would I even use??? How does this whole thing work???

Please, if you guys have any experience with either hardware machines or software, could you explain the whole setup to me.

Thanks a bunch!

😕

Man, I was messing around with this stuff way back when, like, way back in '96, and I gotta tell you, it worked pretty smoothly. You aren't even connecting to the internet; the fax comes in "through" the phone line—which, honestly, isn't much different from how a standard old-school fax machine operates since those aren't online either. Here’s how it went down for me: you fire up the program, the phone rings (you can set it to ring once or multiple times if you're feeling fancy), the software triggers the modem, and the fax pops right up on your screen or prints out. There's zero internet involved in that process. Of course, the big catch is that your modem actually has to support faxing. And look, I'm sure software has come a long way since '96, so it's probably even better now.
The only real headache is that you need to know a fax is coming so you can actually have the program running. If you leave the program open all the time and someone calls you just to chat, the incoming fax signal will hit the line, confuse the system, and you'll end up having to manually kill the program to stop the chaos.

This software has everything you need to stay alive

That stupid Windows XP's mess... I'm just trying to find something that lets me send files to a standard fax machine and vice versa 😁

I used to mess around with that stuff myself... back in the day.😁 😁
I was running WinFax Pro 10

I posted the link above. I was running an older version myself. It works fine, though getting the settings dialed in is a bit of a headache.
Once my high-speed internet is finally installed, I'll give this broadband version a shot.

I'm just using the Windows default right now—used WinFax 10 back in the day.
The real trick is picking up an external modem (most modern ones are "fax modems" these days, so they handle both). You'll want one that can actually receive faxes while the PC is powered down. I won't name specific brands, but they definitely exist. If you leave the modem on, it just catches the incoming fax and holds it in its own memory until you boot up the computer.
All in all, it’s probably a cheaper route than buying a dedicated fax machine.