Amazon.com Review

WinFax Pro 10.0 shatters the idea of truth in advertising. The currentversion of the king suite of faxing software has many of the user-friendlyfeatures that have made WinFax Pro the de facto fax application. However, itsbox copy makes a few promises the software can't keep, so buyers beware: ifyou're running Windows XP or Office XP (or both), you're looking for trouble ifyou purchase this otherwise excellent program.

WinFax Pro is full of features, including a cover page designer, an automatedbackup manager, a network fax-sharing module, and more. Its interface will befamiliar and comfortable to anyone who uses Microsoft Outlook or OutlookExpress. The Message Manager--where you do most of your faxing work--is dividedinto Outlook-style panes, with several folders that include a receive log, asend log, an outbox, and a wastebasket in the upper left, a list of faxes in theupper right, and a multipurpose pane on the bottom that lets you view detailsabout a fax or take a quick peek at it.

Opening a fax for viewing invokes a viewer applet, which looks like AdobeAcrobat Reader. It comes complete with a pane of thumbnails down the left sidefor page navigation, with the main document view taking up the larger portion ofthe screen.

You can compose fax documents in any word processor. To fax them, use the mainWinFax Pro interface, a button installed in your Microsoft Word toolbar, or adrag-and-drop desktop icon. WinFax also lets you send faxes as attachmentsthrough Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, or Exchange, which is a mysteriousfeature considering you can send your documents as attachments without WinFaxPro. In any regard, while the feature worked well on a Windows Me machine withOffice 2000, it caused errors and crashes on Windows XP.

Other problems surfaced during testing. Faxing directly through Word XP with thetoolbar button caused crashes. A "photo quality" mode offered in the send moduledoesn't come anywhere close to photo quality. Every time we opened Word XP, anerror dialog appeared; Symantec's tech support said that it occurred because wedidn't have a modem installed. That conversation took place after we'd sentseveral test faxes through our installed modem.

WinFax Pro 10 worked as advertised on our Windows Me system, and it's full ofoutstanding features. However, if you've upgraded to Windows XP or if you'rerunning Office XP, hold off until Symantec patches this program into submission.--Joel Durham Jr. ... Read more

Reviews (36)

Cool
I've used winfax Pro at our ex-office, it completely solved all our faxing problems. So we didnt even needed for a fax machine.

The installation was so easy, it detected the hardware, and all I had to do was pressing the next button, and giving some info about our company. Then I changed the role of the machine in the setup menu, to a fax server. And went to the other computers and installed to all of the other machines. ( There may be a way for an automated setup, but I didnt needed so I am not sure of it.) It detected the fax server and installed it. We had 10 machines on our network, and all the installation process took less than an hour.

We configured the server to forward faxes, even i tought it wouldnt work, it worked fine. The faxes from the banks went directly to accountant department, etc...

We entered all of our customer list to winfax, and started to send faxes to them about our new products. It started faxing, and we went to our home. The next day boss asked us which customers received the fax. I thought I should go into the logs, and search for it. But theres a good designed window, you can see who send the fax to who, at what time, you can configure a report and so on ...

When I looked at the documentation, (Its good documented, you can find all the answers,) I was surprised it even has its own macro language. I didnt tried that but I think theres no fax product that you write down macros.

All was better than I accepted. Since that day our secratary is just reading the her book.

In conclusion, I think its nearly the best product that satisfied me.

Don't buy Winfax
Absolutely useless. Causes word to lock. Will not uninstall. Symantec fixes don't work. Hours wasted. Don't buy this product.

Good for average user. Power user beware!
Although I am working around the vast amount of bugs this program carries with it, it does deliver faxes ok. The client/server functionality sucks. The areacode rules are supposed to be set on the server however for some starnage reason they do not work. KB articles on symantecs site only confuse things. HORRIBLE support of this product. I am looking elsewhere for a solution.

Terrific Product
Reading through the reviews, I saw many, many folks had big time problems installing this package. This was especially true for WinXP users.

Using Google I found an OEM CD copy of Version 10.3 for $15 + s/h. At that price I figured I could risk trying it since some reviewers had very good results.

Well, it went on my Dell Dimension 8250 with Win XP Pro without a hitch.

My only comment is: before installation (1) clean out any and all previous versions from your computer; (2) shut down antivirus and firewall applictions (and any other easy to close applications).

It's a great package that does it all.

Quite possibly the worst piece of software ever written
I bought this software and installed it on one of my customers machines, I set up a special computer to be a "fax server" to recieve faxes and organize them into different folders, strangely the WinFax will randomly reject faxes, somedays it will refuse to work, somedays it will work great, somedays it will reject 50%, who knows what mood its in. I reformatted the computer so that the only thing installed is Win98 and WinFax, I replaced the modem TWICE, my customer moved to a new office in a different building with a completely different phone line and the product still doesn't work. Total garbage. ... Read more

Features

• Scanning and document management application for Microsoft Windows
• Quickly turn paper into digital content; save Web pages as PDF documents
• Create and annotate PDF files; convert static form into fillable electronic form
• Thumbnail management for Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files
• Download photos from digital camera; easily organize, edit, and find images

Features

• Photo management with easy-to-use editing tools
• Capture, organize, and manage photos
• Make creative slideshows with soundtracks and special effects
• Bring photos to life with editing tools, captions, and clip art
• Share photos and musical slideshows online or burn to CD/VCD

Reviews (4)

Real easy photo software
This is one of the easiest softwares I've ever used for my digital photos. It allows me to edit my photos, add clip art and captions, and make slideshows. The best thing is I can email my slideshows to my family living throughout the U.S. So many features are available and anyone can use it, even my 7 year old daughter.

Great Product!!!
I just bought Nero PhotoShow Elite and I think it's an excellent program for editing and creating slideshows from my digital pictures.

product support
I tried to burn a CD for use in my TV DVD player and the order of the images was changed from the order in the slide show I had created. I have tried to use the online info and contact the tech support for this product without much luck. No responce from them in 10 days. Perhaps since this is a new product (version 1.0) they aren't up to speed in the tech support department yet, but I would have appreceated an some answer. I will update this if I get the problem solved.

Wow, it's so easy to use!
I went to their website and downloaded a trial and it really is very easy to use. The making of the slideshow with music is very cool because they have preset themes, which I haven't seen from anybody else. Very cool product! ... Read more

Features

• The perfect tool for organizing the names, addresses, and other contact information with just a click
• Adjust the fonts, colors, logos of your mailing labels and homemade postcards in just a few steps
• Choose from hundreds of label sizes you can print with a click
• Thousands of clip art images included
• Accepts postal codes from other countries and provinces

Amazon.com Product Description

HotFax Message Center 5.0 provides powerful communications for home or small businesses in one integrated command center. With seamless fax capability integrated with any Windows application, you are always one click away from sending a fax. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) lets you convert received faxes into editable text in just seconds. Other features include a custom cover-page designer, automated fax forwarding, and broadcast fax capability. You can archive or resend received faxes, customize caller ID options, and take advantage of scanner support.

The voice-mail capability provides secure, customizable voice mail, and offers you the ability to create multiple business departments and personal extensions for your home or office. Users can retrieve voice mail from any telephone and transfer messages between mailboxes. The voice-mail system lets you set up and maintain a fax-on-demand service (99 documents per mailbox) to automatically deliver informational faxes to your customers. A new feature allows voice-mail messages to be routed directly to an e-mail account. Retrieve them, listen to them, even forward them to other accounts. If you've got a pager, you can receive automatic notification of new messages. HotFax Message Center even allows you to route calls to different mailboxes based on caller ID information. Set up an unlimited number of voice mailboxes, and identified calls are routed to the appropriate mailbox automatically.

HotFax Message Center empowers e-mail with new fax and voice capabilities. Now you can send and receive faxes and voice-mail messages directly to any e-mail address. When you send a fax to an e-mail account, the recipient can read it on screen, print it, or forward it to another e-mail account, just like an ordinary message. HotFax Message Center will route voice-mail messages to any e-mail account you specify as a compressed attachment. You play it back just like any PC audio file and then save or forward it as you like. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Hot Fax
I called Smith Micro customer support when my demo version was restored on my computer and my purchased full version vanished. I called their customer service, it is horrible, or should I say "Customer NO Service" since there is none. They me to call another number "didn't work". I called the main number for service and find I need an access number. Bottom line, I paid for a fax software which I downloaded and they didn't send me a disk. They turned on the demo and that now doesn't work. All my files are stored on the demo version where I can't get to them. I'd be glad for Hot fax support to e-mail me a solution. If they don't support this, why do they build and sell such software, and who will buy that?

If you are thinking to buy it and will need support sometime down the road, forget it, give it up and look for something else.

Great Product
This product will SAVE any small business a thousand or more dollars by using a computer and software rather than purchasing an expensive voice mail system. BRAVO to Smith Micro!
BTW, I purchased an early version (2.0) years ago, and it was very good then. I can't wait to start using 5.0!

Appalling experience!
After much research and what I thought was careful planning, I downloaded the software and found it would not work with my computer. To make it work would require a new modem for around $300.00. Tried to contact Smith Micro and they were "on holiday". Unfortunately, the time frame to return product expired while they were "on holiday" and they said it was too bad for me. Terrible customer service and I encourage people to do business with another company entirely.

Hotfax Message Center
We had a hard drive crash, and lost our copy of Quicklink (and I couldn't find the original media anywhere.) I dl'd the demo, then purchased the new HFMC to install over the demo. The disk that Smithmicro sent was physically broken (they ship the CD in a flimsy envelope, no box) and when I asked for help getting my now-expired system up, they wanted me to send the broken one back before replacing (understand they had a credit card record of my original purchase) God forbid that you have any trouble with these guys. Their tech support is non-existant. They have one of the worst voice-mail-hell systems I've ever seen. I was absolutely furious by the time I actually got to speak with a human. And he was just useless.

I'm using this product to support a remote office call-in system and due to the above non-support, I finally had to buy another copy (downloaded this time) to get my remote ops back up. I feel like an extortion victim. I'll never buy from these guys again. Stars: one for product, ZERO for customer support. I am now searching for a replacement.

Works Flawlessly!!!!
This is my 5th voicemail/fax system in the past 10 years,
and the only one that has ever performed as expected. It is simple, reliable, easy to use. Most of the other programs I had went out of business, or dropped support. The name is misleading
because it is more than just a fax utility. Voicemail with options is just as important to me. This software should be marketed as telephony. It just doesn't come up is searches for
voicemail or telephony. Glad I downloaded the demo. It made me want to buy the product at the store. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

SendPhotos is the easiest and fastest way to share your photos with friends and family through email. It allows users of all skill levels to quickly create spectacular, fun and professional picture emails in just a few easy steps with easy to follow menus and step-by-step instructions. With SendPhotos, your pictures get sent and received up to 25 times faster than if you had attached your pictures as e-mail attachments. The photos and descriptions are embedded in the e-mail so everything is easy to read, easy to find. This program not only integrates with the popular Outlook 2000/XP and Outlook Express email clients, it also provides an intuitive and convenient email interface for users of other email programs such as AOL, Eudora, Netscape, Hotmail, or Yahoo. It even allows you to import your Yahoo or Hotmail address books. It includes more than 50 stationery designs appropriate for a wide-array of occasions, such as holidays, vacations, new babies, sports, hobbies, etc. Additional stationery designs are being added regularly and are available free for download from the SendPhotos Gallery. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

send photos
i ordered this software and installation went every smooth. I selected a photo to send by msn mail. after pressing the send button, absolutely nothing happen. you have to start send emails back and forth or try getting someone on the phone. this software is too much trouble. i am sending it back to the company for free......

Sendphotos/novatix
It's a Great program but 3 days after I downloaded it , it has disapeared from my hard drive. How do I download it again. I paid for it with Visa card. Who do I contact to get some help.Please E MAIL TO

Very Impressive!
I was looking for some software to help a friend who is not a PC expert send photos by email. I found a review in the Wall Street Journal by Walter Mossberg that demonstrated this Send Photos could do the job.

I checked and found the original version on sale. However, I checked the Novatix web site and found a free download trial version and also an update: Send Photos Gold, for sale.

I tried the evaluation version - an 18MB download. Only try this if you have a broadband Internet connection! I installed it and it worked very well. I tried it first using Microsoft Outlook 2000 as my mail program. Configuring that led me to an process of installing Microsoft Collaboration Data Objects (CDO). I could not be bothered to find my MS Office CD so I took ther risk and installed it from the Novatix web site. I am always nervous about this kind of thing because Microsoft software is so complex and brittle, but so far it works and nothing else seems to have broken. The warnings about "do this at your own risk" gave me pause however.

The main point of the program is to enable "the rest of us" to email pictures easily. I was impressed that I could mail multiple high resolution photos from my digital camera and the software built a page containing compressed but still high quality images. Their compression algorithms are excellent and completely invisible.

I invited my non-expert friend to try the evaluation version. She installed it and used it with Outlook Express. Her first messages had the text but no photos which confused us. The problem was solved by closing and restarting Outlook Express and since then everything has been fine.

We tried some simple photo editing: cropping, adjusting brightness and so on. That is no problem and probably fixes 99% of all amateur photos. What a contrast in simplicity from, say, Adobe Photoshop Elements. A fine program in its way, but so complex! And this is the "simplified" version...

The other major feature is the stationery. I am old fashioned and go for the plain and simple look, but I am sure many will enjoy all the options.

Lastly we tried using it with Yahoo and Hotmail. Here Send Photos uses its own mail server to send the photos, but with a "sender" field that makes the message look like it comes from me. That's a clever solution to allow Send Photos to work with any email system, even if they are web based and use proprietary protocols. I have two concerns about this:

1. If Novatix goes out of business, their mail server will go away and that use of the program won't work any more. You'd still be able to use it with Outlook (Express) because there it uses your own mail server.

2. It seems to be possible to send photos on behalf of any user. This is because Novatix can't check the validity of an email address, nor whether I have the password for it. This seems to be dangerous and I did not see anything about it in the Send Mail otherwise excellent online help.

I heartily recommend this program for non-expert users.

Email photos in a quick and fun way
I'm a mother of two with family out of the state and out of the country, and I'm so happy to finally have an easy way to share my photos with them. I'm not real technical and I'm still able to compose an email with photos (and comments for each one) in just a few minutes. The backgrounds ("stationery" themes) that you can pick from are fun and make me look like I really know what I'm doing! My son just got braces and minutes after we got home I sent the grandparents photos with SendPhotos, and they get to see them in their email just the way I sent them...no attachments to fiddle with...just fun pictures right in the email.

Wow! Fantastic product.
I have been using SendPhotos for a few weeks and I am amazed by this software. SendPhotos has made it really enjoyable to share pictures with my family.

With this program, you don't need to be a computer expert, quite the contrary, I think that anybody can create stunning picture emails with it in no time. The best part for me? Emailing a single picture as an attachment used to create an email that was typically 500kB or more. With SendPhotos I can now send 30 pictures (yep, I've done it :) in a message and still be under 500kB. That makes it so much faster to send or receive pictures. And the recipients of my emails don't need to install any special software to see the photos.

Highly recommended. ... Read more

Features

• The next-generation imaging technology provides the sharpest fax images available
• Use the OS X Address Book to keep your faxing numbers & contact information organized
• Create and import your own Cover Pages with logos or graphics and save them as PDF files
• Send your faxes from any OS X document-based application, like Office v.X and Mac OS X Preview
• Fax History saves information about any sent or received fax

Reviews (1)

Lots of bugs, packaged with unfriendliest customer service
Bought originally 10.1 version , then downloaded update since I am using Panther now. FAXstf X 10.5 constantly crashes, or cuts incoming faxes off in the middle. Called customer service (no 800 number - 20 min hold time) - a very unfriendly customer "service" agent explained that since I didn't buy FAXstf X for Panther, but downloaded the update, I do not qualify for customer support.
I use a lot of different software products for OS X, but this is the most problematic product with the worst customer service I have ever experienced.
Well done - SmithMicro!
PS: Buy PageSender from SmileOnMyMac instead: half the money for a much, much better product (http://www.pagesender.com) ... Read more

Features

• Special Page Builder tools jelp your Website reach the top of the relevant searches
• Learn how to submit your Website to the right search engines
• Drive more traffic to your site, increase its rankings so that it stands out from other sites
• Reporting tools help you track your progress
• Trade links to increase your site's popularity and global exposure

Features

• Send pages on-demand from your PC to any pager
• Schedule future repeat pages right from your desktop
• It automatically route your e-mail messages to your alphanumeric pager
• Use HotPage for sending private and top-secret messages; there's no interaction with an operator
• HotPage works with Microsoft Exchange, Windows Messaging, and Outlook