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NAME

       efax-gtk - GUI front end for efax program

SYNOPSIS

       efax-gtk [options] [ file ]

       Options: [-rs]
              -r  Start the program in receive standby mode

              -s  Start the program hidden in the system tray

COPYRIGHT

       Efax-gtk  is  Copyright  (C)  Chris  Vine, 2001 - 2008.  It is released
       under the General Public License, version 2.

DESCRIPTION

       efax-gtk is a GTK+ front end for the efax program.  It can be  used  to
       send  and receive faxes with a fax modem, and to view, print and manage
       faxes received.  It also provides  a  socket  interface  to  provide  a
       "virtual  printer"  for  sending faxes from word processors and similar
       programs, and can automatically e-mail a received fax to  a  designated
       user.

       The  efax-gtk  distribution  compiles and installs a patched version of
       efax-0.9a-001114, so you do not need to separately  build  and  install
       efax.   In  particular,  the  version  of  efax  supplied with efax-gtk
       provides   internationalization   support,   and    resolves    certain
       difficulties with locales in the standard distribution.

       To  avoid  name  conflicts  the  patched  versions of efax and efix are
       installed as efax-0.9a and efix-0.9a.  If you want to use the  standard
       distributions  of efax, delete efax-0.9a and efix-0.9a, and then make a
       symbolic link from efax to efax-0.9a and from efix to efix-0.9a so that
       efax-gtk  can  find  them.  efax-0.9 or higher is recommended, although
       the program will  work  with  older  versions  of  efax  -  with  older
       versions,  some  automatic  configuration options will not be available
       and the different lock file semantics means that a binary and not  UUCP
       lock file will be created, which may confuse some other programs trying
       to access the same serial port.

       Any files to be faxed must  be  in  postscript  format,  which  is  the
       generic  printer  format  for Unix/Linux systems.  The program will use
       ghostscript to convert these into the Group 3 fax format which the  fax
       modem will understand.

ARGUMENTS

       A  file may be passed as an argument to the program, in which case that
       file will automatically appear in the  "File  to  send"  box  when  the
       program starts.

USE

       The first time you use the program, you will be asked if you accept the
       terms of the General Public Licence, version 2.

   Sending faxes
       Before sending a fax, the name of the file to be sent must be specified
       in  the  "File  to  fax" box.  The file specified must be in postscript
       format, and will be converted by the program into  the  correct  tiffg3
       fax  format.   It  can be entered manually in the "Fax to send" box, or
       entered by means of the file selection dialog.  If the file comprises a
       single  postscript  file,  then you can find it by pressing the "Single
       File" button.  It can be more easily found with this dialog  if  it  is
       placed in the $HOME/faxout directory.

       Where  more  than  one file is specified in the "Fax to send" box, they
       will be sent as a single fax appended in the order in  which  they  are
       entered  in  the  box.  Such multiple files can be more easily selected
       using the file list brought up by pressing the "Multiple Files" button.
       Pressing  the  "Multiple  Files"  button  enables files to be found and
       added to the file list, and they can be reordered by using  the  Up  or
       Down  arrow  buttons,  or by dragging and dropping with the mouse.  (If
       entering multiple files manually rather than by means of the  "Multiple
       Files" dialog, use a `,' or a `;' as the file name separator.)

       The telephone number to which the fax is to be sent is entered into the
       "Tel number" box.  This can be entered directly into  the  box,  or  by
       using  the  built-in  addressbook.   The  addressbook can be invoked by
       pressing the "Tel number" button, or from the `File/Address book' pull-
       down  menu item.  See "Using the address book" further below.  However,
       if a telephone connection has already been established with the  remote
       fax  receiver,  then the fax can be sent without dialing by leaving the
       "Tel number" box blank (a dialog will come up asking if you would  like
       to send the fax without dialing - this does the same thing as `fax send
       -m ...' using the efax `fax' script from the command line).

       When a fax is received from the print system via the socket server, the
       program  settings can be configured to bring up a dialog automatically.
       If the program is inactive or is standing-by to receive faxes  the  fax
       can  be  sent  directly from this dialog without the need to invoke the
       list of queued faxes received from the socket.

       Successfully sent faxes are copied to a directory in the  $HOME/faxsent
       directory, which has a name derived from the year, month, day, hour and
       seconds when the sending of the fax was completed, and will  appear  in
       the  faxes sent list.  They are only included in that list if they have
       been sent without error.  The efax message display box will  report  on
       the  progress of a fax being sent.  The fax list can be brought up from
       the `File/List sent faxes' pull down menu item.   See  "Using  the  fax
       lists" further below.

       The  program  can  send  a  fax when it is in receive standby mode.  If
       sending a fax from receive standby mode, when the fax has been sent (or
       there  is  an  error  in  sending  the fax), the program will return to
       receive standby mode.

       To make sending faxes from word processors easy,  a  socket  server  is
       provided  interfacing  directly  with  the print system.  See below for
       further details.

       Ordinary ascii text files can be converted into postscript if  required
       using  a  number  of programs, of which probably the easiest to use are
       nenscript or GNU enscript (`man enscript').

   Receiving faxes
       Three ways of receiving faxes are provided for.

       First, the program can be set to answer a fax call which is ringing but
       has not been answered, by pressing the "Answer call" button.

       Secondly,  the  program  can  take  over  a call which has already been
       answered (say, by a telephone hand set)  by  pressing  the  "Take  over
       call" button.

       Thirdly,  the  program  can  be  placed in standby mode by pressing the
       "Standby" button.  This will automatically answer any  call  after  the
       number  of rings specified in the efax-gtkrc file, and receive the fax.
       The program will keep on receiving faxes until  the  "Stop"  button  is
       pressed.  A fax can also be sent when the program is in receive standby
       mode.

       Received faxes in tiffg3 format (one file for each page) are placed  in
       a directory in the $HOME/faxin directory, which has a name derived from
       the year, month, day, hour and seconds when the relevant "Answer call",
       "Take  over  call"  or "Standby" button was pressed.  (Where in standby
       mode after a fax has been received, any further  fax  will  derive  its
       name  from  the  time  when  receipt  of the last received fax has been
       completed and the program goes back into standby mode.)

       Received faxes can be printed, viewed, described and managed using  the
       built in fax list facility.  This can be brought up from the `File/List
       received faxes' pull down menu item.  See "Using the fax lists" further
       below.

       When  a  fax is received, a pop-up dialog can also be set to appear (go
       to the Settings dialog to do this).

       In the settings dialog you can also specify a program  to  be  executed
       whenever  a  fax is received.  The fax ID number is passed as the first
       (and only) argument to the program, which enables the program  to  find
       the  fax  in  $HOME/faxin.   The  distribution  contains two executable
       scripts, mail_fax and print_fax, which can be used to e-mail a fax to a
       user  or print a fax automatically when it is received.  (These scripts
       are not installed by `make install' - if you want  to  use  them,  make
       them  executable  with `chmod +x' and copy them to a directory which is
       in the system path, such as /usr/local/bin, and then specify the script
       name in the settings dialog).

   Using the address book
       To  pick  a  telephone  number  from  the  address  book, highlight the
       relevant address by pressing the left mouse button over  it,  and  then
       press the "OK" button.

       Addresses  can be added to the address book by pressing the add button,
       and then completing the relevant dialog which will appear.   To  delete
       an  address  from  the address book, highlight the relevant address and
       press the delete (trashcan) button.  The addressbook can be  sorted  by
       using the up and down arrow buttons on a highlighted address.

       Addresses are stored in file `$HOME/.efax-gtk_addressbook'.

   Using the fax lists
       To bring up the fax lists, go to the the `File' menu and pick the `List
       received faxes' or `List sent faxes' menu item.  Highlight the  fax  to
       printed  or  viewed by pressing the left mouse button.  The programs to
       be used to print and view  the  fax  are  specifed  in  the  efax-gtkrc
       configuration  file,  or  if none are specified, the program will print
       using lpr (which will work for most Unix systems) and view with gv.

       To print faxes, a PRINT_SHRINK parameter can be specifed in  efax-gtkrc
       to  enable the fax page to fit within the printer margins.  A parameter
       of 98 will work with most printers.  This  can  be  changed  while  the
       program is running by bringing up the `Settings' dialog and entering it
       into the `Print/Print Shrink' box.

       A fax can be deleted from a fax list by pressing the delete  (trashcan)
       button.  This will place the deleted fax in the `Trash' folder.  If the
       delete (trashcan) button is pressed in relation to a fax in the `Trash'
       folder, it will be deleted from the file system.

       A  description  can  be added to a received fax when appearing in a fax
       list (or subsequently amended) by pressing the relevant button --  this
       will enable faxes to be more easily identified.

       The  received  faxes  list will show, at the far right of the tool bar,
       the number of faxes received since the program was  last  started.   If
       efax-gtk  is  in receive standby mode, the "tooltips" for the program's
       icon in the system tray will also indicate this number.  The count  can
       be  reset  to  0  without  restarting the program by pressing the reset
       button in the received faxes list.

   Settings
       The program settings can be changed by manually  editing  the  efax-gtk
       configuration file comprising $HOME/.efax-gtkrc, $sysconfdir/efax-gtkrc
       or /etc/efax-gtkrc.  The  file  is  searched  for  in  that  order,  so
       $HOME/.efax-gtkrc takes precedence over the other two.

       The  configuration  file  can  also be set by using the Settings dialog
       launched from the `File/Settings' pull down menu  item.   The  settings
       entered  using  this  dialog  are  always  stored as $HOME/.efax-gtkrc.
       Accordingly, if the Settings dialog has been  used,  and  you  want  to
       revert  to the global settings, this can be done either by deleting the
       $HOME/.efax-gtkrc file, or  by  pressing  the  `Reset'  button  in  the
       Settings  dialog, which will reload the Settings dialog from the global
       configuration file ($sysconfdir/efax-gtkrc or /etc/efax-gtkrc).

       Help can be obtained when filling out the Settings  dialog  by  holding
       the  mouse  over  the  relevant  help (?) button, which will bring up a
       "Tips" display, or by pressing the  button,  which  will  bring  up  an
       information display.

LOGGING

       Errors  and  warnings from efax are displayed in red in the application
       text window, and information messages and reports on  the  progress  of
       negotiations  and  on  fax status are displayed in black in the window.
       In addition, these messages are sent to stderr and stdout respectively.
       Accordingly,  fax status can be logged by redirecting stderr and stdout
       to a log file.

       As an alternative, a log file can also be  maintained  by  setting  the
       LOG_FILE parameter in the efax-gtkrc configuration file, or by entering
       a log file name via the Settings dialog.  If no log file is  specified,
       no  log  file  will be maintained.  If a log file is specified, then it
       can be viewed from  the  "Log"  pull-down  menu,  and  if  efax-gtk  is
       compiled against GTK+-2.10 or greater, the log file can also be printed
       from the pull-down menu.

USING WITH A WORD PROCESSOR

   Printing to file from the program itself
       Probably the simplest way of using the program with a word processor is
       to  print  to  file from the print dialog of the word processor program
       concerned, and choosing a file name in the $HOME/faxout directory which
       can  then  be  selected with the file selector dialog in efax-gtk.  All
       Unix/Linux word and document processing programs will print to file  in
       Postscript  format, ready to be faxed by efax-gtk.  (At least, if there
       is one which does not, I do not know of it).

   Printing via CUPS
       Efax-gtk can run a socket server, which CUPS can connect to.  When  the
       socket   server   is   running,  fax  files  received  from  CUPS  will
       automatically be  displayed  in  a  "Queued  faxes  from  socket"  list
       maintained  by  efax-gtk.   From  this  list, a fax can be selected for
       sending by efax-gtk, so there is no need to print to file from the word
       processor  and  then  select the file with the file selection dialog in
       efax-gtk.

       When a fax is received in this  way  from  the  print  system  via  the
       socket,  the  program  settings  can  also  be configured to bring up a
       dialog automatically.  If the program is inactive or is standing-by  to
       receive  faxes,  the  fax can be sent directly from this dialog without
       the need to invoke the list of queued faxes received from the socket.

       If you are using CUPS and you want to connect it directly  to  efax-gtk
       as mentioned above, you can do so by bringing up the fax administration
       page for CUPS in a web browser, installing a new printer with a name of
       "fax"  (or whatever other name you want), choose the IPP protocol, pick
       a URI  of  "socket://[hostname]:[port]",  and  choose  the  "Raw"  CUPS
       printer driver.

       The  port  number  can be any port number less than 65536 and more than
       1023 which is not used by any other  service  on  your  machine/network
       (this  can  be  checked  out by using nmap, but it is best to avoid any
       listed in /etc/services).  For example, as you will usually be printing
       from a local computer, if you choose a port number of 9900 (which would
       be quite reasonable) the URI would be:

            socket://localhost:9900

       As an alternative, rather easier than the web interface is adding a new
       CUPS virtual printer for efax-gtk by using lpadmin.  To do this, log in
       as whatever user has appropriate permissions (usually root) and  do  it
       from the command line with:

            /usr/sbin/lpadmin -p FaxPrinter -E -v socket://localhost:9900

       That  will  create  a printer name for efax-gtk called FaxPrinter for a
       case where efax-gtk is listening on port 9900.

       You should then start efax-gtk, go to the Socket tab  in  the  settings
       dialog,  check the "Run socket server" box, and enter 9900 in the "Port
       to which faxes to be sent" box.

       To send a fax from the "Queued faxes from socket" dialog, highlight the
       one  to  be  sent, press the "Enter selected fax to send" button in the
       dialog (the one with an icon representing a  fax  machine)  which  will
       enter  the  fax in the "File to fax" box in efax-gtk, and then choose a
       telephone number to send it to and press the "Send fax" button  in  the
       ordinary way.

       If  efax-gtk  isn't running when you attempt to send a file via CUPS to
       efax-gtk don't worry.  CUPS will queue the fax until  it  detects  that
       the efax-gtk socket server is running, and then send it to efax-gtk.

       Where  a  fax  is  queued  for  sending in the socket list, a small red
       circle will appear in the main program window on the right hand side of
       the "Fax to send" box.

   Printing via lpd/lprng
       The socket server can also be used in the same way with lpd/lprng.  The
       files efax-gtk-faxfilter and efax-gtk-socket-client  are  installed  in
       /var/spool/fax, when you run `make install' (the installation directory
       can  be  changed  at  the  ./configure  stage  using  the  "./configure
       --spooldir=[dir]"   parameter.    You   should   add   at  the  end  of
       /etc/printcap the following -

       fax:\
            :sd=/var/spool/fax:\
            :mx#0:\
            :sh:\
            :lp=/dev/null:\
            :if=/var/spool/fax/efax-gtk-faxfilter:

       This will cause a printer by the name of "fax" to be  available,  which
       (if  printed  to) will send the file to the efax-gtk socket server.  If
       you set efax-gtk to listen on a port other than  port  9900,  you  will
       need  to  amend  the  file /var/spool/fax/efax-gtk-faxfilter by hand to
       specify the correct port number on which efax-gtk is listening.

       Don't  forget  to  restart  the  lpd  printer  daemon  after   amending
       /etc/printcap.   (An  equivalent  addition to /etc/printcap can also be
       made by using the printer configuration tool  with  your  distribution,
       choosing  a  printer  name  of "fax" (or whatever other name you want),
       choosing  a  printer  device  of  "/dev/null",  a  spool  directory  of
       "/var/spool/fax"  and  an  input  filter  of  "/var/spool/fax/efax-gtk-
       faxfilter".)

SYSTEM TRAY

       Efax-gtk has been written so that it will sit in  the  system  tray  in
       GNOME and KDE when the program is running.

       From  the  system  tray,  the program can be hidden and raised again by
       left-clicking with the mouse on the icon, and right-clicking on it will
       bring up a menu from which certain program operations can be performed.
       A `tips' display will also indicate the program state if the  mouse  is
       left hovering over the efax-gtk icon.

       Clicking  on the top right (delete) button of the window frame will not
       cause the program to terminate if the program is embedded in the system
       tray.   Instead  it will hide it in the tray.  If you want to close the
       program when it is embedded in the tray, either select the "Quit"  menu
       item  in  the system tray efax-gtk menu, or select the "Quit" menu item
       in the "File" pull-down menu in the program toolbar.

       Recent versions of GNOME call the system tray  a  "Notification  Area".
       If  your  desktop panel does not have a Notification Area installed, it
       can be placed on the panel by right clicking on the panel, and going to
       Add to Panel -> Utility -> Notification Area.

WORKING DIRECTORY

       A working sub-directory for the storage of .efax-gtk_addressbook,
        .efax-gtk_mainwin_save   and   .efax-gtk_queued_server_files  and  the
       faxin, faxout, faxsent and efax-gtk-server directories can be specified
       in  the  efax-gtkrc configuration file with the WORK_SUBDIR: parameter.
       This working subdirectory will appear as a subdirectory of $HOME (so if
       WORK_SUBDIR:  is  specified  as  efax-gtk,  $HOME/efax-gtk  will be the
       working directory).  If none is specified, which is the  default,  then
       these  files/directories  will  be  stored directly in $HOME (which was
       what happened  before  the  option  was  available,  so  past  efax-gtk
       installations  will  not  be broken if this option is left unset).  The
       WORK_SUBDIR: parameter enables these  files  and  folders  to  be  kept
       together  in  a  separate  directory  if  wanted.   If  a  WORK_SUBDIR:
       parameter is specified, only .efax-gtkrc will appear directly in $HOME.

       Note  that  if  you  specify a value for WORK_SUBDIR: in the efax-gtkrc
       configuration file, you will need to shift old versions  of  the  files
       and directories mentioned above into the new working directory or efax-
       gtk will not be able to find them, so use this option with caution.  In
       addition, if you wish to use the "print_fax" or "mail_fax" scripts, you
       will need to set the WORK_SUBDIR option in the relevant script.

FILES

       efax-gtk
              The efax-gtk executable.

       efax-gtk-faxfilter
              A filter script for lpd/lprng which will send files to the efax-
              gtk socket server

       efax-gtk-socket-client
              The companion socket client for efax-gtk-faxfilter

       efax-gtkrc
              The efax-gtk configuration file.

       efax-gtk.po
              Various translation files for different locales.

       efax-gtk.1
              Efax-gtk manual file

       In addition some files from efax itself are installed, as follows:

       efax-0.9a
              The efax executable

       efix-0.9a
              The efix executable

       efax.1 efix.1
              Efax manual files

SEE ALSO

       efax(1)

AUTHOR

       Chris Vine
       cvine@users.sourceforge.net

                               9 September 2008