About

DrygerFax is a HylaFax client, but instead of running an actual printer driver on Windows systems, it imitates a Windows networked PostScript printer through Samba and CUPS. It then signals back up to the printing computer, gets all the fax information needed (like where to fax to), and sends the fax.

Unlike Cypress, there's no custom driver that can crash. Unlike most other clients, you can print to the fax machine. And unlike SambaFax, you don't have to make your own cover sheets -- a window pops up and asks for where to send it to!

The current version is 0.1 Alpha. THIS IS A CRUDE HACK! HELP NEEDED TO MAKE IT MORE REFINED!

Requirments

For each client PC, you need Java's JRE, at least v1.4.2.

For the server, you need the latest Samba, CUPS (C Unix Printing System), Perl, and Boa.

Download

DrygerFax comes in three parts:

• A CUPS backend, which gets all the data a Windows box prints out
• A Java "listener" client, which gets the notice the backend sends out.
• A CGI that gets the data from the listener client, and does the faxing.

All of these are on the SourceForge project page.

Install

Windows systems:

Make sure Java is installed, first. Then run the DrygerFax-Setup.exe program. It'll install the listener client, and put in the shortcut so it will start on boot. It will minimize to the system tray every time, and when you fax to the DrygerFax printer, it'll print. It currently listens to port 4614.

Linux Hylafax/Samba server:

Make sure Samba and CUPS is installed, and configured for each other.

Unarchive the drygerfax-server tarball. Inside, you'll see three files:

• drygerfax -- The backend. Place this in the CUPS backend directory (usually /usr/lib/cups/backend) and restart CUPS. Then go into CUPS and add a printer named "DrygerFax" that uses that backend. Make it a generic Postscript printer.
  
• smb.conf.DFax -- How we get an IP address through CUPS to the backend -- we give it an option. Also included is the Samba entry for installing the Adobe printer drivers on Windows, which is what Samba and CUPS recommends.
  
  ( A side note -- currently Adobe's Universal Postscript drivers don't all archive and install like normal sane drivers would. Instead, pull the drivers and start it up as Administrator. When they're ready, minimize the installer and go through your Temp directory in Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Files. The installer unarchives in a directory in there. Look around -- when you find the right folder with "Windows", "Win2000", "WinXP", and "WinNT" in it you've hit the jackpot. Copy them to another directory, and shut down the installer. Then go through each one and copy their contents to your /usr/share/cups/drivers directory. )
  
  Restart Samba when everything's ready, and the drivers are in /usr/share/cups/driver. Run "cupsaddsmb -a" to export the drivers.
  
• DrygerFaxServer.tar.gz -- A crude Boa setup that'll extract into /opt/DrygerFax. The CGI needed is in /opt/DrygerFax/cgi-bin, but for now it's recommended you use the copy of Boa that's configured there. It's configuration file is at /opt/DrygerFax/etc and you start it with /opt/DrygerFax/startboa.sh

Once everything's started, it's as eazy as print, prompt, send.

Known Bugs

This is Alpha-quality software at the level of a crude hack. Alot more refinement is needed:

• Remove Boa as a requirement and code up a proper DrygerFax server.
• Make the Java client look better and report errors incurred by the server.
• Get more functionality.

Contact

Kelly Price, aka strredwolf off of users.sourceforge.net