Re: flexfax: Document page width problem...

[Chen Coulter <software_sourcery@bigfoot.com>]

To the list (and Paul/Darrell):

Following are the essentials of the communications that I had with
the list several months ago regarding the infamous "Page Width"
problem.  The solution that I found appears in the last section.
Hope this helps.  Once I found the solution, HylaFAX has been very
dependable.  Note: you may need to substitute "a4" for "legal".

I have installed the binary distribution of HylaFAX V4.0pl2 under
SCO OpenServer 5.0.4c with a MultiTech 2834ZDXb modem.  I am
currently trying to test the system with the types of files that
we need to send.

I am having a problem with HylaFAX refusing to send the PostScript
document; the log reads "Client does not support document page width,
max remote page width 1728 pixels, image width 2048 pixels".

First of all, let me explain that we are a software developer and
have been writing PostScript code for quite a few years.  All of
our documents use PostScript code that we have written directly or
indirectly.  I searched the FAQ's for references to pixels and the
only relevant reference that I can find includes Sam's explanation
of a problem related to the "setpagedevice" parameter (a Level 2
operator).

We have no "setpagedevice" parameters in our code.  We can send the
same document that we are trying to fax to a PostScript printer and
it prints correctly.  I even tried including a ".8 1 scale" command
in the code (which should have reduced the image size to 80% of normal),
but it made no difference.  I asked ghostscript to display the
document in an X window on the OpenServer graphical console, and it
had no problems displaying the entire document (even though it
wasn't totally readable due to the display font used).

We do have a "translate" operator or two in the code, but all
translations are done on the printed page.

Do you have any ideas as to what could be causing this and what I
can do to make this work?  We would really like to make HylaFAX
work, and I am most impressed by the quality of the product and,
most particularly, the documentation.

Thank you for your valuable time,

---------------------------------------------------------------------

To the HylaFAX mailing list:

This is a follow-on to my earlier posting regarding the "Client does
not support document page width" error message that is preventing me
from sending faxes.

I have currently boiled the PostScript code that I am trying to send
down to just a few lines that only draw a box and put a couple of
words on the page.  I have determined that the problem seems to be
related to my attempting to image a legal-sized page (8.5 x 14).
My Postscript code is attempting to put the box and words in the
top 3 inches of the form.  Whenever I do this, I get a blank page
when the form is submitted to HylaFAX without the "-s legal"
parameter.  When I take the exact same code and simply change the
y-coordinates to 3 inches lower, the box appears.  By the way,
I do have my plain paper laser fax loaded with legal size paper
and the fax machine itself is set for legal size paper.

Whenever I submit a job to HylaFAX with the "-s legal" parameter,
I always get the "Client does not support document page width"
message and the fax aborts.

Can someone please give me an indication of what I need to do to
correctly send legal size pages through HylaFAX?  Is this a bug?

Any comments would be most welcome.

Thank you for your valuable time,

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Jonathan Chen wrote:
 
> Check your /usr/local/lib/fax/pagesizes for abbreviations that can be
> used with HylaFAX. It could be that HylaFAX is confused between
> `Japanese Legal' and `American Legal'. Try using `us-leg' instead.
> --
> Jonathan Chen <jonc@pinnacle.co.nz>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>                                               Clothes do make the man.
>                   Naked people have little or no influence on society.

Jonathan:

I appreciate your response; however, I consulted the pagesizes
database and have tried sending the fax using the full
"American Legal" parameter.  It makes no difference.  I went
back to the mailing list archives and found dozens upon dozens
of messages concerning this problem with legal size paper, but
no one seems to have a handle on the solution.

This seems to be a rather significant bug in the Ghostscript/HylaFAX
product combination.  Do you have any other ideas or know anyone
who might?

I'd be willing to pay for consulting time in order to avoid all
the time that I'm spending poring over the source code.

Any help would be most welcome.

Thanks for your valuable time,

---------------------------------------------------------------------

To the list:

Just thought that I would let you know: I have now managed to
resolve the problem with the "Client does not support document
page width" message.  I was trying to send legal size pages
and it was always failing.

The solution lies in the "case" statement in the "ps2fax"
script.  It turns out that the "ps2fax" script is getting
initialized with a page length of 364mm; the "case" statement
equates this to a "b4" paper size.  If you change the "b4"
to "legal", it then works perfectly.

You can continue to send both letter and legal; I guess this
will satisfy everyone but those with a need for "b4" paper.

Good luck,

Chen Coulter
software_sourcery@bigfoot.com