Re: [hylafax-users] Fw: use fax machine as scanner

[Lee Howard <faxguy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 2004.07.23 02:36 David Evans wrote:
>  I'd ideally like to be able to connect a scanner directly to the lan
> and
> for a user to be able to pop a document in  it  and  send it to
> his/her
> desktop. From here it could be sent as a fax or used in other ways.

I've a couple of clients that have a networked scanner that they access 
from their browser.  The scanner (anything would work, I guess, but 
ones with ADFs seem to work better for them) is directly connected to a 
Linux server running, among other things, SANE, Apache, and PHP.  The 
user drops the paper into the scanner.  Then the user enters "scanner" 
into the URL box of their browser.  A PHP-produced page on the Linux 
server connected to the scanner comes up with as many options as you 
can conceive of (scan, copy, fax to numbers, etc.).  They then complete 
the HTML form, and press a button, and then the action occurs.  In most 
cases they simply have a copy of the scan pop-up in a new browser 
window (in PDF, in Acrobat Reader), and then they do with it what they 
will from there.

Sadly, if they had wanted to fax it they normally would have gone over 
to the fax machine first, and thus they almost never use the networked 
scanner device as an outbound fax client.  In my experience, the only 
way to convince offices of heterogeneous computer skills to actually 
use the fax server for most of their outbound faxing is to actually 
take the fax machine away.  It's either a learning curve thing, or 
there must be a certain feeling of accomplishment to see the paper go 
through the machine, dial, and complete in that fashion.  Maybe taking 
that away from them is like taking the pacifier from a child.  I 
haven't ever yet been so brave because I have concerns about how much 
productivity will be lost over the where-is-the-fax-machine squabble 
and the coping with the new arrangement.

Lee.

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