Technical Notes, Zetafax

HOWTO: Configure Zetafax 7 with Windows 2000 terminal services

ZTN1131

ID: ZTN1131

This Zetafax technical note applies to:

  • Zetafax 7.00.0.26
  • Windows 2000 server (including the Citrix Metaframe 1.8/XP add-ons)

Summary

This document details how to deploy Zetafax in a Windows 2000 terminal services application server environment, and gives details of configuring Zetafax when using the Zetafax client and application within the terminal session.

NOTE: Equisys do not support the Zetafax server, email gateway installations or Outlook extensions when installed directly on the terminal server, but rather on a separate computer accessible via a network share.

More information

The Zetafax client can be configured so that users can print, address and send a fax from an application in a terminal services session using the Zetafax client in the same session.

Once the Zetafax server has been installed and configured on a computer, it must be updated using the terminal services client update (ZFW2KTS_700343.EXE). This is available on the Equisys web site www.equisys.com/updates as a separate download for Zetafax 7 users.

Once the update has been applied you must install the Zetafax client on the terminal services server so that the Zetafax printer is available in the terminal session for users to 'Print to Fax'.

Installing the Zetafax Client:

Log onto the application server as the network administrator and run zfax\SYSTEM\WKSETUP.EXE, where 'zfax' is the name of the directory where the Zetafax files are installed.

Note: The client must be installed directly on the terminal server and not from within an RDP session

1.            Select 'Install client - standard setting' and click OK.

2.            You may now be presented with a dialog box asking whether you want the setting changes to apply to all users or just the user you are currently logged on as, click 'yes' so that all users will be able to use the Zetafax client. If you are not presented with a dialog box the install will automatically apply to all users. Confirm the path to the source files and the default target by clicking 'OK'.

3.            The Zetafax printer and Zetafax program group will now be installed and be available to all users that have Zetafax user accounts.

Testing the installation:

1.            Start a terminal services client session, logging on as a user with a valid Zetafax account.

2.            Browse to the printers folder in the terminal session, highlight the Zetafax printer and go to File|Properties, then print a test page.

3.            The addressing dialog box will popup and the Zetafax client should be started once the spooling has been completed, address the fax with a test fax number, confirm the options and then send.

Note: if you have any problems please refer to the troubleshooting section of this technical note.

How it works:

When the Zetafax client is installed on a standard Windows workstation, each user gets their own (local) installation of the Zetafax printer, which they can use to send documents to their (local) Zetafax client.

In an application server environment the situation is different. The Zetafax printer is installed on the application server and although any user in a terminal session can print to the printer, the printer process itself runs on the server, rather than in the user's session.

The printer therefore has no direct way of communicating with the user's Zetafax client, or of working out which directory to print it's output file to.

To solve this problem we install a 'daemon' process, which is added to every users start-up group so that it will always be running in any terminal session. The Zetafax printer is able to communicate with the daemon for the terminal session that requested the print job. The daemon in turn launches a control program in the user's session, which determines the correct directory for the print job and launches the Zetafax client for addressing if required. The printer prints to the user's individual 'temp' directory. This setting should not be changed under normal circumstances.

Troubleshooting

Is embedded addressing supported with terminal services?

The embedded addressing feature is not supported with the Zetafax printer within a terminal session, however is supported in terminal services mixed mode. See the 'References' section below to enable this.

When using Zetafax within terminal services how do I install the office addins?

If users wish to install the Zetafax office addins, each user then needs to install them by following the instructions in the Word document titled 'Installing the Zetafax Office Addins'. This document can be found in the Zetafax program group.

When I print a document to the Zetafax printer I do not get the Zetafax addressing dialog box, even if the Zetafax client is running

On printing the document to the Zetafax printer you should be presented with the Zetafax addressing dialog box, if not, this may be due to the 'daemon' process not running in the terminal session. To check for this, start Task Manager and check to see if ZFDAEMON.EXE is listed in the current processes. If it is not running then copy zfax\SYSTEM\I386\ZFDAEMON.EXE to the 'All users' startup group and restart the session.

References

ZTN1132-HOWTO: Configure Zetafax 7 with Windows 2000 terminal services (mixed mode)

Last updated: 26 April 2001 (SV/DH)