HOWTO: Integrating eCopy ShareScan OP and Zetafax
ZTN1520
ID: ZTN1520
This Zetafax technical note applies to:
- Zetafax 2006 (including SP1 - build 10.1.450 or later)
- eCopy ShareScan OP (version 3.0 or later)
Summary
eCopy ShareScan OP is a software product which integrates multi-function devices (MFDs) or other scanning devices into the office network. It allows users to email scanned documents, or pass them to other applications for further processing.
The Zetafax Connector for eCopy is a chargeable add-on for Zetafax which enables eCopy ShareScan OP to be integrated with a Zetafax server, allowing users to send faxes directly from the scanning device.
This technical note describes how to install the Zetafax Connector for eCopy add-on, and how to configure the two systems to work together.
Prerequisites
The instructions assume the following components are already installed
- Zetafax 2006 server (version as above), including the email gateway for Microsoft Exchange, with one or more fax devices. Customers with earlier Zetafax 2006 versions should use the Zetafax Update Service to install the SP1 updates before proceeding.
- Zetafax Connector for Microsoft Exchange, installed on the Exchange Server computer
- eCopy ShareScan OP, configured with one or more scanning devices
Installation overview
The installation process requires the following stages:
o Install the "Zetafax Connector for eCopy" add-on licence at the Zetafax server.
o Configure the Zetafax email gateway to allow any network user to send faxes
o Create an Exchange user account for use by the eCopy fax connector
o Install the eCopy native fax connector, and configure it for use with Zetafax
o Enable the fax functionality on the scanning devices
o [Optional] Create an address book database for use by the eCopy fax connector
These steps are described in more detail below.
Installation steps
1. Install the "Zetafax Connector for eCopy" add-on licence.
The integration is not included as standard with Zetafax, but requires purchase of a "Zetafax Connector for eCopy" chargeable add-on. This includes a licence key which must be installed at the Zetafax Server to enable the full functionality.
To install the add-on licence, do the following:
a) Launch Zetafax Configuration program from Start > Programs > Zetafax > Zetafax Configuration
b) Browse to Zetafax > Licencing and Registration
c) Right click below the licencing information and select "Modify/upgrade license details" to display the licensing dialog box
d) Click "Add", then enter the licence number for the Zetafax Connector for eCopy ShareScan add-on - this will have the format Unnnnnnn-ECOPY-xxxxxx
e) Restart the Zetafax Server
2. Configure the Zetafax email gateway to allow any network user to send faxes
Zetafax can be configured so that Exchange users without a personal Zetafax account can still send faxes via a shared "mail profile" account. Since the eCopy fax connector submits faxes via Exchange, this allows any user in the organisation to send faxes from the scanning device without requiring prior authorisation by the administrator.
If you want only specific users to be able to send faxes, you should enable individual users for sending via the email gateway as described in the Zetafax documentation - faxes from users who have not been enabled will be rejected, and notified by an email containing the original fax.
If you wish to enable sending by all users (recommended), and Zetafax is not already configured to do this, the steps are as follows:
a) Launch Zetafax Configuration program from Start > Programs > Zetafax > Zetafax Configuration
b) Browse to Zetafax > Users and user groups > Email User profiles.
c) Right click on Email User profiles and select "Add", then enter the user name as "MAILUSER"
d) Launch Exchange System Manager Program from Start > Programs > Microsoft Exchange > System Manager.
e) Browse to computername > Administrative Groups > First Administrative Group > Connectors.
In non-default installations, browse instead to the group which contains the Zetafax Connector
f) In the right pane right click on "Zetafax Connector" and select "Properties".
g) In the Zetafax Connector Properties window, select "Allowed to send, using shared Zetafax Mail Profile account:"
h) Select the "MAILUSER" account from the drop down and click OK.
3. Create an Exchange user account for use by the eCopy fax connector
Although faxes are submitted from each user's personal Exchange account, the eCopy fax connector also requires its own Exchange account to use when processing.
a) Create a network account with an Exchange mailbox. Set the account properties so that the password does not expire.
You can use an existing account if you prefer - for example if you have already configured an Exchange connector within ShareScan OP then you can use the same user account for the fax connector.
4. Install the eCopy native fax connector, and configure it for use with Zetafax
eCopy ShareScan OP includes a generic fax connector, used for submitting fax messages via Exchange. The following steps install this in the ShareScan OP services manager, then configure it for the email address format used by Zetafax.
a) Launch ShareScan OP Administration Program from Start > Programs > eCopy Applications > ShareScan OP Administration.
b) Browse to eCopy > ShareScan OP > computername > Connectors, and check whether the "Fax Exchange" connector is present. If not present, then install it by re-running the install program from your original eCopy CD and choosing the "modify installation" option.
c) Select the "Fax Exchange" connector in the left hand window, to display the connector properties
d) In the second pane, select the "Display" tab and change the label to "Zetafax".
e) Select the "Configure" tab and provide the "Domain User Name", "Domain User Password", "Domain" and "Exchange Server" for the Exchange account created earlier.
Note that the account selected should be one with a password which does not expire.
f) Select "Send messages from personal mail account" and "Add messages to Sent Item folder", so users have the same experience when sending from the scanner as when sending faxes directly from Outlook.
g) Click on "Test" to test the connection with the Exchange Server.
h) Select the "Fax Format" tab and click on "Format".
i) In the "Fax Address Format" pop-up, select "Prefix", "Name", "Fax Number", "Cover Page", "Suffix" and click "Add".
j) Make sure that the order in which you have added the address field is "Prefix", "Name", "Fax Number", "Cover Page" and "Suffix". If the order is not the same then use the "MoveUp" or "MoveDown" buttons to get the order.
k) Expand "Prefix", select "Prefix Value:" click modify and enter the value "[FAX:" (without the quotation marks)
l) Repeat for other fields, so the settings are as follows (without the quotation marks):
O Prefix Value: "[FAX:"
O Name Separator: " " (a single space)
O Fax Prefix Value: "@"
O Cover Page Attached: "/COVER=COVSHEET"
Here "COVSHEET" is the name of the coversheet which Zetafax will add to the start of the scanned fax. "COVSHEET" is the default for new Zetafax installations - replace with an alternative name if required for your Zetafax system.
O Cover Page Not Attached: "/COVER="
O Suffix Value: "]"
m) Check that the examples at the top of the dialog box are exactly as follows, including the opening and closing square brackets:
O No Cover Page: [FAX:John Smith@555-1212/COVER=]
O Cover Page: [FAX:John Smith@555-1212/COVER=COVSHEET]
n) Click "Save" to save the configuration settings, then enter the profile name as "Zetafax"
For simplicity we recommend using the same profile for all devices, meaning that faxes from all scanning devices will use the same fax coversheet. However, in some cases you might want to have multiple profiles - for example if you wanted to use a different coversheet on each device, or to store fax recipients separately for each device.
To do this you would save the profile several times under different names, then enable the relevant profile on each device. In this case we recommend configuring and testing one profile first, though you may wish to choose a profile name which reflects your eventual configuration.
5. Enable the fax functionality on MFD or other scanning devices
ShareScan OP allows you to choose the functions available on each MFD or scanning station independently. After creating a new connector you need to enable it for the device before it is visible to users, as follows.
a) Launch ShareScan OP Administration Program from Start > Programs > eCopy Applications > ShareScan OP Administration.
b) Browse to eCopy > ShareScan OP > Local PC Name > Devices > computername > Properties.
c) In the second pane, make the "Fax Exchange" connector active by selecting it, choosing the "Zetafax" profile from the drop-down, then clicking Save.
d) Repeat for each scanning device
We recommend that you test the fax functionality on one device first, before extending to all devices.
6. [OPTIONAL] Create and configure an address book
The eCopy Fax Exchange connector allows you to create an address book database to store fax numbers. Users can search this address book when sending a fax from the eCopy device; recipient details entered at the device are automatically added to the address book, and entries can be maintained using the ShareScan OP administrator program.
If you have an existing SQL server database you can store the address book there as a new database table. Alternatively you can install a royalty-free version of SQL server on the ShareScan OP services manager computer provided it has a suitable specification. This is supplied with ShareScan OP - see ShareScan OP installation guide for further information.
The steps to create an address book in a SQL database are as follows
a) Launch ShareScan OP Administration Program from Start > Programs > eCopy Applications > ShareScan OP Administration.
b) Browse to eCopy > ShareScan OP > computername > Connectors, then select the "Fax Exchange" connector in the left hand window to display the connector properties
c) In the second pane, select the "Address Book" tab, then click "Create"
d) Select the database server from the dropdown, supply login user ID and password, and specify the address book name to be "ShareScanOPZetafax". Click "Create" to create the new database table.
We recommend using a separate database for fax recipients for clarity; the default address book name of "ShareScanOP" is used by other connectors for email recipients
Note that the user ID specified needs to have sufficient permissions to create a new database table on the server.
e) Click "Choose." on the connector properties window, and enter details for the database you have just created. Click "Test Connection" to validate the details, then "OK".
Note that the user specified should be configured so that the password does not expire, and should have sufficient access rights to create and edit entries in the database.
f) Returning to the connector properties window, ensure the "Enable" checkbox is selected. In most cases we recommend that the "Search while typing" checkbox is not selected. Finally click "Save" to save the profile changes.
"Search while typing" allows users to see matching recipients as they type on the device, without having to press the "search" button. However, because it does a search after each typed letter it requires a fast database server to give a good user experience.
We recommend you only enable this setting when using a database on a separate SQL server, then experiment to see which setting gives the better user experience in your installation.
Testing the installation
The following steps test the installation has been performed correctly
1. Zetafax server and email gateway installation
From your own Exchange email account, create a new email message (by choosing "New Message" in Outlook not "New Zetafax"), then enter the recipient in the following format:
[FAX:name@faxnumber]
eg.
[FAX:Sam Smith@222 333 4444]
Enter some text in the subject and message body, then click Send.
On the Zetafax Server you should see the message being submitted. After a few minutes you should receive an email response saying the message has been sent successfully.
Now send two further messages with recipients specified as follows (one recipient per message):
[FAX:name@faxnumber/COVER=]
[FAX:name@faxnumber/COVER=COVSHEET]
(replacing "COVSHEET" with your company coversheet name if your Zetafax installation is not using the default coversheet name). Provided the add-on licence has been installed correctly, the first fax should be sent with no coversheet and the second sent with a single coversheet page
2. Enable all mail users to send
Repeat the above test from a user who was not previously enabled to use Zetafax. The user should be able to send a fax, and the Zetafax server monitor program will show that that the fax has been sent using the mail profile account.
3. Send from a scanning device
Check the "Zetafax" option is now available on the scanning device. Select the option, enter name and fax number, select "No coversheet", then send the fax. The fax message should appear in your "Sent Items" folder, then after a few minutes you should receive an email confirming that it has been sent.
Note that the image resolution should be set to "Fax" at the scanning device
Now repeat selecting the "Add coversheet" option.
4. Fax address book
Send a fax from the scanning device. This time, enter the first name from the previous test then click the button next to the field to search for that name in the address book. The full name and fax details should be retrieved.
Now display the connector properties window, using the ShareScan OP administrator program, and display the address book tab. Check that the entry has been added.
Delete the entry to check account permissions.
Further information
For further information about the "Zetafax Connector for eCopy" add-on, please contact your local Zetafax reseller or the Equisys sales team.
References
ZTN1109 HOWTO: Installing and updating the Zetafax Exchange connector
Last updated: 7th November 2006 (PJ/GW)