Technical information

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Integration Fundamentals
Integration Fundamentals
When most people consider integrating VSI-FAX with another application, they usually want to add one or more of
the following capabilities to their existing business application:
Send a fax : Use VSI-FAX to send faxes directly from another application.
Receive a fax : Use VSI-FAX to receive faxes, then hand them to another application for processing.
Administration : Implement programmatic control and maintenance of the VSI-FAX server.
Because sending a fax is by far the most common capability added via integration, this section will focus primarily on
that aspect of integration.
The fax envelope
Sending a fax is similar to sending a letter via the postal system. Consider that when you send a letter, you must
have at least the following:
Something to send
Someone to send it to
Typically, a message is written or typed on a piece of paper and placed inside an envelope. Of course, you can
include other items such as brochures, price lists, bills, contracts, etc. In fact, some postal mailings can be rather
large and contain many items in the same envelope. Conversely, if your message is brief, you might send a postcard.
Regardless of size or complexity, you must have something to send.
After you have gathered the items you want to send, placed them in the envelope, sealed it and addressed it to the
recipient, you often have several different ways you can get it to the post office. For example, you can take it to your
central post office in person or you can drop it in a local mail box and let a mail carrier deliver it to the post office for
you. You can even request delivery confirmation.
Similarly, when you send a fax, the minimum amount of information you need is:
Something to fax
A recipient (fax number or email address)
As with letters, faxes can contain other items (attachments) or be simple (just a cover page). Once the elements of
the fax are defined, it is assembled into a "fax envelope" so that it can be sent. You also have several different ways
to get it to the "post office" (i.e., fax server) and you can specify types of confirmation (status).
Let's set aside the analogies and metaphors for a moment and take a look at what fax envelopes really contain:
Content : Fax content includes everything you want to fax to your recipient. It can be a simple text message
or multiple files you want to image and send to this person.
Recipient information : This is the person who will receive the fax. At minimum, you must enter a fax number
or an email address. However, most users also will include other details such as the recipient's name and
company information in order to ensure that the right person gets the fax.
Cover page (sender information): Most faxes include a cover page. Cover pages are similar to return
addressees on letters. They almost always include the sender's information and usually include recipient's
addressing information. They can also include short messages. In fact, a fax can consist of only a cover page.
Send parameters : Send parameters are the conditions you specify for sending this fax. For example, this is
where you specify that the fax be sent from a specific fax device or sent at a specific time (e.g., delayed send).