Win Fax Pro and Windows 7

Archive
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I have Win Fax Pro and changed computers.  My new computer has Windows 7.  It appears as though Win Fax Pro is not compatible with Win 7. Symantec states that there is no longer support for Win Fax.  I still need to use the software program.

 

 I was wondering if anyone has resolved this problems?  Can someone let me know how to install Win Fax Pro in

 Windows 7.

 

I have many old files that were saved with Win Fax Pro and I need to open them.  Win Fax Pro uses a file extension called

.fxm  I am unable to find a program that can open or convert the file.

 

Can someone please help me? :smileysurprised:

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If you are running Windows 7 Pro, you could install Virtual PC and XP Mode.

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Not sure if XP mode would have modem support but you could at least open them and print them to pdf or someting.

 

I use winfax and my faxes are FXR and FXD files.

There also used to be a winfax viewer but the link is dead and I don't know if it would install in windows 7 either.

http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/home_homeoffice/products/winfax/winfax10/files.html

 

I remember when Symantec dropped winfax I was trying to find a replacement but my problem also was what to do with all my saved faxes.  Winfax has a very limited export function and I couldn't figure out how to import everything into another program and keep all the formating.

 

Let me try Virtual PC and see if my modem works,

Dave

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I'm running Microsoft Virtual PC, not windows virtual PC or XP mode, but it's very similar.

I think it's possible to control a modem but I'm unable to do it now because my modem is shown as in use by my host system.

You can share a physical COM port from host to virtual PC so it should be able to work providing you have driver support.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824363

 

The basic modem setup in that article may not give fax support or automatic recieve but you may be able to install the right driver and get the virtual PC to recognize the physical modem.

 

Of course the better solution would be to convert everything into another program that supports windows 7. Let me know if you find a good replacement.

Dave

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Ok you have a few options here,

 

WinFax PRO isn't compatible with Windows 7. However, it will install under Windows 7.  If you just want to be able to view your existing faxes, logs and phonebooks, you can do this. 

 

The other option mentioned to use Windows XP mode is only available to you if you have a CPU that supports hardware virtualization.  Not all processors do, so this is not always an option.  With a proper setup, Windows XP mode does allow you to share the fax modem that is installed in Windows 7. 

 

Here is a link with some additional information regarding using WinFax PRO and Windows 7.

http://www.getfaxing.com/winfax/2009/10/28/windows-7-and-symantec-winfax-pro/

 

"Our initial testing confirms that you can run WinFax PRO in Windows XP mode, but you cannot “share” the WinFax PRO printer driver with Windows 7 applications.  We successfully shared the fax modem, (and it was a software based modem!) but not the fax printer. This prevents any access from Windows 7 programs to the WinFax printer. Only the applications that are installed within the Windows XP Virtual machine can be used with WinFax to send faxes, you cannot create faxes from within Windows 7 applications. 

This limits the usability of WinFax in Windows 7.  if you require to fax from a Windows 7 application, it will not work.  Although, having Windows XP within your Windows 7 operating system saves you the expensive of having another separate computer just to run legacy Windows XP applications such as WinFax."

 

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Wow, thanks. I didn't know we had a winfax expert.

 

Would you happen to know if the standalone miniview.exe runs in windows 7 and if it gives any print options?

Say you had a virtual PDF printer, could you at least open winfax files in Windows 7and print to pdf without having to install the whole winfax program?

 

Would you also know if there is a free converter that converts to any more common format? (batch converter would be ideal).

 

BTW- There is an update now for XP mode so you don't need hardware virtulization and XP runs pretty good without virtulization if you got an extra GB for it.

 

Thanks,

Dave

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The Miniviewer does have a print option, so yes, you could view any WinFax fax image (FXS, FXD, FXR, FXM) and "print to PDF" if you wanted to on a Windows 7 machine. I haven't tried Miniviewer on Win7, but I don't see any reason for it not to work.

 

There are a few converters out there, but I don't believe they are free.  FaxTalk (similar fax software like WinFax) has the ability to import your existing WinFax phonebooks and faxes.

 

Thanks for the update on the Hardware virtualization, I didn't know Microsoft made that change to XP Mode.