It may not be the best application in our lineup of fax software, but Fax Machine is nonetheless worth a look. While it lacks the overall usability and help and support options our higher-ranking products boast, the software offers a respectable feature set and a unique, polished interface.
Similar to comparable applications, Fax Machine utilizes an analog modem or voice phone line to send and receive faxes. While faxing may seem obsolete to some, the fax software stays relevant by offering modern, usable features such as the ability to forward received faxes to an email address and send faxes from any application that prints.
Fax Machine delivers a range of fax sending and receiving features that make faxing quick and easy. In terms of sending, the software’s printer driver allows you to fax from Microsoft Office, Outlook or any other application you can print from; just hit print and select the software as your printer. You can also upload entire address books (e.g., your Outlook address book) into the software to create contacts and phone books and schedule faxes to be sent. While we liked that the software has a scheduler, we found it to be cumbersome since you have to enter the send date (day, month and year) and time manually.
The software also offers most of the fax receiving features we were seeking, including an auto-receive mode, a filter to block spam faxes and manual send. What the software lacks is a phone number display when sending faxes and a message wizard to guide through setup. While we don’t think many prospective users will lament the absence of a phone number display, a message wizard would greatly add to the overall usability of the software.
Fax Machine likewise offers plenty of appealing extra features. We liked that it offered both standard cover pages and the ability to make custom ones. You can also add multiple attachments to a single fax and print received faxes, as many competitors also allow.
One unique feature the software offers is the distinctive ring feature. This lets you assign certain rings to certain numbers so you can identify an incoming fax by sound – or ring. This is especially convenient if you need to know the moment a priority fax comes in.
Unlike other products we reviewed, we were disappointed to find Fax Machine does not have caller ID capability or a digital signature feature. Furthermore, though the software does allow you to use custom cover pages (created using a different application), it offers only one generic cover page template.
Ease of use is hands-down the area Fax Machine needs the most improvement. At first glance, the fax software doesn’t look like it would be difficult to use, but the more we explored it, the clearer it became that the application is rather cumbersome and lacks intuitiveness.
From the home screen, you can scan or load a page to fax or opt to receive a fax. This allows you to set the software to wait for a fax and pick up the phone if a call comes in. A single left-hand navigation bar provides access to the inbox, outbox, settings and help section. What’s most confusing about the software is accessing features because they are not intuitively organized in the software. For example, fax logs can only be viewed through the inbox and outbox. Additionally, we were unable to add individual contacts to the address book. Address books are imported from Outlook, Thunderbird or Windows Contact, and if you want to fax to a contact not in your address book, you must manually input the contact information prior to sending the fax.
We will say that though it lacks intuitiveness, we did like the unique and polished interface of the software. It stands out among competitors and boasts the polish and contemporary feel comparable applications lack.
Given its lack of usability, the fax software’s built-in help and support section comes in quite handy. The aforementioned navigation sidebar has a help tab that when clicked opens a help index in a new window. Here you can browse useful help topics or search for answers by keyword.
While we appreciate the built-in help section, the fax software offers very little beyond that. In fact, the Fax Machine website only offers a single email address that can be used to contact the company directly.
Fax Machine is basic fax software that clearly hits the mark in some areas but falls short in others. The application has a decent feature set lacking just a few key features, and while its interface scores marks for aesthetics, it fails in terms of overall ease of use. An easier-to-navigate and more intuitive interface and more robust help and support would definitely make Fax Machine a top contender among PC fax software.
