What is ast_fax?
ast_fax is a program which accepts emails containing fax images and sends them off to Asterisk for outgoing fax.
Who wrote it?
The project is currently maintained by Inter7 Internet Technologies, Inc. (www.inter7.com) The current developer is matt@inter7.com
I need help with ast_fax!
Inter7 is an open-source, services-based company. Feel free to call us, or contact us via our website at http://www.inter7.com
Is anyone using it?
As of this date, yes. We are using it in-house :) Of the faxes we've sent, we have had no problems with proper transmission.
What does it require to build?
You will need to download EPS v1.5 from the Inter7 website. http://www.inter7.com/eps. You may also want to take a look at the top 20 or so lines from ast_fax.c to see if you wish to change any paths, etc. There is no autoconf as of yet.
How do I configure it after it's compiled?
You will need a mail solution which allows you to send an email via stdin to an external delivery program. Generally, qmail is the preferred MTA on Unix-based systems. One can easily set up an Asterisk-dedicated qmail MTA for delivery of voicemail messages, faxes, etc.
Example /var/qmail/alias/.qmail-default:
|/var/qmail/ast_fax/ast_fax /var/qmail/ast_fax/ast_fax.call
The first, and only argument, which is optional, is the path to the call template. The call template defines how to send the fax.
Call templates
Call templates provide a number of features. Future functionality for one. If we mean to extend the functionality, the templates allow for this. Customization allows administrators to determine exactly how the fax goes out. It also allows them to break it :) Currently ast_fax only supports two variables:
$[PHONE] - The phone number to dial
$[FILE] - The local image of the fax on the disk
How do I send a fax?
ast_fax expects a phone number in an email address. The first all-digits username it finds in an email is the phone number it will send to. Currently you may only send to one number at a time, however, we plan to allow for batch sending in the future. The above example for .qmail-default will allow you to send an email to 'nnnnnnnnnnn@example.org' Included is a test fax image, and an email. To send the image, simply send an email to ast_fax, and attach the image. No special text is required in the subject or message body. To test ast_fax and Asterisk, you can type:
cat testfax.eml | ./ast_fax
Please note that you must edit testfax.eml to contain proper a proper phone number and delivery address. Consult your dialplan for proper outgoing call syntax.
Future releases
Future releases shall include some code to convert text-based email faxes to TIFF G3 format, as well as batch processing. We also plan to include variable customization from inside the email (ie: changing callerid, channels, etcetc).