Table of Contents

List Upload

Use the List Upload page to register your address list. List Upload accepts text files in CSV or CDL. See List File Contents.

1. List Name: Enter the list name. List names can be up to 32 characters including characters A-Z, 1-0 and underscore. Spaces are not allowed.
2. Check the file type radio button - choose from CSV, CDL or SendEnd.
3. File Name: Click "Browse" button to locate the correct file in your local directories.
4. Click the "Upload" button to send and register the list.
5. A new page will indicate the success or failure of the upload.

Once your list has been accepted, is is ready to use.

List Download

The Download function allows you to retrieve a copy of your list. The downloaded file will have the column headings described in the List File Contents section.

1. List Name: Enter the list name.
2. Check the radio button for the file type desired - CSV, CDL or SendEnd.
3. Click the "Download" button.
4. Indicate the desired name and location in the "Save as" dialog box.
5. Then press "OK", to download the list to the specified location.

Display List

Display List shows the contents of a registered list. It will display all columns available in the list. Some lists may have columns in addition to those shown in the List File Contents section.)

• List Name: Enter the list name.
• Click the "Display" button to see the contents of the list.

You can also view the contents of lists from the "Directory of Lists" page, and from with in the "Broadcast Request" page.

Remove List

The Remove List function allows you to instruct the system to delete the named list. Once deleted, the list is no longer available for use.

• Enter the list name.
• Click the "Delete the list" button to remove the list. (No additional warnings are given.)
• A confirmation page will be displayed, completing the operation. 

Directory of Lists

The Directory of Lists page provides a complete catalogue of available lists. See List Names for an explanation of the character in front of the list name.

The directory pane provides links to the view, upload, download and remove pages.

• Click on a list name to view its contents.
• Click on an Upload Icon to replace a list.
• Click on a Download Icon to retrieve a list.
• Click on the Delete Icon to remove a list.
• The modification time shows the date and time the list was last modified. 

Start a Broadcast

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The Start a Broadcast page provides a variety of options, as explained below:

• Make sure the User ID and Customer name at the top of the form are correct. Some Browsers and Internet Servers may cache this page from a previous user on your system.
• Click the "Browse Lists" button to see all registered list names in a separate page which will open on top of this one.
• Highlight any list name by clicking on it, then click "Add" to add the list to the Start a Broadcast page.
• You can select a range of lists by holding down the "Shift" key and clicking the first and last list, or select a series of lists by holding down the "Control" key, and clicking each name in turn.
• Click "Add" to add the list names selected to the Start a Broadcast form.
• To preview a list's contents, highlight the list name and click "View" to open another page that shows the contents of the list.
• When finished entering list names, click the "Done" button.
• If you make a mistake selecting list names, use the "Reset" button to clear all entries and start again.
• If you already know the list names you want to use, you can type them directly into the "Listnames" box.
• Additional Recipients: If you need to add additional destinations that are not present in any list, use any of the "Additional Adress" boxes.
• Address Type - pick the appropriate value from the drop down box:
  a) Fax - for any Group III fax machine
  b) EMAIL - for any public internet email address
  c) MBOX - a proprietary mailbox provided by us.
• Then type the address in the "Address" box:
• Fax - The 10 digit North American Plan number (a leading 1 is not necessary), or "011" the country code and national number.
• EMAIL - The full internet email address (username@domain.name)
• MBOX - The proprietary Host based user mailbox address
  
  Note: Additonal Addresses will not have optional To/Attn/Insert/Header fields.
• File Name: Type in the complete location and filename on your PC or use the "Browse" button to find the file.
• Note: If the file extension does not match the File Type, a warning box will appear asking if the File type should be changed.
• File Type: Select the correct file type from the drop down box:
  a) Acrobat is for Adobe Portable Document Files (PDF)
  b) PostScript is for Adobe PS files
  c) Text is for plain ASCII text files
  d) PCL5 is for Hewlett Packard Printer language files
  e) TIFF is for Fax image and XAR files
• Fax Output Mode: For fax destinations, select either Standard or Fine mode delivery. Standard mode is appx 100x200 lines per inch; Fine mode is appx 200x200 lines per inch resolution.
• If no other Delivery Options are needed, you can press the "Submit Broadcast" button to launch the Broadcast.
• Delivery Class: Click the Drop-down box for other than the default selection:
• Select "Express" for Immediate Delivery Attempts
• Select "Off-Peak" for Delivery Attempts beginning after 9PM Eastern time. Attempts may start any time between 9PM and 7AM.
• Select "Scheduled" if you want attempts to start at a particular time and/or day. If Scheduled is selected, the date and time boxes are filled in with the PC's current values.
  Use the drop down boxes to change to the date and/or time you wish using your local PC time.
  You can schedule a job up to 7 days in the future.
  Note: The time will be changed to GMT when uploaded to the Host System.
• Report Type: Select from the type of delivery reports available from the Drop-down box:
• Detail - A report specifying the final delivery or non-delivery status for each destination in the list or lists.
  For each destination, the results, including number of attempts and elapsed time to deliver (or byte count for email destinations).
• Exception - A report specifying only those destinations that could not be delivered, with the number of attempts and reason.
• Conditional - A report is generated only if one or more destinations could not be delivered.
• Summary - A report specifying only the totals delivered and not delivered.
• None - No report is generated.
• Customer Reference: An optional identification you can give for this broadcast. This field can be up to 40 characters in length, although only 20 characters will show in the report.
  This reference can be used in the Broadcast Status form to find the status for this particular broadcast (job).
• Billing Code: An optional billing or department code you can give for this broadcast. The monthly invoice will be sorted via this code, so all broadcasts for a given code will be subtoataled. This field can be up to 20 characters in length.
• Global Header: An optional field of up to 20 characters. When data is entered here, the header field for each destination is replaced with this value. This value then prints in the top header line of each delivered fax (at the very top of the page). This field is generally used when you want your FROM information to print on all delivered fax pages.
• Letterhead: If you have registered one or more letterheads in the Host System, this optional field allows selection of which letterhead to use for fax delivery addresses.
  Letterheads usually contain the sender's logo and other fixed data, and may be located at the top and/or bottom of the page. Letterheads can exist on the first page alone, or have the same or different information on succeeding pages.
  The input document must avoid placing any text or graphics in the area where the stored letterhead has data/graphics.
  The default of "None" is shown in the selection box.
  To choose a Letterhead:
• Type the name of your letterhead in the box, replacing "none"
• Alternatively click the "Browse Letterheads" button to open a new pane that will show the stored letterhead names. Highlight any letterhead name by clicking on its name, and then click the "Select" button to use this letterhead.
  Then click the "Done" button or close the letterhead pane by clicking the "x" in the top right corner.
• To unselect a Letterhead, either delete the name in the box, type "none" or select "none" from the Browse Letterheads list (it is at the top of the list)
• Bannerfx Name: If you have a registered Bannerfx you can select which one to use.
• Click on the "Bannerfx Name" Drop Down box and select any named Banner by clicking on the name.
  Selecting a Bannerfx name will automatically cause the "Use Bannerfx" box to display "Yes"
• Each Bannerfx page will be filled in with the information from the "To," "Attn," "Insert," and "From" fields in the List, if present, for each fax destination. See "Overides."
• To unselect a Bannerfx, click on the name to open the drop-down box, and select the "blank" name at the top of the list, or change the "Use Bannerfx" box to "No"
• Cover Sheet Options: You can request a default (sys_default) or registered custom cover page to precede the document to each destination. Each destination cover page will be filled in with the information from the "To," "Attn," "Insert," and "From" fields in the List. See "Overides"
• Type the name of the cover in the "Custom Cover" box. This will automatically cause the "Send Cover" box to display "Yes."
• Alternatively click the "Browse Covers" button to open a new pane that will show the stored cover page names for this account. Highlight any cover page name by clicking on its name, and then click the "Select" button to use this cover page.
  Then click the "Done" button or close the coverpage pane by clicking the "x" in the top right corner. This will automatically cause the "Send Cover" box to display "Yes."
• To unselect a Cover page, delete the name in the Custom Cover box or change the "Send Cover" to "No."
• From: This optional box can be used to specify global "From" information to be used on a Cover Page or Bannerfx.
  Type or copy the information into this box. Multiple lines of data may be input, but useage is dependent on the specific Cover Page or Bannerfx used.
  This information is used only for fax destinations.
  See "Overides"
• Attn /Subject/Comment: This optional box can be used to specify global information to be used either on a Cover Page, Bannerfx, or email destination's subject field.
  Type or copy the information into this box. Multiple lines of data may be input, but usage is dependent on the specific cover page or Bannerfx used.
  See "Overides"
• Overides
• When a destination in a list has data in the "From" field (any line), this data takes precedence over "From" data entered in the Start a Broadcast form. For any destination that has no data in all of the "From" lines, the values in the Start a Broadcast "From" field will be used.
• When a destination in a list has data in the "Attn/Subject/Comment" field (any line); this data takes precedence over "Attn/Subject/Comment" data entered in the Start a Broadcast form. For any destination that has no data in all of the "Attn/Subject/Comment" lines, the values in the Start a Broadcast form for this field will be used.

When finished entering all data, click on the "Submit Broadcast" button. You will receive a positive or negative acknowledgement after the data and file has been uploaded to the host. The Browser may appear to be frozen while the upload is in progress.

You will be given a Job Number and other details if the message has been accepted. 

Broadcast Status

This form allows you to check the status of Broadcasts (Jobs) currently in progress, or completed within the last 5 day period.

• Report Parameters: You can select the activity period (from the last 1 to 120 hours) and speficy a maximum number to show on the browser screen. You can also select whether detail, summary, or exception information should be displayed if you ask for further information on a selected entry in the report.
• Report Filters: You can narrow a search by entering your Customer Reference or Bill Code field information. You can also specify whether Resends should show or be omitted (See Resends).
• You can also specify whether status should be displayed from oldest to newest or newest to oldest.

When finished entering data, click the "Submit Query" button. There will be a delay while the system searches for Broadcast jobs matching your query. During busy periods, the query can take several minutes to complete.

Broadcast Activity Display

The status display for each Broadcast job shows a summary of whether the job is in progress or has been completed. It also lists the customer reference, bill code, list names, number of destinations (items), when the job was received by the system, when attempts were started and finished.

The last column shows "Cancel Job" if the Broadcast is still in progress, or "Resend" if the job has completed all attempts.

Note: On the detailed delivery report, the number of destinations may include the report itself, and therefore be one more than the destinations on your list(s).

Cancel Job: This means that you can request the Job be cancelled at this point.

If the deliveries have not even started (such as in a scheduled job where the start time has not been reached) then it will be possible to cancel the job and no attempts will be made.

If the job has started, you can only cancel any outstanding deliveries that are not actually in progress at that instant of time. There can be a delay in reaching all of the remote delivery sites, and during this interval, some deliveries may still be started. Deliveries that have been completed cannot be cancelled.

Clicking the "Cancel Job" button will take you to a follow-on screen where you can select:

• Normal - if just the deliveries are to be cancelled or
• All - if you want the deliveries and the final report to be cancelled.
Clicking the "Submit Cancel Request" button will submit the cancel request to the system.
Normally you should not request the "All" option if some deliveries have started, as this would result in no delivery report.

Resend: This means all the delivery attempts have finished. There may be some destinations where the delivery failed, such as a wrong number, or a fax machine out of paper. You can check by looking at a detail or summary report by clicking on the underlined job number.
If there are deliveries that were not made, clicking the "Resend" button will launch a new Broadcast of the same document, but just to the destinations that failed. Clicking this button will take you to another screen where you can select the priority or schedule when you want the resends to begin.
If you click the "Resend" button but there are no destinations that were not delivered, the request will have no destinations, and will be deleted, but no notice will be returned.
Note: Resend here is limited to resend to not sent destinations. If you need to resend the document to the entire list(s) again, either use the Start a Broadcast form with the same document and list(s) or call Customer Service. 

List Names:

List names should generally be made up of letters, digits, and underscores. List names may not contain spaces or other white space. List names should not contain punctuation characters, except for the underscore.

The characters '!', '#', '@', and '$' have special meaning to the system, when they are the first character of a list name.

The '!' character identifies the list as a "user level" list. It is accessible only by the ID registered it.

The '#' character identifies the list as a "customer level" list. It is accessible by any ID owned by the same customer.

For example, if ABC company had two users: ABC/SALLY and ABC/JOHN, Sally and John may each have their own list named 'personal', and a company wide list named 'sales'. The directory of lists would show '!personal' and '#sales' as the list names. John could not access Sally's list, nor vice versa. Both could access '#sales'

Care should be taken before uploading or removing a customer level list.

The '@' and '$' characters are reserved for special purposes. Use them only if instructed to do so by your Representative. 

List File Contents:

 

Field Name	Description	Values	Mandatory	Multiple Lines Allowed
Ref	Item Reference, should be unique within list	Any  7 bit Latin ISO characters (ASCII)	No	No
Type	Type of address in Address Field  Optional if list consists entirely of fax and e-mail addresses    Required for all other address types.	'fax'  'internet' (e-mail)  'telex' 'cablegram'  'mailgram'  'list'  'mbox' (Proprietary mailbox)	No for Fax and E-Mail Addresses Yes for all others.	No
Addr	Target Address	Consistent with Type field	Yes	Yes, depending on address
Header	Pilot line at the top of each fax page. Ignored for all other address types. Only first 20 characters are used by the system	Any  7 bit Latin ISO characters (ASCII)	No	No
To	Text for use on Coversheet,  BannerFX	Any Language Characters	No	Yes
From	Text for use on Coversheet, BannerFX	Any Language Characters	No	Yes
Attn	Text for use on Coversheet, BannerFX	Any Language Characters	No	Yes
AltType	Alternate Address Type	same values as Type: 'fax'  'internet' (e-mail)  'telex'  'cablegram'  'mailgram'  'list'  'mbox'	No	No
AltAddr	Alternate Target Address	Consistent with AltType field	No	Yes, depending on address


 

Mandatory Field(s) must be included in all lists. 

Multiple Lines:

Multiple lines only apply to TO, FROM, ATTN, and when appropriate ADDR. All other fields are limited to a single line.
Multiple lines are allowed using the following numbering scheme. That scheme allows any number of either '-' or '_' (but not both for the same field) to be followed by the field number (or column in a spreadsheet).

For example, for five 'To' lines, it could be a set up as:
 

'To_1", 'To_2", 'To_4", 'To_3", 'To_5"
 

or :

"To--1", "To--2", "To--3", "To--4", "To--5"
 

or :

'To1", 'To2", 'To3", 'To4", 'To5"

The number, not the column position, determines the order of the columns in the list.   So for the first example given above, the list columns 4 and 3 would be switched in the List.

When such multi-line fields are uploaded via the WEB, blank fields (fields with no data) are eliminated, and the next field containing data is assigned to the next numbered field. This function can be used to eliminate blank fields when using Cover Pages or Bannerfx. See examples under CDL and CSV. 

Address 'Addr' Values:

Addr must be a valid address based on the address type 'AddrType' selected.   For example,
 

'email@work'

is an invalid address when used as a 'fax' phone number, but is a valid format for an Internet E-Mail address. All others data fields may contain any 7 bit Latin ISO (ASCII) data or alternate character encoding data.

 

If the field contains CDL or CSV characters or alternate character encoding data, the field should be enclosed with quotes, even in a CSV formatted file. This will allow the list to contain formatting characters without interfering with the format.

For example, the list field:
 

Eatontown, N.J.
 

for either a CDL or CSV file should be:
 

"Eatontown, N.J." 

Format of a CDL (Comma Delimited) File:

A CDL file is formatted with each field enclosed in quotes and separated with commas. Each line has the same number of fields, with the first line containing the fieldname, as in:
 

"Heading 1","Heading 2","Heading 3"
"Line 1 Heading 1", "Line 1 Heading 2", "Line 1 Heading 3"
"Line 2 Heading 1", "Line 2 Heading 2", "Line 2 Heading 3"
"Line 3 Heading 1", "Line 3 Heading 2", "Line 3 Heading 3"

A valid List CDL File would be:  

"Ref","Addr","Type","To_1","To_2","To_3","To_4", "To_5"
"1","2125551212","fax","John Smith","ABC Systems", "123 Main Street","Suite 100","New York, NY"
"2","2125551234","fax","Bob Jones","ABC Company",,"101 Broadway","New York, NY"
"3","2125551267","fax","Ralph Green","Revlon","100 Park Ave.","","New York, NY"  

Note that for the record with Ref = 2 above, the To_3 field is missing - there is no value between the commas.
For the record with Ref =3, the To_3 field has a null value between the double quote (which is accepted).
The results of this file on a Cover Sheet or Bannerfx would be:

To(1) To(2) To(3) To(4) To(5)

John Smith ABC Systems 123 Main Street Suite 100 New York, NY

Bob Jones ABC Company 101 Broadway New York, NY

Ralph Green Revlon 100 Park Ave. New York, NY

 Thus the blank field in Ref =2 is absent in the output, while the null field between the double quotes in Ref = 3 is preserved. 

Format of a CSV (Comma Separated) File:

A CSV file is formatted with each column separated with commas. Only field containing commas or Alternate Character Encoded Data are encoded with quoted. Each line has the same number of columns, the first line is the Column Title or Heading line, as in:
 

Heading 1,Heading 2,Heading 3
Line 1 Heading 1, Line 1 Heading 2, Line 1 Heading 3
Line 2 Heading 1, Line 2 Heading 2, Line 2 Heading 3
Line 3 Heading 1, Line 3 Heading 2, Line 3 Heading 3

A valid List CSV File would be:  

Ref, Addr, Type, To_1, To_2, To_3, To_4, To_5
1,2125551212,fax,John Smith,ABC Systems,123 Main Street,Suite 100,"New York, NY"
2,2125551234,fax,Bob Jones,ABC Company,,101 Broadway,"New York, NY"
3,2125551267,fax,Ralph Green,Revlon,100 Park Ave., ,"New York, NY"  

Note that "New York, NY" must be quoted because of the comma between New York and NY. If the quotes are missing, an error message would be issued that those lines contain an extra field.

Note that for the record with Ref = 2 above, the To_3 field is missing - there is no value between the commas.
For the record with Ref =3, the To_3 field has a space value between the commas.
The results of this file on a Cover Sheet or Bannerfx would be:

To(1) To(2) To(3) To(4) To(5)

John Smith ABC Systems 123 Main Street Suite 100 New York, NY

Bob Jones ABC Company 101 Broadway New York, NY

Ralph Green Revlon 100 Park Ave. New York, NY

Thus the blank field in Ref =2 is absent in the output, while the space field between the commas in Ref = 3 causes this field to be preserved. 

Format of a SendEnd File:

SendEnd is a proprietary format. It may be used as an exchange format among provided tools. In general, the use of CSV or CDL is recommended.