How to Fax Nav Reports from Nav

yes michelle, it's very easy.

Here a LINK to the MSDN to learn more about MS Fax Service and to learn how to use it.

Regards

Thanks for the post. Great job.

The code works great. I use the code you posted for the PDFCreater and this code to fax invoices in a batch. I am just having one problem. When I do the batch the faxserver is opening up a adobe reader window for every fax and when it gets to about 30 windows it crashes.

Any ideas?

I was able to send 100+ faxes. It took the program about 15 mins to load the fax server and all were sent in about 3 hours. Here is what I came up with. The OnRun() trigger for this codeunit calls a report five times that will only process 25 invoices at a time. The report calls the SendInvoiceFax() method for each invoice, flags the invoice headers as sent, and print the sent invoice information. Using the SHELL(taskkill) to kill adobe lets the batch keep running. Using it to kill pdfcreator allows the batch to keep running even if one of the invoices has a problem and doesn't create. I hope this might help someone.

Thanks again Rashed for all of your help,

OnRun()
CLEAR(FaxSalesInvoices);
FaxSalesInvoices.USEREQUESTFORM(FALSE);
FaxSalesInvoices.SetProperties('..' + FORMAT(WORKDATE));
FaxSalesInvoices.RUN;
CLEAR(FaxSalesInvoices);
SHELL('taskkill /F /IM AcroRd32.exe /T');
COMMIT;

CLEAR(FaxSalesInvoices);
FaxSalesInvoices.USEREQUESTFORM(FALSE);
FaxSalesInvoices.SetProperties('..' + FORMAT(WORKDATE));
FaxSalesInvoices.RUN;
CLEAR(FaxSalesInvoices);
SHELL('taskkill /F /IM AcroRd32.exe /T');
COMMIT;

CLEAR(FaxSalesInvoices);
FaxSalesInvoices.USEREQUESTFORM(FALSE);
FaxSalesInvoices.SetProperties('..' + FORMAT(WORKDATE));
FaxSalesInvoices.RUN;
CLEAR(FaxSalesInvoices);
SHELL('taskkill /F /IM AcroRd32.exe /T');
COMMIT;

CLEAR(FaxSalesInvoices);
FaxSalesInvoices.USEREQUESTFORM(FALSE);
FaxSalesInvoices.SetProperties('..' + FORMAT(WORKDATE));
FaxSalesInvoices.RUN;
CLEAR(FaxSalesInvoices);
SHELL('taskkill /F /IM AcroRd32.exe /T');
COMMIT;

CLEAR(FaxSalesInvoices);
FaxSalesInvoices.USEREQUESTFORM(FALSE);
FaxSalesInvoices.SetProperties('..' + FORMAT(WORKDATE));
FaxSalesInvoices.RUN;
CLEAR(FaxSalesInvoices);
SHELL('taskkill /F /IM AcroRd32.exe /T');

MESSAGE('ExpandIT Launch Utility Finished');

SendInvoiceFax(VAR SalesInvoiceHeader : Record "Sales Invoice Header";ReportID : Code[10]) FaxWasSent : Text[30]
CLEARALL;

FaxWasSent := 'Yes';

IF Customer.GET(SalesInvoiceHeader."Bill-to Customer No.") THEN
   BEGIN
      TempSting := '86' + DELCHR(Customer."A/R Fax No.",'=','-/()');
      PhoneNo := DELCHR(TempSting,'=',DELCHR(TempSting,'=','1234567890')); //PhoneNo contains only numbers
   END
ELSE
   PhoneNo := '';

IF (PhoneNo = '') OR (STRLEN(PhoneNo) <> 12) THEN
   BEGIN
      MESSAGE('ERROR Invalid Fax Number ' + FORMAT(SalesInvoiceHeader."No."));
      SHELL('taskkill /F /IM AcroRd32.exe /T');
      SHELL('taskkill /F /IM PDFCreator.exe /T');
      EXIT('No / Invalid Fax No.');
   END;

IF ReportID = '' THEN
   ReportNo := 50138   //Sales Invoice 2
ELSE
   EVALUATE(ReportNo,ReportID);

FileDirectory := 'E:';
FileName := FORMAT(SalesInvoiceHeader."No.") + 'fax';
FileName2 := FORMAT(SalesInvoiceHeader."No.") + 'fax.pdf';

IF ISCLEAR(PDFCreator) THEN 
  CREATE(PDFCreator); 
IF ISCLEAR(PDFCreatorError) THEN 
  CREATE(PDFCreatorError); 
 
PDFCreatorError := PDFCreator.cError; 
PDFCreator.cIsConverted := FALSE;
IF PDFCreator.cStart('/NoProcessingAtStartup',TRUE) = FALSE THEN
   BEGIN
      MESSAGE('PDFCreator ' + FORMAT(SalesInvoiceHeader."No."));
      SHELL('taskkill /F /IM AcroRd32.exe /T');
      SHELL('taskkill /F /IM PDFCreator.exe /T');
      EXIT('No / PDFCreater Error');
   END;

Object.GET(Object.Type::Report,'',ReportNo);

PDFCreatorOption :=  PDFCreator.cOptions; 

PDFCreatorOption.UseAutosave := 1;
PDFCreatorOption.UseAutosaveDirectory := 1;
PDFCreatorOption.AutosaveDirectory := FileDirectory; 
PDFCreatorOption.AutosaveFormat := 0;         
PDFCreatorOption.AutosaveFilename := FileName;

PDFCreator.cOptions := PDFCreatorOption; 
PDFCreator.cClearCache(); 
DefaultPrinter := PDFCreator.cDefaultPrinter; 
PDFCreator.cDefaultPrinter := 'PDFCreator'; 
PDFCreator.cPrinterStop := FALSE; 

REPORT.RUNMODAL(ReportNo,FALSE,FALSE,SalesInvoiceHeader);

TimeOut := 0;
REPEAT
   SLEEP(1000);
   TimeOut := TimeOut + 1;
UNTIL (PDFCreator.cIsConverted) OR (TimeOut = 25);

IF TimeOut = 25 THEN
   BEGIN
      MESSAGE('Time Out Error ' + FORMAT(SalesInvoiceHeader."No."));
      PDFCreator.cPrinterStop := TRUE;
      PDFCreator.cDefaultPrinter := DefaultPrinter;
      SHELL('taskkill /F /IM AcroRd32.exe /T');
      SHELL('taskkill /F /IM PDFCreator.exe /T');
      EXIT('No / Time Out Error');
   END;

PDFCreator.cPrinterStop := TRUE;
PDFCreator.cDefaultPrinter := DefaultPrinter;
PDFCreator.cClose;



IF ISCLEAR(FaxServer) THEN
  CREATE(FaxServer);

IF ISCLEAR(FaxDoc) THEN
  CREATE(FaxDoc);

FileName := FileDirectory + '\' + FileName2;
FaxDoc.Subject := SalesInvoiceHeader."No.";
FaxDoc.Body := FileName;
FaxDoc.DocumentName := SalesInvoiceHeader."Bill-to Customer No." + ' / ' + SalesInvoiceHeader.Name;
FaxDoc.Recipients.Add(PhoneNo);  //Fax Number
FaxServer.Connect('');
FaxDoc.ConnectedSubmit(FaxServer);

IF NOT EXISTS(FileName) THEN
   BEGIN
      MESSAGE('File Not Created Error ' + FORMAT(SalesInvoiceHeader."No."));
      SHELL('taskkill /F /IM AcroRd32.exe /T');
      SHELL('taskkill /F /IM PDFCreator.exe /T');
      EXIT('No / PDF File Not Created');
   END
ELSE
   ERASE(FileName);

CLEARALL;

Hi,

Using your sample form i receive the following error:

The Call to member ConnectedSubmit Failed. FaxComEx.FaxDocument.1 returned thefollowing message: Operation Failed.

Does anyone know what this can be?

:-k

the faxserver is running and manually it works.

ara3n wrote:

I would use process of elimination to find out the cause.
First thing is to rule out adobe.

Instead of faxing pdf. try to fax a text file and see that you can batch fax 50 times.
If it is adobe, try to save the report as html. or get another software that opends pdf documents.

Why would you rule out adobe? What kind of problems does it create?
Sorry I'm just learning about this stuff, and trying to get a better grasp on it.
Are there any other links on MS Fax Service that could help me learn more?
I've gotten a lot of help from Premium Corporate Internet Fax and Inexpensive Online Fax, so hope these links will be of help.
Thanks!
Taylor

It would be fine too if I could save the fax as a draft.
Thanks.

What I mean Is that among the chosen invoices a wrong one could be, so I could see the preview of the faxes before they were sent I would be great for me. If manually I open the fax console => CLick NEW FAX => Then I can Save a copy in the draft folder to be sent later. When It's needed. Can I do the same thing with these faxes created by code?
Thanks.

Yes I know, but there's no need to do it with a new code since I have the preview of the chosen Invoices in the NAV Standard. Using the code you shared, I created a new Button (FAX) in the form 143. So when I choose the invoices to be sent, either by a filter or just clicking on with the mouse one by one, I can see the preview and then run the Fax Code. What I was looking for besides checking the faxes are correct, to modify (if needed) some of the fields of the fax as subject or note.
Never mind, I assume that can't be done. Thanks anyway, I learn a lot from you.

Still relevant today — I've had to fax NAV reports when integrating with older systems. If your clients don’t have direct email workflows, using a browser-based fax service like the ones here https://comfax.com/reviews/best-online-fax-services/ is a quick workaround. We exported reports as PDF and sent them out without touching a real fax machine. Might save some headaches for teams maintaining legacy integrations.