Does Windows Fax and Scan provide a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) interface? Can I send faxes through Fax and Scan from Outlook or third party software by sending an email to it with a specially formatted address line?

That’s an interesting idea, but no, it’s probably not going to work. The easiest and most reliable way to do what you’re talking about is to subscribe to an Internet fax service. You can figure out which service best fits your needs by going to FaxPrices.com. With these Internet fax services, you usually send faxes exactly the way you’re talking about: a specially formatted address line is used to send the faxes, and you can fax from anywhere.

This can be a little confusing because Fax and Scan can forward faxes you receive automatically as emails. This does not, however, imply that it can accept emails as faxes.

One way to use Fax and Scan with Outlook or other applications is to “print” to the fax printer. This will create a fax that has the file you want included. However, this approach doesn’t have the benefit of being able to send faxes when you’re not at your computer.

So, if you simply want to print from Outlook using your own computer, the print function may be your best option. If you’re looking for transportability, you’ll have to go with an online service.

Do you have a question about faxing? Send me your fax question.

This entry is filed under Internet Fax Services, Windows faxing.