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User Guide for Retarus Fax for Outlook Add-In

The Retarus Fax for Outlook Add-in is an enhancement for the Retarus Email-to-Fax and Fax-to-Email and enables a seamless user experience within the Outlook environment. The Outlook Add-In provides a convenient way for users to send and receive faxes directly in their Outlook email via Retarus Cloud Fax. Once the Outlook Add-In is installed, the Send fax Retarus_MS_Icons_add_in_cloudfax_300px (1)-20240923-155219.png icon displays when creating a new email.

The icon’s appearance varies based on the Outlook application used. For example, to send a fax in the desktop version of Outlook for PC, you'll find the icon in the ribbon on the Message tab after you open a New Email window.

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Prerequisites

  • Microsoft Outlook installed, or Outlook Web Access

  • Retarus Email-to-Fax and/or Fax-to-Email account

  • Retarus Fax for Outlook Add-In installed

How to send an Email-to-Fax with Outlook

  1. Select New Email to start a new message.

  2. Select the Send Fax (Retarus_MS_Icons_add_in_cloudfax_300px (1)-20240923-155219.png) button.
    → This opens the Fax for Outlook Add-In interface in the right sidebar of your application.

  3. Type the fax number in the Send fax to field using the following format: +16145556789, +490123456789, +18661234567 OR 0016145556789, 00490123456789, 0018661234567.

  4. Click anywhere outside the Send fax to field.
    → The fax number is displayed in the To field.

  5. Optional: Repeat steps 3 and 4 to fill in the Cc fax to field.
    → The fax number is now displayed in the Cc field of your application.

  6. Type a subject for your email.

  7. Type your message in the body of the email. This will be sent as the first page, before the attached pages.

  8. Select the paperclip/Include button to add attachments to the fax.

  9. Click Send.

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→ Your fax is transmitted.

→ After the fax is transmitted, you will receive either a successful delivery or an unsuccessful delivery notification in your email, with a comprehensive report about your fax transmission.

  1. To get a detailed overview of the fax transmission for the fax you sent, open the successful or unsuccessful fax delivery email notification in your Outlook from no-reply.mail2fax@retarus.net.

Successful Fax Delivery Notification

In this example where the fax transmission is successful, there is 1 fax thereof successfully sent, with the Number of pages successfully sent being 3, and the Status is OK

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Unsuccessful Fax Delivery Notification

In this example where the fax transmission is unsuccessful, there is 1 fax thereof failed with error, with the Number of pages unsuccessfully sent being 3, and the Reason is No Answer

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Message format

Messages sent through Fax for Outlook Add-In are formatted with the recipient’s fax number followed by the Retarus Email-to-Fax gateway domain:
[Fax number]@[Retarus Email-to-Fax Gateway Domain]

Examples
+12011111111@outlook.rfax.net
+498920202020@outlook.rfax.net

Using geolocation, the fax is automatically routed to and processed in the sender's region at one of Retarus' dedicated data centers (North America, EMEA, APAC).

Fax sending options

Your administrator can modify the default sending options.

Option/Field

Description

Send fax to/Cc fax to

Sends a fax to several recipients at once. Use a semicolon to separate recipients.

Fax only attachments

When enabled, the fax includes only the attachments without any accompanying email text.

Schedule a fax

Schedules faxes for later delivery. Activating this feature displays extra fields to specify the desired sending time and date.

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Reset to Default Options

Undoes any changes and restores the original settings.

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Opens the Retarus homepage.

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Opens the user documentation.

Supported attachment formats

Retarus Email-to-Fax supports the following text, spreadsheet, and presentation file types, as well as standard graphic file formats:

  • DOC, PDF, TXT

  • XLS(X)

  • PPT

  • JPEG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, PNG

  • HTM, HTML

  • PS, PCL

More detailed information can be found in the Retarus Email-to-Fax user manual.

Working with fax messages received in your Outlook

  1. Double-click the fax message you wish to view in your Outlook Inbox.

    • The fax messages you receive are displayed with the sender’s fax number (as long as the sender’s fax number was passed on from the sending fax service or fax machine to Retarus) and an email address with a Retarus domain such as gla.from@retarus.net.

  2. To view and work with the fax attachment,

    • Double-click the PDF or TIF attachment.
      Open or Save the fax document as needed.

    • For quick action on the fax PDF or TIF attachment, select the dropdown menu option on the fax attachment and click the Open, Quick Print, Save As, Upload, Copy, or other available options in the dropdown menu as needed.

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Fax message received with PDF attachment

  1. To quickly view a detailed fax transmission report for the fax you received, click the Read fax button.

→ The Fax for Outlook Add-In fax transmission details open in the right sidebar.

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