The PennFlex e-Fax service replaces traditional fax machines, providing a way to digitally send and receive faxes through a secure, PennKey authenticated portal. For the PennFlex e-Fax service, Penn has chosen XMedius as the service provider.
Benefits
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Eliminates the need for a physical fax machine and other associated costs like maintenance, paper, and ink. NOTE: Although a physical fax machine is not required, it is still possible to use one with this service.
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Simplifies the faxing process into a simple and easy workflow similar to email. With eFax accounts, you can send and receive fax messages right from your computer as well as receive notifications in your email when a new message is received; no need to frequently check a fax machine.
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Supports Penn’s green initiatives by reducing paper and power waste associated with a traditional fax machine.
Requirements
The following are required to use the e-Fax service. To receive both, please refer to the tab titled Requesting Service for more information.
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e-Fax number - The fax number use for sending and receiving fax messages. This can be an existing fax number that is ported over to the new service or a new fax number that is assigned when the request is made.
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XMedius e-Fax account - The account used for logging in to the e-Fax portal where you can send and receive fax messages.
Related Resources
To request the eFax service, please submit a request to Client Care online at http://supportcenter.upenn.edu, by email at help@isc.upenn.edu, or by phone at 215-898-1000. When submitting your request, please include the following information:
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School/Center and Department Name - This will be used as the group name within the system. Please be as specific as possible to avoid overlap with any other groups on campus.
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e-Fax Number - If you have an existing fax number that you would like to transition to eFax, please include this in your request. If you do not have an existing fax number, will you require a new fax number? Please note, due to the nature of eFax, a dedicated fax number is not required for sending faxes, only receiving them. Do you intend to only send faxes or will you also need to receive faxes and thus require a new eFax number?
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e-Fax Configuration Model - How will this fax number be used and managed? Will it be associated with a single user or a group of users? There are three possible configuration models for e-Fax. To answer this question, please refer to the table on the following tab titled e-Fax Configuration Models.
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Users - Please provide a list of users that need access to send and/or receive faxes on this fax number.
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Notifications - What type of notification would you like to receive when a new fax arrives: email notification or a copy of the fax message in email? NOTE: Email tends to be insecure, so please avoid sending sensitive information to the email. If the contents of received faxes will contain sensitive information, choose email notification.
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Retention Policy – The default retention policy for the PennFlex eFax service is 90 days. After 90 days, fax messages on the system will be deleted. For access to fax messages beyond 90 days, we ask that you download and store them in a secure location.
There are three models for configuring eFax for an individual or department. Please review the following table for a description of each model to help determine the best fit for you.
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Model 1: |
Model 2: |
Model 3: |
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Description: |
The fax number and portal mailbox associated with a primary owner. |
The fax number and portal mailbox associated with a group, rather than an individual. |
The fax number associated with multiple owners. |
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Mailbox Access (Web Portal): |
The owner has full permissions. |
Nobody logs in as the owner. Everyone who needs access is a delegate of the mailbox, each with configurable permissions. |
Each owner gets their own unique copy of the fax. If one person deletes it from his/her box, the others still have a copy. |
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Notification: |
The primary owner gets notified when faxes arrive. |
A primary account typically associated with an existing shared email address (list). The list would be notified when a fax arrives. |
Every owner would be notified individually when a fax arrives. |
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Use Case: |
Best for an environment where a single person is responsible for checking the fax machine and distributing what arrives. The ability to designate delegates is as nice as a backup when the primary person is unavailable. |
Best for an environment where handling faxes is a shared responsibility, and where a shared email address exists. |
Best for an environment where everyone in the group needs to receive every fax. If you choose to receive your faxes as email attachments, rather than exclusively in the portal, this may be a good model. |
Answers to frequently asked questions are listed below.
Click on a plus sign [+] to view additional information and a minus sign [-] to hide it.
To log into the XMedius eFax portal, navigate to https://portal.xmedius.com/upenn and sign in with your PennKey username and password.
NOTE: An account must be created before you can sign in. To request service, Client Care online at http://supportcenter.upenn.edu, by email at help@isc.upenn.edu, or by phone at 215-898-1000
To view inbound faxes in the Web Client:
- Select the Inbound History folder in the left sidebar.
- The Inbound History folder contains two fax lists: one containing the current faxes (Current Folder View) and another containing the deleted faxes (Deleted Folder View). To view newly received faxes, remain in the Current view.
- The Inbound History fax folder includes a Search bar and Sort feature to help you in finding specific faxes. Click on any fax to display the fax details.
- The Fax Details View includes controls to Forward and Delete a fax message. This view also includes five tabs for viewing the various details of the fax:
- Fax – Displays the content of a received fax.
- Properties – Displays the fax information.
- Routing History – Displays the routing information and history for the fax.
- Note – Allows users to add personal text notes to Inbound and Outbound faxes.
- Event Log – Displays all events that occurred and all actions that were performed on the fax.
To create and send a fax from the web client:
- Click Compose Fax.
- In the Compose window, enter the Name, Company, and Fax Number of a recipient.
- NOTE: If you need to add more than one recipient, click the More Recipients button, enter the contact information for the recipient, and click Add.
- Choose the desired cover sheet from the Cover Sheet dropdown list or select None.
- Enter the Subject of the fax.
- Enter the actual text of the message in the Comment section.
- To add one or several attachments to your fax, click Browse and select the file(s) from your computer to upload to the fax.
- Click Submit to send the fax.
NOTE: Delegation allows users to grant permission to other users to access their fax box
As an owner, you can add a delegate to your fax box:
- Click your name in the top-right and select XM Fax Options.
- In the Options screen that appears, select the Delegation tab.
- Click Add.
- In the User Email field, enter the email address of the user that you wish to add as a delegate. Click the Check button to confirm that the specified email address is in the system.
- NOTE: All eFax accounts are created with PennKey@upenn.edu email addresses.
- Configure the delegate permissions with the desired settings for this specific delegate. The delegate permissions are:
- Show only the first page – Restrains the Delegate to view no more than the first page of any fax in your box.
- Has access to compose – Allows the delegate to compose faxes from your box.
- Has access to permanent delete – Allows the delegate to delete faxes from the Deleted views of your box.
- Has access to resubmit – Allows the delegate to resubmit faxes from your Outbound History.
- Has access to forward – Allows the delegate to forward faxes from your Inbound History.
- Click Add to complete the delegate setup.
- As a delegate, to select a different fax box to send and receive from in the Web Client:
- Click the Fax Box dropdown list in the top-left corner.
- Select a user in the dropdown list. You are now in the fax box of the selected user and can follow the same instructions for sending and receiving faxes accordingly.
Yes, users of the eFax service can also send fax messages via email. Only registered users with an @upenn.edu email account will be able send faxes from email and messages must be sent from their @upenn.edu email address. To do this:
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Open a standard email message.
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In the To: field, enter the fax number formatted as +15551234567 followed by the eFax domain @xmedius.com. For example, the To: address should be formatted as +15551234567@xmedius.com.
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Enter the content of the fax message in the body of the email or attach a PDF to be sent as the fax message.
- Send the message. A follow-up email will be sent to you confirming the status of your message.
The default retention policy for the PennFlex eFax service is 90 days. After 90 days, fax messages on the system will be deleted. For access to fax messages beyond 90 days, we ask that you download and store them in a secure location.
The PennFlex eFax service is part of the broader PennFlex service. Please see the PennFlex service page for information on rates: https://www.isc.upenn.edu/pennflex-phone
Getting Help
For more information, please see the XMedius help pages found here.