Service overview
The Fax over IP (FoIP) solution allows McGill faculty and staff members to send faxes directly from a McGill email account, or from any uPrint machine on campus. Incoming faxes are received via email, and are not automatically printed. XMedius is a type of shared mailbox. For more information, consult the non-personal accounts service description.
Benefits:
- Two options for sending faxes (email app or email feature of a uPrint device); choose the best to suit your needs.
- No need to print documents that are already in digital format before faxing -- just attach them to an email.
- No long distance charges are applicable.
- Incoming faxes are printed on demand -- you decide.
- Sender receives confirmation of success or failure via email.
- XMediusFax® provides secure, encrypted data transfer, using T.38 Fax-Over-IP protocol and G.711 Fax Pass-Through.
Who can use it
McGill faculty, staff, and casual staff accounts with a valid McGill Username and Password can send faxes via email.
How to request & access the service
To send a fax:
A uPrint shared account with valid access to the uPrint service (McGill Username linked to a FOAPAL) is required to send faxes from any uPrint device.
Please refer to:
To receive incoming faxes:
The unit's telephone coordinator needs to fill out a request form and provide the email addresses of the people who will be responsible for receiving, managing and distributing faxes to the appropriate recipients within their unit.
The same form can be used to request a new fax line or to add recipients to receive faxes at an existing fax number.
Once the request is completed, any existing analog fax line will be disconnected, and faxes will be rerouted to an XMedius account with an email address of the format UNIT-FaxNumber@mcgill.ca (Example: NCS-514398XXXX@mcgill.ca).
You will be notified by IT Services when the XMedius account is enabled to receive incoming faxes.
To receive incoming faxes, your unit must have a fax number, and the fax number must be linked to an email address associated with an XMedius account (e.g. NCS-514398XXXX). Find out how to request to receive faxes below.
To manage incoming faxes for your unit:
Personnel managing the incoming faxes will be given "Delegate" permissions to view incoming faxes for the XMedius account; they will then add the non-personal account mailbox in Outlook to view the incoming faxes, without having to log into Outlook using the XMedius account credentials.
See Manage incoming faxes with XMedius
Cost
There are no costs for departments to set up and receive incoming faxes via XMedius.
There are no charges for sending faxes, whether they are sent locally or long distance. Therefore, there's no need to enter a long-distance code for outbound faxes.
If you print a fax to a uPrint device, you will be charged to your FOAPAL; see printing costs at uPrint - Campus Printing
Availability
XMedius Fax service is available 24 X 7, except during planned maintenance or outages. Check the System Status page for announcements.
uPrint devices are available throughout the downtown and Macdonald campuses. Find uPrint-enabled devices near you.
Frequently asked questions
What types of documents can I fax?
Supported document types include:
- Adobe PDF, HTML, JPG, GIF, RTF
- Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel
- Any Windows application that supports “Print-To”
What is the maximum number of pages/ file size I can fax?
Because faxes are distributed by email, the maximum file size of a fax is approximately 20 to 25 MB (we cannot provide a precise file size because additional data is appended by the mail router). The number of actual pages depends on the type of data (full-color images vs. simple black & white text).
How secure is the data sent using XMediusFax?
Documents sent via email are routed through McGill's Exchange server to our XMedius server, where they are encrypted before being transferred to the recipient.
Why can't I log into a uPrint machine?
You may not have a default FOAPAL; go to Minerva > Employee (or External) > uPrint - Campus Printing Menu > View / Modify assigned FOAPALs to see if you have been assigned one. If not, speak to your Fund Financial Contact to have one added.
Note: By default, staff and faculty members do not to have to enter their password after swiping their ID cards. For added security, you can enable the password prompt after swiping your McGill ID card. Go to Minerva > Employee > uPrint – Campus Printing Menu > Password Waiver.
Best practices & policies
Each incoming fax number should have one main person responsible for triaging and forwarding incoming faxes, and a backup person to perform this function.
If you are managing incoming faxes for your unit, it is your responsibility to forward them to their proper recipients as quickly as possible. Once they have been forwarded to the appropriate person, it is good practice to delete the email from the inbox of the XMedius account where they are received.
Training & documentation
Find step-by-step instructions at: Send a fax by Email or uPrint
Support
Contact the IT Service Desk