eFax How-Tos
How to Fax From Skype: Exploring Your Options for Online Faxing
While you can use Skype’s instant messaging to share files, the online phone service is not a replacement for an online fax service.
Skype is a great platform for easily communicating via voice, video, or text with friends, colleagues, and clients.
While voice, video, and text chat might cover most of your business communication needs, what if you need to send a fax? Can you fax with Skype?
From sending team memos to receiving, signing, and returning important contracts, faxing still plays a major part in internal and external business communication. As such, it’s important to have access to a modern and efficient faxing solution when you need it. Let’s take a look at whether or not you can send a fax with Skype, and what other options you have for sending faxes online.
Can I Send a Fax with Skype?
The short answer is no — you cannot send a fax online with Skype. Skype is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service, not a fax transmission service.
While Skype can technically be connected to a fax machine the same way a telephone line can, fax transmissions done via VoIP are very unreliable, and while test documents may occasionally transmit correctly, documents will often become scrambled and be unreadable by the receiving fax machine.
Sending Files with Skype
While you might not be able to send a fax with Skype, you can send files to clients or colleagues via Skype’s instant messaging feature.
To do so, simply open up Skype, click on the contact that you want to send a file to, click the “+” icon in the conversation window, then click “Send File.” This will take you to your file directory where you can double-click on the desired file to send it immediately over Skype. This can also be done during a voice or video call.
This option may not always be ideal, particularly if you need to send sensitive or important documents that require the recipient’s signature. However, in a pinch, this may be your best option if you don’t have access to a faxing solution.
Online Faxing Services
Faxing with Skype might not be an option, but there are still a variety of solutions that allow you to send faxes online.
Online fax services offer a convenient alternative to traditional faxing methods. They allow you to send, sign, store, and receive documents from any device that has an internet connection, and you don’t have to worry about costs related to maintenance, supplies, or installation.
For those who need to send faxes online but don’t have access to a fax machine or phone line, an online fax service is likely your best option.
Benefits
Online fax services like eFax offer a number of benefits that you won’t find with other faxing solutions.
Cost-Effective
Online fax services only require one monthly subscription fee, meaning no more spending money on paper, toner, a dedicated fax line, maintenance costs, etc.
Accessibility
With the ability to fax via desktop, email, or mobile devices, online fax services allow users to send and receive faxes from anywhere.
Secure Storage
Online fax services typically offer secure online storage for your most important documents. Additionally, most are compatible with popular cloud storage platforms.
Ease of Use
Online fax services allow you to quickly and easily upload and send documents right from your computer. You don’t have to worry about broken or malfunctioning equipment.
24/7 Assistance
eFax provides around-the-clock customer support, so help is always there when you need it.
How to Send a Fax Online with eFax
eFax is a premier online faxing service that offers users the ability to send faxes from its online portal, messenger platform, or email. Getting started with eFax couldn’t be easier. Let’s take a look at how you can use any of these three methods to easily send a fax online.
eFax Online
The eFax online platform is the easiest way to send a fax from your desktop or laptop. Just create a new message, fill in the body, attach your files to fax, then hit Send.
To send a fax using eFax online, follow these steps:
- Sign in to eFax
- Click Send Faxes
- In the window that appears, choose a contact or type in the recipient’s Name and Company
- Click Select Fax-To Country and choose your recipient’s location
- Enter your recipient’s Fax Number
- Select Include Cover Page
- Type a subject and body
- Click Browse to select the documents you want to attach, then select OK
- Go to Select Quality List and choose a resolution for your fax
- Click Send Faxes
After following these steps, eFax will securely deliver your fax to the intended recipient.
eFax Messenger
For desktop computers, eFax has a fax app designed for Windows – eFax Messenger. To get started with eFax Messenger, you’ll first need to download the eFax Messenger software on your computer. Then you can fax from any program using a print driver.
After installing, print a document to Messenger by following these steps:
- Open the document
- Select Print from the File menu
- Choose eFax Messenger as the printer
- Click OK or Print
Now that the file is in eFax Messenger, follow these steps to send the fax:
- Enter the recipient’s information in the Create window or choose a contact from your Address Book
- Select Send Copy to Me if you need a copy of the fax
- Enter the Subject and an Attention name
- Click the Add New Page (+) button in the sidebar. There are three options for creating new fax pages: Blank Page: Adds a blank page, Cover Page: Adds a preformatted cover page, Import File: Adds an image or PDF file
- To add other types of documents, click Attach file and select the file to upload
- Click Send Fax
You may not be able to send a fax with Skype, but eFax Messenger offers the perfect solution for business professionals who need to quickly send a fax online.
Fax via Email
eFax also lets users send a fax from their personal or business email account.
To send a fax via email, follow these easy steps:
- Draft a new email message
- Enter the recipient’s fax number followed by @efaxsend.com in the To field – For example, to send to the fax number +1 222 333 4444, enter [email protected] (for international faxes, country codes can be found here)
- Attach up to 10 files
- To include a cover page with your fax, type the text in the body of the email message. You can also choose from a selection of cover page templates.
- Click Send
eFax Features
There are plenty of online fax services available on the market, but few of them offer the many premium features that have made eFax the leading fax service for over 20 years.
Why use eFax? Here’s what sets it apart from the competition.
Free Online Storage
eFax offers secure storage for as long as you have your account.
eSign
Sign faxes electronically and return documents as quickly as possible.
Toll-free fax number
Choose a toll-free fax number to establish a nationwide presence for your business.
Local fax numbers
Choose a local fax number to make it easier for local clients to communicate with you.
Mobile Fax App
The eFax mobile app allows you to receive, sign, and send faxes using any Android or iOS smartphone or tablet.
Cloud storage compatibility
eFax is compatible with most popular cloud storage platforms like Box and Dropbox, so it’s easy to send important documents wherever you are.
These features (among others) put eFax head and shoulders above other online fax services and more traditional faxing methods.
Skype offers a very effective and convenient means of communicating with business associates and clients; however, the platform isn’t built for sending faxes.
Fortunately, while sending faxes with Skype may not be viable, online fax services provide an ideal faxing solution to users that need to send faxes online.
To see for yourself why eFax is the best online faxing solution available, sign up today!
“eFax is one of the most feature rich and well-known online fax services on the market and includes features like mobile apps, e-signature capabilities, …compliance and unlimited fax storage…”
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“Sending fax over internet to a local or toll free number is extremely easy using its simple interface integrated with your email account. Enhanced features like digital signature and integration with mobile apps are like icing on the cake.”
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“What I like about eFax is that it includes a share extension, so I can fax from almost all iOS apps that support sharing. This makes it easy to fax a document from almost all of my apps.”
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