Classic Computer Magazine Archive COMPUTE! ISSUE 136 / DECEMBER 1991 / PAGE 139

FaxBuilder. (computer graphics software) (Evaluation)
by Eddie Huffman

In this age of worldwide fax communication, the folks at Unison World have decided that fax senders also need some canned creativity. Like a book of clip art, FaxBuilder provides a seemingly endless array of pictures, logos, and borders to accompany tax transmissions. While I don't go for flashy faxes myself, the Print Shop crowd will make frequent use of FaxBuilder's at-the-ready graphics capability.

The illustration on the front of FaxBuilder's box shows a fax message with the somewhat redundant heading "FAX MESSAGE" in bold, inch-high letters, along with an unnecessary border. After enduring the long wait for FaxBuilder to load onto your hard drive, you'll find little innovation. There's a vase full of flowers with "HAVE A NICE DAY!" taking up half a page, a passenger jet heading into the sunset for a "While I'm Away" message, and all manner of pushpins, flags, and maps.

Patching together one of these pictures for transmission takes a little time, though FaxBuilder does walk you through a relatively simple, straightforward process to create personalized faxes. As you work, FaxBuilder displays each change or addition clearly. Automatically filling in some names and numbers from a permanent phone book, the program is set up to create cover sheets, text pages, and trailing sheets using a healthy variety of type sizes and styles.

In the end, unless a pair of shaking hands below the caption "Have I Got a Deal for You . . ." sounds appealing, using FaxBuilder as a sophisticated word processor to create distinctive documents may be its most suitable use. While clip art has appeal, the ability to easily manipulate fonts and typefaces seems a far more significant feature.