InterFAX Ruby Gem

Installation | Getting Started | Contributing | Usage | License

Send and receive faxes in Ruby with the InterFAX REST API.

Installation

This gem requires Ruby 2.1+. You can install install it directly or via bundler.

gem 'interfax', '~> 1.0.0'

Getting started

To send a fax from a PDF file:

require 'interfax'

interfax = InterFAX::Client.new(username: 'username', password: 'password')
fax = interfax.deliver(faxNumber: "+11111111112", file: 'folder/fax.pdf')
fax = fax.reload # resync with API to get latest status
fax.status # Success if 0. Pending if < 0. Error if > 0

Usage

Client

The client follows the 12-factor apps principle and can be either set directly or via environment variables.

# Initialize using parameters
interfax = InterFAX::Client.new(username: '...', password: '...')

# Alternatice: Initialize using environment variables
# * INTERFAX_USERNAME
# * INTERFAX_PASSWORD
interfax = InterFAX::Client.new

All connections are established over HTTPS.

Account

Balance

Determine the remaining faxing credits in your account.

interfax.account.balance
=> 9.86

More: documentation

Outbound

Send fax

.outbound.deliver(options = {})

Submit a fax to a single destination number.

There are a few ways to send a fax. One way is to directly provide a file path or url.

# with a path
interfax.outbound.deliver(faxNumber: "+11111111112", file: 'folder/fax.txt')
# with a URL
interfax.outbound.deliver(faxNumber: "+11111111112", file: 'https://s3.aws.com/example/fax.pdf')

InterFAX supports over 20 file types including HTML, PDF, TXT, Word, and many more. For a full list see the Supported File Types documentation.

The returned object is a InterFAX::Outbound::Fax with just an id. You can use this object to load more information, get the image, or cancel the sending of the fax.

fax = interfax.outbound.deliver(faxNumber: "+11111111112", file: 'file://fax.pdf')
fax = fax.reload # Reload fax, allowing you to inspect the status and more

fax.id        # the ID of the fax that can be used in some of the other API calls
fax.image     # returns an image representing the fax sent to the faxNumber
fax.cancel    # cancel the sending of the fax

Alternatively you can create an InterFAX::File with binary data and pass this in as well.

data = File.open('file://fax.pdf').read
file = interfax.files.create(data, mime_type: 'application/pdf')
interfax.outbound.deliver(faxNumber: "+11111111112", file: file)

To send multiple files just pass in an array strings and InterFAX::File objects.

interfax.outbound.deliver(faxNumber: "+11111111112", files: ['file://fax.pdf', 'https://s3.aws.com/example/fax.pdf'])

Under the hood every path and string is turned into a InterFAX::File object. For more information see the documentation for this class.

Options: contact, postponeTime, retriesToPerform, csid, pageHeader, reference, pageSize, fitToPage, pageOrientation, resolution, rendering

Alias: interfax.deliver

Get outbound fax list

interfax.outbound.all(options = {})

Get a list of recent outbound faxes (which does not include batch faxes).

interfax.outbound.all
=> [#<InterFAX::Outbound::Fax>, ...]
interfax.outbound.all(limit: 1)
=> [#<InterFAX::Outbound::Fax>]

Options: limit, lastId, sortOrder, userId

Get completed fax list

interfax.outbound.completed(array_of_ids)

Get details for a subset of completed faxes from a submitted list. (Submitted id's which have not completed are ignored).

interfax.outbound.completed(123, 234)
=> [#<InterFAX::Outbound::Fax>, ...]

More: documentation

Get outbound fax record

interfax.outbound.find(fax_id)

Retrieves information regarding a previously-submitted fax, including its current status.

interfax.outbound.find(123456)
=> #<InterFAX::Outbound::Fax>

More: documentation

Get outbound fax image

interfax.outbound.image(fax_id)

Retrieve the fax image (TIFF file) of a submitted fax.

image = interfax.outbound.image(123456)
=> #<InterFAX::Image>
image.data
=> # "....binary data...."
image.save('fax.tiff')
=> # saves image to file

More: documentation

Cancel a fax

interfax.outbound.cancel(fax_id)

Cancel a fax in progress.

interfax.outbound.cancel(123456)
=> true

More: documentation

Search fax list

interfax.outbound.search(options = {})

Search for outbound faxes.

interfax.outbound.search(faxNumber: '+1230002305555')
=> [#<InterFAX::Outbound::Fax>, ...]

Options: ids, reference, dateFrom, dateTo, status, userId, faxNumber, limit, offset

Inbound

Get inbound fax list

interfax.inbound.all(options = {})

Retrieves a user's list of inbound faxes. (Sort order is always in descending ID).

interfax.inbound.all
=> [#<InterFAX::Inbound::Fax>, ...]
interfax.inbound.all(limit: 1)
=> [#<InterFAX::Inbound::Fax>]

Options: unreadOnly, limit, lastId, allUsers

Get inbound fax record

interfax.inbound.find(fax_id)

Retrieves a single fax's metadata (receive time, sender number, etc.).

interfax.inbound.find(123456)
=> #<InterFAX::Inbound::Fax>

More: documentation

Get inbound fax image

interfax.inbound.image(fax_id)

Retrieves a single fax's image.

image = interfax.inbound.image(123456)
=> #<InterFAX::Image>
image.data
=> # "....binary data...."
image.save('fax.tiff')
=> # saves image to file

More: documentation

Get forwarding emails

interfax.inbound.emails(fax_id)

Retrieve the list of email addresses to which a fax was forwarded.

interfax.inbound.email(123456)
=> [#<InterFAX::Email>]

More: documentation

Mark as read/unread

interfax.inbound.mark(fax_id, read: is_read)

Mark a transaction as read/unread.

interfax.inbound.mark(123456, read: true) # mark read
=> true
interfax.inbound.mark(123456, read: false) # mark unread
=> true

More: documentation

Resend inbound fax

interfax.inbound.resend(fax_id, email: to_email)

Resend an inbound fax to a specific email address.

# resend to the email(s) to which the fax was previously forwarded
interfax.inbound.resend(123456)
=> true
# resend to a specific address
interfax.inbound.resend(123456, email: '[email protected]')
=> true

More: documentation

Documents

Create | Upload chunk | Get list | Status | Cancel

Document allow for uploading of large files up to 20MB in 200kb chunks. The InterFAX::File format automatically uses this if needed but a sample implementation would look as followed.

file = File.open('test.pdf', 'rb')

document = interfax.documents.create('test.pdf', file.size)

cursor = 0
while !file.eof?
  chunk = file.read(500)
  next_cursor = cursor + chunk.length
  document.upload(cursor, next_cursor-1, chunk)
  cursor = next_cursor
end

Create Documents

interfax.documents.create(name, size, options = {})

Create a document upload session, allowing you to upload large files in chunks.

interfax.documents.create('large_file.pdf', '231234')
=> #<InterFAX::Document uri="https://rest.interfax.net/outbound/documents/123456">

Options: disposition, sharing

Upload chunk

interfax.documents.upload(id, range_start, range_end, chunk)

Upload a chunk to an existing document upload session.

interfax.documents.upload(123456, 0, 999, "....binary-data....")
=> true

More: documentation

Get document list

interfax.documents.all(options = {})

Get a list of previous document uploads which are currently available.

interfax.documents.all
=> #[#<InterFAX::Document>, ...]
interfax.documents.all(offset: 10)
=> #[#<InterFAX::Document>, ...]

Options: limit, offset

Get document status

interfax.documents.find(id)

Get the current status of a specific document upload.

interfax.documents.find(123456)
=> #<InterFAX::Document ... >

More: documentation

Cancel document

interfax.documents.cancel(id)

Cancel a document upload and tear down the upload session, or delete a previous upload.

interfax.documents.cancel(123456)
=> true

More: documentation

Helper Classes

InterFAX::Outbound::Fax

The InterFAX::Outbound::Fax is returned in most Outbound APIs. As a convenience the following methods are available.

fax = interfax.outbound.find(123)
fax = fax.reload # Loads or reloads object
fax.cancel # Cancels the fax
fax.image # Returns a `InterFAX::Image` for this fax
fax.attributes # Returns a plain hash with all the attributes

InterFAX::Inbound::Fax

The InterFAX::Inbound::Fax is returned in some of the Inbound APIs. As a convenience the following methods are available.

fax = interfax.inbound.find(123)
fax = fax.reload # Loads or reloads object
fax.mark(true) # Marks the fax as read/unread
fax.resend(email) # Resend the fax to a specific email address.
fax.image # Returns a `InterFAX::Image` for this fax
fax.emails # Returns a list of InterFAX::ForwardingEmail objects that the fax was forwarded on to
fax.attributes # Returns a plain hash with all the attributes

InterFAX::Image

A lightweight wrapper around the image data for a sent or received fax. Provides the following convenience methods.

image = interfax.outbound.image(123)
image.data # Returns the raw binary data for the TIFF image.
image.save('folder/fax.tiff') # Saves the TIFF to the path provided

InterFAX::File

This class is used by interfax.outbound.deliver and interfax.files to turn every URL, path and binary data into a uniform format, ready to be sent out to the InterFAX API.

It is most useful for sending binary data to the .deliver method.

# binary data
file = InterFAX::File.new(interfax, '....binary data.....', mime_type: 'application/pdf')
=> #<InterFAX::File>

# Alternatively
file = interfax.files.create('....binary data.....', mime_type: 'application/pdf')
file.header
=> "Content-Type: application/pdf"
file.body
=> '....binary data.....'

interfax.outbound.deliver(faxNumber: '+1111111111112', file: file)

Additionally it can be used to turn a URL or path into a valid object as well, though the .deliver method does this conversion automatically.

# a file by path
file = interfax.files.create('foo/bar.pdf')
file.header #=> "Content-Type: application/pdf"
file.body #=> '....binary data.....'

# a file by url
file = interfax.files.create('https://foo.com/bar.html')
file.header #=> "Content-Location: https://foo.com/bar.html"
file.body #=> nil

InterFAX::ForwardingEmail

A light wrapper around the response received by asking for the forwarded emails for a fax.

fax = interfax.inbound.find(123)
email = fax.emails.first
email.emailAddress # An email address to which forwarding of the fax was attempted.
email.messageStatus # 0 = OK; number smaller than zero = in progress; number greater than zero = error.
email.completionTime # Completion timestamp.

InterFAX::Document

The InterFAX::Document is returned in most of the Document APIs. As a convenience the following methods are available.

document = interfax.documents.find(123)
document = document.reload # Loads or reloads object
document.upload(0, 999, '.....binary data....' # Maps to the interfax.documents.upload method
document.cancel # Maps to the interfax.documents.upload method
document.id  # Extracts the ID from the URI (the API does not return the ID)

Contributing

Fork the repo on GitHub
Clone the project to your own machine
Commit changes to your own branch
Push your work back up to your fork
Submit a Pull request so that we can review your changes

License

This library is released under the MIT License.

Credits

Many thanks go to Sascha Brink for building the pre 1.0 version of this gem and supporting it for so many years.