How to add a different signature to emails sent from mobile devices

Problem:

You would like to create a specific signature that applies to emails sent by mobile devices only.

Solution:

It is possible to add different signatures to emails sent from mobile clients. However, since there is no mechanism to identify a message sent from a mobile device with 100% certainty, a workaround solution is required. It involves setting up a specific email signature in each mobile email client as well as configuring a signature rule in CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 or the CodeTwo Exchange Rules family of products that will refer to this signature. This is not a limitation of CodeTwo software, but of email communications in general.

• Set up a signature on a mobile email client
• Configure a signature for mobile devices in CodeTwo Email Signatures 365
• Configure a signature for mobile devices in CodeTwo Exchange Rules

Set up a signature on a mobile email client

In order for this solution to work, first you need to set up your mobile email client so that it inserts an email signature to all outgoing emails. This signature will be used as an identifier phrase that will make it possible for our software to recognize emails sent from that device. We will use Outlook for Android as an example of how to set up a mobile email client. If you would like to set up a signature in a different client, read this article.

Configure the signature in a mobile mail client the following way:

1. Open Outlook for Android on your mobile device.
2. Open the side menu, by swiping the screen from the left edge of the screen to the right and tap the Settings button (Fig. 1.).

Fig. 1. Accessing the mobile email client settings.

3. Scroll down to the Email section of the menu and tap Signature (Fig. 2.).

Fig. 2. Locating the email signature settings in Outlook for Android.

4. Delete the existing signature and enter an identifier phrase. It will be used by CodeTwo software to detect an email sent from this email client, e.g.:

This is to confirm that the message has been sent from a mobile device.

5. Save the new signature by tapping the Apply (✔) button (Fig. 3.).

Fig. 3. Editing and saving the signature.

Configure a signature for mobile devices in CodeTwo Email Signatures 365

When using CodeTwo Email Signatures 365, take the following steps to configure a signature rule that will detect the identifier phrase added to an email by a mobile client and replace it with a mobile-specific signature:

1. Go to app.codetwo.com and sign in.
2. Add a new cloud (server-side) signature rule by clicking the CREATE RULE button and name it accordingly (e.g. Signature for mobile devices), as shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4. Creating a new cloud (server-side) signature rule.

3. Proceed to the Senders step and define users to whom this signature rule should apply. You can select All senders or preferably limit their scope to Selected senders, choosing those who are intended to use mobile email clients. Learn more
4. In the Recipients step, click Add and select All recipients from the list.
5. Go to the Keywords step and click Add (Fig. 5., item 1) to open the Add phrase window.
6. In the Keyword/phrase field, enter the same phrase (Fig. 5., item 2) as the one you added as a signature in the mobile app:

This is to confirm that the message has been sent from a mobile device.

Fig. 5. Adding the identifier phrase that will be used to detect a message sent from a mobile client.

7. Select Email body from the Search in drop-down menu and select Remove this phrase from email body.
8. In the Logic step, set the program in the following way (Fig. 6.):

If this rule is applied > Do not process any more rules

If this rule is not applied > Process the next rule on the list

If the rule detects the identifier phrase, it will remove it and add a mobile signature. However, if the identifier phrase is not found, the mobile signature will not be added, and the program will proceed to the next rule.

Fig. 6. The program will move on to the next signature rule if this rule is not applied.

9. Go to the Design step and prepare a signature template for a mobile device. Refer to the user's manual to learn more about creating signature templates in CodeTwo Email Signatures 365.
10. Click the Save & Publish button to submit your changes to the CodeTwo cloud service.
11. Finally, use the Move up button in the signature management app's main window to move the rule above your usual non-mobile signature rule (Fig. 7.), so that it is executed first. This step is critical as the newly created rule will be used to differentiate between emails sent from mobile devices and other emails.

Fig. 7. If you place a signature rule on top of the list, it will be executed first.

Configure a signature for mobile devices in CodeTwo Exchange Rules

When using the CodeTwo Exchange Rules family of products, you should configure a rule that will detect that an email is sent from a mobile client and insert a mobile-specific signature:

1. Open the Administration Panel of your CodeTwo program.
2. Add a new rule by clicking the Add button and choosing New rule (clean), as shown in Fig. 8. Name the rule as you want (e.g. Signature for mobile devices).

Fig. 8. Creating a new rule for adding mobile signatures.

3. Use the arrow up () button to move the rule above your usual non-mobile rule (Fig. 9.). That way, it will be triggered first. This is very important as the new rule will be used to identify emails sent from mobile devices.

Fig. 9. The newly created email rule has to be executed before other rules that add signatures.

4. Go to the Conditions tab and create a condition defining users for whom this rule should be triggered. You can select all users in your organization (Sender > is > internal) or limit the scope of senders to those who use mobile devices. Click here to learn more about conditions.
5. Add a second condition: And > Body > contains keywords. Both conditions are shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 10. Configuration of conditions in the CodeTwo Exchange Rules family of products.

6. Click Edit to open the Edit keywords window, as shown in Fig. 11. Next, click Add and in the Keyword/phrase field enter the same phrase that appears in email signatures added by mobile devices used in your organization.

This is to confirm that the message has been sent from a mobile device.

Fig. 11. Adding an identifier phrase used to detect emails sent from mobile devices.

7. Select the Remove this keyword/phrase from email if found checkbox.
8. Go to the Actions tab, click Add > Insert signature and create or select a signature template for use in this rule. Learn more
9. Open the Options tab, set the program to always process next rules, as shown in Fig. 12.:

If this rule is applied > Stop processing next rules

If this rule is not applied > Go to the next rule

If the rule detects the identifier phrase, it will remove it and add a mobile signature. However, if the identifier phrase is not found, the mobile signature will not be added, and the program will proceed to the next rule.

Fig. 12. The new rule needs to allow the subsequent rules to be processed.

10. Click Submit changes () to save your configuration.