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

Problem:

You would like to create a dedicated signature for emails sent only from mobile devices.

Solution:

While it is technically possible to add signatures to emails sent from mobile email apps using external software, there is no mechanism that allows you to identify a message sent from a mobile device with 100% certainty (which is a limitation of email communications in general).

With CodeTwo, you can use a workaround solution to apply dedicated signatures for such emails. It involves setting up a generic email signature in a mobile email app and configuring a CodeTwo signature rule that will replace that generic signature with a CodeTwo signature. Here’s how to do this:

• Set up a signature in a mobile email app
• Configure a signature for mobile devices in CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 (cloud / combo mode only)
• Configure a signature for mobile devices in CodeTwo Email Signatures On-prem

Set up a signature in a mobile email app

First, you need to set up a generic signature for emails sent from your mobile email app. This signature will be used as an identifier phrase that will allow our software to recognize such emails.

In this example, we’ll use Outlook for Android as the mobile email app. Use the links below to learn how to set up a signature in other apps:

• Outlook for iOS
• Gmail Android app

Follow the steps below to configure the signature in your mobile app:

1. Open Outlook for Android on your mobile device.
2. Tap your profile picture to open the side menu and tap the Settings button (Fig. 1.).

Fig. 1. Accessing the mobile email app settings.

3. In the Quick Settings section, tap Signatures (Fig. 2.).

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

4. Remove the existing signature if needed and enter an identifier phrase. It will be used by your CodeTwo software to detect an email sent from this email app, 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 generic mobile signature.

Configure a signature for mobile devices in CodeTwo Email Signatures 365

When using CodeTwo Email Signatures 365, complete the following steps to configure a signature rule that will detect the identifier phrase added to emails by your mobile app and replace it with a mobile-specific CodeTwo 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 (Fig. 4.) and name it accordingly (e.g. Signature for mobile devices).

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 only those users for whom you configured the generic signatures for mobile apps. Learn more
4. In the Recipients step, click Add and select All recipients from the list to add the new signature to all outgoing emails.
5. Go to the Keywords step and click Add in the top section (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 app.

7. Select Email body from the Search in drop-down menu and select Remove this phrase from email body.
8. In the Logic step, leave the default options unchanged (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 your CodeTwo 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. Also, see this article to learn how to design a mobile-friendly email signature.
10. After saving your signature template, click the Save & Publish button in the rule creation window to submit your changes to the CodeTwo cloud service.
11. Finally, use the Move up button in the main window of the Signatures app 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.

That’s it: your newly created signature will now replace the generic signature set up for emails sent from mobile devices.

Configure a signature for mobile devices in CodeTwo Email Signatures On-prem

When using CodeTwo Email Signatures On-prem, complete the following steps to configure a signature rule that will detect the identifier phrase added to emails by your mobile app and replace it with a mobile-specific CodeTwo 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 up arrow () 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 CodeTwo Email Signatures On-prem.

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 and click OK in both the Add keyword and Edit keywords window to return to the main window of the Administration Panel.
8. Go to the Actions tab, click Add > Insert signature and create or select a signature template for use in this rule. Read this article to learn more about this action. Also, see this article to learn how to design a mobile-friendly email signature.
9. Open the Options tab and select the following options, 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 your CodeTwo 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 in the Administration Panel’s toolbar to save your configuration.

That’s it: your newly created signature will now replace the generic signature set up for emails sent from mobile devices.