Knowledge Base

Suppressing and forcing email signatures via keywords in CodeTwo Exchange Rules software family

Problem:

You would like to use the software from the CodeTwo Exchange Rules family to add signatures only to messages that include specific keyword phrases.

Solution:

You can use the software to set keyword phrases that, once added to an email body or subject, trigger or suppress an email signature. The recommended solution depends on your version of CodeTwo software.

If you are looking for a similar solution for CodeTwo Email Signatures 365, go to this article in user's manual.

The CodeTwo Exchange Rules software family (current versions)

The instructions below apply to the current versions of:

  • CodeTwo Exchange Rules (2019 1.x, 2016 1.x, 2013 2.x* , 2010 3.x*, 2007 4.x*, and later)
  • CodeTwo Exchange Rules Pro (2.x and later).

* These versions of CodeTwo Exchange Rules are now deprecated.

Defining keywords that trigger a signature rule

To make the program add signatures only to emails that contain specific keyword(s), you need to:

  1. Open your current signature-adding rule (or create a new rule, if necessary) in the Administration Panel.
  2. Go to the Conditions tab of the rule and add a new condition (if there are any other conditions, add the new one via the And operator).
  3. Configure the condition in the following way: Subject > contains keywords and click Edit to add a new keyword. Keywords should be typed in small cases.
  4. If you want to use keyword phrases also in the email body, add a second condition via the Or operator, and configure it in the same way as previously but use the Body field (Fig. 1.).

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Fig. 1. Defining keywords that need to be added to an email subject or body to apply a corresponding signature rule.

Tip

To delete the keyword phrase from the message, select the checkbox at the bottom of the Add keyword window (see Fig. 1.) for each keyword.

  1. If this is your first signature-adding rule, configure the rest of the rule (see User's manual to learn more).
  2. Save your changes via the Submit changes (Exchange Rules Submit changes button 16px) button on the Administration Panel's toolbar.

From now on, signatures are only added to emails that include the defined keyword(s) in the subject/body.

Learn more about the contains keywords operator

Defining keywords that suppress a signature rule

If you want to define phrases that can be typed in an email body or subject to prevent this email from getting a signature, you need to add keywords (in the same way as described earlier) on the Exceptions tab (instead of the Conditions tab).

CodeTwo Exchange Rules Pro version 1.x

If you are using CodeTwo CodeTwo Exchange Rules Pro version 1.x, you can configure the program to add signatures/disclaimers only to emails that contain specific keywords or phrases. You can also define the opposite: keywords/phrases that exclude email signatures.

Defining keywords that trigger a signature rule

To configure the program to add signatures only to emails that contain certain keyword(s), you need to:

  1. Launch the software and open your current signature-adding rule (or create a new rule, if necessary).
  2. Go to the Conditions tab of the rule, click +Add and select the Keywords filter from the menu (Fig. 2.).

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Fig. 2. Adding the Keywords filter condition.

  1. On the right, in the properties pane of this condition (Fig. 3.) click +Add and provide the phrase (e.g. ADD_SIGN) that will trigger the rule if this phrase is found in the message. Define the location of the phrase: choose between Body and subject, Subject, or Body.

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Fig. 3. Configuring the keywords.

  1. If you're creating a new rule, you also need to configure the signature-adding action: on the Actions tab click Add and select Insert disclaimer/signature. Use the Template Editor to configure your signature. Learn more about Template Editor.
  2. Save the rule via the Save button on the toolbar of CodeTwo Exchange Rules Pro. Once the rule is saved, it begins to operate and all messages that contain the ADD_SIGN keyword will be stamped with the defined signature.

Tip

If you want the program to remove the keyword phrase from the message, select the checkbox at the bottom of the Conditions tab (see Fig. 3.).

Defining keywords that suppress a signature rule

To create a rule that suppresses a signature when an email contains a certain keyword (or keywords), you need to:

  1. Launch the software and open your current signature-adding rule (or create a new rule, if necessary).
  2. Follow steps 2-5 from the section above, but instead of defining a new keyword on the Conditions tab, define your keyword(s) on the Exceptions tab: click Add on the Exceptions tab and choose Keywords filter from the menu. In the properties pane of this exception click +Add and provide a phrase (e.g. NO-SIGN) and define where to search for this phrase.
  3. Now, if the defined keyword is added to an email, this email does not get any signature from the CodeTwo software.

Tip

If you want the program to remove the keyword phrase from the message, select the checkbox at the bottom of the Exceptions tab.

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