How to turn off email signatures in Microsoft Teams, Planner, and Outlook notifications

Problem:

You want CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 to stop adding signatures to automatic messages (notifications, group messages, task updates, etc.) sent by Microsoft Teams, Planner, or Outlook.

Solution:

To learn how to prevent our software from adding signatures to a chosen type of messages and notifications, click an appropriate link below: 

• Teams notifications and group messages
• Teams voicemail notifications
• Planner comments and notifications
• Outlook tasks

Excluding Teams notifications and group messages from a mail flow rule

Teams notifications are sent from a specific domain depending on the region in which you are located. If you do not want signatures to be added to them, you need to add an exception in the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule. To do so, follow the steps below:

1. Sign in to the Exchange admin center as a global administrator or Exchange administrator.
2. Go to Mail flow > Rules. Find the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule, click it and use the Edit rule conditions button to start editing the rule (Fig. 1.).

Fig. 1. Selecting the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule for editing.

3. In the pane that opens, click the + button in the Except if section (Fig. 2.).

Fig. 2. Adding a new exception to the rule.

4. Select The sender > domain is from the drop-down lists (Fig. 3.).

Fig. 3. Selecting conditions for the exception.

5. In the pane that opens, type the amer.teams.ms domain in the text box, and next click Add and Save (Fig 4.).

Fig. 4. Adding the domain name to the exception.

6. Finally, click Save in the rule editing pane to submit your changes.

Excluding Teams voicemail notifications from a mail flow rule

Voicemail messages sent from Teams contain the Voice-CA value in the Content-Class header. If you don’t want CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 to add signatures to such messages, you either need to:

• add a new exception to the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule, or
• create a new rule that prevents CodeTwo from processing the notifications.

Add an exception to the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule

1. Sign in to the Exchange admin center as a global administrator or Exchange administrator.
2. Go to Mail flow > Rules. Find the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule, click it and use the Edit rule conditions button to start editing the rule (Fig. 5.).

Fig. 5. Selecting the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule for editing.

3. In the pane that opens, click the + button in the Except if section (Fig. 6.).

Fig. 6. Adding a new exception to the rule.

4. Select The message headers > includes any of these words from the drop-down lists (Fig. 7.).

   Important

   If the The message headers > includes any of these words condition is not available to choose (grayed out) because it’s already been used in the CodeTwo rule to define a different exception, try the alternative solution that involves creating a separate mail flow rule.

Fig. 7. Selecting conditions for the exception.

5. Click Enter text below the drop-down lists (see Fig. 7.). In the pane that opens, type/paste Content-Class in the text field and click Save (Fig. 8.).

Fig. 8. Adding the header name to the exception.

6. Click Enter words below the drop-down lists (see Fig. 7.). In the pane that opens, type/paste Voice-CA in the text field and click Add and Save (Fig. 9.).

Fig. 9. Adding a header value to the exception.

7. Finally, click Save in the rule editing pane to submit your changes.

Create a new mail flow rule for voicemail notifications

This is an alternative solution that you can use if the The message headers > includes any of these words condition is no longer available to you when editing the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule. Proceed as follows:

1. Sign in to the Exchange admin center (EAC).
2. Go to Mail flow > Rules.
3. Click the Add a rule button and select Create a new rule, as shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 10. Creating a new transport rule in the Exchange admin center.

4. In the new rule creation wizard that opens, enter the name of your rule, e.g. Exclude voicemail notifications.
5. In the Apply this rule if section, select The message headers > includes any of these words (Fig. 11.).

Fig. 11. Defining the rule condition.

6. Click the Enter text link below the drop-down lists (see Fig. 11.). In the pane that opens, type/paste the following header name: Content-Class and click Save (Fig. 12.).

Fig. 12. Adding the header name to the exception.

7. Click the Enter words link under the drop-down lists (see Fig. 11.), paste Voice-CA into the text field, and click Add and Save (Fig. 13.).

Fig. 13. Adding a header value to the exception.

8. Under the Do the following section, select Modify the message properties > set a message header (Fig. 14.).

Fig. 14. Configuring the rule’s action.

9. Click the first Enter text link below the drop-down lists (see Fig. 14.). In the pane that opens, type/paste the following header name: X-CodeTwoProcessed and click Save (Fig. 15.).

Fig. 15. Providing the name of the CodeTwo-specific header.

10. Click the second Enter text link below the drop-down lists (see Fig. 14.). In the pane that opens, type true and click Save (Fig. 16.).

Fig. 16. Entering the value for the CodeTwo-specific header.

11. Click through the other steps of the wizard, leaving all the default settings and save your rule by clicking Finish and Done – it will appear on the rules' list.
12. By default, the rule is disabled and has the lowest priority. For the rule to work properly, you should click it (to select it) and:
    • turn it on by setting the toggle button to Enabled (Fig. 17.);
    • move it up with the Move up button, so that it is processed before the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule (Fig. 17.). You can also edit the rule settings and change the priority manually.

Fig. 17. Enabling the rule and setting its priority.

Preventing Planner comments and notifications from getting a signature

If you use CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 and you don't want the software to add signatures to comments and email notifications in Microsoft Planner, you can:

• create a transport rule that makes the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule ignore all Planner-related emails - this solution is based on the unique message headers and its values in Planner notifications and CodeTwo signature-stamped emails. The method is more convenient if users in your organization frequently create new plans because it requires no further transport rule updates.
• exclude each Microsoft 365 group associated with a plan from the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule - this solution is based on the fact that Planner notifications are always sent to the email address of the associated Microsoft 365 group. It requires updating the transport rule whenever a new plan is created.

How to create a new rule to stop adding signatures to Planner messages globally

The rule detects Microsoft Planner messages by looking for a specific entry in their headers and next adds the CodeTwo's specific header (X-CodeTwoProcessed) to each such email. Thanks to that, Planner-related messages are later ignored by the actual signature-adding rule (the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule) because they already include the appropriate header. Follow the guidelines below to create the rule:

1. Sign in to the Exchange admin center as a global administrator or Exchange administrator.
2. Go to Mail flow > Rules, click the Add a rule button and select Create a new rule from the drop-down list, as shown in Fig. 18.

Fig. 18. Creating a new transport rule in the Exchange admin center.

3. In the rule creation wizard, name your rule whatever you want (e.g. No Planner signatures).
4. Under the Apply this rule if section, select The message headers > matches these text patterns (Fig. 19.).

Fig. 19. Adding a new condition which will detect each Planner message.

5. Click Enter text below the drop-down lists (see Fig. 19.). In the pane that opens, type/paste the following header name: X-MS-TrafficTypeDiagnostic and click Save (Fig. 20.).

Fig. 20. Adding the Planner header which should be detected by the rule.

6. Click Enter words below the drop-down lists (see Fig. 19.). In the pane that opens, type/paste PlannerComment as the header value, and click Add and Save (Fig. 21.).

Fig. 21. Adding the Planner header's value.

7. Next, under the Do the following section, select Modify the message properties > set a message header (Fig. 22.).

Fig. 22. Adding the action to set the CodeTwo-specific header for each Planner message.

8. Click the first Enter text link below the drop-down lists (see Fig. 22.). In the pane that opens, type/paste the following header name: X-CodeTwoProcessed and click Save (Fig. 23.).

Fig. 23. Providing the name of the CodeTwo-specific header.

9. Click the second Enter text link below the drop-down lists (see Fig. 22.). In the pane that opens, type true as the header value and click Save (Fig. 24.).

Fig. 24. Entering the value for the CodeTwo-specific header.

10. Click through the other steps of the wizard, leaving all the default settings and save your rule by clicking Finish and Done - it will appear on the rules' list.
11.  By default, the rule is disabled and has the lowest priority. For the rule to work properly, you should click it (to select it) and:

• turn it on by setting the toggle button to Enabled (Fig. 25.);
• move it up with the Move up button, so that it has higher priority than the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule (Fig. 25.). You can also edit the rule and change the priority manually.

Fig. 25. Enabling the rule and moving it up so that it's executed earlier than the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule.

As soon as the changes propagate in your Microsoft 365 tenant, signatures will no longer be added to Planner's notifications and comments for all groups.

How to exclude a Microsoft 365 group associated with a plan from the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule

You can block signatures in Planner comments and notifications by adding each Planner-affiliated group to the exceptions of the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule. This way, email notifications sent by Planner (which always include the associated Microsoft 365 group on the recipients' list) will not be routed through the CodeTwo signature-adding service. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Exchange admin center as a global administrator or Exchange administrator.
2. Go to Mail flow > Rules. Find the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule, click it and use the Edit rule conditions button to start editing the rule (Fig. 26.).

Fig. 26. Selecting the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule for editing.

3. In the pane that opens, click the + button in the Except if section (Fig. 27.).

Fig. 27. Adding a new exception to the rule.

4. Select The message > To or Cc box contains this person (Fig. 28.). This exception takes advantage of the fact that Planner-related emails are always sent to the associated Microsoft 365 group.

Fig. 28. Defining a new exception for the MS Planner group.

5. In the pane that opens, select your Microsoft Planner group from the list. If the group is not displayed, type the email address of the group manually and press Enter (or choose the address from the Suggested results list). You can add more than one group. Finally, click Save to apply your settings (Fig. 29.).

Fig. 29. Adding the address of an MS Planner group to the new exception.

6. Save the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule. It might take a while for the changes to propagate in your Microsoft 365.

From now on, your Microsoft Planner notifications will not be passed through the CodeTwo signature service anymore.

Excluding Outlook tasks from a mail flow rule

Task-type messages sent from Outlook include specific phrases in the message subject. If you don’t want CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 to insert signatures into such items, you need to add these phrases as exceptions to the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule. To do so, proceed as follows:

1. Sign in to the Exchange admin center as a global administrator or Exchange administrator.
2. Go to Mail flow > Rules. Find the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule, click it and use the Edit rule conditions button to start editing the rule (Fig. 30.).

Fig. 30. Selecting the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule for editing.

3. In the pane that opens, click the + button in the Except if section (Fig. 31.).

Fig. 31. Adding a new exception to the rule.

4. Select The subject or body > subject includes any of these words from the drop-down lists (Fig. 32.).

Fig. 32. Selecting conditions for the exception.

5. Add the following phrases: Task Request:, Task Accepted:, Task Declined:, and Task Status Report: (include the colon as well) by typing/pasting each one in the text field and clicking the Add button. Finally, click Save (Fig. 33.).

Fig. 33. Adding the phrases characteristic of Outlook task messages.

6. Save the CodeTwo Exchange transport rule to apply the changes. 

From now on, task-type messages will be ignored by our software, and will not get any signature.

See also:

• Using Microsoft Planner with CodeTwo software
• Understanding basic mail related terms: message header, reply separator, source code, message file
• How to view message headers in Outlook and OWA