Attributes manager & My user info

CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 contains two extra apps that let admins and end users manage user attributes stored by CodeTwo and added to email signatures or auto replies:

• Attributes manager – it provides complete control of all user information, allowing admins and authorized users to bulk edit attributes synced from Entra ID (Azure AD), add CodeTwo custom attributes, and decide which attributes can be edited by end users.
• My user info – it allows end users to manage their personal information on their own.

The changes you or your end users make in the Attributes manager and My user info apps do not affect the original data in Entra ID.

Watch this short video to see how these apps work:

Read on or use the links to learn more.

• Examples of use
• How to start
• Attributes manager
• Let users view and edit attributes
• Add CodeTwo custom attributes
• Edit a CodeTwo custom attribute
• Delete a CodeTwo custom attribute
• Add user attributes to email signatures
• Import/export attributes in bulk
• Restore original Entra ID attribute values for all users
• Manage access rights to the Attributes manager
• My user info
• How end users can manage their personal information
• Supported languages in My user info
• Hide the link to My user info in the CodeTwo add-in pane
• Frequently asked questions

Examples of use

Watch the short video below to see how you can use CodeTwo’s Attributes manager and My user info apps to let end users view and edit their attribute values, or read on for more examples of use.

With the Attributes manager and My user info apps, you can allow users to edit information shown in their email signatures and auto replies (synced from Entra ID to the CodeTwo cache), such as first and last names, phone numbers, and address details, as well as custom attributes defined in your organization’s Exchange Online. This can help you and your users ensure that information in their email signatures and auto replies is always complete and up to date.

But CodeTwo’s apps give you even more – with CodeTwo custom attributes created in the Attributes manager, you can go beyond Entra ID attributes and let users add extra information to their signatures and auto replies or even control their design. For example, you can allow end users to:

• add an upcoming out-of-office note to email signatures,
• add working hours or other extra information to email signatures,
• choose the default signature language,
• insert a signature in two different languages,
• choose which elements to include in email signatures,
• set a preferred email signature,
• auto-format phone numbers according to your company’s guidelines,
• choose the default signature banner,
• manage the visibility of personal information in email signatures and auto replies.

These examples are just a starting point – CodeTwo custom attributes open up countless ways to fine-tune your email signatures and auto replies.

How to start

If you have an active CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 subscription, you can use the Attributes manager and My user info apps for free.

• Admins can manage user attributes in the Attributes manager by signing in at attributes.codetwo.com with Microsoft 365 global admin credentials and granting the required permissions. They can also invite other users or Microsoft 365 group members to manage attributes. Learn more about managing access to the Attributes manager
• End users can edit their personal information by using the My user info app at user.codetwo.com (they also need to sign in with their Microsoft account). The My user info app will not work until at least one attribute is enabled for viewing or editing in the Attributes manager.

You can access both apps quickly from CodeTwo Admin Panel by using the Apps menu (), as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. App launcher in CodeTwo Admin Panel.

All attributes available in the Attributes manager and My user info can be used in your email signatures and auto replies. See this section to learn more

Attributes manager

The Attributes manager is available for admins and authorized users at attributes.codetwo.com.

How to let users view and edit attributes

The Attribute visibility tab in the Attributes manager is where you can select which Entra ID attributes cached by CodeTwo and which CodeTwo custom attributes can be edited by end users in the My user info app (at user.codetwo.com).

To let your end users edit the value of a particular attribute, select the Editable checkbox next to it. Selecting Visible only will make an attribute visible but non-editable for your users. When you’re done, click Save & Publish for the changes to take effect (Fig. 2.).

Fig. 2. Choosing attributes whose values can be edited or viewed by your end users.

How to add CodeTwo custom attributes

On the Attribute visibility tab of the Attributes manager, you can also create your own custom attributes to be used in email signatures and auto replies (as shown in Fig. 7.).

To create a new custom attribute:

1. Click the Add button in the CodeTwo custom attributes section.
2. In the window that opens, type the attribute’s name and (optionally) a description that users will see next to the attribute in the My user info app. Keep in mind that:
   1. your attribute names must be unique,
   2. only these special characters are allowed in attribute names: “-”, “_”.
3. Choose the attribute’s type (field type):
   1. Text (default) – allows users to type any text (letters, numbers, and symbols), e.g., an out-of-office note.
   2. Number – you can use this type to let users enter numeric data, e.g., a professional license number, and display it in signatures or auto replies. Numeric attributes can only contain valid decimal numbers (with a dot as the decimal separator) that don’t exceed 20 characters.
   3. Single-select – allows users to choose one option from a dropdown list, e.g., when selecting a default signature banner.
   4. Multi-select – with this type, you can allow your users to choose more than one option from a list of checkboxes, e.g., to choose elements they want to include in their signatures.

4. If you chose Single-select or Multi-select in step 3, define options (values) that users will be able to select for the attribute. You can add more options by clicking the Add option button. Keep in mind that:
   1. your options will be sorted alphabetically when displayed to users in My user info,
   2. they must be unique (as part of a single attribute),
   3. they cannot contain the & character, as it will be used as the default separator for your multi-select attribute values (see this FAQ to learn how to change it),
   4. they cannot be empty (see this FAQ to learn more about using empty attribute values).
5. Use the Visible and Editable checkboxes to define the attribute’s availability in the My user info app.
6. Click ADD to create the attribute.
7. Back on the Attribute visibility tab, click Save & Publish to go live with your custom attribute.

An example configuration of a CodeTwo custom attribute is shown in Fig. 3. To see how CodeTwo custom attributes are displayed in the My user info app, see Fig. 14.

Fig. 3. Adding a new CodeTwo custom attribute.

By default, the newly created attribute becomes available:

• for end users to edit in the My user info app;
• in the Signatures app (app.codetwo.com), where you can use it to build rule conditions based on the Entra ID (user property) option;
• in the signature/autoresponder editor, where it can be added to signature and auto-reply templates as a placeholder (available under CodeTwo attribs on the editor’s ribbon, as shown in Fig. 7.); and
• in the Conditional placeholders manager, where you can use it to build conditions for conditional placeholders. 

How to edit a CodeTwo custom attribute

To edit a custom attribute, click the … button next to it and select Edit, as shown in Fig. 4. In the Edit CodeTwo custom attribute window that opens, you can change the following attribute properties:

• Description
• Options (for single-select and multi-select attributes)
• Attribute availability

To confirm your changes, click DONE and then Save & Publish (Fig. 4.).

Fig. 4. Editing a CodeTwo custom attribute.

How to delete a CodeTwo custom attribute

To delete a custom attribute, click the … button next to it and select Delete, as shown in Fig. 5. Confirm the action and click Save & Publish to apply your change.

Fig. 5. Deleting a custom attribute.

How to add user attributes to CodeTwo email signatures

All attributes that you manage in the Attributes manager can be used as user properties in your email signatures and auto replies. To do this, you need to insert the relevant placeholder into your signature or auto-reply template by using one of the following buttons on the template editor’s ribbon:

• Placeholder > Message Sender – it contains the list of Entra ID (Microsoft 365) attributes cached by CodeTwo (Fig. 6.). Learn more about using placeholders

Fig. 6. Accessing Entra ID (Microsoft 365) attributes in the signature template editor.

• CodeTwo attribs – it contains the list of CodeTwo custom attributes created in the Attributes manager (Fig. 7.). Like Entra ID attributes, custom attributes are also inserted as placeholders. Learn more

Fig. 7. Accessing CodeTwo custom attributes in the signature template editor.

How to import/export attributes (bulk management)

On the Import/Export tab of the Attributes manager, you can bulk manage & change attribute values for multiple users (including shared mailboxes). Watch our short video or see the guidelines below to learn how to do so.

To bulk edit Entra ID (Azure AD) attributes stored in Entra ID CodeTwo cache, first click the Export to CSV button, download the CSV file, and open it.

The CSV file includes a list of end users and the attributes they changed. Empty cells mean the values have not been changed and are the same as in your Microsoft Entra ID (Fig. 8.). If no attributes were changed, you’ll only see a list of attribute names with no users.

Fig. 8. CSV file with a list of users and modified attributes.

If you want to change the attributes for users listed in the file, just edit any value and type anything you want. You can also control how values are updated as follows:

• Clear values (cells) and leave them blank to restore the original values for these users from your tenant’s Microsoft Entra ID (for CodeTwo custom attributes, this means the value will be cleared).
• Type #empty# as the cell value if you want this field to have no value (and stay empty).

If you want to change attributes for other users, just add them in new rows. Make sure you use the correct UPN address of each user.

For a sample updated CSV file, see Fig. 9. 

Fig. 9. The updated CSV file.

When you’re done, save the file, click the Import from CSV button and choose an option that suits you (Fig. 10.):

• Selective import updates the attributes of users who are found in the CSV file and leaves the attributes of other users unchanged.
• Import & overwrite updates the attributes of users who are found in the CSV file and restores all original Entra ID attribute values for users who are not found in the CSV.

Fig. 10. Choosing how to import bulk edited attributes into Entra ID CodeTwo cache.

Click IMPORT to finish. Usually, users’ details will be updated in a few minutes. In very rare cases, the process may take up to several hours.

How to restore the original Microsoft Entra ID (Azure Active Directory) attribute values for all users

Attributes edited in the Attributes manager and My user info apps do not overwrite Entra ID data, nor are they overwritten by changes made in Entra ID (or in your local AD, if synced via Microsoft Entra Connect in a hybrid environment).

If you want to restore all original values from your organization’s Microsoft Entra ID to Entra ID CodeTwo cache, clear all the values (cells) in the CSV file exported from the Attributes manager (as described in the previous section), except the first row with attribute names, as shown in Fig. 11.

Fig. 11. The CSV file should only contain the first row with attribute names.

Now, import the file to the CodeTwo cache by clicking Import from CSV on the Import/Export tab of the Attributes manager. In the Import attributes window that opens, select the Import & overwrite option. From now on, your organization’s email signatures will include the same attributes that are present in your tenant’s Microsoft Entra ID.

To restore a single original value from your Entra ID, clear only this value’s cell in the CSV file.

How to manage access rights to the Attributes manager (global admins only)

If you’re a global admin in your Microsoft 365 organization, you can open an additional Access rights tab in the Attributes manager app (Fig. 12.). This is where you can invite other users to the Attributes manager and let them manage Entra ID attributes and CodeTwo custom attributes.

Fig. 12. The Access rights tab in the Attributes manager app.

You can invite users or groups from your Microsoft 365 tenant by clicking ADD > User or ADD > Group and selecting relevant users or groups in the window that opens, as shown in Fig. 13.

Fig. 13. Adding a new Attributes manager user.

The invited users and group members will now be able to sign in to the Attributes manager at attributes.codetwo.com by using their Microsoft account. They will also receive an invitation email for informational purposes.

My user info

My user info is available at user.codetwo.com.

How end users can manage their personal information

The My user info app (shown in Fig. 14.) allows you to view, modify, and remove your information (attributes) used in email signatures and automatic replies.

Fig. 14. Sample attributes in the My user info app.

Attributes in the My user info app can be view-only or editable. Your organization’s admins decide which attributes are available in the app (as explained in this section).

You will not be able to access the My user info app until an admin enables at least one attribute for viewing or editing.

Editing an attribute value

If an attribute is editable, you can:

• manually enter its text or numeric value,
• select its value from a single-select list of options, or
• select multiple values using checkboxes.

Restoring default attribute values

For some attributes, you can restore the default values set in your organization’s user database. To do so, click the Restore () button next to the attribute.

Clearing attribute values

To clear an attribute value:

• remove the value from the attribute’s text field,
• click the Clear value () button next to a single-select attribute, or
• clear (uncheck) checkboxes next to a multi-select attribute.

Saving changes

To save any changes to attribute values, click the Save & update button at the bottom of the page.

Changes made in the My user info app typically take effect immediately (new values appear in email signatures), but in rare cases they may take from a few minutes to several hours to fully propagate.

Supported languages in the My user info app

In addition to the default English version, My user info is also available in the following languages:

• German
• Spanish
• French
• Dutch
• Polish

To use one of these language versions, end users need to set the preferred language accordingly in their web browser.

How to hide the link to My user info in the CodeTwo add-in pane

If the CodeTwo add-in is deployed in your organization, all add-in users see the Your personal info is not up to date? link in the add-in pane. This link takes users to the My user info app. If you don’t want users to see this link, see this section to learn how to hide it.

Note that hiding the link doesn’t prevent users from accessing My user info if they know its address.

FAQ

1. I’m having problems exporting and importing the CSV file. How can I resolve them?
2. Can I set an empty value for single-select or multi-select CodeTwo custom attribute?
3. Can I change the default “&” character used for separating multi-select attribute values in email signatures and auto replies?
4. What happens if I add/remove columns in the CSV file and then attempt to import it?
5. How to restore the original Microsoft Entra ID (Azure Active Directory) attribute values for selected users only?
6. What happens if I make any changes in my Entra ID (Azure AD) data? Will this update the attributes in the CodeTwo cache?
7. Does the Attributes manager work with shared mailboxes?

1. I’m having problems exporting and importing the CSV file. How can I resolve them?

See this article to learn how to troubleshoot CSV export and import issues.

2. Can I set an empty value for single-select or multi-select CodeTwo custom attribute?

You can’t add an empty value as an option for end users. But if users select no option for a single-select or multi-select attribute, this attribute will be considered empty.

Existing attribute values can also be cleared – either by end users in the My user info app (as described here) or by admins, by importing a CSV file with the relevant attribute values set as empty (as described in this section).

3. Can I change the default “&” character used for separating multi-select attribute values in email signatures and auto replies?

Yes, you can replace the & character (along with any surrounding spaces, if needed) with another separator, such as a comma. To do that, you need to use regular expression formatting for the corresponding placeholder. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Right-click the placeholder in the template editor and select Edit placeholder (Fig. 15.).

Fig. 15. Editing a placeholder in the signature template editor.

2. In the window that opens, click Find & replace values (Fig. 16.).

Fig. 16. Accessing the find & replace settings for a placeholder.

3. In the Find field, type the & character and surround it with spaces. In the Replace with field, type a comma (or another separator) followed by a space. The result should look as shown in Fig. 17.

Fig. 17. Using the find & replace settings for a placeholder.

4. (Optional) Click Test to check your regular expression.
5. Once ready, click OK in the Edit placeholder to save your changes and return to the template editor main window. After you save the entire template, the chosen separator will be used instead of the “&” character in the final signature or auto reply.

4. What happens if I add/remove columns in the CSV file and then attempt to import it?

If you remove a column (e.g. City) from the CSV file, the remaining attributes will be imported as usual. The values from the removed column will be:

• restored to the defaults from your tenant’s Microsoft Entra ID (for Entra ID attributes), or
• cleared /set to blank (for CodeTwo custom attributes)

for the users included in the file. This works the same for both the Selective import and Import & overwrite options.

If you add a column (e.g. Alternative city) to the CSV file, it will not affect the import process in any way. No data will be imported from the new column, and no import errors will occur. 

5. How to restore the original Microsoft Entra ID (Azure Active Directory) attribute values for selected users only?

To restore the original values from your tenant’s Entra ID for specific users, leave only their UPNs in the UPN column of the CSV file and clear the remaining values in the rows that correspond to these users. Then import the file to CodeTwo by clicking Import from CSV and choosing the Selective import option.

6. What happens if I make any changes in my Entra ID (Azure AD) data? Will this update the attributes in the CodeTwo cache?

Once the value of an attribute is modified in the Attributes manager or My user info, it will not be changed (updated) by any subsequent changes in your tenant’s Entra ID (or local AD for hybrid environments syncing via Microsoft Entra Connect). If you want to restore the original attribute values from your Entra ID, see instructions in this section.

7. Does the Attributes manager work with shared mailboxes?

Yes. By using the Attributes manager, you can manage both Entra ID and CodeTwo custom attributes for shared mailboxes. This feature is especially helpful if you use the same signature templates across your organization and don’t want the signatures added to emails sent from shared mailboxes to be missing any information.

To define attribute values for a shared mailbox, use a CSV file, as described in this section. Be sure to provide the email address of your shared mailbox in the UPN column of the CSV file.