How to use keywords to let users add or remove email signatures

Learn how to enable users to manually choose a different cloud (server-side) signature for their messages or to remove an email signature entirely.

When CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 works in cloud (server-side) mode, users cannot select their signature or modify its contents. Cloud signatures are managed centrally by an admin (or delegated users) and are added after an email is sent, based on signature rules configured in the signature management app. However, the program can also make use of keywords to trigger or suppress signature rules responsible for adding cloud signatures to emails. Learn more about keywords

Keywords are a great way to give users more control of cloud (server-side) signatures. For example, keywords can be used to add a signature:

• in another language (learn more),
• with a different banner,
• with contact details of another user,
• with different information when sending an email on behalf of a group or a distribution list (distribution group),
• and more,

or if you want to send an email without any signature at all.

How to configure the program for this scenario

Follow the links below to learn how to:

• Use keywords to trigger cloud (server-side) signature rules
• Use keywords to suppress cloud (server-side) signature rules.

Using keywords to trigger cloud signature rules

In this example, we define a keyword that will be used to add a different email signature to an email.

First, sign in to app.codetwo.com and, in the signature management app's main window, select a cloud (server-side) signature for which you want to define a keyword. You can also create a new signature rule by clicking the CREATE RULE button and selecting Server-side signature (Fig. 1.).

Fig. 1. Creating a new cloud (server-side) signature rule.

Use the Senders and Recipients steps to specify other conditions that need to be fulfilled for the rule to be applied. Learn more

Next, go to the Keywords step and click Add under the top list. In the Add phrase pane that opens, enter your keyword, e.g. #banner2. Use the Search in drop-down menu, as shown in Fig. 2., to define where the program should look for the keyword: in the email body, email subject or in both places.

Fig. 2. Defining a keyword that will trigger a cloud (server-side) signature rule.

Select the Remove this phrase checkbox if you want the program to remove the keyword from the email body and/or subject after it has processed the email (Fig. 3.).

Fig. 3. Select this checkbox if you want the program to remove the keyword from your email.

In the Logic step, make sure to leave the default settings, as shown in Fig. 4. This way, the program will still add signatures specified in other rules even if you don’t include the keyword in the email body/subject. And if the keyword is found, you make sure that the program will not add another signature.​

Fig. 4. The default signature rules processing options.

Use the Design step to edit your email signature (or design a new one, if you created a cloud (server-side) rule from scratch). In this example, we will use a different signature template (Fig. 5.). Learn more about how to design a signature template

Fig. 5. A signature that will be added to emails by using keywords.

Click Save & Publish to save the signature rule and apply it in your organization.

Use the Move up button in the app's main window to move the signature rule on top of other rules (Fig. 6.). By doing so, you make sure that the program will execute this rule as the first one in the case it finds the defined keyword. This is especially important if, for example, you have configured a general signature rule that adds a signature to all outgoing emails in your organization.

Fig. 6. Moving the rule up the signature rules list.

Go to the Result section below to find out how a user can make CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 to add a different signature by using the defined keyword.

Using keywords to suppress cloud signature rules

In this example, we define a keyword that will be used to suppress a cloud (server-side) signature rule that adds a signature to an email.

Sign in to app.codetwo.com and, in the signature management app's main window, select a cloud (server-side) signature for which you want to define a keyword. You can also create a new cloud (server-side) signature rule, as shown in Fig. 1.

In the Keywords step, click Add under the bottom list. In the pane that opens, enter a keyword, e.g. no-signature, and use the Search in drop-down menu, as shown in Fig. 7., to define where the program should look for the keyword: in the email body, email subject or in both places.

Fig. 7. Defining a keyword that will suppress a cloud (server-side) signature rule.

Select the Remove this phrase checkbox if you want the program to remove the keyword from the email body and/or subject after it has processed the email, as shown in Fig. 3.

Click Save & Publish to apply your changes. Remember to notify the users whom you wish to be able to send emails without signatures about the keyword they are supposed to use.

Result

In the first scenario, we defined keyword #banner2 to trigger a specific cloud (server-side) signature rule. In Fig. 8., neither the email body nor its subject contain the defined keyword, so CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 adds the standard signature to the email when it is sent.

Fig. 8. The standard signature will be added when no keyword is used.

Once a user adds the keyword e.g. to the email body (Fig. 9.), the program inserts a different email signature into the email. The keyword is removed from the email.

Fig. 9. When a keyword is found by the program, a different signature is added to the outgoing email.

In the second scenario, we defined keyword no-signature to prevent the program from adding a cloud (server-side) signature. If CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 finds this keyword either in the message subject or body, the signature will not be added to this message. The program also removes the keyword.

Fig. 10. In this case, the signature-adding rule was suppressed by using the defined keyword.

See also

How to add a different signature to emails sent from mobile devices by using keywords - learn how to make our software add a specific signature to emails sent from mobile devices. 

How to let your users choose the default signature - see how your users can decide which signature they want to use by default.