CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook - global installation & updating

Follow this guide for step-by-step instructions on how to automatically install and update the legacy CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook (COM Add-in) for users in your organization using GPO or Microsoft Intune. You can deploy the add-in for all users, selected security groups, OUs, or AAD groups. Use the links below for instructions.

• Deploy the add-in to the whole organization
• Deploy the add-in to a security group
• Deploy the add-in to an Organizational Unit (OU)
• Update the add-in
• Deploy the add-in using Microsoft Intune

If you prefer individual users to install the add-in manually on their machines, see this guide.

If you prefer to use an add-in that can be deployed organization-wide from the Microsoft 365 admin center, try the modern CodeTwo Signatures Web Add-in for Outlook and OWA, co-engineered with Microsoft. See deployment instructions

Deploy the add-in to the whole organization

Follow the steps below to install CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook for the whole organization.

1. Download CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook. To do so, first sign in to the CodeTwo Admin Panel. Next, on the Tenants page, select your Microsoft 365 tenant and go to Outlook add-in. Finally, in the Legacy COM add-in for Outlook section, click the download link (Fig. 1., item 3). Download the MSI installation file to a shared network location.

   If you can't find the download link, it means CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 works in cloud (server-side) mode for this tenant. To be able to use the add-in, switch the signature mode to Outlook (client-side) or combo, as shown in this article.

Fig. 1. CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook installation file in CodeTwo Admin Panel.

2. On your Windows Server, press Win + R to launch the Run console, type gpmc.msc and click OK (Fig. 2.) to open the Group Policy Management Editor.

Fig. 2. Using the Run console to launch the Group Policy Management Editor.

3. Go to Forest > Domains, right-click your domain and choose Create a GPO in this domain, and Link it here... (Fig. 3.).

Fig. 3. Create a new GPO in your domain.

4. Name your new GPO, set Source Starter GPO as none (Fig. 4.).

Fig. 4. Name the new GPO.

5. Right-click the newly created GPO and choose Edit... from the shortcut menu (Fig. 5.).

Fig. 5. Edit the new GPO.

6. Go to User Configuration > Policies > Software Settings, right-click Software installation and choose New > Package from the shortcut menu (Fig. 6.).

Fig. 6. Create a new software deployment package.

7. Select the package from the network share (Fig. 7.) specified in Step 1.

Fig. 7. Select the CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook.

8. In the new window, select Assigned and click OK (Fig. 8.).

Fig. 8. Choose the deployment method.

9. Double-click the newly created package (Fig. 9.).

Fig. 9. Double-click the deployment package.

10. On the Deployment tab, select Install this application at logon, then select Basic and click OK (Fig. 10.). You can close the Group Policy Management Editor afterwards.

Fig. 10. Set up add-in deployment properties.

11. The next time a user in your organization restarts their machine and logs in, CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook should be installed automatically at startup (Fig. 11.). The user doesn’t need to have local admin rights to install the software correctly.

Fig. 11. CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook is being installed at system startup.

12. (Optional) If the add-in is not installed, after the restart, it might be that the GPO settings have not propagated yet. You can use the gpupdate /force command in the Run (Windows +R) console on the client’s machine to force-apply the GPO settings. After the user logs out and logs in, the add-in should be installed immediately.
13. After installation, the add-in is available in Outlook and opens in the right pane. (Fig. 12.). Users can change its width to resize it. Using a dedicated button on the ribbon hides/shows the add-in pane.

Fig. 12. This is how CodeTwo signatures add-in appears in Outlook right after installation.

14. To have CodeTwo signatures automatically added to Outlook, each user needs to click Sign in in the add-in pane. When a Microsoft sign-in screen appears, a user needs to sign in using their Microsoft 365 work account credentials and accept the permissions to synchronize the add-in with Outlook and get signatures.
15. When a user is signed in, the add-in pane shows signatures that are available for them. Depending on your organization's settings, these signatures can be added automatically (when users compose a new message or reply to/forward a message) or users can add them on their own in compose mode in Outlook, just as they would normally add Outlook signatures: they need to go to the Message tab, click Signature on the ribbon and choose any signature that is available. Learn how to use the add-in.

Deploy the add-in to a security group

This section explains how to apply the GPO which installs CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook for all members of a security group.

1. Follow steps 1-4 from section Deploy the add-in to the whole organization.
2. Select the newly created GPO. In the Security Filtering section, click Add (Fig. 13.) and select the security group or (groups) to which you want to deploy the add-in.

Fig. 13. Filtering GPO deployment for a security group.

3. On the Delegation tab, make sure the security group(s) you have chosen in the previous step and the Authenticated Users group are all listed (Fig. 14.). Use the Add button if any group is missing. Next, click Advanced to manage group permissions.

Fig. 14. GPO delegation tab.

4. For the GPO to work correctly, you need to assign Read permissions to the Authenticated Users group (Fig. 15., left), and assign the Read and Apply group policy permissions (Fig. 15., right) to the security group(s) you selected for the add-in deployment.

Fig. 15. Delegation rights for security groups.

5. Follow steps 5-15 from section Deploy the add-in to the whole organization, to deploy the add-in for the chosen security group(s).

Deploy add-in to an Organizational Unit (OU)

It is also possible to deploy CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook to a chosen OU. To do that, follow all the steps from section Deploy the add-in to the whole organization but in step 3, instead of right-clicking your domain, right-click the OU for which you want to have the add-in installed (Fig. 16.).

Fig.16. Create a GPO for an Organizational Unit.

How to update the add-in

When the CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook is installed via GPO, the administrator can control when to update it for users in the organization.

To update the CodeTwo add-in distributed via GPO to the most recent version, follow the steps below:

1. Sign in to CodeTwo Admin Panel, select your Microsoft 365 tenant on the Tenants page, and go to Outlook add-in. In the Legacy COM add-in for Outlook section, click the download link (Fig. 1.) to download the most recent MSI installation file. Save it to a shared network location.
2. On your Windows Server, open the Group Policy Management Editor, find the GPO you have used to deploy CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook, and follow steps 2 and 5 from Deploy the add-in to the whole organization to start editing it.
3. Go to User Configuration > Policies > Software Settings and you should see the software package you previously deployed. Right-click below it and click New > Package (Fig. 17.).

Fig. 17. Deploying a new software installation package.

4. Choose the .msi file you just downloaded (in step 1) and click Open (Fig. 18.).

Fig. 18. Opening the add-in installation file.

5. In the new window, choose Advanced as the deployment method (Fig. 19.).

Fig. 19. Choosing the Advanced deployment method.

6. Deployment settings’ window opens automatically. On the Deployment tab (Fig. 20.) choose the Assigned deployment type, highlight the Install this application at logon checkbox and select Basic user interface options.

Fig. 20. Setting the deployment options.

7. Go to the Upgrades tab (Fig. 21.), click Add and choose the software package you have deployed previously. The new package will upgrade the previously deployed add-in to the newest version. Click OK in both windows and close the Group Policy Management Editor.

Fig. 21. Adding the Upgrade Package.

8. The next time the users defined in your GPO’s scope log on to their machines, the add-in should be updated automatically. You can use the gpupdate /force command in the Run (Windows +R) console on each user’s machine to force the GPO settings to apply immediately. After the user logs off their Windows account and logs on again, the add-in will be updated automatically to the new version.

See next

CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook - learn how to use the add-in in your Outlook