CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook

CodeTwo Web Add-in for Outlook, co-engineered with Microsoft, adds signatures to emails in Outlook (Outlook for Windows, Mac, iOS & Android and Outlook on the web / OWA). See the video below or continue reading the article to learn how the Web Add-in works and how to use it to add different email signatures.

Information for admins

The Web Add-in is a component of CodeTwo Email Signatures 365. If you want your Microsoft 365 users to get automatic signatures in Outlook, you need to:

If you have additional questions related to deploying, managing, and using the add-in, consult the dedicated FAQ section for administrators.

If you are still using the deprecated CodeTwo Signatures Add-in for Outlook (COM Add-in), see this article instead.

Using CodeTwo Outlook Web Add-in on Outlook desktop and OWA

Once you start typing an email in Outlook, a signature is automatically inserted into the email body (Fig. 1.), according to the configured Outlook (client-side) signature rules. You can have a different automatic signature for new emails and a different one for replies/forwards. The Web Add-in uses the newest event-based activation feature from Microsoft to completely automate the signature adding process (there's no need to launch the add-in first).

The Web Add-in is also available in German. To use the German interface, set the preferred/display language in your web browser or Outlook app to German.

The Web Add-in automatically adds an Outlook (client-side) signature to the body of an email.
Fig. 1. The Web Add-in automatically adds an Outlook (client-side) signature to the body of an email.

If the event-based activation doesn't work in a desktop Outlook app, it may be that your version of Outlook doesn't fully support the Web Add-in. Try updating your Outlook. You can still add signatures manually, as described below.

Learn more about the supported versions of Outlook 

If there are multiple signatures set up for you, you select a different signature manually from the Web Add-in's pane. First, click the CodeTwo Signatures button on the ribbon (Fig. 2., item 1). Next, in the pane that opens, click Use this signature below the signature that you want to use (Fig. 2., item 2).

Inserting an email signature manually from the CodeTwo Signatures pane.
Fig. 2. Inserting an email signature manually from the CodeTwo Signatures pane.

To open the Web Add-in's pane while composing a message in Outlook on the web (OWA), click Apps (Icon to access Outlook web add-ins (apps). ) > CodeTwo for Outlook, as shown in Fig. 3.

Opening the CodeTwo Signatures pane in Outlook on the web / OWA.
Fig. 3. Opening the CodeTwo Signatures pane in Outlook on the web / OWA.

Tip

If you want the Web Add-in's pane to automatically open each time you compose an email, pin the pane to Outlook by using the button shown in Fig. 4. Click the pin button again to unpin (hide) the pane.

Use this button to pin/unpin the Web Add-in's pane in Outlook.
Fig. 4. Use this button to pin/unpin the Web Add-in's pane in Outlook.

Changing an email address in the From field

The way the Web Add-in behaves when you change the sender (email address) in the From field in Outlook depends on your admin's configuration.

By default, you will always get your own email signatures even if you send an email as / on behalf of another user or shared mailbox, or from an alias address. 

However, if the Web Add-in is configured to match the signature with the email address in the From field (this feature needs to be enabled by your admin, as described here), the Web Add-in will automatically update the signature when you change the sender in the From field. For example:

  • When user X sends emails as (or on behalf of) user Y, the add-in lets them use the signature of user Y in Outlook.
  • When user X sends emails as (or on behalf of) a shared mailbox, the add-in lets them use the signature of the shared mailbox. 
  • When user X sends emails using their alias email address, the add-in lets them use the signature of the alias.

In either case, if you have multiple accounts added to your Outlook desktop app and change the sender in the From field to another account, the Web Add-in pane will always show the email signatures set up for the selected account.

No matter whether the Web Add-in updates the signature automatically or leaves the signature of the original sender when you change the email address in the From field, you still need to insert the correct signature into your email by clicking Use this signature in the pane, as shown in Fig. 5. 

Inserting a signature from the add-in pane in Outlook.
Fig. 5. Inserting a signature from the add-in pane in Outlook.

Using the Outlook / Cloud toggle

This feature needs to be enabled by the admin. Learn more

If you see the Outlook / Cloud toggle in the Web Add-in's pane (Fig. 6.), you can use it to switch between Outlook (client-side) and cloud (server-side) signatures.

  • If the toggle is set to Outlook, the Web Add-in works as described earlier in this article - it adds your signature automatically as you type and shows other signatures that you can choose instead.
  • If you switch the toggle to Cloud, your email signature will no longer be shown below your message. That's because your signature will be added in the cloud after you send the email. The add-in pane will preview your cloud signature based on email signature rules set up by your admin (see Fig. 6.). Note that you need to add at least one recipient to see the preview (learn more about previewing signatures). If there are no cloud signatures set up for you, you might want to switch the toggle back to Outlook to avoid sending a message without a signature.

The toggle lets you switch between cloud (server-side) and Outlook (client-side) signatures.
Fig. 6. The toggle lets you switch between cloud (server-side) and Outlook (client-side) signatures.

Important

If you switch the toggle to Cloud in Outlook desktop or OWA, you will no longer get Outlook (client-side) signatures in Outlook for iOS and Android, as described in the following section.

Signing in to the Web Add-in

When your sign-in session in Outlook expires (e.g. because your password has been changed or you’ve been signed out of all Microsoft 365 services), the Web Add-in will recognize this and prompt you to sign in via the add-in pane (Fig. 7.). Click Open add-in pane and then click the Sign in button in the pane. In the Microsoft sign-in window, enter the credentials of the account you use with Outlook. If you see a message saying CodeTwo Signatures wants to display a new window, click Allow.

Signing in is necessary for the Web Add-in to authenticate you and continue adding your email signatures.

CodeTwo sign-in prompt in Outlook in the new message window.
Fig. 7. CodeTwo sign-in prompt in Outlook in the new message window.

In rare cases, you may be prompted to accept required permissions when signing in to the add-in. Click Accept to provide consent. If security policies prevent you from providing consent, ask your admin to do so on your behalf or to enable you to consent to apps. Detailed steps for both options can be found in this article.

Using CodeTwo Outlook Web Add-in on mobile devices

If you an admin, you can turn on/off CodeTwo Outlook signatures for iOS & Android devices in CodeTwo Admin Panel. See how to do that

A signature is added automatically as soon as you start composing an email in your Outlook mobile app (Fig. 8.). You can have a different automatic signature for new emails and a different one for replies/forwards. 

Once the add-in adds a CodeTwo signature to an email, it also disables (removes) a signature set up in an Outlook mobile app.

CodeTwo signature added to an email composed in Outlook for Android.
Fig. 8. CodeTwo signature added to an email composed in Outlook for Android.

When replying to an email in Outlook mobile, the quick reply box opens. An email signature is not shown in this box, but it is still added to the email being composed. To view the signature, click the ⤢ button to open the full compose view (Fig. 9.).

Opening the full compose view for a reply in Outlook for Android.
Fig. 9. Opening the full compose view for a reply in Outlook for Android.

If you don't want to open the full compose mode only to make sure a signature was added to your email, your admin can enable add-in notifications for Outlook mobile apps (Fig. 10.), as described here.

Esig - Web Add-in - Advanced options - Mobile notifications
Fig. 10. An example of a notification shown by CodeTwo Web Add-in in Outlook for Android.

Important

There is no add-in pane in Outlook for iOS and Android (like on desktop Outlook apps) so you can't change your signature. This is by design, due to the limitations of Outlook mobile apps. Your admin can only set up two different signatures for you: one for new emails and one for replies/forwards, and the right one will be added automatically.

If you need additional info about using the Web Add-in on mobile devices, see our FAQ

In this article

Was this information useful?