Manage signatures in email conversations

CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 allows you to control how signatures are added to your correspondence. By using the drop-down list available in the Design step (Fig. 1.), you can:

• add the same signature to every email,
• add a different signature to the first email and a different one to subsequent emails,
• add a signature only to the first email in a conversation,
• use a custom setup, with additional options (e.g. to remove previous signatures from a conversation or change the signature's position).

Fig. 1. Managing how signatures should be added in email correspondence.

In general, these options allow you to decide when and where a signature is added. By default, a signature is added to every email that meets the associated rule's conditions, and is inserted directly under your latest response in an email conversation thread. In this article you will learn how to change that.

The same signature in every email

If you select the first (default) setting - The same signature in every email - from the drop-down menu (see Fig. 1.), a signature template that you created for a given signature rule will be added to every email that triggers this rule.

This means that in an email conversation the signature will be added to every message that meets the rule's conditions (Fig. 2.).

Fig. 2. A sample email conversation where the same signature is added to every email.

Different signature in the first email and different in subsequent emails

The second option - Different signature in the first email and different in subsequent emails - allows you to prepare two separate signature templates:

• the first signature will be added to every first email of a Microsoft 365 user in a conversation, no matter if it is a new email, reply or forward;
• the second signature will be added to next emails, replies and forwards this user sends in the same conversation.

Each signature template needs to be designed on a separate tab (Fig. 3.).

Fig. 3. Use the tabs to create two signature templates.

A sample email conversation thread is shown in Fig. 4. Note that signatures are added right under each reply (or forward).

Fig. 4. A sample email conversation where a different signature is added to the first email and a different one to next emails.

Signature in the first email only

If you choose Signature in the first email only from the drop-down menu (see Fig. 1.), the program will add a signature only to the first reply or forward of a user in a conversation (if this user triggers the associated signature rule). For example, if someone sends you an email and you reply to it for the first time, your signature will be added (directly under the reply), but your next replies in this thread will have no signatures. Fig. 5. shows a sample email conversation thread when the Signature in the first email only option is selected.

Fig. 5. A sample email conversation when the program is set to add signatures to the first email only.

Custom setup

If you want to manually configure how you want to handle your signature in email conversations, choose the Custom setup option (Fig. 6.). This will give you access to additional signature settings in the signature template editor. To view these settings, open the editor by clicking Edit signature (see Fig. 6.).

Fig. 6. Edit your signature in the custom setup mode to access additional options.

The additional options are available on the Email layout tab in the Section settings group (Fig. 7.).

Fig. 7. You can access email section settings from the ribbon.

Click a button with a section name to view this section's additional appearance settings (Fig. 8.).

Fig. 8. Section settings (signature).

The first four options allow you to decide when your signature (or other email section if you have it) is added to email conversations:

• ​Add the [signature] to every email - this setting matches the first option in the Design step.
• Add the [signature] to the first email only (do not add it to subsequent emails) - this setting corresponds to the third option in the Design step.
• Add the [signature] only when the first email is sent and remove it from an email conversation when subsequent emails are sent - if you select this option, the program adds a signature only to the first message, reply or forward of a user in a conversation. If this user sends any further replies in the same thread, or forwards a conversation in which they have already had the signature added, the program removes the signature from the whole conversation (Fig. 9.).

Fig. 9. A signature is added to Alex's first email (conversation on the left) but is removed from the conversation when Alex sends a next email in this thread (conversation on the right).

• Add the [signature] to every email but remove its previous occurrences in an email conversation - with this setting, only the latest message, reply or forward of a given user in a conversation will have a signature and all other occurrences of this signature within the conversation are removed (Fig. 10.). This helps to keep conversation threads clean.

Fig. 10. Only the latest Alex's response in a conversation thread includes his signature.

The last two settings (Fig. 11.) help you manage where your signature is added:

• right under the latest reply/forward message (default setting) - whenever a signature is added by the software, it is inserted directly under the body section of your latest message (see figures above for reference).
• at the very bottom of an email conversation: if you choose this option, the program adds your signature to the very bottom of the conversation thread.

Fig. 11. The additional placement settings for signatures.

These two settings are not available for other email sections such as headers or banners.

The signature position settings can also be managed in the Signature position group on the Email layout tab (see Fig. 7.). Note that with the second option there might be situations when your signatures pile up at the bottom of your conversation - learn more in this article.