E-Mail Signature (MailSignature)

The E-Mail Signature document function (technical name MailSignature) controls the signatures that primedocs Desktop distributes to classic Outlook. It defines when a signature is used (new message, reply, recipient domain, account type) and whether a campaign and a disclaimer are appended.

note

This document function is available exclusively on templates of type «Signature (classic)». For Outlook (New) and the web add-in, the signature rules of the organisational unit and the Campaign Fields document function on the signature template apply instead.

The signatures are generated by the primedocs Desktop client from the released templates and stored in Outlook. The add-in picks the matching signature when an email is written, see Outlook ribbon.

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Default scenario: external and internal signature

Usually Outlook should switch between an internal and an external signature depending on the recipients. For this, two templates of type «Signature (classic)» are created, both with this document function.

External signature

• Appears when a new message is created and when replying or forwarding.
• Campaign and disclaimer are appended if they exist and are released.

<Configuration>
  <Domains>*</Domains>
  <Accounts>*</Accounts>
  <IsDefault>true</IsDefault>
  <IsDefaultReply>true</IsDefaultReply>
  <HasCampaign>true</HasCampaign>
  <HasDisclaimer>true</HasDisclaimer>
</Configuration>

Internal signature

• Appears when all recipients in To, CC and BCC have the domain example.com or example.org. As soon as an external recipient is added, the external signature is used.
• Campaign and disclaimer are not appended.

<Configuration>
  <Domains>example.com;example.org</Domains>
  <Accounts>*</Accounts>
  <IsDefault>false</IsDefault>
  <IsDefaultReply>false</IsDefaultReply>
  <HasCampaign>false</HasCampaign>
  <HasDisclaimer>false</HasDisclaimer>
</Configuration>

Further scenarios

• No internal signature of its own: omit the internal signature.
• Internal signature as default: set <IsDefault>true</IsDefault> on the internal signature and <IsDefault>false</IsDefault> on the external one, and likewise for IsDefaultReply.
• Departments with signatures of their own: create several external or internal signatures and release each one in the permissions only to the users or organisational units concerned.

warning

Per user and language, exactly one external signature (with *) and at most one internal signature per domain may be released. If two signatures with the same conditions are released, it is undefined which one is used.

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Configuration

Element	Description
Domains	Domains of the recipients in To, CC and BCC. Separate several domains with ;, e.g. example.com;example.org. A full email address can be used instead of a domain. It takes precedence over the domain and over *. In the default scenario, the internal signature applies when all recipients belong to the configured internal domains. As soon as one recipient has no matching domain, the external signature with * applies. Per user and language, one signature with * must be released, otherwise the signature to switch to for external recipients is missing.
Accounts	Email accounts for which this signature is stored in Outlook. EXC stands for Exchange accounts, * for all accounts. Other values are search strings that must occur in the email address or, for Exchange, in the account name, such as example.com. Separate several values with ;. Enter search strings in lower case, because the comparison with the Exchange account name is case-sensitive. SMTP, POP and IMAP are not special account type identifiers and are also treated as search strings.
IsDefault	true: this signature is used when creating a new message. Per user and language, only one released signature may have IsDefault set to true.
IsDefaultReply	true: this signature is used when replying and forwarding. Per user and language, only one released signature may have IsDefaultReply set to true.
HasCampaign	true: an active campaign is appended to the signature, see Campaign.
HasDisclaimer	true: the disclaimer is appended to the signature, see Disclaimer.
CampaignTagFilter	Optional. Restricts the campaigns of this signature via tags, see Controlling campaigns via tags.

If an element is missing, its default applies: Domains *, Accounts EXC, IsDefault and IsDefaultReply false, HasCampaign and HasDisclaimer true.

warning

The primedocs signature management takes control of the Outlook signatures. Every user therefore needs a released signature with <IsDefault>true</IsDefault> and one with <IsDefaultReply>true</IsDefaultReply>. It may be the same signature.

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Composition of the signature

An email receives the signature and, where configured, behind it in this order:

1. Signature
2. Campaign
3. Disclaimer

Campaign

Campaigns for classic Outlook are templates of type «Campaign (classic)». A campaign is appended when:

• the active signature has <HasCampaign>true</HasCampaign> configured,
• the campaign carries a matching tag if CampaignTagFilter is set,
• the campaign is published and released for the user,
• the campaign lists the language of the email,
• the period Active from and Active to of the campaign is running. Without any dates set, it is active permanently.

If several campaigns are eligible, the one with the highest Priority applies, and for equal priority the one with the later Active from, then the template saved last. The user can choose another eligible campaign via Campaign in the ribbon. How many are offered there is defined by the setting Number of campaigns in the add-in.

warning

Per user and language, only one released campaign should have the same highest priority and the same Active from. Otherwise the template saved last decides which one appears on its own.

Controlling campaigns via tags

With CampaignTagFilter, a signature selects its campaigns by the tags of the campaign templates. Each <Tag> element is an alternative. Several tags within one element, separated by ;, must all be present on the campaign.

<Configuration>
  ...
  <HasCampaign>true</HasCampaign>
  <CampaignTagFilter>
    <Tag>Tag1</Tag>
    <Tag>Tag2;Tag3;Tag4</Tag>
  </CampaignTagFilter>
</Configuration>

This signature accepts campaigns with the tag Tag1 as well as campaigns that carry Tag2, Tag3 and Tag4 at the same time. This allows, for example, different campaigns for the internal and the external signature.

Disclaimer

The disclaimer is a template of type «Disclaimer (classic)». It is appended when the active signature has <HasDisclaimer>true</HasDisclaimer> configured and a published disclaimer template released for the user lists the language of the email.

warning

Per user and language, only one disclaimer should be released. Otherwise it is not defined which one appears.

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Further document functions on signatures

Besides E-Mail Signature, further document functions can be used on a «Signature (classic)» template, for example Fields. For configuration changes to reach the distributed signatures, save the signature template again after editing.