intended for external use only - do not put in mouth

February 7, 2006 4:56 PM

Exchange Server - how do I get it to attach a signature to all outgoing mail?

The "simple" answer is to go to every single user's Outlook and set the signature up for them, appended to their usual signature.

But there must be a way to get a signature (actually, a legal disclaimer) automatically attached to all outgoing mail for all users - at the server level.

Yes? No? Help?

posted by bartleby to computers & internet (6 comments total)

A couple of tools that will do this are Exclaimer and Policy Patrol. Never used them before but found them with a Google search for: "microsoft exchange" server signature plug-in. Price apparently starts at $145 for 10 users on Policy Patrol (the less expensive of the two at that level) and goes up to $2495 for a thousand users (the products are priced at parity at that user level) or $2995 for unlimited users.
posted by kindall at 5:12 PM on February 7, 2006

to do it without any 3d party tools, see this KB article. For a 3d party way to do it, see something like QS Disclaimer

(I have never tried option 2...it was a sponsored link I found when I googled "Exchange disclaimer")
posted by stupidcomputernickname at 5:16 PM on February 7, 2006

Your Google-fu beats mine.
posted by kindall at 5:39 PM on February 7, 2006

Attaching a signature/discalimer once the message leaves the client is actually somewhat more complex than it seems. That is because you must be mindful of the character sets used in both your signature and original text, so the two don't stomp over each other. Not a big issue if you use plain text messages only, but it can get to be a pain when HTML email is thrown into the mix.

What I am really trying to say here is to do it right is not trivial, and that's the reason commercial solutions to solve this problem exist.
posted by blindcarboncopy at 6:25 PM on February 7, 2006

GFI makes a bunch of Exchange plugin software, including signature-appending stuff. It's all good.
posted by autojack at 7:44 PM on February 7, 2006

The third party tools are your best option if you want to assign a standard sig to a large number of users. For a small Exchange organization, you can manually distribute signature files for corporate use. It's a hack, but it works.

When you create a signature in Outlook, it will save the sig in three separate files, all with the same filename but a different extension - one rich text, one HTML, and one plain text. These will be stored in your Documents and Settings/profile name/Application Data/Microsoft/Signatures folder. Depending on the format of the message you're creating/replying, it will choose the appropriate file format and insert the signature from it.

After you create your signature files, distribute them (via login script or manually copy them) to the appropriate folder on the user hard drives as above. Then send an email to your users telling them to choose that signature from the Tools...Options...Mail Format tab (by copying them into the Signatures folder, you make their filename available as an option in the drop down box used to select signatures).

I instruct client admins to keep a common signature in these formats somewhere on their network drives, edit as necessary and redistribute as needed.

If you'd like more detail, email me (address in profile) and I'll send you the "how to" guide we send out to clients on this.
posted by Slap Incognito at 9:34 PM on February 7, 2006