Create a rule
Adding a rule takes about a minute. Here is the order that keeps it predictable.
- Last updated
- 4 minute read
- Rules
A rule is three decisions: what it matches, which signature it gives out, and how important it is compared with the rules around it.
Adding a rule
Rules
Decide who gets which signature. Anyone without a matching rule gets your default signature.
- 30Leadership
Person
Amelia Hart
- 20Sales with offer
Department
Sales
- 10Ireland office
Email domain
haldenrowe.ie
- 0Company standard
Everyone else
Fallback for everyone
The highest priority that matches wins. Ties are settled by the rule created first.
Step 1 of 4
Add rule
Opens a short form. Nothing is saved until you confirm, and a new rule changes nothing until its priority puts it above the rules it should beat.
Reduced motion is on, so the tour waits for you. Use the arrows or the list to move through the steps.
Before you add one
- The signature you want already exists
- The department is spelled the same way as in Users
- The priority sits above the rules it should beat
- You know who currently gets the old signature, so you can tell if it changes
Watch out: A rule at a higher priority than an existing one takes people away from it. Check the reach counts on both signatures afterwards to confirm the move happened where you expected.
Keeping rules up to date
Rules rot quietly. A department is renamed, someone leaves, an office closes, and the rule stays behind matching nobody.
- Read the list as a story: highest priority first, ending with the fallback. If you cannot follow it, neither can anyone else.
- Delete rules that match nobody. The reach count on the signatures will show up a rule that is not doing anything.
- Re-check after a Microsoft 365 sync that renamed a department. The rule still says the old name and silently stops matching.
Related articles
- How Signed decides who gets which signatureThe one decision Signed makes on every email: which signature to use. Here is the logic, in order.
- Test your rules before you rely on themFour checks that catch a rule pointing at the wrong signature before anyone notices in Outlook.
- Departments and targetsDepartments do two jobs: they group people, and they are what rules and campaign audiences match on.
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