Configure Office 365 Exchange to use Email Signature Server

About this article

In this article we will be creating and configuring a mail flow rule and the connectors in the Exchange Online Admin Center. These will identify the e-mails that will redirected through the Templafy Email Signature Server cluster for processing.

• Step 1. Create the inbound connector
• Step 1a. Update primary domain SPF record
• Step 2. Create the outbound connector
• Step 3. Create the mail flow rule

Prerequisites

Step 1. Create the inbound connector

• Go to https://admin.microsoft.com/ or go directly to https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com/

• Click Show all

  

• Click Exchange

  

• Click Mail flow and then Connectors

  

   

• Click [+ Add a connector]

• Choose Your organization's email server
• Click [Next]

  

• Enter a name for the connector: templafyemailsignatureserver-inbound

• Click [Next]

• Choose the By verifying that the IP address... option

• Add the public hostname/IP of the smarthost. The IP address can be retrieved in Kubernetes portal for the cluster created earlier in Configure a new Email Signature Server in kubernetes
  Note: For Templafy Hosted solutions, you will be provided the IP address of your dedicated Email Signature Server hosted by Templafy.

  Update primary domain SPF record   To ensure the Email Signature Server is identified as authorized to process mail for your domain, it is recommended to add this Inbound Connector IP address to the DNS SPF record for your domain. This is required if the SPF record is configured for hard fail (-all). nslookup -type=txt <your primary domain> Below an example (SPF Record): v=spf1 ip4:<ess_inbound_connector_ip> -all

  • Click the [+] sign

  

• Click [Next]
• Click [Create connector]

Step 2. Create the outbound connector

• Click [+ Add a connector]

• Choose Office 365
• Click [Next]

  

• Enter a name for the connector: templafyemailsignatureserver-outbound
• Click [Next]

  

• Choose Only when I have a transport rule set up that redirects messages to this connector

• Click [Next]

  

• Specify the smart host (public hostname/IP with port forwarding on port 25 to the docker service)

• Click the the [+] sign

• Click [Next]

  

• Select Any digital certificate, including self-signed certificates

• Click [Next]

  

• Validate the connector

• Provide an email address from outside of the domain.

• Click [+]

• Click [Validate]

  

• There will be a three step validation progress bar. This will take a few moments to complete.

• Click [Save]  

  Note: If the second part of the test failed, then please check if other connectors are already configured, if yes, then make sure that those are not the ones used for executing the send test for your new connector. This can be done by adding an Exception rule for the built-in user O365ConnectorValidation@<current domain> to the other connector's mail flow rule.

   

Step 3. Create the mail flow rule

• Go to Rules
• Create a new rule specifying a group of users that should have email signatures attached to their emails from Templafy Email Signature Server.
  • Click [+] Create a new rule...
  • Name: templafy email signatures
  • Click more options... at the lower left of the New Rule dialog.
  • Apply this rule if...
    • Select The sender... -> is external/internal Inside the organization

    Test users setup: Additionally, you can add the condition "Sender is a member of..." and use a Distribution Group, or Mail Enabled Security Group, of users.

    • Click [OK]
  • Do the following...
    • Select Redirect the message to... -> the following connector Connector: templafyemailsignatureserver-outbound
  • Except if...
    1. Click [add exception]
       • Select A message header... -> includes any of these text patterns
       • Click Enter text...
         specify header name: Templafy-EmailSignatureServer-Processed
         Click [OK]
       • Click Enter words... specify words or phrases: true
         Click [+]
         Click [OK]
    2. Click [add exception] 
       • Select A message header... -> matches these text patterns
       • Click Enter text... specify header name: X-UnsupportedFormatByTemplafy
         Click [OK]
       • Click Enter text patterns... specify words or phrases: true
         Click [+]
         Click [OK]
    3. Click [add exception]
       • Select The message properties... -> Include the message type
       • Click Select one...
       • Select Permission controlled from the dropdown list
       • Click [OK]
  • Select the option Stop processing more rules.
    

    The rest of the rules you might have will be applied when the email is sent back from the Templafy solution to Exchange.

  • Click [Save]
• Select the newly created rule and click Move Up to place it at the top of the list.
  Or click the Edit icon and set the Priority textbox to 0

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