Email signatures

An email signature is the block of text that appears at the bottom of every email you send from Esqase, with details like your name, your firm, and your contact information. Esqase keeps one firm default signature for everyone, and lets each member set their own personal signature that overrides the default for the email they send. This page explains where to edit each one and how Esqase decides which signature to use.

Before you begin

• The email signature editor lives on the Email templates page, inside Settings. To open that page you need to be a firm owner or have View access for email templates. If you do not have that access, you will not see the Email templates card in Settings, and you will not be able to reach the signature editor.
• Editing your own signature does not require any special permission beyond reaching the page. Once you are on the Email templates page, every member can open the signature editor and manage their own personal signature.
• Editing the firm default signature changes the fallback signature for the whole firm. Plan for that before you save changes to the default.

How a signature is inserted when you compose

You do not paste your signature in by hand. Esqase adds it for you whenever you write an email.

When you open the email composer (for example, from a matter's Communications area), Esqase places your signature into the Body of the message automatically, below a blank line, so it is already there before you start typing. Because the signature sits inside the Body editor, you can see it and edit it inline for that one email without changing your saved signature.

A few things happen behind the scenes when the signature is inserted:

• Placeholders are filled in. Your signature can contain placeholder keys wrapped in double braces, like {{member_name}} or {{firm_name}}. When the signature is added to an email, Esqase replaces those keys with the real values (your name, the firm name, the firm address, and so on). See Email signatures: what placeholders you can use below.
• It works with templates too. If you pick a template in the Template field, Esqase fills in the template's subject and body, then adds your signature underneath. You get the template content and your signature together.
• Drafts keep their saved version. If you reopen a saved draft, the signature that was in it when you saved is kept as-is. Esqase does not add a second signature on top.

Opening the signature editor

Both the firm default signature and your personal signature are edited from the same place: the Email template signature dialog.

1. In the sidebar, click Settings.
2. Under Templates, click Email templates.
3. On the Email templates page, click Email template signature in the top-right corner.
4. The Email template signature dialog opens, showing your current signature in the Signature editor.

The dialog's description text tells you which signature you are currently looking at:

• If you are still using the firm default, it reads: "You are using the firm default signature. Saving creates a personal signature that applies only to you."
• If you already have a personal signature, it reads: "You have a personal signature. It overrides the firm default and is added automatically to emails you send."

Edit the firm default email signature

The firm default is the signature everyone falls back to when they have not set a personal one. Editing it changes that fallback for the whole firm.

1. Open the Email template signature dialog (see Opening the signature editor).
2. Confirm the description reads "You are using the firm default signature." If it does not, click Reset to firm default first.
3. In the Signature editor, write or adjust the signature. Use the rich-text controls to format the text, add line breaks, and emphasize details.
4. To personalize the signature for whoever sends an email, insert placeholder keys. For example, type {{member_name}} where the sender's name should appear, or {{firm_name}} for the firm name. Click See more in the Available placeholders box to browse every key you can use.
5. Click Save signature.

Set a personal signature override

A personal signature is yours alone. It overrides the firm default for the email you send, and no other member sees or is affected by it.

1. Open the Email template signature dialog (see Opening the signature editor). It opens with your current signature loaded (the firm default if you have not personalized it yet).
2. In the Signature editor, write your own signature. You can start from the firm default that is already loaded and adjust it, or replace it entirely.
3. Add any placeholder keys you want Esqase to fill in automatically, such as {{member_phone}} for your direct line or {{member_email}} for your email address.
4. Click Save signature.
5. Esqase saves your personal signature and shows the confirmation "Your email signature was saved." The dialog closes.

From now on, every email you compose starts with your personal signature instead of the firm default. The next time you open the dialog, its description confirms "You have a personal signature," and a Reset to firm default button appears.

Reset your signature back to the firm default

If you no longer want a personal signature, you can remove it and return to the firm default in one click.

1. Open the Email template signature dialog. The Reset to firm default button only appears if you currently have a personal signature.
2. Click Reset to firm default.
3. Esqase removes your personal signature and shows the confirmation "Signature reset to the firm default." The editor immediately reloads with the firm default text.

After resetting, your emails again start with the firm default signature. The dialog's description changes back to "You are using the firm default signature," and the Reset to firm default button disappears until you save a new personal signature.

How the effective signature is chosen

Esqase picks the signature for your emails in a simple order of preference:

1. Your personal signature, if you have one. This always wins for the email you send.
2. The firm default signature, if you have not set a personal one.
3. A built-in starter signature, used only in the rare case where neither of the above is available, so your emails are never left without a signature.

Because the choice is made for each sender, two people sending from the same matter can have different signatures: one using a personal override, the other using the firm default. The placeholders are filled in from the perspective of whoever is sending, so {{member_name}} shows each sender's own name.

Common questions

Will editing my personal signature change anyone else's emails? No. A personal signature applies only to the email you send. Other members keep their own signature (their personal override if they have one, otherwise the firm default).

If I change the firm default, does it update people who have a personal signature? No. Anyone with a personal signature keeps theirs. Only members who are still on the firm default see the change. To follow the new default, a member with a personal signature would need to click Reset to firm default.

Why does my signature show {{member_name}} literally instead of my name? Placeholder keys are replaced when the signature is added to an email. If a key is misspelled or there is no value for it, Esqase leaves the key text unchanged rather than guessing. Double-check the spelling against the keys listed under Available placeholders, and confirm the underlying detail (for example, your phone number) is filled in on your profile or firm profile.

What placeholders you can use

Placeholders let one signature personalize itself for each sender and recipient. Wrap a key in double braces, for example {{member_name}}. They are replaced when the email is created. The most useful keys for a signature are in the Member (sender) and Firm groups:

• Member (sender): {{member_name}}, {{member_prefix}}, {{member_firstname}}, {{member_middlename}}, {{member_lastname}}, {{member_suffix}}, {{member_email}}, {{member_phone}}. These fill in details about the person sending the email.
• Firm: {{firm_name}}, {{firm_email}}, {{firm_phone}}, {{firm_address}}. These fill in your firm's details.

The Available placeholders box in the dialog lists every group (including contact, event, invoice, and document keys) if you want to browse them. Click See more to expand it.

Related

• Email templates
• Sending email
• Your profile and personal settings
• Your firm profile and details
• Custom fields