Run a rule on a schedule
Use a signature only on certain dates, days or hours, such as a holiday closure every Christmas or an out-of-hours signature in the evenings.
A rule can apply only at certain times: for a date range, on chosen days of the week, between chosen hours, or on the same dates every year. Outside those times the rule is passed over and the next rule down is used. This article explains how to set a schedule and how it is read.
Set a schedule
- Open Signature rules and select New rule, or Edit on an existing rule. Where your organisation has the rule wizard, select the arrow beside New rule and then Start blank in the editor, because the wizard does not set a schedule.
- Under When, set Runs to On a schedule.
- Fill in the schedule:
- From and Until: the first and last dates the rule applies. Leave Until empty for no end date.
- Repeats: Does not repeat, Every week or Every year.
- On: the days of the week. Shown for Every week only, and at least one day is needed.
- Between and and: the hours of the day. Leave both empty for all day.
- Time zone: the time zone the dates and hours are read in.
- Check the sentence under the schedule, which says in words when the rule applies.
- Select Save rule.
To stop using a schedule, set Runs back to Always and save.
The three kinds of schedule
| Repeats | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Does not repeat | One date range, with optional hours on each day. | A launch signature from 1 November to 30 November. |
| Every week | Chosen days of the week, with optional hours and an optional date range. | Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00. |
| Every year | The same dates every year. Both From and Until are needed; the year on From is the first year it runs. | 18 December to 2 January, every year. |
A yearly range can cross the new year, as the Christmas example does.
Hours and time zones
- A new schedule starts in your own time zone, as your browser reports it. Choose another under Time zone for a rule meant for an office elsewhere. The schedule keeps its time zone, so it runs at the same local times whoever edits it later.
- Hours that run past midnight, such as 22:00 to 06:00, mean overnight. The early hours belong to the evening they started on: 22:00 to 06:00 on Fridays covers Saturday at 03:00, not Friday at 03:00.
- The Until time is the first minute the rule no longer applies, so 08:00 to 18:00 stops at 18:00.
When a schedule is checked
A schedule is checked when the signature is added: by the mail relay as each email is sent, and by the Outlook add-in when it adds the signature while you write. It starts and stops to the minute, not at the next sync. An email written in Outlook just before a schedule ends keeps the signature the add-in gave it.
In the rules list
A rule with a schedule shows it on its When line, and is counted under On a schedule at the top of the page. A rule that has not reached its dates yet shows a blue Starts pill with the date it next starts, and a rule whose dates are over shows Schedule ended. Either way it is skipped for mail sent now.
Check the result
Test a rule has a Sent at time and a Time zone, so you can see which rule an email sent at a particular moment would get. See Test a rule.
Related
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