Signature is a very simple freeware program that adds a random tagline (such as a quote) to your email signature file. It only works with email clients that use a text file based signature, such as Netscape 3 and 4, Outlook Express, Outlook, Eudora etc. It is a 32-bit application built in Delphi, so it only works on Windows 95,98, NT and 2000.

From many emails from (otherwise satisfied) users, I have built the following changes in version 3.0:
- made empty line between header and quote optional
- added possibility for footer, that is added after the quote-part
- made sure that the same quote is never picked twice in a row
- added sequential mode for quote-picking
- added options in .INI file to allow for editing of system properties, such as location of files and separator character
- better error handling, now outputs an error log (in file error.txt) when something goes wrong.
- optimized code to shrink executable to 78Kb

This program is freeware. You can copy and use it as you like. Whether it works or not, or how it works is your problem. I am not responsible and you may not sue me.

Files:

signature.exe	The executable that simply changes the signature.txt file with a random new tagline
header.txt	The text that is always added before the tagline, you can put your email address there
quotes.txt	The file that contains the taglines, separated by '#' characters
signature.txt	The generated signature file

The newly added error handling creates an error log in a file called error.txt in which log messages are given when something goes wrong (when it cannot find a necessary file e.g.).

The header file should start with an empty line, if you want a clear separation between your email message and the signature. A line with just '---' is a good idea, too. There is no need for an additional empty line at the end, that is added automatically. Due to many requests from users, in the 3.0 version of this application, this behaviour can be changed (see Options).

This file should contain at least one quote. Quotes are separated by '#' characters. That means you cannot have '#' characters in your taglines! An empty line is inserted between the header and the random tagline All space characters before and after the tagline are deleted.

In version 3.0, some options and features that were requested by our users have been added. For backward compatibility, if you just copy the new executable over your old one, everything should just work the same. However, the application now writes a settings file in .INI format in the same directory if it does not exist already. In it are the default settings, that can be changed by the user.

A description of the options in the signature.ini file are:

parameter	default value	description
strict	false	indicates whether the application should concatenate the header and quote files strictly, or add an extra empty line between the two. If set to "true", the application will no longer add extra lines.
header	header.txt	the filename of the header file that contains the constant part of the signature, that is added as a prefix of the signature file. Can be changed to point to another file. If the file is absent, it ignores this parameter.
footer	footer.txt	the filename of the footer file that contains the constant part of the signature, that is added as an affix of the signature file (after the quote). Can be changed to point to another file. If the file is absent, it ignores this parameter.
quotes	quotes.txt	the filename of the quotes file that contains the quotes that should be added, separated by a '#' character. Can be changed to point to another (e.g. shared over different profiles) quotes file. This file should be present, otherwise an error will occur.
signature	signature.txt	the filename of the signature to build. Can be changed to make the program save the signature in a separate folder or under a different name.
separator	#	the character that separates the quotes in the quotes file. Can be set to a different character if you want to use the #-character in your quotes themselves.
random	true	whether the program chooses new quotes at random or not. By default it does (making sure the same signature is never chosen twice in a row). If you change this to "false", it will choose a signature sequentially; the next one in the file every time it is run. It will start at the beginning when it reaches the end.
last	?	the index number of the last quote chosen. Is used by the system to make sure the same quote is never picked twice in a row. Should not be changed by the user.

How can I use the program with Pegasus Mail?

1. Create a batch file called SIG.BAT with the following:

   c:
   cd\pmail
   cd signature
   signature.exe
   type c:\pmail\signature\signature.txt
   copy c:\pmail\signature\signature.txt c:\pmail\mail\inetsig.pms
   copy c:\pmail\signature\signature.txt c:\pmail\mail\localsig.pms
   

   This will launch signature and create the signature file as signature.txt. You could use the file location options from the ini file itself as well.
2. Next, create a shortcut to this. Call it SIG (the full name will be SIG.PIF). Change the properties of the shortcut to run minimized and close on exit.
3. Next, edit the COPY SELF filter rules, and create a new rule to run an external application, and enter the full path and filename of the SIG.PIF file you just created.
4. After this, any time you send an email, your signature program will be run via the PIF file specified in the Copy Self filter rule, and the next email will have a different signature.
I don't know if this is any good to you or not, or even if it works on every OS. I've only tested it on 98 so far - I'll let you know how NT and 2K fare as soon as I can (if you're interested)

How can I use the program with Microsoft Outlook 2000?
In Outlook 2000, you can specify a signature, even from a file template, however these are not reloaded every time you create a new mail message. It seems therefore that you cannot use Signature Application with Outlook 2000. However, there is a way around this:

1. Create a new signature (e.g. called "mysig") in Outlook in the Menu Tools - Options; tab Mail Format, Signature Picker. Use no template for the signature and just type in some dummy text
2. If you create a new email, Outlook will attach this signature automatically. What it has done is make a new text file called mysig.txt (or any other name you gave the signature) and reload from there. This file can be found in C:\Documents and Settings\your name\Application Data\Microsoft\Signatures
3. You can adapt Signature Application 3.0 to write the signature file to this location. To do this, you will have to adapt the signature.ini file as follows:
   

   [files]
   signature=C:\Documents and Settings\your name\Application Data\Microsoft\Signatures\mysig.txt
   

4. This signature will only be used for text-formatted email messages in Outlook 2000. In the same folder, there are .html and .rtf files that are used for the corresponding mail formats. If you want to create these signatures as well, you can do so by adapting the header and footer files to include the html/rtf codes. You will have to understand more about these formats, though.