Articles on: Email Signatures

Gmail email signature not appearing for a user after policy run

When a signature policy is already working for other staff but one user still has no Gmail signature, check that the policy is active and targets that user, confirm the signature is on the address they send from, review template conditions and size limits, and verify the policy run in execution logs.


Patronum applies Gmail signatures through a policy SIGNATURE action. For setup, start with the Email Signature - Video Tutorial and Creating a Policy.


What to know about rollout timing

A signature does not appear only because you saved a template. The policy that assigns it must be activated before it runs.
If most users already have the signature and one does not after several days, treat it as a per-user configuration or run problem rather than normal first-time setup delay.
Use policy execution logs to see when the policy ran, whether actions succeeded or failed, and the action details for that run.


Prerequisites

Before troubleshooting a single missed user, confirm these basics are in place:

  • A policy includes a SIGNATURE action that adds the email signature template.
  • The policy is activated. Creating the policy alone does not run it.
  • The user is included by the policy conditions: all users, an organisation unit, or a Google Group, and is not removed by a Google Group exclusion or filters such as Last Sign In, Department, or Job Title.
  • Signature placeholders and company fields come from Google Directory data and company information stored in Patronum. Missing directory values can leave parts of a signature blank or hidden by conditions.


Checks when one user is missed

Work through these checks when the policy is already in use for other staff and one user still has no signature.


Policy is saved but not activated

Policies only run after you activate them. In the Policy section, open the signature policy and confirm it is active, not only created and saved.
If you still need to build or activate the workflow, follow Creating a Policy.


User is outside the policy target

The user may fall outside the cohort the policy selects. Open the policy workflow conditions and confirm:

  • The user is in the selected organisation unit or Google Group, or the policy applies to all users.
  • The user is not in an excluded Google Group.
  • Filters such as Last Sign In, Department, or Job Title still match that user.

If the account is archived and you need the policy to include archived users, the policy conditions must specify that state.


Signature is on a different SendAs or domain alias address

A user can have more than one sending identity. Patronum can attach different signatures to domain aliases, SendAs aliases, and Google Group send-as addresses through a single policy.
Confirm which address the user sends from in Gmail, then check that the policy assigns a signature template to that address. Configure domain aliases and SendAs addresses in the policy SETTINGS section, save the policy, and attach the template from the signature dropdown for that alias.
See Adding multiple SendAs email signatures and Creating a SendAs Alias.


New user cannot receive a SendAs signature yet

If the missing signature is tied to a SendAs alias and the Google account was created less than 24 hours ago, Google can block alias creation with Custom from requires smtpMsa configuration.
Wait at least 24 hours after the account was created, then let the policy create the SendAs alias again. Details are in Custom from requires smtpMsa configuration error.


Template is over the HTML size limit for that user

Email signature HTML is limited to 10,000 characters, including CSS, links, and other code, not only visible text.
Patronum warns when you approach the limit but still allows save, because conditional IF/ELSE logic can make the deployed signature smaller. When the deployed signature for a specific user is still too large, that user fails with an error.
Shorten the template or simplify condition branches for the affected user. See Is there a limit on the size of my email signature?


Conditional content hides the signature for that user

Conditional statements can omit blocks when directory attributes are empty. If the template depends on fields the user does not have, large parts of the signature—or the parts they expect—may not render.
In the signature template editor, open Conditions and review rules that use is not empty, is empty, or contains. Compare those attributes with the user’s Google Directory values.
See Conditional Statements within email signatures and What attributes can I use within my email signature template?


Directory or custom attributes are not available in Patronum yet

Signature placeholders use Google Directory attributes and schema extensions. Patronum shows standard directory attributes and all Google Directory schema extensions in the signature editor.
For custom attributes used in signatures, Patronum syncs the data automatically—you do not manually push attribute values into the signature section after they exist on the user. If a custom attribute was only just created in Google Workspace, it may not appear in Patronum user creation or signature policies yet. Confirm the attribute exists on the user in Google Directory, then check again in Patronum before changing the template.
For custom fields and links, see How to add user specific custom links to email signatures.


Policy ran but the action failed

Open policy execution history and confirm whether the signature policy ran for the expected window and whether actions succeeded or failed.

  1. In Patronum, select the bell icon in the top-right of the navigation bar.
  2. Select SEE ALL ACTIVITIES.
  3. Filter by date range and Event Name for the signature policy.
  4. Review Event Description, status, and the Date timestamp (UTC).

Activity logs show recent policy runs.


Patronum cannot access the user in Google Workspace

If Patronum lacks Marketplace app access for users, Google API calls can fail with authorization errors and policy actions will not apply cleanly.
In Google Admin Console, open Apps > Google Workspace Marketplace apps > Apps list > Patronum, then under user access confirm Patronum is ON for everyone at the root of your organisation.
See Getting "unauthorized_client: Client is unauthorized to retrieve access token" error.


These problems can look like a bad rollout but have separate fixes:

Updated on: 23/07/2026

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