Question

I am using the Microsoft.Office.Interop.Outlook.Application to generate an email and display it on the screen before the user can send it. The application is a winform application coded in C# in the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and it is Microsoft Outlook 2003. I am using the following code:

public static void GenerateEmail(string emailTo, string ccTo, string subject, string body)
    {
        var objOutlook = new Application();
        var mailItem = (MailItem)(objOutlook.CreateItem(OlItemType.olMailItem));        
        mailItem.To = emailTo;          
        mailItem.CC = ccTo;
        mailItem.Subject = subject;
        mailItem.HTMLBody = body;
        mailItem.Display(mailItem);
    }

My question is:

How do i insert/add the default signature of the user who is using the application in the body of the email generated?
Any help appreciated.

Answer 1

Take a look at the link below. It explains where the signatures can be found in the file system as well as how to read them properly.

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en/vsto/thread/86ce09e2-9526-4b53-b5bb-968c2b8ba6d6

The thread only mentions Window XP and Windows Vista signature locations. I have confirmed that Outlooks signatures on Windows 7 live in the same place as Vista. I have also confirmed that the signature location is the same for Outlook 2003, 2007, and 2010.

Here’s a code sample if you choose to go this route. Taken from this site.

private string ReadSignature()
{
    string appDataDir = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData) + "\\Microsoft\\Signatures";
    string signature = string.Empty;
    DirectoryInfo diInfo = new DirectoryInfo(appDataDir);

    if(diInfo.Exists)
    {
        FileInfo[] fiSignature = diInfo.GetFiles("*.htm");

        if (fiSignature.Length > 0)
        {
            StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(fiSignature[0].FullName, Encoding.Default);
            signature = sr.ReadToEnd();

            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(signature))
            {
                string fileName = fiSignature[0].Name.Replace(fiSignature[0].Extension, string.Empty);
                signature = signature.Replace(fileName + "_files/", appDataDir + "/" + fileName + "_files/");
            }
        }
    }
        return signature;
}

---

Edit: See here to find the name of the default signature for Outlook 2013 or @japel’s answer in this thread for 2010.