Troubleshooting Common Issues in CodeTwo Exchange Rules ProCodeTwo Exchange Rules Pro is a powerful tool for managing email flow, signatures, disclaimers, and mail rules across Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft 365 environments. While it’s robust and feature-rich, administrators may occasionally encounter issues during installation, configuration, or day-to-day operation. This article walks through common problems, diagnostics, and practical solutions to get CodeTwo Exchange Rules Pro running smoothly.
1. Installation and Setup Problems
Symptoms
- The installer fails or hangs.
- The service does not start after installation.
- Missing prerequisites or platform incompatibility errors.
Possible causes
- Insufficient permissions (installer requires local admin).
- Dependencies not installed (e.g., .NET Framework, specific Windows updates).
- Conflicts with existing mail transport agents or security software.
Troubleshooting steps
- Check system requirements — Ensure the server meets the OS, Exchange, and .NET versions listed in CodeTwo documentation.
- Run installer as administrator — Right-click the installer and choose “Run as administrator.”
- Review setup logs — Installer logs are usually placed in the %TEMP% folder or the installation directory; search for errors or missing components.
- Temporarily disable antivirus/firewall — Some security products block installation or service start; disable them briefly and retry.
- Confirm Exchange roles — For on-prem Exchange, ensure the transport role is present on the server where you install the agent.
- Check Windows Event Viewer — Look for service startup errors under Application and System logs.
If the service fails to start, verify that the CodeTwo service account has “Log on as a service” rights and access to necessary files.
2. Rules Not Applying to Messages
Symptoms
- Signatures, disclaimers, or actions aren’t added to incoming or outgoing messages.
- Rules work for some users but not others.
Possible causes
- Rule priority or conditions incorrectly set.
- Message bypass scenarios (e.g., messages from internal connectors or certain system accounts).
- Transport agent not properly registered or enabled.
- Caching/delay issues in Exchange transport.
Troubleshooting steps
- Verify rule conditions and priority — Ensure rules target the correct senders, recipients, and connectors. Confirm higher-priority rules aren’t preventing execution.
- Check agent registration — On Exchange servers, run Exchange Management Shell cmdlets to list transport agents and ensure the CodeTwo agent is present and enabled:
Get-TransportAgent | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*CodeTwo*"} - Examine message headers — Send test messages and inspect headers to confirm whether the agent modified the message or if it bypassed processing.
- Test with simplified rule — Create a minimal rule that always applies (e.g., apply signature to all outbound mail) to see if any modification occurs.
- Look for exceptions — Check connectors, hybrid configurations, or anti-spam products that might route messages around the transport agent.
- Check Exchange queue and delays — Latency in queues can cause apparent non-application; monitor transport queues and logs.
3. Formatting or Styling Issues in Signatures
Symptoms
- Signatures display incorrectly in various email clients.
- Images missing or broken links in signatures.
- Fonts and spacing differ from the design.
Possible causes
- Email client rendering variations (Outlook, mobile clients, webmail).
- Linked images blocked or inaccessible (HTTP vs HTTPS).
- HTML/CSS not supported in some clients or stripped by Exchange/transport agents.
- Incorrect HTML encoding or use of unsupported tags.
Troubleshooting steps
- Use inline images (embedded) — Prefer embedded images (CID) or hosted images over relative links. Ensure image URLs are HTTPS and publicly accessible if hosted externally.
- Simplify HTML — Avoid advanced CSS, scripts, and nonstandard tags. Use tables for layout and inline styles for consistency.
- Test across clients — Send messages to test accounts on Outlook Desktop, Outlook Web, Gmail, Apple Mail, and mobile clients to compare rendering.
- Check signature editor output — Export the rule’s signature HTML and validate it with an HTML validator or open in multiple browsers.
- Set correct character encoding — Ensure UTF-8 or appropriate charset is used when building the signature.
- Use CodeTwo resources — The product includes templates and best-practice guidance—use those as a baseline.
4. Images Not Displaying or Attachment Problems
Symptoms
- Company logo or images don’t appear in recipients’ messages.
- Large embedded images are stripped or converted to attachments.
Possible causes
- Email clients block remote images by default.
- Exchange or mail gateways rewrite or strip attachments.
- Images exceed size limits or aren’t properly embedded.
Troubleshooting steps
- Embed images as attachments (CID) — Configure signatures to embed images so they are included as part of the message instead of remote links.
- Ensure proper MIME headers — Verify that embedded image content types and CID references are correct in the message source.
- Compress images — Reduce resolution and file size to stay under size limits and reduce stripping risk.
- Confirm transport policies — Check Exchange, gateways, or DLP systems that might remove or quarantine images.
- Test with multiple recipients — Some webmail or mobile clients may block or display images differently; test broadly.
5. Problems with Active Directory (AD) Data or Placeholders
Symptoms
- Placeholders (e.g., {FirstName}, {Title}) show empty values or incorrect data.
- Changes in AD aren’t reflected in signatures.
Possible causes
- Agent can’t read AD due to permissions or LDAP binding issues.
- Cached AD data or outdated synchronization.
- Incorrect placeholder syntax or mapping.
Troubleshooting steps
- Validate account permissions — Ensure the service account used by CodeTwo has read access to AD attributes needed for placeholders.
- Check LDAP path and filters — Confirm the domain controller and LDAP queries are correct and reachable from the server.
- Force AD sync or refresh — Use the CodeTwo console to refresh AD data or restart the service to clear caches.
- Test placeholder preview — Use the preview tools in CodeTwo to see the actual substituted values for specific users.
- Confirm attribute names — Ensure placeholders map to existing AD attributes; custom attributes may need explicit mapping.
6. Hybrid and Office 365-specific Issues
Symptoms
- Signatures not applied in cloud-only or hybrid scenarios.
- Rules behave differently for cloud mailboxes vs on-prem mailboxes.
Possible causes
- Incorrect placement of transport agent (on-prem vs cloud).
- Mail flow path in hybrid setup bypasses the on-prem transport agent.
- Licensing or multi-tenant limitations.
Troubleshooting steps
- Map the mail flow — Trace message paths for both inbound and outbound mail in hybrid setups to determine where processing should occur.
- Install agents on the correct servers — For Exchange Online, CodeTwo offers a cloud-based approach; for hybrid, ensure on-prem transport is placed where messages transit.
- Use centralized rules or connectors — Configure connectors to force mail through the on-prem transport if necessary.
- Check tenant linkage and licenses — Verify cloud configuration in CodeTwo Admin and ensure licenses cover the mailboxes in question.
7. Performance, High CPU or Memory Usage
Symptoms
- Exchange server experiences high CPU/memory after installing CodeTwo.
- Delays in mail delivery or throughput drops.
Possible causes
- Large numbers of complex rules or heavy HTML signature processing.
- Resource constraints on the server hosting the transport agent.
- Conflicts with other transport agents causing retries or loops.
Troubleshooting steps
- Monitor resource usage — Use Task Manager, Performance Monitor, or Exchange monitoring tools to identify CPU, memory, and I/O hotspots.
- Optimize rules — Simplify or consolidate rules; avoid redundant or overlapping conditions. Use exception lists where helpful.
- Offload processing — If possible, move the transport agent to a server with more resources or distribute load across multiple transport servers.
- Schedule heavy operations — Avoid large signature updates during peak hours; plan rollouts in maintenance windows.
- Review agent interactions — Disable nonessential transport agents temporarily to identify conflicts.
8. Logging, Diagnostics, and Support Tools
What to check
- CodeTwo logs (installed on the server) and Event Viewer entries.
- Exchange transport logs and message tracking logs.
- Message headers and raw MIME content for applied modifications.
Practical tips
- Enable verbose logging temporarily — Increase log level when diagnosing issues; remember to revert after troubleshooting to avoid large log growth.
- Collect message samples — Save raw messages (.eml) that show the problem for analysis.
- Use message tracking — On Exchange, use message tracking to follow a message’s path and see which agents handled it.
- Contact CodeTwo support with logs — If local troubleshooting fails, gather logs, configuration snapshots, and sample messages to provide to support.
9. Common Misconfigurations to Watch For
- Overly broad rules that unintentionally match internal system messages.
- Incorrect sender/recipient scoping leading to missing signatures.
- Duplicate rules causing conflicting modifications.
- Not accounting for transport path differences in hybrid/cloud setups.
- Missing service account permissions in AD.
10. Quick Checklist for Troubleshooting
- Confirm system and Exchange requirements.
- Ensure agent is installed, registered, and enabled.
- Verify rule logic, priority, and exceptions.
- Test with simplified rules and sample messages.
- Check AD permissions and placeholder mappings.
- Inspect message headers and raw MIME.
- Review logs (CodeTwo and Exchange) and enable verbose logging if needed.
- Test across multiple email clients.
- Optimize rules and server resources.
- Contact vendor support with collected logs and samples if unresolved.
If you want, I can: provide specific PowerShell commands for checking transport agents and message tracking; craft a minimal test rule to isolate issues; or review a sample message header or signature HTML you paste here.
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