ezSign - Email notifications¶
ezSign can send an email when a signing batch finishes, so the person who submitted the documents does not have to sit and watch the page. To do that, ezSign needs one mail relay - the SMTP server your organization already uses to send email.
You enter that relay once, on the Mail (SMTP) page in the administration area. The page walks you through proving it works: Save stays greyed out until a Test connection succeeds, so the normal path is to test first and save second.
Who does this
This is an administrator task, done once. Operators - the people who sign documents - never see this page. If your relay was already entered during first-time setup, you can come here to check it, change it, or turn it off.
Before you start¶
Ask whoever runs email in your organization for:
- the relay's host name - for example
smtp.example.com - the port it listens on - usually
587or465 - the security it expects - STARTTLS, TLS, or none at all
- a username and password, if the relay requires a sign-in
- the From address ezSign should send as - for example
no-reply@example.com
They also need to know that ezSign will be sending through the relay. Many relays only accept mail from servers and sender addresses they have been told to expect, so this is often something they have to allow first.
ezSign must be able to reach the relay
ezSign runs inside your own network and connects out to the relay itself. If a firewall sits between them, the connection test will fail no matter how correct the details are.
How mail works¶
flowchart LR
EzSign["ezSign<br/>(in your network)"] -- "notification" --> Relay["Your mail relay<br/>(SMTP server)"]
Relay --> Inbox["The operator's inbox"]
EzSign -. "Test connection<br/>(stops before delivery)" .-> RelayFigure: ezSign hands each notification to your mail relay, which delivers it. The connection test follows the same path but stops short of sending anything.
Open the mail settings¶
In the administration area, open Configuration → Mail in the left-hand menu. The page is headed Mail (SMTP).
At the top right of the SMTP server card is a status badge. It tells you, at a glance, whether notifications are actually being sent:
| Status | What it means | Send Test Mail |
|---|---|---|
| NOT CONFIGURED | No relay has been entered, so no notifications are sent. | greyed out |
| SAVE TO CONNECT | The details you typed answered the connection test, but they are not saved yet. Press Save. | greyed out |
| CONNECTED | The saved relay answered and agreed to accept mail from your From address. Notifications are being sent. | available |
| NOT CONNECTED | A relay is saved, but it has not answered - either it was never tested, or its last test failed. | greyed out |
| FAILED | The connection test you just ran did not succeed - the relay never answered, or it answered and then refused the message. See Troubleshooting. | greyed out |
SAVE TO CONNECT and FAILED describe the test you just ran, so they disappear on the next page load. The other three describe what is stored and are shown every time you open the page.
While nothing is configured, the page also shows a standing notice - Mail is NOT CONFIGURED - as a reminder that signed-document notifications are not going out.
Fill in the relay details¶
| Field | Required? | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SMTP host | Required | The relay's host name or address, for example smtp.example.com. The host name only - no https://, no port, no path. |
| Port | Required | 587 for STARTTLS, 465 for TLS. A new form starts at 587. |
| Security | Choose one | STARTTLS, TLS, or NONE; a new form starts at NONE. This must match what the relay offers - guessing is the most common cause of a failed test. Choosing STARTTLS means ezSign requires the encrypted upgrade: if the relay does not offer it, the test fails rather than falling back to an unencrypted connection. |
| Username | Optional | Leave blank for a relay that needs no sign-in. Filling it in is what turns authentication on. |
| Password | Optional | The password for that username. Leave blank if the relay needs none - or, on a relay that is already saved, to keep the password it already has. |
| From address | Required | The sender address on every notification, for example no-reply@example.com. A plain address only - a display name such as ezSign <no-reply@example.com> is rejected. |
The password box is deliberately empty
ezSign never shows a stored password back to you, not even masked. Once one is saved, the hint under the box changes to Leave blank to keep the stored password - so you can change the port, retest, or fix a typo in the host without typing the password again.
Test the connection¶
Press Test connection. The result appears next to the button within a few seconds.
The test is more than a ping. ezSign connects to the relay, starts encryption if you chose STARTTLS or TLS, signs in if you gave a username, and then asks the relay whether it would accept a message from your From address. A full success reads Connected to smtp.example.com:587 - envelope accepted.
Nothing is delivered
The test stops at the point just before the message body would be sent, and then cancels. No email arrives in anyone's inbox, so you can run it as often as you like while working out the right settings.
If the relay does not answer, ezSign stops waiting after a few seconds rather than leaving the page hanging, and tells you what went wrong in plain words - see Troubleshooting.
Save the settings¶
Save stays greyed out until a connection test has just succeeded. Hover it and it says Run Test connection first - Save unlocks when the relay answers.
Editing any field locks it again, because the settings in the form are no longer the ones that were proven to work. Test, then save.
Saving takes effect immediately - there is nothing to restart. ezSign then retests what it just saved, which is what turns the badge CONNECTED.
The Save button is a guide, not a lock on the server
The greyed-out Save button is there to walk you through testing before saving; it is not a guarantee enforced behind the page. ezSign always checks that what you submit is well formed - it rejects a blank or URL-shaped host, an out-of-range port and a malformed sender address - but it does not refuse to store a relay that happens to be unreachable at that moment. If the relay is temporarily down, prefer waiting for it to come back rather than saving settings nobody has confirmed.
Send a test message¶
Send Test Mail at the foot of the card is available on exactly one condition: the badge reads CONNECTED. Any other badge - including a FAILED from a test you just ran - greys it out. The button and the badge always agree, so you never have to work out which one to believe.
This one does send a real email.
- If the saved Username is an email address, ezSign sends there - the button tells you which address.
- Otherwise, a small dialog asks who to send to. Many relays log in as something like
apikeyrather than a mailbox, so this is common. The address you type is used for this one send and is not stored. The message still goes through the saved relay, from the saved From address.
The recipient gets a short message headed Your SMTP settings work, naming the relay it came through and who sent it. Receiving it confirms delivery end to end - not just that the relay answers, but that its mail actually arrives.
Turn email off¶
Press Disable and confirm. This clears the whole stored configuration - host, port, security mode, From address, username and password - so ezSign stops sending notifications until a relay is entered again from scratch. Nothing is kept for you to edit afterwards.
Signing keeps working
Turning mail off only stops notifications. Documents are still signed exactly as before, and operators can still follow their batches and download the signed files in ezSign itself. Nothing that has been signed is affected.
Which emails ezSign sends¶
| Sent to | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Your signing batch is complete | The operator who submitted the batch | A batch finishes and every document was signed. |
| Your signing batch finished with errors | The operator who submitted the batch | A batch finishes but some documents could not be signed. The subject says so, and the message lists how many were signed and how many failed. |
| Your SMTP settings work | Whoever you choose | You press Send Test Mail on this page. |
Batch notifications go to the operator's own email address. If a person signs in with an account that has no email address, ezSign simply skips their notification - it never blocks or fails the signing.
All of these are automated messages with a please do not reply footer; replies are not read.
Troubleshooting¶
Enter a hostname without a scheme / the port goes in the Port field
The SMTP host field takes the host name on its own. Pasting smtps://smtp.example.com:587/ gives you one
of these messages. Remove the https:// or smtps:// prefix, remove anything after a /, and put the port
number in the Port field instead.
The host name could not be resolved
ezSign could not turn the host name into an address. Check the spelling first. If it is right, the name may only exist on your internal DNS and ezSign's network cannot look it up - ask your network administrator, or use the relay's address instead of its name.
The connection was refused, or the host could not be reached
ezSign found the relay but nothing accepted the connection. Usually the Port is wrong, or a firewall between ezSign and the relay is blocking it. Confirm the port with whoever runs your mail, and ask your network administrator to allow ezSign to reach it.
The relay did not answer in time
The relay accepted the connection but stopped responding. ezSign gives up after a few seconds instead of hanging. Try again - if it keeps happening, the relay is overloaded or the network path to it is dropping traffic.
Requires STARTTLS - set Security to STARTTLS
The relay will not talk to an unencrypted connection. Change Security to STARTTLS and test again.
Port 587 almost always wants STARTTLS; port 465 almost always wants TLS.
Credentials rejected - check the username and password
The relay answered but refused the sign-in. Re-enter the password (leaving it blank keeps the old one, which is the one being rejected). Some providers need an app-specific password rather than the account password.
Requires authentication - enter a username and password
The relay does not accept anonymous senders. Fill in Username and Password and test again.
Credentials accepted, but relaying denied
The sign-in worked, but the relay will not carry mail for this sender or from this server. Ask your mail administrator to allow your From address to send through the relay, and to allow ezSign's server to relay through it. This is a permission on the relay, not a setting in ezSign.
Save is greyed out
Save unlocks only after a successful Test connection, and locks again as soon as you edit a field. Run the test on the settings you actually intend to save, then press Save without touching the form in between.
Send Test Mail is greyed out
A test message goes through the saved relay, so the badge has to read CONNECTED first. Hover the button and it tells you which of the two things is missing:
| Badge | Tooltip | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| SAVE TO CONNECT | Save these settings first - a test message goes through the saved relay | The relay answered, but these settings are not stored yet. Press Save. |
| FAILED, NOT CONNECTED, NOT CONFIGURED | Available once the relay answers a connection test | The relay has not answered. Fix the details and press Test connection. |
Editing the form afterwards greys the button out again, because the form no longer describes the relay that would be used - press Test connection again.
A FAILED badge greys the button out even if the relay you saved earlier is still working. That is deliberate: a red badge beside a usable button is impossible to read correctly. Retest your saved settings and the button comes back.
Your session has probably expired
You have been signed out while the page was open. Reload the page and sign in again, then retry.
Secret sealing is not configured
ezSign will not store an SMTP password unless the server has been given the secret it uses to protect it. This is part of how the instance was installed, not something you can fix on this page - ask your {{ product_name }} contact or whoever installed ezSign. See DSS Proxy - deployment and administration for the technical detail. Settings without a password are unaffected.
FAQ¶
Does the connection test send an email?
No. It connects, signs in, and asks the relay whether it would accept a message - then cancels before the message itself is sent. Nothing is delivered, so it is safe to run repeatedly. Use Send Test Mail when you do want a real message.
Do I have to re-enter the password every time I change something?
Not for an ordinary edit. Leave the Password box blank and ezSign keeps the one already saved - and that applies to the connection test too, so you can change the port or fix the From address and retest the same relay without knowing its password.
Changing the relay itself is different. If you edit the host, Port, Security or Username, the saved password is not carried across and you have to type the new relay's password. ezSign will not send a password to a server it was not issued for, so it asks for it instead - both when testing and when saving.
Why is Save greyed out?
Because the settings in the form have not been proven to work. Press Test connection; on success, Save unlocks. Any edit after that locks it again, so the button always refers to the values you can see.
Can I use a hosted mail provider?
Yes. Any standard SMTP relay works, including hosted providers - you just need its host name, port, security mode, and a set of credentials that is allowed to send as your From address. Providers often require an app-specific password rather than an account password.
If email is off, can people still sign documents?
Yes. Signing does not depend on email. Operators sign, follow progress, and download signed documents in ezSign itself; the notification is a convenience on top. Even a relay that breaks after being saved never blocks or fails a signing job.
Do I need to restart ezSign after changing the relay?
No. Saved settings take effect immediately, and the next notification goes through the new relay.