Configure Email Address Formatting

EasyLife 365 Mail allows administrators to standardize how email addresses are created by applying automatic formatting rules, validation settings, and naming convention templates during provisioning. This gives administrators tighter control over naming conventions and more intelligent, automated workflow decisions.

1. Define a Naming Convention

Email naming conventions allow administrators to define how email addresses are structured using patterns like {user:companyname}-{input}, with the ability to apply transformation and validation settings.

This ensures that email addresses are not only consistent, but also clean, compliant, and automatically formatted as users enter their details.

Steps:

1. Navigate to Templates, select a template type, and click Create.

2. In the Card tab, enter the required details and go to Data Collection.

3. In the Email Format tab, go to Naming Convention.

4. Use placeholders to define the email structure. For example:

   {user:companyname}-{input}

   This format appends the user input to the company name using a dash.

Example

Naming Convention: {user:companyname}-{input}
Company Name: acme
User Input: helpdesk
Generated Email: acme-helpdesk@example.com

2. Email Address Input Formatting and Validation

EasyLife 365 Mail provides tools for formatting and validating email addresses during the mailbox provisioning process. These tools are designed to help administrators:

• Enforce consistent naming standards
• Prevent the use of invalid characters
• Align email address formats with organizational policies from the beginning

Text Transformation

Administrators can define how user input is formatted before email addresses are provisioned. These automatic transformations help maintain uniformity across all addresses created in the system.

You can apply the following transformation options:

• Convert to lowercase – All characters in the input will be changed to lowercase.
• Convert to uppercase – All characters in the input will be changed to uppercase.
• No conversion – User input is preserved as-is.
• Replace spaces – Automatically replaces space characters with a custom symbol (e.g., -, _, or .).

These transformations ensure that email addresses consistently meet your organization’s formatting standards.

Steps:

1. Navigate to Templates, select a template type, and click Create.
2. In the Card tab, enter the required details and go to Data Collection.
3. Go to the Text Transformation tab.
4. Choose the transformation rules to apply.

These transformations are applied to any user-provided input during provisioning.

Example

Original Input: Help Desk
Transformation Rules:
  - Convert to lowercase
  - Replace spaces with "-"
Transformed Input: help-desk
Final Email: help-desk@example.com

3. Configure Email Validation Rules

EasyLife 365 Mail allows administrators to use validation rules to check user input and ensure email addresses follow organizational standards, helping prevent formatting errors during mailbox creation.

Available Validation Options

Admins can configure input validation using one or more of the following methods:

• Predefined Templates Choose from a list of common validation patterns such as:

  • Alphabet Only – Allows only letters (A–Z, a–z)
  • Alphanumeric – Allows only letters and numbers
  • Additional predefined patterns may be available depending on your configuration

• Custom Regex Patterns Define your own regular expression (regex) rules to meet advanced or organization-specific requirements.

• Custom Error Messages Provide a user-facing message that explains what went wrong if validation fails. This helps users correct their input immediately.

• Validation Testing Use the built-in testing tool to validate inputs against your configured rules before enforcing them in a live environment.

Steps:

1. Navigate to Templates, select a template type, and click Create.

2. In the Card tab, enter the required details and go to Data Collection.

3. Go to the Validation Settings tab.

4. Select one of the following options:

   • Predefined validation templates (e.g., Alphabet Only, Alphanumeric)
   • Custom regex patterns to define your own format

5. (Optional) Add a Custom error message to display when validation fails.

6. Test the pattern with sample input to ensure it behaves as expected.

Example

Original Input: Help Desk
Validation Rule: Alphabet Only ([a-zA_Z])
Custom Error Message: "Only letters are allowed. Please remove numbers, spaces, or special characters."
User Input: support_team123
Validation Result: ❌
Error Displayed: Only letters are allowed. Please remove numbers, spaces, or special characters.
Corrected Input: supportteam
Validation Result: ✅
Final Email (with naming convention): acme-supportteam@example.com

4. Combined Example: Naming Convention + Transformation + Validation

Let’s walk through an end-to-end example of configuring a template that applies:

• A naming convention for structure
• A text transformation for formatting
• A validation rule to restrict input

Goal

Create a shared mailbox email like acme-helpdesk@example.com while ensuring:

• Users only enter alphabetic characters
• Inputs are automatically lowercased
• The naming pattern is followed
• Invalid inputs are blocked with a clear error message

Step-by-Step Configuration

1. Define the Naming Convention

• Go to Templates > Create
• Select a Shared Mailbox template
• In the Email Format tab under Naming Convention, enter:

{user:companyname}-{input}

This appends user input to the company name with a dash.

2. Apply Text Transformation

• Go to the Text Transformation tab

• Set the following options:

  • Convert to lowercase: ✅
  • Replace spaces with: - or leave as error (depending on your policy)

This ensures email addresses look like acme-helpdesk@example.com, not Acme Help Desk@...

3. Configure Validation Rules

• Go to the Validation Settings tab

• Select:

  • Predefined Template: Alphabet Only
  • Custom Error Message: "Only letters are allowed. Please remove numbers, spaces, or special characters."

• Test with inputs like:

  • Help Desk ❌ (fails due to space)
  • helpdesk1 ❌ (fails due to number)
  • helpdesk ✅

Final Example

Input	Transformed	Validation	Final Email Output
Help Desk	help-desk	❌	Not accepted (invalid format)
Helpdesk123	helpdesk123	❌	Not accepted (invalid format)
Helpdesk	helpdesk	✅	acme-helpdesk@example.com

Provisioning Mailboxes and Distribution Lists

In the EasyLife 365 Mail App you need to provision the mailbox using a template that has email formatting configured for the rules to apply.

Best Practices

• Use lowercase formatting for maximum compatibility.
• Test templates with real input before applying at scale.
• Align formatting with your email domain and organizational naming strategy.