Per-user editor
Members manage their contextual signatures at Account > Signature.
Adding a contextual signature
- Visit Account > Signature.
- Click Add another signature.
- Write the signature body in the BB-code editor.
- Pick the forums it applies to from the node selector.
- Click Save.
The default signature (the one entered in the standard editor at the top of the page) is used wherever no contextual signature matches.
How the right signature is chosen
When a post is rendered, the engine walks the user's contextual signatures and picks the first one whose forum mapping includes the post's forum. If none match, the default signature renders.
When the Inherit parent node signatures option is on, a mapping for a parent node also covers its children, unless a child is explicitly mapped by a different signature. The most-specific mapping always wins.
Scheduling
Members holding the Schedule contextual signatures permission see a Schedule signature checkbox in the editor. Ticking it reveals two date fields:
- Active from — the signature only renders on or after this date. Leave empty to start immediately.
- Active until — the signature stops rendering after this date. Leave empty for no end.
Both fields are optional; you can set just a start, just an end, or both. A signature with no dates is always on.
Each contextual signature on the editor page shows its current state next to the title:
| State | When it shows |
|---|---|
| (no badge) | Always on — no start or end date set. |
| Starts {date} | Start date is in the future, no end date. |
| Starts {date} · ends {date} | Start date is in the future, end date is set. |
| Active | Currently rendering, no end date. |
| Active · ends {date} | Currently rendering, ends on the given date. |
| Expired {date} | End date is in the past. Saved but no longer rendering. |
The default signature falls through whenever no contextual signature is currently active for a forum — including when every signature mapped to that forum is upcoming or expired.
Mapping the same forum more than once
The editor blocks two contextual signatures from claiming the same forum at the same time. Two dated signatures may share a forum as long as their windows do not overlap (e.g. a holiday banner from December 1 to December 31, and a New Year banner from January 1 onward). A dated signature and an always-on signature may also share a forum — the dated one wins while it is active, and the always-on one fills the rest of the year.
Limits
- The global Max contextual signatures per user option caps how many extra signatures a member can create. Members holding the Bypass maximum contextual signature limit permission ignore the cap.
- Forums listed in the global Excluded forums option always render the default signature, regardless of any contextual mapping.
Editing or deleting
Each contextual signature on the editor page has an Edit and Delete button. Deleting a contextual signature reverts those forums to the default-signature path; the default signature itself is unaffected.