# article variables don't work
**URL:** https://community.zammad.org/t/article-variables-dont-work/19806
**Category:** Technical assistance
**Created:** [March 12, 2026, 3:38pm UTC](https://community.zammad.org/t/article-variables-dont-work/19806 "2026-03-12T15:38:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@sroattle](https://community.zammad.org/u/sroattle)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2026, 3:38pm UTC](https://community.zammad.org/t/article-variables-dont-work/19806/1 "2026-03-12T15:38:15Z")
### Infos:
- Used Zammad version: 6.5
- Used Zammad installation type: docker
- Operating system: Server Ubuntu 24.04 / Client Win11
- Browser + version: Chrome 146
### Expected behavior:
regarding [Articles — Zammad Admin Documentation documentation](https://admin-docs.zammad.org/en/latest/misc/variables/article.html)
The variables
```auto
#{article.body} or #{last_article.body}
```
in the signature should paste the body of the incoming mail into to answear when hitting the “reply”-button
Email to reply to
should quote
“Hallo,
test vom Verlauf
LG”
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
at the end of each reply-mail
### Actual behavior:
- it just adds a dash - to the text
### Steps to reproduce the behavior/what I’ve tried so far:
- set up a signature with eg #{article.body} and reply to an email in the group the signature is assignes to
- add a text module with the same variable → same behavior
- also tried with an actual customer mail if being agent and customer at the same time is a problem → same behavior
- tried multiple variations of first\_, last\_, created\_, .body\_as\_html and so on variations as mentioned on the admin docu
- quotation by marking text in the original email when hitting reply works though
- other variables like #{ticket.created\_at} work as intended
- as mentioned in other topics, those article-variables don’t show up when hitting :: , thats ok but as far as I understood they should work nevertheless
- the mails I tried this on already exist, tried some with only one “input” and also some with a longer history
- yes, those were all mails not only “notes”
Thanks in advance, maybe I’m just too dumb and would be happy if someone just tells me the correct syntax
---
### Author:  [@MrGeneration](https://community.zammad.org/u/MrGeneration)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2026, 3:39pm UTC](https://community.zammad.org/t/article-variables-dont-work/19806/2 "2026-03-12T15:39:42Z")
Of course this won‘t work. The signature loads variables when you begin to write the article. The article body is not available at that point (for obvious reasons).
This is a limitation the documentation also hibts you about.
---
### Author:  [@sroattle](https://community.zammad.org/u/sroattle)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://community.zammad.org/t/article-variables-dont-work/19806/3 "2026-03-12T16:02:41Z")
I thought first\_article.body is like the incoming mail / the first textblock in a ticket.
Whats the correct way to “quote” the whole request like in a standard email-app then?
like
- my answear
- my signature
* * *
- request of the customer
---
### Author:  [@MrGeneration](https://community.zammad.org/u/MrGeneration)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2026, 4:13pm UTC](https://community.zammad.org/t/article-variables-dont-work/19806/4 "2026-03-12T16:13:48Z")
You could enable full quoting in the composer settings instead lf manual fiddling. There‘s no option to deliver a whole history with a variable.
> **[Composer Settings — Zammad Admin Documentation documentation](https://admin-docs.zammad.org/en/latest/misc/composer.html)**
---
### Author:  [@sroattle](https://community.zammad.org/u/sroattle)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2026, 4:24pm UTC](https://community.zammad.org/t/article-variables-dont-work/19806/5 "2026-03-12T16:24:23Z")
Thanks, that was exactly what I was looking for. Tbh I checked all settings several times but not this one in the ticket itself.
✅
---
### Author:  [@system](https://community.zammad.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2026, 4:24pm UTC](https://community.zammad.org/t/article-variables-dont-work/19806/6 "2026-03-19T16:24:48Z")
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