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How do I setup my email signature in Outlook?



How do I setup my email signature in Outlook?


If you're like most people who use Microsoft Office programs on Windows 10, creating signatures is one of those features that just isn't intuitive enough to figure out how it works. Thankfully we have this guide here to help you get started with setting up your own custom email signature in Outlook 2016.

We've also included instructions for adding your signature when sending emails from Gmail too! Let's start by taking a look at how to add a new signature to an existing email message.

How do I add my business to the bottom of my email?

When writing our email messages, there are times where we want to include additional information such as company name/logo, contact info (email address) etc. These details should go below any attachments or photos attached to the message. To do so:

Highlight what you would like to appear below the email subject line. This could be a section heading such as "Company", "Contact Info" or anything else that will clearly identify what content goes under each email header. For example:

Once highlighted select Insert then Text Box. A box containing all available formatting options will pop-up automatically. Under Format click on Linked Email Signature. You'll see two boxes appear - One labelled Name and Address, which contains your signature and contact info. The second box titled Logo appears blank but if you highlight the link icon in the top right corner, you'll notice that the logo image has been inserted into the box. If not, simply insert the desired photo using Insert then Picture.

Now that your signature is ready to go, let's take a look at how to actually send it through your email program.

Can I import a signature in Outlook?

Sadly, no. When composing an email within Outlook 2016, you cannot attach another document file that includes a formatted signature. However, if you're looking for a quick way to quickly paste together a standard format email signature, there may be other solutions available. We suggest checking these first before wasting time trying to set up your own signature.

For instance, some users might find that inserting their signature directly into the body of the email itself via the TextBox tool mentioned above works best. Simply copy the signature into Word, Excel or whatever application you normally write documents in. Then open your email client and paste the code into the appropriate field. Be sure to choose the correct MailFormat option however.

The easiest solution though is to download a free template online and save it locally onto your computer. Now follow the steps outlined above to populate the fields in the signature form. Once completed, you can easily export it back to your email client and apply it whenever necessary.

Of course, if you need more flexibility than this method offers, consider signing up for premium Templates.net account ($19 per year). Here you can access thousands of templates covering every possible industry sector, plus you can upload your own graphics & logos. And the cool part about Premium Templates' designs is that they work perfectly across platforms including iOS, Android, Mac, PC, Windows Mobile and Blackberry devices.


How do you add a signature to an existing email?

To add your signature to an existing email message:

Select Tools " Options... from the menu bar. Alternatively, press Alt + F9.

On the General tab, scroll down until you see Signatures. Select Edit All... beneath this. Note that depending upon your version of Microsoft Office, this step may vary slightly.

From the dropdown list, select New Item.

In the popup window that follows, enter a title for your signature. Give it something descriptive and pertinent to the context of your conversation. It doesn't really matter whether the title says "Signature 1" or "Test". What does matter is making note of its location. Use the same numbering system throughout your entire collection of signatures.

You now have three choices regarding your signature design. Firstly, you can either select Template Design. Secondly, Custom Design allows you to specify your own dimensions for size and layout purposes. Lastly, AutoSize adjusts the height of your signature based on the length of the longest word in your chosen font.

Once you've made your selection, hit OK. Your signature should now show up between Send and Receive buttons. Clicking anywhere inside the box will bring up a formatting toolbar along the left side of the screen. From here you can change font style, color and even adjust the background gradient. In order of appearance, the elements found here are:

Textbox: Contains your personal information such as full name, phone number, mobile numbers, e-mail addresses etc.

Logo: Allows you to display your own personal image that relates somehow to your profession or organization.

Linked Email Signature: Lets you embed links to websites, social media accounts, blogs, events etc.

Customize your signature further by selecting More Commands " Change Background Color. By doing so, you can make adjustments to the colours used throughout your signature and even add effects such as shadows. The last feature of interest is Adjust Font Size which lets you alter certain aspects of your signature such as boldness, italics and justification.

Finally, don't forget that you can always customize the overall appearance of your signature by adjusting the widths of various components. To do so head over to Home " Layout " Column Widths. Make changes to ensure that everything fits comfortably alongside one another.

Why can't I add my signature in Outlook?

Outlook 2016 only supports embedded signatures. That means that instead of pasting your signature into the main body of your email, you must manually move it elsewhere. Unfortunately, there are few applications that support multiple signatures. Even Apple Mail limits you to one signature per mailbox while iCloud comes with a single signature regardless of whether you sign up for individual or family plan.

However, if you're interested in learning more about this topic, read on. There are several interesting articles written on the web detailing ways to incorporate multi-signature functionality into popular email clients such as Thunderbird, Postbox Express and Eudora.

Have you ever tried adding your own signature to an email in MS Office 365? Do you currently maintain a large library of preformatted signatures? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Outlook doesn't have an integrated way of adding signatures like Gmail does. However, you can still use Outlook's tools to customize the appearance of your emails with a simple digital signature that will be included at the bottom of all outgoing emails. Here are some tips on how to go about doing this...

1) How do I add a signature in Outlook 2019?

To start creating a new signature in Microsoft Office 2013, click File " Options " Mail (or press Alt + F7). In the left-hand pane, scroll down until you find Signatures section. Click New.... A pop-up window appears where you can select from one of several different types of signature templates. Select Signature - Text only if you wish. This is what we're going to explore further below. Then enter your details into the fields provided. You'll see these appear as soon after clicking Create when you open Word.

2) How do I set up automatic signature in Outlook 365?

Automatic signatures work best if they are added before sending each message. To configure them in Outlook 2016/2019, head to File " Options " Trust Center " Trust Center Settings " Automatic signatures. Here you can enable Automatically send a personalized signature, then choose whether it should only apply to recipients within your organization or everyone who sends mail to you too.

3) How do I get Outlook to automatically include my signature?

You can also make sure Outlook automatically includes your signature by selecting Always insert 'your name' as the first entry under Customize other fields. If you want to change any of these settings, simply repeat the process above but select another option instead.

4) How do I add a signature in Outlook 365 Windows 10?

If you've upgraded recently to Windows 10, then there may well be no need for you to manually input your own signature since your computer probably has access to your online profile already. Unfortunately, Windows 10 users cannot yet add their own signatures using this method — although Microsoft says such functionality might arrive sometime later this year. So, if you're running Windows 10, follow our guide below to manually type in your signature.

Head back to the previous screen and look towards the very top of the list of options. Under Email Signatures, ensure Auto detect auto signature setting is selected. Next, check Use default signature box is ticked. Finally, scroll down again until you spot Save changes. Your custom signature has now been saved!

5) What happens if someone else uses Outlook on my PC?

Any automatic signatures you have configured won't display unless you sign out of your current session. Therefore, anyone who logs onto your machine while yours remains active could potentially ruin the effect. Thankfully, you can easily resolve this problem. Simply right-click on your desktop taskbar and select Task Manager. Find Processes tab, expand the Online Accounts header, and locate outlook.exe. Right-click on it and select End background process.

6) Should I worry about security if people can view my personal information?

Yes and No. Although Outlook stores sensitive data like passwords and credit cards behind HTTPS encryption, that means nothing without proper authentication. That said, it would take a pretty determined individual to crack through those layers of protection so don’t let that put you off signing up to newsletters or similar services. The important thing here is not to share your password with others. Once signed up, just keep your account private and secure.

7) Will this affect my privacy?

No, because the signature isn't stored locally. It is purely generated based on contact details and preferences you specify once registered. As long as you don't give away your identity, there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

8) Is there any extra software required beyond Outlook?

Not really. All you require is basic knowledge of HTML code. Fortunately, learning this language is easy enough thanks to free resources available across the web. We recommend checking out W3C tutorial for beginners.

9) Can I add more than one signature per email?

It depends what sort of signature you'd like to add. For instance, you can separate sections of your company branding with two distinct signatures. Or maybe you run multiple businesses which both benefit from having unique signatures. Whatever the case, it's possible to achieve this in Outlook. Just remember to save copies of your signatures separately in order to avoid overwriting them every time.

10) Does this mean my existing signatures won't show up anymore?

Unfortunately, yes. While Outlook's built-in functions are limited, there is always the possibility of third party apps being used alongside it. These tend to overwrite any preconfigured solutions. Of course, you can undo this by following steps 1-5 above. But bear in mind that even though you removed Outlook's automatic function earlier, you may still receive emails from accounts linked to your old profile.

11) Do I have to pay for a premium subscription to host my signature?

Nope, but if you ever decide to move elsewhere you'll need to reconfigure everything yourself. There are some paid providers offering affordable rates, however. And many offer additional features, including integration with CRM systems. Just search the internet to discover various companies offering this service. Be aware of potential hidden costs associated with hosting your own signature.

12) Are there any technical limitations with regard to size?

There aren't. Provided you stay within limits imposed by most email clients, you should be fine. Most limit files to between 3MB and 5MB, though certain popular platforms like Yahoo place stricter restrictions.

13) When typing my address, can I leave spaces?

Of course! Some people prefer to add punctuation marks to differentiate addresses. Others think otherwise. Make whatever format you feel comfortable with.

14) Why is the image file called DIVA_IMG_4852.jpg?

This was chosen randomly. Don't ask me why.

15) Where did the term <img src="http://www.mywebsite.com">" class="floatright"" /ñ come from?

From somewhere deep inside Microsoft's bowels. They didn't explain either.

16) Is there a way to prevent attachments from appearing in my inbox altogether?

Sure. Head to File " Info " Properties " Advanced Tools " Attachments folder properties. Disable Send attachments as part of documents checked.

17) Can I remove the attachment icon?

Yep. Set it to Hide file extension. See screenshot below.

18) Any ideas why Outlook insists on downloading ZIP archives?

Because Outlook thinks it's better than GZIP compression.

19) What exactly is floating around my email?

That would be the font style you chose to use throughout your entire inbox.

20) Am I allowed to delete signatures?

Absolutely! Keep backups, but never assume anything.

21) What happens if I accidentally remove a signature?

The worst thing that can happen is that it gets replaced with something equally awful.

22) How can I stop Outlook from removing extraneous characters?

Just highlight the offending text and hit Delete key. Alternatively, right-click anywhere on the page and select Edit Hyperlink. Enter http://www.yoursite.com into Address field, replace [Your Name] with your actual username, and click OK. Now whenever you copy that link, it keeps track of its origin.

23) How do I hide my email signature in particular situations?

Right-click anywhere on the page and navigate to More Commands " Format Document. From the menu that opens, select Show / Hide Command Bar. Drag the cursor over the area containing your signature until highlighted, then release mouse button. Voilà! Instant invisibility.

24) How do I disable signatures?

Go to View " Navigation Pane " Other Pages. Highlight the section labelled Personal Message, then uncheck Enable Personal Messages.

25) Can I embed links into my signature?

Yeah, but you're gonna need to learn CSS. Luckily, you can try Codecademy.

26) Why is Outlook ignoring my edits?

Hmm, perhaps because it's trying to interpret your markup differently to what it expects. Try pasting directly into Notepad rather than word processor.

27) I'm getting errors relating to missing DOCTYPE declaration.

Incorrectly constructed XML files are common causes of this error. Ensure that your document contains a valid root element, i.e., html, body etc. Also, double check that you haven't forgotten to close elements properly.

28) My signature looks terrible.

Try adjusting margins and padding. Remember that pixels are relative to surrounding objects. Change one pixel value, and watch how things shift everywhere else.

29) Is there a way to resize fonts?

Not natively, but there are plenty of websites offering this feature. Check out Google Fonts for starters.

30) Is there a quick fix for Outlook 2010 formatting problems?

Sadly, not usually. Unless you fancy diving straight into coding yourself.

31) How can I adjust font color in Outlook 2007?

Open Control Panel " Appearance and Style " Colors. Choose Foreground Color, then drag yellow slider to desired hue. Repeat procedure for Background Color.

32) Can I upload my own backgrounds?

If you’re a Microsoft Office user—and who isn't these days? —you may have noticed that when composing new emails, there are options about how you want to sign off on them. You can include a “signature block,” which inserts all sorts of useful info like contact details, website links, etc., but what if you actually need something more customized than this basic feature offers?

For example, maybe you work with several companies as part of your job, and each one has its own unique branding elements that they would prefer appear in their clients' signatures. Or perhaps you run your own small business and want to be able to customize the signature blocks so people know exactly where (or through whom) to reach out to you. Whatever the reason, we have good news! We’ve got solutions for just about any scenario here.

Let's go over some different ways you might want to set up your email signatures.

How do I put my information at the bottom of my email?

This is by far the most common way someone will use an email signature. It works pretty much the same way it does in Gmail: Just type whatever you want into the box provided, then hit enter before sending your message. Your cursor won’t move anywhere else while typing your signature, so don’t worry about accidentally adding anything else. Once you’re done, you’ll see everything you typed automatically inserted right below your subject line. If you forget to save, though, you can click File & Save As New Message instead of Send to send a fresh copy of your email without overwriting yours.

You could also choose to only use certain fields from your profile, such as phone number, LinkedIn URL, or social media accounts. To select specific items, first open the Options tab under Mail Format Settings, then scroll down until you find Signature Settings, followed by Edit Block Fields. Select the checkboxes next to the ones you want to show. The image above shows Evernote, Twitter, and Slack selected.

When using this method, make sure you keep track of which company you signed up with because it doesn’t let you change between profiles easily once you start setting things up. For instance, I'm currently working as a freelancer, but previously worked full-time at three separate jobs during college. So I've used the following formats depending on which one was appropriate:

Company A: [Company Name] (at [my current employer]) | [Current Position], Phone Number, Email Address

Company B:  [Company Name] | [My Current Position], Phone Number, Email Address

Company C:  [Company Name] | [Previous Company/Position], Phone Number, Email Address

How do you put your information at the end of an email?

There are two main reasons why you'd want to use this option: When you're drafting emails for multiple recipients, it makes it easier to identify yourself based on context clues. And secondly, you'll probably already have a lot going on in terms of other content. Using this method lets you get rid of clutter and focus on important parts of your email.

To access this menu, go to Tools " Mail format settings " Signature Settings. Then look for End of message and click Add field. This opens up a whole slew of additional boxes you can fill in. From personal experience, this is the easiest place to insert bits of your signature since it keeps formatting consistent across every recipient.

One drawback to this approach is that you cannot upload attachments separately. That means if you plan on attaching documents or pictures, you should stick with the previous section. However, you can always delete those after you’ve sent your message.

How do I add my name and address to the bottom of an email?

As mentioned earlier, this is usually referred to as an email signature. In order to accomplish this task, you’d follow essentially the same steps as above, except instead of clicking Additional Sign Off Information, you’ll need to head straight to Insert Field. Again, from personal experience, I found this area to be the cleanest spot to keep both my professional bio and contact information. Feel free to play around with organization and wording, too.

The process for creating custom signatures varies slightly depending on whether you’re using the desktop app or mobile apps. Let’s walk through both methods together. First, however, we recommend opening your computer’s default mail client to avoid confusion later on.

On Windows 10, press Win + R to launch the Run dialog box. Type outlook.exe into the Open box and press Enter to launch Outlook. Alternatively, you can search for the program via Cortana. On macOS Catalina and newer systems, hold down Command+ Spacebar and click Launchpad to bring up Apple Maps. Search for Mail from the Spotlight view. If you’re running older versions of either operating system, try searching for Mail.app.

Now, let’s talk about making edits to your existing signatures. Click Mailbox in the upper left corner, then navigate down to Preferences. Under General Account Settings, locate and expand Mail Setup. Hit Manage Other Accounts if needed. Now switch back to the Home page, and under Signature Settings, click Custom Signature. Here you can manually input your desired signature into the various fields, including Subject Line, Recipient List, Content, Attachments, Reply All, and Delete Messages.

We’ve covered the basics, now let’s quickly take a closer look at adding your contact information. Navigate to the Insert Field screen again. Scroll down past the Contact Details entry labeled Personal Info and tap on Next. At the top of the window, click Browse to browse your local files. Find the document containing your resume, CV, or portfolio, then drag it onto the pop-up. After this, you can adjust the height and width of the file. Make sure to give it a meaningful title.

Once finished, test out your new signature by heading to File & Preview Message. Look for the green arrow icon in the lower right hand corner. If everything looks okay, proceed to the final step. Otherwise, return to Preferences & Signature Settings & Change Signature. Here you can modify your signature further if you still aren't happy with the results.

And that wraps our quick tutorial on how to customize your signature in Outlook. Of course, not everyone uses Outlook exclusively. Many users opt to download third-party programs like Thunderbird, Yahoo!, or even Gmail, so feel free to explore whichever platform suits your needs best.


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