Should I insert signature before quoted text?

If you're like me, then you probably have trouble deciding how to format things correctly when using email signatures on the web.  There are some pretty specific rules for what goes where and when it matters most. There's also one big question that gets overlooked often — should quotes be placed at both ends of emails or just at the end? So let's take a look at this common problem (and its solution) so we all get our signatures right every time.

How do I hide signature in Gmail?

Gmail users don't actually see their own signatures unless they hover over the link that says "More". That means if you want to change your signature from within Gmail itself, there isn't really an easy way to adjust it without going into HTML mode. The only thing you could try would be changing the font size of the default signature field, but even that doesn't always work properly. You might need to go back to normal size after hovering over More.

The best way to make changes to your signature inside Gmail is to use Google Docs instead. Once you set up your document with information about yourself, uploading images, adding links, etc., you'll find it much easier to customize everything exactly as you wish. This article shows how to add a custom signature to Gmail, while this other guide explains how to create a professional-looking signature in Google Docs.

So now let’s say you've decided to stick with Google Docs. If you already know how to upload files via File Upload & Choose Files, then here comes the tricky part – figuring out where to put the signature block. In order to keep things simple, let's start by assuming that your name appears first in the signature. Here's how you'd normally enter that section:

Name: Your Name

Signature: Your Signature Goes Here

This works great for people who prefer writing their names in full capital letters. But not everyone does that, especially those of us who aren't very good typists. For such folks, putting a period between each letter makes sense. It looks more natural than having periods appear at random places throughout our text.

Here's how you would write your signature using periods rather than commas:

Your Name.: Your Signature Goes Here

Now, there may still be times when you type your name incorrectly. Or maybe you have a nickname. To accommodate these scenarios, you can simply replace the colon : with another symbol. A few options include |,.?! [ ] These symbols stand for different punctuation marks depending upon which keyboard layout you choose. If yours uses the AltGr key combination (a Windows shortcut), then you will need to follow these instructions to access them:

Type ". Enter (period). Hold CTRL + Shift and press '. Type?!. Release both keys. Repeat step 3 until you reach the last character of your signoff.

To use a comma, you would replace the colon with a semicolon (;):

Your Name.; Your Signature Goes Here

Once you've got the basics down, inserting additional sections is fairly straightforward. Let's assume that you want to begin typing a new paragraph below your name, but you want to leave room above your name for a header image. First, move the cursor to wherever you want to start the next paragraph. Then select Insert - Text Box. Now you can either type something manually or paste in existing content from elsewhere.

A word of caution though: When pasting in preformatted text, make sure you copy only the formatted elements. Otherwise, you might accidentally remove formatting from important words, causing unwanted results.

Finally, hit Enter. Now repeat steps 1 through 4 again, replacing the colon with a left parenthesis ((). Again, you must hold Ctrl+Shift while pressing the relevant special characters. Replace the right parentheses ) with a closing bracket ).

Keep repeating this process as needed. After finishing off your entry, remember to click outside the box so that whatever was typed won't automatically fill in the rest of the page. And voila! You should now see your entire signature rendered nicely within Gmail.

Should I put a quote in my email signature?

I think so. Quotes are perfect for personalizing messages because they convey strong emotions and opinions. They also give readers permission to share your thoughts with others. Of course, certain situations call for discretion. For example, you wouldn't want someone else quoting your message verbatim during a heated argument. But generally speaking, quotes are appropriate for almost anything.

Where do you put a quote in an email signature?

At the beginning. People tend to read top-to-bottom, regardless of the source of the correspondence. Therefore, a short quote positioned near the sender's real name gives recipients insight into his/her personality. Plus, it creates interest and curiosity among potential friends and followers alike.

As far as length goes, the general rule of thumb is to limit quotations to no longer than two lines, although sometimes three lines are acceptable too. Keep in mind that long quotations can become unreadable due to excessive scrolling. However, you can fix this issue by breaking the quotation down into several shorter paragraphs separated with horizontal lines. Also consider bolding sentences containing particularly interesting points. Bolded words draw attention further, helping to break up blocks of text.

When placing a quote in the middle of a sentence, you might want to italicize the affected words to show contrast against the surrounding prose. Alternatively, you could highlight the phrase in yellow or red ink for emphasis. Just remember to avoid highlighting every single word.

After reading the whole piece, you may notice that there are several ways to improve the flow of the original statement. Some examples involve substituting phrases or removing unnecessary details. As long as the resulting version sounds reasonable, why not take advantage of these opportunities?

For instance, you may realize that the following sentence has nothing to do with the subject matter discussed earlier: “...but he said that she had been seen wearing black pants recently.” Simply omit the extra detail and focus entirely on the core idea. On the contrary, if you were paraphrasing the previous line, feel free to substitute parts of it. Try replacing “she” with “the person”.

Another tip involves eliminating repetitive language. Although repetition can help strengthen ideas, doing so excessively can lead to confusion. Take note of synonyms and alternate phrasing. Phrasal verbs are also worthy of consideration. Consider using passive voice whenever possible. Passive sentences sound softer, less aggressive, and therefore better suited for polite correspondence.

Also, watch out for tautology. Tautologies occur when you state something multiple times in succession. One trick is to rephrase the same concept in a slightly different manner. Another suggestion is to expand on the topic with supporting facts. By expanding upon the main point, you are able to provide context and explain nuances that require elaboration.

How do you put a quote in an email?

There are lots of tools available online. We recommend starting with Quote Snack since it offers tons of variations for a variety of occasions. Next, check out the official website for Microsoft Word to learn all the ins and outs of creating a proper quote. Finally, if you happen to be working in Apple Mail, head straight to this helpful tutorial on how to compose mailquotes.

Where do you put a quote in an email signature?

Just beneath the recipient's name. Placing a prominent quotation at the bottom of the page provides added incentive for users to scroll down. This strategy helps increase open rates and engagement levels.

In case you’re wondering, yes, this applies to Facebook posts too.

Have questions about how to design a signature for your business? Contact us today.

The first thing that comes to mind when we think about email signatures, whether personal or professional, is the question of where do they go? Should it be at the end of the message as usual or maybe at the beginning like many people prefer nowadays?  In this article, I'll explain exactly how an email signature works so you will know what goes into yours, who decides its style, and if there are other options available for you besides -- either placing it after the last paragraph (the body) of the message or before the opening quotation mark (").

A quick note on etiquette though: If you have no need for quotes in your email signature then simply remove them from your signature altogether. This saves space while still conveying professionalism.

If you're confused about the purpose of an email signature, check out some examples here. Here's one example of an email signature taken straight from Hotmail:

And another example from Yahoo Mail:

What does this all mean? Well, let me break it down step-by-step.

1.) Where should I put signature?

When sending emails via gmail, outlook.com, yahoo mail etc., most users would agree that their Gmail address appears automatically at the top right corner of each new window. In Outlook 2010, it looks something like this:

This makes sense because it allows recipients to easily see who sent the email without having to scroll up too much. It also provides enough room for a person's name, title, company information, phone number, website link, and possibly even Skype / Google + details. Also, it gives the sender extra control over his/her inbox appearance. For instance, he/she could change the color scheme used in Windows 7 for easy identification.

2.) Do I place a signature above the recipient field?

That depends. Many people choose to write a short sentence with their contact info such as "Thanks! Have a great day!" followed by their full name below the recipient field. Others may want to include more than just the basics.

3.) What happens if someone sends me an email using AOL?

Many people use Aol and therefore often send emails through port 25. When doing this, putting a signature directly under the To: line isn't usually recommended since the entire signature will appear in plain view once the email hits AOL servers. Instead, try including your signature between two dashes, which will make it look like this: ---Your Name---. Then, add an additional dash to separate yourself from the rest of the message. So instead of saying "To:" you'd say "From:--- Your Signature Goes Here ---". The result might seem funny but it also helps keep things neat looking.

4.) How do I get rid of these annoying lines in my signature?

Well, unfortunately there's not really anything you can do unless you upgrade to premium accounts. That said, the easiest way to remove those unwanted lines is to set your browser preferences to show only messages from certain domains, e.g. hide everything except @gmail.com. You can find this option on the General tab within Internet Options. Just uncheck Show spam & garbage characters on incoming messages. Another good idea would be to block images entirely. This means that whenever you receive an image file via email, it won't open in your default browser. Simply click on Preview button and select Block Images.

5.) Can I customize my own signature?

Yes...sort of. There are several ways you can accomplish this task. One method involves adding different sections of code depending on whether you're replying to someone or forwarding a message. Basically, you create two HTML files with identical content, save both versions, and upload one to your server. Once uploaded, visitors will receive one version of your signature when viewing your profile page OR typing your username into a reply box. The second version of your signature will then display when you forward a message.

Another solution is to create multiple signatures based on whether you're writing a public response, private message, or emailing a friend. Check out our guide here on how to setup multiple signatures in Microsoft Office 365. And finally, you can always opt for third party services like Verified Email Signatures [Broken URL Removed], MySignature [No Longer Available] and others. These tools allow you to design your own custom signatures online, saving you time and effort.

6.) Does anyone ever read my email signature?

Most likely yes. People tend to scan their emails quickly these days, especially ones received via social networks. Most people probably skim past long paragraphs without reading them completely. However, making sure your signature doesn't contain any spelling errors or grammatical mistakes could help increase its impact.

7.) Are there other places I could attach a signature apart from the bottom part of the message?

Yes, definitely. While technically speaking there is nothing wrong with attaching a signature anywhere else, it's generally frowned upon among professionals today. By following proper guidelines, however, you can successfully integrate any type of signature with your business identity. Some ideas worth trying include attaching a signature to every outgoing message, printing it on letterhead documents, tacking it onto envelopes, and integrating it into PowerPoint presentations.

8.) Should I sign off with "Cheers"?

It depends on whom you're signing off to. Generally speaking, most experts recommend against ending emails with Cheers due to its informal nature. Unless you work at a restaurant, it's best to avoid signing off with Cheers. Otherwise, feel free to end your correspondence with whatever suits you best.

9.) Will attachments count towards overall size limits?

If you've decided to attach photos, videos, audio files, PDFs, Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, etc., then absolutely YES. Don't worry about size limitations whatsoever.

10.) Is there a limit to how many signatures I can register?

There's no hard rule regarding this matter but typically companies only support five active signatures per user account. Keep in mind that if you exceed this limitation, your account will become inactive and you won't be able to access the service anymore. On average, most businesses require three signature templates per employee.

11.) Should I put my contact info in my signature? Or leave it for the client?

Once again, it depends on whom you're addressing. If you're responding to a sales inquiry, then including your contact info is appropriate. But if the receiver has already agreed to purchase something from you, leaving your contact info out of the signature is better. Not only does it prevent consumers from calling you during peak hours, but it also eliminates unnecessary calls from telemarketers.

12.) Which countries should I offer my email addresses to?

Since most major providers worldwide now use automatic domain registration, almost everyone should be able to find suitable email addresses. As mentioned earlier, please refrain from offering international numbers to non-local clients. Even if you don't live in the country listed in your profile, it's wise to provide local numbers to potential customers residing abroad. After all, providing accurate information upfront can save lots of headaches later on.

13.) Can I use pictures in my email signature?

Absolutely. Pictures are useful when presenting products, explaining technical issues, or creating mood boards. The main concern is that the picture shouldn't detract attention away from the important words. Use large pictures when possible to maintain focus.

14.) Couldn't I just use my LinkedIn profile?

Sure, that's perfectly fine. In fact, sometimes it's beneficial to combine your profiles together. Think of it this way - wouldn't it be easier to visit a web site when all relevant links lead back to it?

15.) Did anybody ever ask me why I signed off with "best regards?"

Not necessarily. Best Regards sounds quite formal and can come across as overly serious. Unless you personally believe it's the best way to conclude an email, stick to Dear Friend or Hi John format.

16.) Can I put my photo in my email signature?

Of course. No reason why you couldn't. All you need to remember is that your face must reflect your personality. If you want to stand out, consider getting a professionally designed logo created for your business. We've written previously about the importance of logos and branding.

17.) Does it hurt my credibility if I start my emails with "Dear Sirs," "Good Day." or "Greetings"?

Only if they were never addressed properly. But hey, if you want to sound polite, go ahead and introduce yourself.

18.) Can I delete my email signature?

Technically yes, but there are exceptions. Since most websites require a unique email address in order to verify your login credentials, deleting your signature entirely will cause problems. Therefore, it's advisable to retain your signature until you take ownership of your domain. At which point you can disable it altogether.

19.) Can I replace my current email signature with another one?

Yes, provided that you follow proper procedures. First, ensure that you've removed all extraneous information. Next, make sure that your replacement signature contains all necessary functions such as name, job position, telephone number, mailing address, fax number, instant messenger ID, and Skype ID. Last but certainly not least, be careful not to confuse readers by using similar formatting throughout.

20.) Would it be okay to use my existing signature for personal emails?

Here's a question that has confounded online writers for years, from the old days of AOL Instant Messenger to today's social media platforms: Should I sign off with the letter "C," or should I keep it short so as to avoid showing up as CCed?

This post originally appeared on The Simple Dollar.

I've long been of the opinion that if someone wants me to see their full address (or other contact information) when they send an email, then they should just include it directly into the body of the message. My reasons are simple enough: It makes it easier for people who use multiple addresses to filter out junk mail more effectively; it reduces the number of times readers have to click through layers of signatures and profiles; and it saves me time because my inbox doesn't fill up with dozens of messages every day asking where my real postal code is.

It also helps me to stay focused on what I'm writing about. When I write something longer than one paragraph, I usually end up adding a second page worth of stuff at the bottom. This means there's no need to type all this extra information twice – once in the header and again in the footer. As far as anyone reading my emails is concerned, I'll be listed under "Reply-To." And if you're going to add another section after my signature anyway, why bother typing everything over again?

Of course, some folks disagree. For example, many older versions of Microsoft Outlook used to require you put a dot (.) between your first and last names, followed by an additional period (.). That was annoying, but it made sense since most spam filters didn't recognize.com domains. If you were sending an email using Hotmail (which predated MSN Mail), Yahoo! Mail, Aol Mail, etc., those addresses would get filtered right away unless you included them in your signature.

But nowadays, things are different. Many spam programs now recognize.coms, which means that even if you don't want to give out your entire domain name, you can still make sure these addresses appear in your signature without much hassle. In fact, I recently started doing exactly that myself. Here's how it works.

First, here's how Gmail currently handles signatures. You start off with a normal signature like this:

[header] How To Get Your Ex Back [title] Know Yourself Better [step] First of all, take a good look at yourself. Are you really ready to move on, or could you change your ways? Do you feel like you deserve better? Or maybe you need help getting back together. Whatever you think, know that improving yourself will only benefit you. [substeps] Think about what went wrong and figure out what contributed to the breakup. Maybe you weren't giving him his space he needed, or maybe you kept trying to control too much of his life. Take responsibility for any mistakes you may have made. Then decide to stop making such mistakes and try to improve certain aspects of yourself. Improve your self esteem, learn new skills, become healthier, whatever you choose. Just don't let your problems consume you. Remember, nobody is perfect. You're allowed to grow and evolve. [title] Consider talking to him/her. [step] Now comes the hard part. Try very hard to remain calm while you talk to her/him. Don't yell, cry, beg, plead, threaten, interrupt, ignore him/her, or anything else stupid. Keep it cool. Be honest and considerate. Make sure she/he knows you aren't angry anymore. Ask for advice, listen carefully, and follow it. He/she might tell you to walk away, go outside, call someone, leave town, cancel plans, nothing, or they may say lots of contradictory things. Listen closely and ask questions until you understand completely. Once you have done this and realize he/she isn't coming around anytime soon, proceed below.

Article Outlines:Should I Bold My Name in my email signature?;How do you not show quoted text in Gmail?;How do you block quote in an email?;Why does Gmail Show quoted text?

Article Body:If you're looking for tips on repairing broken relationships, fixing bad habits, or regaining lost ground, you probably won't find any better guidance anywhere than found in the classic book The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People.

While you can buy copies of the original publication for next to nothing these days, Amazon actually offers free Kindle editions of each volume, including Stephen Covey's bestseller The 8th Habit. We've covered several excerpts from the book, but we never looked specifically at one of our favorite topics: relationship repair strategies. Well, here it is…

Should I Bold My Name in my email signature?

In order to answer this question properly, we must define two terms: Signature and Contact Information. Signatures vary quite a bit across services, but generally speaking, they consist of a sender field ("From:"), a recipient field ("to:"), and often a subject line. Most users typically begin their signature with the From address, but modern clients allow you to customize your own starting point – allowing you to place your signature wherever you wish within the client itself. But the important thing is to always include the same basic information in your signature regardless of its position. Some examples:

My Email Address Is...  

Email Address        Nickname                                         Phone Number

John Smith             John                                             987-654-321

So, should you bold your name in your eSignature? Absolutely. Why? Because it allows others to easily identify you. You wouldn't want someone responding to your email saying, "Whoa, wait a minute. Did you mean 'Smith'?" No, you'd want to simply read "Hello Mr. Smith!" Whether you intend to or not, being consistent with your name formatting shows professionalism and consistency throughout your correspondence.

Now obviously, some situations may warrant exceptions. Let's assume you're dealing with a friend who sometimes uses a nickname. Perhaps their name is difficult to remember, or perhaps they prefer privacy considerations. If this applies to you, you can either create a custom label and apply that label to incoming messages from specific contacts, or you can set up a rule in your filtering system to automatically hide your name. However, as mentioned above, your name needs to be present in your profile somewhere. So if you want to maintain your professional appearance, stick with standard formatting.

How do you not show quoted text in Gmail?

Gmail is great for keeping quotes brief. After entering the quotation marks, press Shift + Enter to immediately enter the closing mark. Doing this keeps you from having to retype the whole string every single time. Also, be careful when pasting content via HTML or Word documents. Paste the content, select Text Only from the dropdown menu, hit Cmd+V, and replace the existing text with the newly copied text. Otherwise, the text will convert to links. Other methods of copying rich text blocks work similarly.

For instance, if you copy text from Google Drive, paste it instead of selecting it. Press Ctrl + V to open the Edit menu, select Cut from the list, choose All Characters, and press OK. Alternatively, highlight the text and drag down to the Formatting toolbar (in Chrome). Find the Quote button, click it, and remove the checkmark next to Automatic Quotes. Finally, select Copy Plaintext from the dialog box that appears.

When you use Gmail's built-in reply function, however, you’ll notice that the text gets shown in quotes. There are two possible explanations for this behavior. One possibility is that since the reply is generated by Gmail itself and sent straight to the recipient, it feels awkward to display the actual contents of the original message. Another possibility is that quoting the text ensures that it stands out visually from the rest of your response, especially given how easy it is to overlook small portions of lengthy responses.

Regardless of the reason behind this odd quirk, there are a few steps you can take to prevent it. The easiest way is to manually surround the text with quotation marks whenever you respond to an email. Alternatively, you can disable automatic quotations altogether. Go to Settings & Labs " Reply With Original Message " Disable AutoQuote. Lastly, you can enable the “Show unquoted text as well” option, which will force Gmail to show both the original message and the reply.

What happens if you accidentally turn auto-quote off? What if you forget to enclose the text in quotation marks? No problem: Simply go to Preferences " Composing and double-check that you haven’t disabled the feature. Also note that you can manually switch between styles for regular text and block style.

Another method of avoiding quotation marks is to install Thunderbird, an excellent desktop mail application. While Thunderbird lacks the convenience features of Gmail, it does offer a lot more flexibility regarding the format of your signature, including the ability to add images.