Email Signatures in Outlook
You may receive emails with signatures frequently. Microsoft Outlook also supports us to create personal signatures and add them in emails automatically or manually. In our personal signatures, we can add images, logos, hyperlinks, business cards, etc. as you need.
Table of Content
- 1. Create new signature
- 2. Insert signatures in emails
- 2.1 Use shortcuts
- 2.2 Insert manually
- 2.3 Insert automatically
- 3. Edit signatures
- 3.1 Hyperlinks
- 3.2 Horizontal line
- 3.3 Add and Delete Images
- 3.4 Format images
- 3.5 Background image
- 3.6 Background color
- 4. Rename signatures
- 5. Delete signatures
Note: Methods introduced on this page apply to Microsoft Outlook 2019 desktop program in Windows 10. And the instructions may vary significantly or slightly depending on the version of Microsoft Outlook and the Windows environments.
1. Create a new signature
1.1 Create a signature in Outlook
You can create a new signature in Outlook easily as follows:
1. In Outlook, click File > Options.
2. In the Outlook Options dialog, click Mail in left bar, and then click the Signatures button in the Compose messages section.
Tips: You can also open the Signatures and Stationery dialog as follows:
(1) create a new email by clicking Home > New Email in mail view;
(2) In the opening Message window, click Insert > Signature > Signatures.
3. In the Signatures and Stationery dialog, under E-mail Signature tab, click the New button.
4. Then in the popping out New Signature dialog, type a name for the new signature, and click the OK button.
5. Keep the new signature selected in the Signatures and Stationery dialog, type in the signature content in below Edit signature text box, click the Save button, and finally click the OK button. See screenshot:
6. Click the OK button in the Outlook Options dialog to close it.
So far, the new signature has been created. You can add it in any email automatically or manually.
1.2 Create a signature from Word template
We usually create signature with photos and rich formatting to make it outstanding. We can create such an Outlook signature based on Word templates.
1. Launch Microsoft Word. In the Word starting window, click New in left bar, type Signature in the search box above template gallery and press Enter key, and then click the Email signature gallery template.
2. In the new popping out window, click the Create button.
3. Now a new document is created with multiple signature templates. Move mouse over the signature you like, click at the left side of this signature to select all elements in it, and press Ctrl + C keys to copy it.
4. Shift to Outlook. Click Home > New Email in the mail view to create a new email.
5. In the new message window, click Insert > Signature > Signatures to open the Signatures and Stationery window.
Tips: You can also create the Signatures and Stationery dialog as follows: Click File > Options; In the Outlook Options dialog, click Mail in left bar, and then click the Signatures button in the Compose message section.
6. In the Signature and Stationery dialog, under E-mail Signature tab, click New button. Then in the popping out dialog, name the new signature and click the OK button.
7. Put cursor into the Edit signature text box, and press Ctrl + V keys to paste the signature content.
8. In the Edit signature text box, replace the photo, hyperlinks, name, title, phone, address, etc. to your own information, then click the Save button and OK button successively.
9. Now the new signature is created from the Word template. Close the new email without saving.
1.3 Create a signature from htm file
If you have downloaded or gotten signatures as HTM files, you can easily create an Outlook signature based on the HTM file.
1. Open the folder containing the signature HTM file, select the HTM file and a folder with same name simultaneously with holding Ctrl key, right click, and select Copy from the context menu.
Tips: If there is no folder with the same name as the HTM file, you can just copy the HTM file only.
2. In the Outlook mail interface, click File > Options.
3. In the Outlook Options dialog, click Mail in left bar, and then hold Ctrl key and click the Signatures button simultaneously to open the signature file location.
Tips: You can also open the folder containing the signature files with the folder path:
Signature folder path: %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Signatures
4.Go to the folder containing signature files, and press Ctrl + V keys to paste the signature HTM file and folder.
5. Shift to the Outlook Options dialog, and click the Signatures button to open the Signatures and Stationery dialog.
6. In the Signatures and Stationery dialog, under E-mail Signature tab, please do as follows:
(1) In the Select signature to edit list box, click to select the newly pasted signature;
(2) In the Edit signature textbox, update the signature photo, hyperlinks, name, email, address, etc. to your own information;
(3) Click the Save button;
(4) Click the OK button.
7. Click the OK button in the Outlook Options dialog.
So far, we have created an Outlook signature based on the HTM file.
Automatically insert a variable/current date signature in Outlook emails
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It's easy to insert a signature in an composing/replying/forwarding email in Outlook, but how could you insert a date signature that shows the current date or time? Try the Auto Date (Signature)feature, which will automatically insert a date signature in emails, and the date varies based on the time you create the composing/replying/forwarding emails.
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2. Insert signatures in emails
2.1 Use shortcuts to insert a signature
In a new message window, or replying/forwarding message window, you can easily add a signature with shortcuts.
Press Alt, N, A+S successively to open the Signature drop-down list, then press Up or Down arrow key to select the specified signature, and finally press Enter key to insert the selected signature.
2.2 Manually Insert a signature in a new, replying or forwarding email
In a new message window or replying/forwarding message window, you can click Insert > Signature to open the Signature drop-down menu, and then click one signature to insert it in the message body.
2.3 Automatically insert signatures in new, replying or forwarding emails
If you need to insert a signature into all new message or replying/forwarding message automatically, you can configure the signature options as follows:
1. In the mail view, click Home > New Email to create a new email.
2. In the new message window, click Insert > Signature > Signatures to open the Signatures and Stationery dialog.
3. In the Signatures and Stationery dialog, go to the Choose default signature section, and:
(1) Select the specified email account you will set the default signature for from the E-mail account drop-down list;
(2) Specify the default signature for all new emails in the New messages drop-down list;
(3) Specify the default signature for all replying and forwarding messages in the Replies/forwards drop-down list.
Tips:
(1) You can set the same signature for both new messages and replying/forwarding messages, or set different signatures for new messages and replying/forwarding messages.
(2) If there are multiple email accounts in your Outlook, you can repeat this step to set default signature for each email account one by one.
4. Click the OK button to save the settings in the Signatures and Stationery dialog, and close the new email without saving.
3. Change/Edit a signature in Outlook
After creating or importing signatures in Outlook, you might need to modify or update these signatures. Here this part will show you how to edit hyperlinks, horizontal lines, images, and background in a signature.
3.1 Add, edit, or delete a hyperlink in an Outlook signature
3.1.1 First, click Home > New Email to create a new email, and then in the new message window click Insert > Signature > Signatures to open the Signatures and Stationery dialog.
3.1.2 In the Signatures and Stationery dialog, select the signature you will edit, select the text you will add hyperlink, and click the Hyperlink button .
Tips:
(1) If you need to add a hyperlink for an image or logo, please select the image or logo in the Edit signature text box.
(2) If you need to edit or remove a hyperlink, please select the hyperlink text.
3.1.3 In the Insert Hyperlink dialog, please select a hyperlink type in the left Link to section, and in the Address box type in a new address for a new hyperlink, and click the OK button.
Tips:
(1) If you select the hyperlink text in last step, you can edit with specifying a new hyperlink type in the Link to section and changing a new address in the Address box.
(2) If you select the hyperlink text in last step, you can empty the Address box to remove the hyperlink directly.
3.1.4 Now you return to the Signatures and Stationery dialog, click the Save button to save the changes, and click the OK button to close the dialog.
3.2 Add or delete horizontal line in an Outlook signature
Some users prefer to showing name at the top of a signature, and separating the name and other signature content with a horizontal line. However, the built-in signature edit box does not provide such a button. As a workaround, we can insert a horizontal line in a message window, and then copy it to the signature.
3.2.1 In the mail view, click Home > New Email to create a new message.
3.2.2 In the new message window, click Insert > Horizontal Line.
3.2.3 Now a horizontal line is added in the message body. Right click the horizontal line, and select Picture from the context menu.
3.2.4 In the Format Horizontal Line dialog, please set the width, height, color, and alignment for the horizontal line as you need, and click the OK button.
3.2.5 Now the horizontal line is formatted. Go ahead to right click it, and select Copy from the context menu.
3.2.6 Click Insert > Signature > Signatures to open the Signatures and Stationery dialog.
3.2.7 In the Signatures and Stationery dialog, click to select the signature you will edit, put cursor in the Edit signature text box and press Ctrl + V keys to paste the horizontal line, and finally click the Save button.
3.2.8 Click the OK button to close the Signatures and Stationery dialog, and close the new email without saving.
So far, we have added a formatted horizontal line in the specified signature in Outlook.
Tips: To remove a horizontal line from a signature, you just need to select the signature in the Signatures and Stationery dialog, select the horizontal line the Edit signature text box, and press the Delete key to remove it directly, and finally save the change.
3.3 Add or delete an image in an Outlook signature
To catch recipients’ eyes and show more detailed information, we usually add our photos in our signatures. Also, we use logos to replace text strings when creating hyperlinks in signatures, so that our recipients can easily follow these hyperlinks. Here, this part will show how to add, format, and delete an image in a signature.
3.3.1 In the mail view, click Home > New Email to create a new email.
3.3.2 In the new message window click Insert > Signature > Signatures to open the Signatures and Stationery dialog.
3.3.3 In the Signatures and Stationery dialog, click to select the signature you will edit, put cursor in the Edit signature text box, and click the Image button .
3.3.4 In the popping out Insert Picture dialog, open the folder containing the image, click to select the image, and click the Insert button.
3.3.5 Now the image is inserted in the signature. Click the Save button to save the change, click the OK button to close the Signatures and Stationery dialog, and close the new email without saving.
Tips: To remove an image from a signature, click to select the signature in the Signatures and Stationery dialog, select the image in the Edit signature text box, and press the Delete key to remove it directly, and finally save the changes.
3.4 Format an image in an Outlook signature
Although it is quite easy to add or delete images in a signature, you can not format images directly in the signature, such as resizing, changing alignment, etc. Therefore, we need to figure out a workaround to solve this problem: format the image in a message window or Word document, and then replace the original signature image.
3.4.1 In the mail view, click Home > New Email to create a new email.
3.4.2 In the message window, click Insert > Signature > Signatures to open the Signatures and Stationery dialog.
3.4.3 In the Signatures and Stationery dialog, select the signature whose image you will format, copy all signature content from the Edit signature text box, and close the Signatures and Stationery dialog.
3.4.4 Go back to the new message window, and press Ctrl + V keys to paste the signature content into the message body.
3.4.5 Now format the image in the message as you need.
3.4.5.1 Change the position and size of the image
Click to select the image, move mouse to the edge of the image, and drag to change the image size when the cursor changes to ;
Click to select the image, hover the cursor on the image, and move the image when the cursor changes to .
Alternatively, you can right click the image, and select Size and Position from the context menu. In the popping Layout dialog, you can change the image size on the Size tab.
3.4.5.2 Wrap the text and image
Right click the image, move mouse over Wrap Text, and then select a wrapping style from the submenu.
3.4.5.3 Change the image without change image position
Right click the image, move mouse over Change Picture, and then select a file source from the submenu.
In the popping out Insert Picture dialog, open the folder containing the new image, select the new image, and click the Insert button.
Now the image is replaced with a new one without changing the image position.
3.4.5.4 Format image: add shadow, reflection, glow, soft edges, etc. to the image
Right click the image, and select Format Picture from the content menu.
Then the Format Picture pane is enabled at the right side of message body. And you can easily set shadow, reflection, grow, soft edges, 3-D format, 3-D rotation for the image with presets or by your own parameters.
You can also add links to the image, bring the image to front/back, insert caption, etc. for the image as you need.
3.4.6 Select all signature content in the message body, and press Ctrl + C to copy it.
3.4.7 Click Insert > Signature > Signatures to open the Signatures and Stationery dialog.
3.4.8 In the Signatures and Stationery dialog, select the specified signature whose image you have formatted, empty original signature content from the Edit signature text box, press Ctrl + V keys to paste the copied one, and click the Save button.
Tips: When pasting the signature content with formatted image into the Edit signature text box, the image does not display. However, the formatted image displays regular when inserting the signature into message body.
3.4.9 Click the OK button to close the Signatures and Stationery dialog, and close the new email without saving.
3.5 Add background image for a signature
Some users need to add background color or image for a signature. You can get it done as follows:
3.5.1 Open a folder, paste below path into the Address box, and press the Enter key.
Signature folder path: %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Signatures
Now the folder containing Outlook signature files is opening.
3.5.2 Right click the HTM file of the specified signature you will add background image for, and select Open with > Word from the context menu.
Tips: If the Word application is not listed in the submenu, you can select Choose another app firstly, and then select Word in the next popping out dialog.
3.5.3 Now the HTM file is opening with Microsoft Word. Click Insert > Pictures > This Device or Online Pictures as you need.
3.5.4 In the popping out Insert Picture dialog, find out and select the picture you will add as background, and click the Insert button.
3.5.5 Click to select the inserted picture, and click Format > Wrap Text > Behind Text.
3.5.6 Then move the picture to proper position, and change its size as you need.
(1) Hover the cursor over the picture, move it to proper position when the cursor changes to ;
(2) Move the cursor on the edge of the picture, and drag to resize it when the cursor changes to
3.5.7 Press Ctrl + S keys to save the file, and close Microsoft Word.
So far, the background image has been added to the signature. When you add this signature into messages in Outlook, the background image will display automatically and regularly.
3.6 Add background color for a signature
You can also add background color for an Outlook signature too.
3.6.1 Open a folder, paste below path into the Address box, and press the Enter key.
Signature folder path: %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Signatures
Now the folder containing Outlook signature files is opening.
3.6.2 Right click the HTM file of the specified signature you will add background color for, and select Open with > Word from the context menu.
Tips: If the Word application is not listed in the submenu, you can select Choose another app firstly, and then select Word in the next popping out dialog.
3.6.3 In Microsoft Word, click Insert > Shapes > Rectangle or other shapes as you need.
3.6.4 Now the cursor change to , draw a rectangle to cover all signature content.
3.6.5 Keep the rectangle selected, and click Format > Wrap Text > Behind Text.
Tips: By default, the Wrap Text > Move with Text is enabled. If it is disabled, turn it on.
3.6.6 Keep the rectangle selected, click Format > Shape Fill and pick up a color to change the fill color, and click Format > Shape Outline > No Outline to remove border (or pick up another color to change the border color).
3.6.7 Press Ctrl + S keys to save the file, and close Microsoft Word.
So far, the background color has been added to the Outlook signature.
4. Rename a signature
You can easily rename an email signature in Outlook.
1. In mail view, click Home > New Email to create a new message.
2. In the new message window, click Insert > Signature > Signatures to open the Signatures and Stationery dialog.
3. In the Signatures and Stationery dialog:
(1) Select the signature you will rename in the Select signature to edit list box;
(2) Click the Rename button;
(3) Then in the Rename Signature dialog type in a new name and click the OK button.
4. Click the OK button to close the Signatures and Stationery dialog, and close the new email without saving.
Tips: After renaming the signature, the signature name will be updated automatically in the Signature drop-down list on the Insert tab in new message windows and replying/forwarding message windows.
heading 5
5. Remove a signature
You can quickly remove a signature at ease in Outlook.
1. In mail view, click Home > New Email to create a new message.
2. In the new message window, click Insert > Signature > Signatures to open the Signatures and Stationery dialog.
3. In the Signatures and Stationery dialog:
(1) Select the signature you will rename in the Select signature to edit list box;
(2) Click the Delete button;
(3) In the popping out Microsoft Outlook dialog, click the Yes button.
4. Click the OK button to close the Signatures and Stationery dialog, and close the new email without saving.
So far, the specified signature has been removed. And this signature will be also removed from the Signature drop-down menu on the Insert tab in the new/replying/forwarding message windows.
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