Signatures can be plain or fancy. Regardless of which yours will be, follow the steps below to learn how to create one.
Before I start, it is important to note that if you have a Microsoft Office 365 account, and you use Outlook and Outlook on the Web for business, you will need to create a signature in both products. That will be covered in a separate post.
In Outlook, you are able to create one or more personalized signatures for your messages. These signatures can contain text, images, electronic business cards, logos, and even your handwritten signature. You can set up Outlook so your signatures are automatically added to all of your outgoing messages or create a signature and add it to messages only when you want to.
Follow the steps below to learn how:
- Launch Outlook.
- Open a new message by clicking CTRL + N.
- On the Message menu, select Signature | Signatures.
Depending on the size of your Outlook window and whether you are composing a new email or a reply or forward, the Message menu and the signature button may be in two different locations.
- Under Select signature to edit, select New, and in the New Signature dialog box, key in a name for your signature.
- Under Edit signature, compose your signature. You can change fonts, font colors, sizes, and text alignment. If you would like to create a fancier signature with bullets, tables, or a border, use Word to format your text and then copy and paste your signature into the Edit signature box. You can also use a pre-designed template for your signature. You can download the templates in Word, customize them with your personal information, and copy and paste them into the Edit signature box.
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- You can add links and images to your signature, change fonts and colors, and justify your text using the mini formatting bar under Edit Signature
- You also can add social media icons and links in your signature or customize a pre-designed template
- Under Choose default signature, set the following options:
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- In the E-mail account drop-down box, select an email account to associate with your signature. You can have different signatures for each email account
- If you would like your signature added to all new messages by default, in the New messages drop-down box, choose one of your signatures. If you do not want to automatically add a signature to new messages, select none. This does not add a signature to any messages to which you reply or forward
- If you would like your signature to appear in the messages you reply to and forward, in the Replies/Forwards drop-down, choose one of your signatures. Otherwise, accept the default option of none
- Select OK to save your new signature and return to your message. Outlook does not add your new signature to the message you opened in Step 1 even if you chose to apply the signature to all new messages. You will have to add the signature manually to this one message. Your signature will, however, appear in all future messages.
To add your signature manually, simply select Signature from the Message menu and select the signature you just created.
If you would like to add a logo or an image to your signature, follow the steps below:
- Open a new message and select Signature | Signatures.
- In the Select signature to edit area, select the signature to which you would like to add a log or image.
- Select the Image icon, locate your image file, and select Insert.
- To resize your image, right-click it, and choose Picture. Select the Size tab and use the options to resize your image. To keep the image proportions, make certain to keep Lock aspect ratio checked.
- When you are finished, select OK | OK to save the changes you have made to your signature.
If you do not choose to insert a signature for all new messages or replies and forwards, you can still insert your signature manually.
Follow the steps below to learn how:
- In your email message, on the Message tab, select Signature.
- Select your signature from the menu that appears. If you have more than one signature, you can select any of the signatures you have previously created.
Hopefully, now you can create all the signatures you like or need!
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