How to create HTML signature in Microsoft Outlook
Email signature are by default text messages. However I wanted to create HTML signature (see below) for my email messages. The procedure is supported but not at all straighforward.
Steps:
- Go to Tools/Option/Mail Format and set Send in this message format to HTML.
- Create a file with .html extension in notepad containing your only HTML text (don't bother about making it correct HTML) and save it. Remember to set Save as Type to HTML
- Open it in Internet Explorer and copy it to clipboard using Ctrl-A Ctrl-C after first clicking within the explorer. Now the HTML is copied in proper format to clipboard.
- In Microsoft Outlook go to Options/Mail Format/Signature Picker and click on New.
- Choose a name for your signature (any name is fine) and click Next.
- Paste your signature in the box provided using Ctrl-V.
- In Tools/Options/MailFormat ensure that your signature name (chosen earlier) is selected as Use this signature by default.
- Test by creating a new email and verifying that the HTML signature is actually included in the created email.
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Note: In case of any problems read the instructions carefully again. The instructions are for Microsoft Outlook 2000. If you have a different version adjust accordingly.
Now you know how to create a signature like this:
If you are using this please do leave a comment or trackback from your post.
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March 27th, 2005 at 5:23 pm
I tried it, but I’m still getting the TXT form of the HTML in the message instead of the rendered HTML (and Yes I selected HTML as the default format).
I noticed that, if I try to use a file as the signature as Microsoft recommends, Outlook will not let me select an HTML file, only TXT files are allowed. When I click on the HTML file in Microsoft Explorer it correctly opens in Firefox and is rendered as HTML. Is there any other trick to force Outlook to render the text as HTML?
March 29th, 2005 at 3:43 pm
Outlook doesn’t directly allow selecting html file, which is why I wrote the faq in the first place
The trick is in steps 3-6. It does allow cut-n-paste of html text from IE in the signature box. And after pasting you will be able to see your HTML signature.
Please verify that everything mentioned has been done exactly.
If you are seeing html signature in the siganture box and text siganture in new email that is because your default email format is text.
Remember I tested it only using Outlook 2000. For other versions your mileage may vary.
June 8th, 2005 at 9:51 am
Worked for me. Thank you for the post. I even managed to make the signature look correct when I convert emails to plain text. Another trick is to force fonts to be in px sized fonts as resizable fonts can be damaged by other people’s html emails. Sigh, I almost never use px sized fonts as I prefer my text to be resizable. Too bad this portion is affected by other people’s default font settings.
February 23rd, 2006 at 11:14 am
for those who have messages appearing in text format.
Make sure you configure your mail to HTML format. how?
click tools>options>Mail format>message format> HTML
goodluck!!!
February 24th, 2006 at 1:11 am
Thanks for the tip.
March 10th, 2006 at 1:32 am
Hi
I tried making a htnl signature with images and company logo but putting the html file in the signature folder of microsoft outlook in windows. It worked fine and I could see the signature perfect my problem is that the signature does not auto check the spelling while typing in the area which is provided between the company logo and the signature below. i.e. like how it use to show the red line below the spelling mistake. So please let me know if there’s a solution for this.
Email me if you find anything.
May 31st, 2006 at 1:15 am
I tired. Inside the signature preview, it is working fine. But when it comes under the new mail I compose, its not showing properly. Should I need to enable something in the outlook new mail window? Email me if you can solve this issue. Thanks.
May 31st, 2006 at 5:10 am
Check in your Options/Mail Format to ensure that you are configured to send mails in HTML format.
June 20th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
We’re creating an Outlook signature with a jpeg of our logo. All is well until we attempt to reply to one of these e-mails or forward — the logo drops off and shows >. Any ideas?
June 20th, 2006 at 1:12 pm
Check my comment above. You can always Insert-Signature to add your signature (while in HTML format).
August 8th, 2006 at 10:18 am
I’ve been using a jpg of a user’s biz card, and it works fine, but then at some point it stops working. Just wondering if there’s a way to secure this signature so that if you are downloading pictures/html automatically (vulnerability city!)it can’t alter this sig?
August 21st, 2006 at 8:58 am
Using this, thanks for the tip!
October 6th, 2006 at 10:19 am
Great tip - worked well; especially with Open Office Writer.
Thank you
December 6th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
Thanks for the tip. I have tried this and it somewhat works for me. I am using Outlook 2003, so maybe thats why i have a problem. I have completed all of the steps as mentioned above, but when it comes to opening a new message, the signature is stuck at the top of the space where I can compose the message and wont move down, even with a few presses of the enter key. So my message text is writing over the top of the signature. Anyone have any idea of why??
December 13th, 2006 at 11:47 pm
having similar probs to most of u here.
Signature is in HTML but sometimes attached pic (which is hosted on work server) is sent in the emails as an attachment and sometimes wont appear all together.
Any ideas?
Really getting annoying!
January 3rd, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Awesome, got it to work for me…however how do I change the hypertext to my email address and not my file host.
February 22nd, 2007 at 5:44 am
I made the misstake of ccliccking ‘view source and then copying it… just press ctrl A, ctrl C
April 3rd, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Thanks for the tip. Do you know if there is a way to use style sheets? I am trying to have the font appear as Helvetica and then if the user does not have it, I would like it to appear as Arial.
Thanks!
April 4th, 2007 at 9:19 am
Use inline styles.
April 25th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
I have wrote a book in yahoo note pad now i need to transfer it in to html and get it out of note pad , i have no clue how to do this . help
April 27th, 2007 at 1:04 am
Incredible tip - thankyou hugely
unfortunately it doesn’t quite work for me with what i am using - it shows itself perfectly working with the correct parameters in the signature preview box, but when i have opened a new mail it only comes up with a few words, a small gap then a large red “X”, then a large gap and only a few more words!! any ideas?
April 27th, 2007 at 1:14 am
great tip!! having some troubles though - it works perfectly in the preview, but when making an email it shows only a few worsds, then below a large red “X”, then a large gap and a few more words!! any ideas? Cheers!
May 7th, 2007 at 5:13 am
Hello Everyone. Im trying to adda a asignature to my company email. I use Lotus Notes. I did a nice gif with my name and company logo but when i add it to my signature it is sending it as an attachment. How could i make a gif image into html in order to send it as a signature and not as an attachment. Thanks in advance for your help.
June 26th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
With a lot of searching I found this on the internet. It solved the problem with images not showing properly. In my case with outlook 2003 the folder was 11.0 instead of 9.0. Hope this can help.
http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1353596&page=8
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:38 am
Worked great for me in Outlook 2007 and in Hotmail. In many ways this solution should be obvious given that you can’t directly enter HTML into Word but that you can cut/paste into it. Thanks!
September 5th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
nice tip. tried it and it worked ok in the signature window. but when i compose a new mail, the sig doesn’t display properly. i have my message format defaulted as HTML. any suggestions?
September 6th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
hi i have a problem that seems to be the same as others however i can’t seem to fix it. i have set my signature as a little html. Inside is a little gif of the company logo. However the logo wont appear unless i put this logo on a server and have the html call it, which i dont want to do because 1) i dont have a server and 2) i want it to be attached to the email so that it is alwayse shown. How can I have it sent attached to the signature with my email?
November 22nd, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Hi there. I have an issue. First off, I have everything set to HTML as requested. The file has also been saved as an html. I feel like I\’m almost there, but I\’m missing a step. What\’s happening is:
When I attach the signature (I\’ve already gone in and added the sig. via the \
December 17th, 2007 at 9:00 am
10x a lots. Its working very fine for me.
January 29th, 2008 at 6:26 am
It works!!! Thanks very much!
February 18th, 2008 at 3:02 am
it works perfectly in the preview, but when making an email it shows only a few worsds, then below a large red “X”, then a large gap and a few more words!! any ideas?
March 12th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Hi,
I currently have 40 users with individual signatures on.
I would like to add a extra bit onto each signature but would be getting updated every other week.
Is there a way that i can have a section of the signature to be looked up from another area i.e. excel or internet?
Thanks
March 15th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Great help,
I also had problems with the text but found some solutions.
1. Text can\’t use styles at all. You need to format text inline like this WebView Designs Inc
2.Don\’t use any HTML tags just and
3.If it still doesn\’t look right once you bring it in to Outlook do the following:
create a new e-mail right click on your signature
- go to e-mail signatures
- select your e-mail signature
- format it the way you want then select Replace to save your work.
Also make sure to check your settings in Outlook
- Options/mail format/html options unclick \”When an HTML message contains pictures…\” this will prevent your image from showing.
March 15th, 2008 at 8:04 am
sorry! the formatting for the text should look like this WebView Designs Inc
you need to remove the ? in the code
March 20th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Thanks so much for your solution!
I had been trying to get this working for a client for ages and all I could get was the text version of the HTML in the signature.
Finally I came across your solution and now it is all sorted out. Phew!
BTW, I couldn\\\’t get notepad to save in any format except .txt but it seemed to work fine anyway and this was with Outlook 2003.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
hello,
I tried to put the signatures .. but its not work, is that because i\’m using outlook 2003 ?
thanks
May 18th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Hi, is there a way of writing JavaScript to the signature?.
I have written a live clock and included at the bottom of my HTML signature, but when uploaded , the clock is static.
Is there a setting I am missing?
Thankyou
June 1st, 2008 at 7:46 am
Thanks for those useful tips.
I was looking for a tool to help creating signatures, and found this nice online generator
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Thanks for the tip.
This works with Outlook 2007 nicely
Cheers,
Jamie
June 12th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I have an sig. in .BMP format. how could i add this sig. into the form of .HTML in Microsoft Outlook? sugest me please.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:07 am
hola a todos, mi problema es el siguiente, en mi empresa usamos la firma con el logo d la empresa y los datos, usamos outlook express y todo va bien, excepto que un compañero tiene microsoft outlook y ahi no me funciona la firma. Está realizada mediante codigo en html y llama a una imagen.
Como podría lograr que me cogiese la firma microsoft outlook?
Gracias por adelantado, un saludo.
July 31st, 2008 at 6:48 pm
HOW DO I ADD LOGO.GIF IN OUT LOOK SIGNATURE TO DOWNLOAD FROM WEB SITE
I WOULDNT LIKE TO ATTACH THE PICTURE
ANY THOUGHTS