The Older Geek

Adding a signature to your emails adds a touch of class to your correspondence. It also save you the hassle of typing in your name and corresponding information in every email. Thankfully, Windows makes it easy to add both a text signature and an image signature. I’m going to address how to add a text signature. There are strict requirements for adding signatures to your emails, so be sure to be careful with the instructions for this to work. This tutorial should work for both Windows Mail (formerly Outlook Express) and Windows Live Mail. You can also attempt this in other email clients, such as Thunderbird or Eudora; I think the general essence of adding a signature is very similar across all email software programs.

Add a Text Signature to Your Windows Mail Email

1. Open Windows Mail. Go to the menu bar at the top (if the menu bar is not showing, press F10 to display the menu bar).

2. Go to Tools >> Options. Select the “Signature” tab. Click the button “New.”

3. Windows Mail will automatically load a default signature with the name “Signature #1,” as you can see in the window below.

4. In the window called “Edit Signature,” enter your signature information, as you can see that I did mine. Do not add any html coding (for example <a href =”http://blahablah.com”>) as this will not translate correctly in the signature. If you have a website or email, simply type it in the signature directly, as I did. Windows Mail will make the url a hyperlink for readers to click.

5. Click the “Advanced” button. Here you can select which email account will use the signature you created. This is especially helpful if you have several email accounts for various blogs (as I do) and want to make your emails match your blogs.

6. Finally, you can customize when you want your signature to appear in emails. I chose to add them to all emails, but not in replies and forwards.

Moreover, you can rename your signature from the non-descriptive “Signature #1″ to a more useful and memorable name. Just click on the “Signature #1″ in the window titled “Signatures”, and click the button “Rename.” Type in the new name. Click elsewhere in the window, and the new name will automatically save.

7. Click “OK” to save your changes and close the window. Open a new message to test your signature.

8. If you have customized Windows Mail to display a signature for a particular email account and not the others, click “Create Mail,” and use the drop-down “From” feature to choose your email account with the signature. Click inside the email body once, to place the mouse cursor in the body. Now to go “Insert” and select “Signature.”

9. This is the finished product. You can see that Windows Mail translated the signature url to a hypertext link. You can now type in your email message above the signature.

Windows Mail signature settings are extremely versatile; there is so much more you can do. You can add images, html coding, and more. I will be adding more tutorials on these customizations in the near future, so stay tuned!

In Summary

1. In Windows Mail, go to Tools >> Options. Select “Signature” tab. Click “New.”

2. Enter your desired text.

3. Customize your settings, if you want: click “Advanced” to apply the signature to a certain email account. Set the signature to display in all emails, replies, or forwards, as you wish.

4. To insert your signature in emails manually: Create a new message, place your cursor in the email body, and go to Insert >> Signature.

5. Send your email as normal.

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