Indiana University
  •  
  •  
  •  

In Microsoft Outlook for Windows, how do I create and use a signature?

To create a signature in Outlook for Windows:

  1. From the Tools menu, select Options..., and then click the Mail Format tab.

  2. Click the Signatures... or Signatures Picker... button, and select New....

  3. In the resulting dialog box, in the text box beneath "1. Enter a name for your new signature:", enter a name for your signature.

  4. In the text box beneath "2. Choose how to create your signature:", make a selection. If you choose Use this file as a template:, browse to the file and click Select. For all choices, click Next >.

  5. In the resulting dialog box, in the text box beneath "This text will be included in outgoing mail messages:", create your signature. You can change the signature's formatting using the Font..., Paragraph..., and Advanced Edit... buttons.

    Note: The Font... and Paragraph... buttons will work only with the Rich Text or HTML message composition settings. To make one of these your default message composition setting, go back to the Mail Format tab, and towards the top of the dialog box, in the drop-down menu next to "Compose in this message format:", choose HTML or Rich Text (Microsoft Outlook Rich Text in Outlook 2000).

  6. When you're satisfied with your signature, click Finished, then OK, then OK again.

To attach the signature to new messages:

  1. From the Tools menu, select Options..., and then the Mail Format tab.

  2. At the bottom of the Mail Format tab:

    • In Outlook 2002 and 2003, click the arrow next to "Signature for new messages:" and "Signature for replies and forwards:" to choose a signature from the list for each type of message.
    • In Outlook 2000, next to "Use this Signature by default:", you'll see a drop-down list from which you can choose a signature to use for your outgoing messages. If you also want to use it for replies and forwards, deselect the Don't use when replying or forwarding checkbox.

  3. Click OK.