Email Signature

Published February 24th, 2008

I have had several friends ask me how I get my “signature” at the bottom of my emails.   Well, here are the instructions!  First of all, I use Microsoft Outlook for all of my email, calendaring, notes, and contacts; I have tried lots of other data management programs and Outlook is my favorite.   If you are also using Outlook, then this will be easy for you.  If you are using something else… no promises.

1. Sign your name on a piece of paper with a thin felt-tip pen several times till you get it perfect (this reminded me of when I first learned how to write my name in “cursive;” do you remember writing your name over and over on notebook paper during class to see which way you liked best?  Maybe it’s a girl thing?)
2. Scan the page, crop your favorite signature, and save it as a picture file (like jpg).
3. Go to: Tools; Options; “Mail Format” tab; Signatures; then it will take you step by step to either edit or create a new signature. You will get to a spot where you can click on “Advanced Edit.”  I basically added the “picture” just like you would to a Word or Publisher document… “Insert, Picture, From File.”  I then typed the other things I wanted underneath my “signed” name, i.e. full name, phone numbers, and website.  The Then lastly, click save.

 

 (Some might think that “save” would be implicit… but when you have taught 25 6-7 year olds how to sucessfully log in and use 25 separate PC’s, you learn that very little if anything should be assumed when it comes to computers.)

Now, for those of you without a scanner, I have some good news.  Dave subscribes to LifeHacker.com, where he learned about a site that lets you create a unique stylized signature for free: www.MyLiveSignature.com!  Here is a quote from LifeHacker:

Adding a handwritten signature to letters or even email can add a distinguising, memorable mark to your messages—and in cases like mine, that distinct memory is, “Boy, his handwriting is awful.” MyLiveSignature, a free web app that produces stylized signatures for use in emails, blog posts, or other writing, is a fitting solution to that problem. After typing in your name, you get your choice of 10 fonts, and then many more choices for size, color, and tilt. The site then generates HTML and BB code to embed that signature wherever you’d like, and let people know it’s really you writing—even if it’s not quite you.

Have fun trying it out, and let me know if it works by sending me a new email!

 

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