SignatureAI

How to add a signature in Outlook

Microsoft ships several different Outlooks and each keeps signatures in a different place. Pick yours below. In every version, copying a finished signature from the generator and pasting it in is quicker than formatting inside Outlook's small editor.

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web

  1. Press Copy signature in the generator.
  2. In Outlook, click the gear icon (Settings) at the top right.
  3. Go to Accounts > Signatures.
  4. Click + New signature, type a name, then click in the editor and paste with Ctrl+V.
  5. Under Select default signatures, choose it for new messages and for replies/forwards.
  6. Click Save.

Signatures here are stored in your mailbox, so the same set appears in new Outlook and on outlook.com or Outlook on the web.

Classic Outlook for Windows (Microsoft 365, 2021, 2019)

  1. Press Copy signature in the generator.
  2. In Outlook, go to File > Options > Mail > Signatures… (or, in a new message, Insert > Signature > Signatures…).
  3. Click New, name it, and click OK.
  4. Click into the Edit signature box and paste with Ctrl+V.
  5. On the right, pick the email account and set New messages and Replies/forwards.
  6. Click OK.

The HTML-file route (most faithful)

Classic Outlook keeps signatures as files in %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Signatures. Create a signature named e.g. "Work" first, close Outlook, then replace Work.htm in that folder with the generator's Download .html file renamed to Work.htm. Reopen Outlook. This skips the Word editor's reformatting. Don't edit that signature in Outlook afterwards, or Word rewrites the HTML.

What changes in classic Outlook: rounded photo corners show square, and web fonts fall back, which is why the generator only offers web-safe fonts. Layout, colours and links hold.

Outlook for Mac

  1. Press Copy signature in the generator (use Safari or Chrome).
  2. In Outlook, open the Outlook menu > Settings… (Preferences on older versions) > Signatures.
  3. Click +, type a name, and paste into the editor with ⌘+V.
  4. Close the editor window, which saves it.
  5. Back in Signatures, under Choose default signature, set it per account for new messages and replies/forwards.

Outlook for iPhone and Android

  1. Open Outlook, tap your profile picture or the menu at the top left, then the gear icon.
  2. Tap Signature (under Mail).
  3. Type or paste your signature. Turn on Per Account Signature if you have several accounts.

The mobile signature editor handles text and basic formatting only; table layouts and images from a desktop signature may not survive pasting. Use the generator's Copy plain text for a tidy version.

Images in Outlook signatures

Always use images hosted at a public https:// address. By default, Outlook asks recipients to click "download pictures" before showing external images from unknown senders, so every piece of contact information in your signature should be real text, not part of an image. The generator's social links are text badges for the same reason.

Logos: set the display width with the generator's slider and upload a file twice that width. Outlook respects the width attribute the generator writes on every image, which stops a large file from blowing up the layout on high-DPI Windows displays. More in the size guide.

Questions people ask

Which Outlook do I have?

If there is a "New Outlook" toggle at the top right, or your window looks like Outlook on the web, you have new Outlook. If you have a File menu with Options, it is classic Outlook for Windows. On a Mac, the Outlook menu sits next to the Apple menu.

Why does my Outlook signature image show as an attachment?

Classic Outlook for Windows often downloads images in a pasted signature and embeds them in every email, which some recipients see as attachments. Keep images few and small, and link them from a public URL. New Outlook and Outlook on the web keep hosted images as links.

Why are my photo corners square in Outlook?

Classic Outlook for Windows renders HTML with Microsoft Word, which ignores border-radius. If a round photo matters, crop the image file itself to a circle on a white background.

Do Outlook signatures sync between devices?

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web share signatures stored in your Microsoft 365 mailbox. Classic Outlook, Outlook for Mac and the mobile apps may keep their own copies, so set it up in each.

Why is there extra space between lines in Outlook?

Word-based Outlook adds paragraph spacing to text pasted as paragraphs. Signatures built with table cells and line-height set in pixels, like the ones from our generator, avoid most of it.