Email Signature Template

Instructions for PC

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If you get the message, “Internet Explorer restricted this web page from running scripts or ActiveX controls” when opening this page, please refresh the page and select “Allow blocked content” when prompted.

Step 1

Click on the wizard link below to enter your personal information.

Step 2

Copy your email signature: Highlight the signature by clicking in the top left corner of the white box. Holding your mouse button, drag the mouse all the way to the bottom right of the white box thereby selecting all the text and images. With your signature now highlighted copy it by pressing CTRL-C on your keyboard or right click and select copy.

Step 3

Follow the instructions for your version of email client below.

If you are unsure of the version of Outlook you are using, you should verify it by launching Outlook, and then either selecting -> help -> about from the menu, or by observing the splash screen when Outlook starts up.

Outlook 2007

1. In Outlook, select ‘Tools’ from the menu and then ‘Options’
2. The options box opens.
3. The 3rd tab at the top of the options box should be ‘Mail Format’.
4. Select ‘Mail Format’.
5. The second last item in the Mail Format section is ‘Signatures’. Click on the signatures button.
6. Signatures and Stationary box opens.
7. Click on the button that says ‘New’ to create a new signature.
8. Type a name for your signature like your Name and Surname for example.
9. Paste your signature you copied earlier into the ‘Edit Signature’ pane (the block at the bottom of the Signatures and Stationary box).
10. Your signature appears.
11. Verify that your signature looks ok, all text and images that should be there, are there, and that there are not additional funnies that should not be there. If something is not displaying correctly repeat the steps above. If it still does not display properly please read the help section of this guide.
12. Now verify your email account associated with this new signature (Check ‘E-mail account’ top right)
13. Lastly open the drop down box for ‘New messages’ and select your new signature. Optional: Do the same for ‘Replies/forwards’.
14. Click on ‘OK’ – You are done!

Outlook 2010

1. In Outlook, click on the ‘File’ tab (top left of page) and then click on ‘Options’
2. The options box opens
3. The 2nd menu item on the left should be ‘Mail ’.
4. Click on the ‘Mail’ menu item.
5. The third item in the Mail section is for signatures. Click on the ‘Signatures’ button.
6. Signatures and Stationary box opens.
7. Click on the button that says ‘New’ to create a new signature.
8. Type a name for your signature like your Name and Surname for example.
9. Paste your signature you copied earlier into the ‘Edit Signature’ pane (the block at the bottom of the Signatures and Stationary box).
10. Your signature appears.
11. CAUTION: When right clicking and pasting, Outlook will present you with 3 options for pasting under ‘Paste options’ . Make sure you select ‘Keep source formatting’!
12. Verify that your signature looks ok, all text and images that should be there, are there, and that there are not additional funnies that should not be there. If something is not displaying correctly repeat the steps above. If it still does not display properly please read the help section of this guide.
13. Now verify your email account associated with this new signature (Check ‘E-mail account’ top right)
14. Lastly open the drop down box for ‘New messages’ and select your new signature. Optional: Do the same for ‘Replies/forwards’.
15. Click on ‘OK’ – You are done!

Instructions for Mac

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Step 1

Click on the wizard link below to enter your personal information.

Step 2

Copy your email signature: Highlight the signature by clicking in the top left corner of the white box. Holding your mouse button, drag the mouse all the way to the bottom right of the white box thereby selecting all the text and images. With your signature now highlighted copy it by pressing CTRL-C on your keyboard or right click and select copy.

Step 3

Follow the instructions for your version of email client below.

Outlook 2011

1. In Outlook click on the ‘Outlook’ menu item (top left) and then select preferences.
2. In Outlook Preferences, click on ‘Signatures’ in the “Email” section.
3. The Signatures box opens.
4. Click on the ‘+’ sign (bottom right) to create a new signature.
5. Change the default name to something meaningful, like your Name and Surname as an example.
6. In the right hand pane, select and delete the default text that Outlook adds.
7. Now paste the signature you copied earlier.
8. NOTE: The signature may not look right at this point, as the preview box does not resize according to the content. We will test the signature in an email.
9. OPTIONAL: You can make this your default signature by clicking on the ‘Default Signatures’ button, and associating your new signature with your email account.
10. Close the signature box by clicking the red button (top left)
11. Open a new mail.
12. If you selected the default signature option above, your signature will appear automatically. Otherwise, select your signature from the ‘Signatures’ button (Center top).
13. NOTE: Signature will be greyed out until you enter a recipient email address.
14. Enter your email address and send a test message to yourself with the new signature.
15. Verify that your signature looks ok, all text and images that should be there, are there, and that there are not additional funnies that should not be there. If something is not displaying correctly repeat the steps above. If it still does not display properly please read the help section of this guide or send us feedback.

Mail (OSX 10.7 LION)

1. In Mail click on the ‘Mail’ menu item (top left) and then select ‘Preferences’.
2. In Mail Preferences, click on the Signatures icon in the top menu (2nd last menu item).
3. The Signatures box opens.
4. Select the primary account you are using in the left panel.
5. NOTE: Do not select ‘All Signatures’.
6. Click on the ‘+’ sign (below the middle panel) to create a new signature.
7. Change the default name to something meaningful, like your Name and Surname as an example.
8. In the right hand panel, select and delete the default text that Mail adds.
9. Now paste the signature you copied earlier (cmd-v or right click and paste).
10. NOTE: 1. The signature may not look right at this point, as the preview box does not resize according to the content. 2. The images may also be missing at this point. This is ok, and we will test the signature in an email. 3. Do not check ‘Always match my default message font’.
11. Close the signatures box by clicking the red button (top left)
12. Open a new mail.
13. Enter your email address and send a test message to yourself with the new signature.
14. Verify that your signature looks ok, all text and images that should be there, are there, and that there are not additional funnies that should not be there. If something is not displaying correctly repeat the steps above. If it still does not display properly please read the help section of this guide or send us feedback.

Instructions for Web email clients

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Step 1

Click on the wizard link below to enter your personal information.

Step 2

Copy your email signature: Highlight the signature by clicking in the top left corner of the white box. Holding your mouse button, drag the mouse all the way to the bottom right of the white box thereby selecting all the text and images. With your signature now highlighted copy it by pressing CTRL-C on your keyboard or right click and select copy.

Step 3

Follow the instructions for your version of email client below.

Outlook Web Access (OWA v14.0)

1. Log in to your Webmail (Outlook Web Access)
2. Click on the options link (top right [under your name]
3. Click on ‘See All Options’
4. On the left side of the page, the menu option ‘Settings’ should be the 3rd option. Click on ‘Settings’.
5. The E-Mail Signature should appear in the top left of the Settings page.
6. NOTE: If you get an error: ‘404 File or directory not found’, please try another browser. We have seen this issue with Google Chrome browsers and Apple Safari browsers. Try Firefox or Internet Explorer. (You can go bck to your usual browser after adding your signature).
7. If you have an existing signature, it will appear in the E-Mail Signature box. Click on the existing signature, select all, and delete the content.
8. Now paste the signature you copied earlier (cmd-v or right click and paste).
9. Check the box: ‘Automatically include my signature on messages I send’.
10. Click on ‘Save’ (bottom right of the page)
11. You can now click on ‘Mail’ (top left) and you will go back to your inbox.
12. Open a new mail.
13. Enter your email address and send a test message to yourself with the new signature.
14. Verify that your signature looks ok, all text and images that should be there, are there, and that there are not additional funnies that should not be there. If something is not displaying correctly repeat the steps above. If it still does not display properly please read the help section of this guide or send us feedback.

Google Mail (Gmail)

1. Log in to your Google mail account.
2. Click on the ‘Gear’ icon (top right below your name)
3. Click on ‘Settings’
4. The settings page appears.
5. Scroll down to the ‘Signature’ section.
6. Change the radio button from ‘No signature’ to signature (unless already selected)
7. If you have an existing signature, click in the signature box, and select everything, and delete. (ctrl-a -> del - PC or cmd-c -> backspace - Mac)
8. Now paste the signature you copied earlier (cmd-v / ctrl-v or right click and paste).
9. NOTE: If your signature does not appear correctly (looks like plain text – no colour, etc), this could be a copy-and-paste problem. Please repeat the steps above. If it still does not display properly please read the help section of this guide or send us feedback.
10. Scroll down all the way to the bottom, and click on the ‘Save Changes’ button. NOTE: do not change any other settings.

Best Practices

Long distance?

If you use the international number format for your telephone numbers (e.g. +27), you should not include the ‘(0)’ in the number.

Example:
Correct: +27 82 555 5555
Incorrect: +27 (0) 82 555 5555

The reason for this is that many people will be reading your mail on mobile devices. If they click on your number to call you the ‘(0)’ will cause the call to fail, and they will have to copy, paste and edit your number before they can call you! Very frustrating.

Don’t mix stationary and email signatures together
Some people like to change the background colour of their emails or use patterns, etc (stationary), in their emails. This may look good in your email client, but not every email client likes this. Chances are that the stationary will interfere with your signature once sent, and most certainly will break when a non stationary friendly mail client reads your mail.

Don’t change the font
The font used in your signature is chosen for a reason. Although there are thousands of fonts available, if you are trying to make something to look the same on PC’s, Macs and different email clients – that list shrinks down to a dozen or so fonts that can be used. These are called web-safe fonts. If you use a different font, any computer that does not have that font installed will use the default font that shipped with it! Yuk!

Logo goes left
In order to allow space for people who may have extra ordinarily long names, it is good practice to put the logo on the left of the signature. If we didn’t do this, a name with too many characters would wrap to the next line, and that would not be good.

Project background

Creating the perfect email signature that works 100% on every email client is virtually impossible. With the myriad of email clients, different operating systems and various programming languages out there, getting your signature to look good on every system becomes tricky.

Many people just use an image as the email signature in order to ensure it always looks the same. The problem with this approach is that many email servers don’t allow images, and some people choose to turn off images in their emails to combat, spam, tracking and security.

At LOUD! Consulting we have researched the various platforms and email clients and discovered what works across all and what does not. We have used this information as input into the design of your email signature. We are confident that your signature will display correctly in 90% of email clients, and where it does not, your signature will ‘fail gracefully’, meaning that it will still look acceptable and communicate your details to the recipient.

If you have any questions, or suggestion on how we can improve our email signatures, please let us know by clicking on the feedback tab and getting in touch.

FAQ and support

Q. Tabs on the email template menu do not work, or you can’t click on the menu tabs.
A. This email template requires an Internet connection to work properly. Please connect to the Internet and refresh this page.

Q. I get an error “Internet Explorer restricted this web page from running scripts or ActiveX controls” when opening this template.
A. This template makes use of Javascript for the menu items. Please allow blocked content when prompted by your browser.

Q. There are no images in my signature, or in this template.
A. This email template requires an Internet connection to work properly. Please connect to the Internet and refresh this page.

Q. My signature looks funny when I paste it. What is wrong?
A. This could be many things. Sometimes the image in your signature will not show up immediately when you paste it into your mail client. Follow the instructions and test it by sending yourself a mail. It could also be that you have selected too much or too little of the signature when copying it. Please select the signature carefully using the mouse and not selecting all by pressing ctrl-a or cmd-a. You can also test what you are copying by pasting it into word before you paste it into your email client.

Q. My signature is not showing up when I open a new mail.
A. On PC you need to set your signature as default and select when it will appear for new mails. For Mac you need to associate your signature with your account. Please see the instructions where this is documented.

Q. My signature does not display when I reply to someone.
A. On PC you need to specify Reply/forwards in the signature setup. For Mac you need to associate your signature with your account. Please see the instructions where this is documented.

Q. When I paste my signature, it only pastes text. No images, no colour. Nothing but text.
A. This is more than not related to copying troubles. Firstly, try and copy your signature again, and paste. Secondly you should refresh the email template page and try again.

If you are still having issues, please send us feedback

Send us your feedback

Please let us know if something is missing or not working for you. We are constantly looking to improve this service, so we would love to hear from you.

You can email us at support@loud.za.com and we will be happy to assist.

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