Outlook and Gmail email signatures: step-by-step installation

You have a nice signature, ready to use. Now you need to put it in the right place. That's where things get complicated: Outlook comes in several versions with different menus, Gmail puts the signature in the middle of its general settings, and Apple Mail has its own subtleties.

This guide goes through each email client step by step. It assumes your signature is already formatted, in a web page or an HTML file you can copy. If not, start by creating your email signature.

Before you start: copying the signature correctly

Most installations are done by copy and paste. For the formatting to carry over:

1. Open the signature in a browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox).
2. Select all of it, or use your tool's “Copy” button if it has one.
3. Copy (Ctrl + C or Cmd + C), then paste into the email client's signature field.

Avoid going through Word or an intermediate text editor: the formatting degrades there. And check that the images (logo, photo) are hosted online; otherwise they won't display for your recipients.

Signature in Gmail

These steps apply to Gmail on a computer, in a browser, for a personal account as well as a Google Workspace account. They follow the official Gmail help.

1. In Gmail, click the Settings icon (gear) in the top right, then See all settings.
2. In the General tab, scroll down to the Signature section.
3. Click Create new, give the signature a name (for example “Work”), then paste it into the field.
4. Just below, in the signature defaults, choose it for new emails and, if you wish, for replies and forwards.
5. At the very bottom of the page, click Save Changes.

Good to know:

• A Gmail signature can contain up to 10,000 characters, images included.
• If you send from several addresses (“Send mail as”), a menu above the field lets you assign a signature to each address.
• The Gmail app on smartphones has its own “mobile signature”, in plain text, which is set in the app's settings.

Signature in Outlook on the web and the new Outlook for Windows

Outlook on the web (Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com) and the new Outlook for Windows share the same interface. According to Microsoft's help:

1. Click Settings (gear) in the top right.
2. Open Accounts, then Signatures. On some older versions, the path is Mail › Compose and reply.
3. If you have several accounts, choose the one concerned.
4. Create a new signature, give it a name and paste it into the editing area.
5. Use the options provided to choose whether it is added to new messages and to replies and forwards.
6. Click Save.

Note: Microsoft states that signatures don't always sync between the different versions of Outlook. A signature created in Outlook on the web may need to be recreated in Outlook for Windows or for Mac.

Signature in classic Outlook for Windows

“Classic” Outlook, installed on the computer, is still widely used in companies.

By copy and paste

1. Open File › Options › Mail, then click Signatures. You can also go through a new message, Signature › Signatures menu.
2. Under “Select signature to edit”, click New and give it a name.
3. Paste the signature into the “Edit signature” area.
4. On the right, under “Choose default signature”, select the account, then the signature for New messages and for Replies/forwards.
5. Click OK.

By .htm file (more reliable for elaborate signatures)

The classic Outlook editor often simplifies complex layouts when pasting. If you have the signature as an .htm file:

1. Close Outlook.
2. Press Windows + R, type %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Signatures and confirm: the signatures folder opens.
3. Place the .htm file in it.
4. Reopen Outlook: the signature appears in File › Options › Mail › Signatures, where you set it as the default.

Signature in Outlook for Mac

1. In the menu bar, open Outlook › Settings (Preferences on older versions of macOS).
2. Click Signatures.
3. Click + to create a signature, name it and paste it into the editor.
4. Close the editor to save.
5. In the Signatures window, under the default signature, choose the account, then the signature for new messages and for replies and forwards.

Bonus: signature in Apple Mail on Mac

1. Open Mail › Settings, then the Signatures tab.
2. In the left column, select the email account.
3. Click + below the list of signatures and name the new signature.
4. Uncheck “Always match my default message font”; otherwise Mail replaces your signature's font with its own.
5. Paste the signature into the area on the right.
6. Use the “Choose Signature” menu to set it as the default for this account.

These labels are those in Apple's help. On iPhone, the Mail app has its own signature, set separately, with very limited formatting.

The most common problems

• The logo doesn't appear for the recipient: the image isn't hosted online, or the recipient's email client blocks external images. Use a public https image.
• The layout shifts in Outlook: use the .htm file for classic Outlook, and favor a signature built as a table.
• The logo disappears in dark mode: plan for a version with a light background built into the image.
• Two signatures stack up: a signature is set both in the email client and by the email administrator. Keep a single source.

If you need to repeat this for a whole team, read making the whole team's email signatures consistent instead.

Installing your Outlook or Gmail email signature with Profiles Flow

With Profiles Flow, each employee has a profile, and the “Email signature” tab of that profile shows their signature ready to install, with two buttons: “Copy the signature” and “Download the .htm file”. Instructions for each email client are shown alongside.

For a team, installation can be automated:

• Google Workspace: the dedicated module installs and keeps signatures up to date in the domain's Gmail accounts, after authorization granted once by the super administrator;
• in-house Exchange: for Outlook installed on Windows computers joined to the domain, a login script deployed by the administrator applies the signature at each login.

With these modules, everything updates automatically. Outlook on the web, the new Outlook and Outlook for Mac remain manual installations from the profile. A signature installed by hand keeps the text from the day it was installed: after a change of job title or number, you have to copy it again. The images (photo, logo, banner), however, update on their own. With Microsoft 365, a module installs and keeps signatures up to date in Outlook. The details are on the email signature page and in the documentation.

Frequently asked questions

A ready-to-paste signature for every employee? Profiles Flow offers a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.