How to create an e-mail
signature tagline

By Andy Walker, Cyberwalker Media Syndicate

Question: I receive e-mail all the time with tag lines at the end of the e-mail, like favourite web sites, famous quotes or company information. How do I do this in my e-mail program?

-G.J.

Answer: The great thing about e-mail signatures is that they provide you with a little piece of important information or shows a little but of your personality.
An e-mail auto-signature consists of a few lines of text that go at the bottom of outgoing e-mail. Most people use this function as a mini-business card. You can also put something fun in your auto-signature such as a quote from famous person such as your dad, or the web address to a picture of your cat asleep on your head.

The reader who asked the above question uses Outlook 2000, but for the benefit of all readers, here's how to create an e-mail signature in three popular e-mail programs Outlook 2000 and Outlook Express 5.5 and Netscape Messenger which comes with Netscape Communicator 4.7.

Now for the how-tos:

In Outlook 2000, click the Tools menu and then "Options". Then click the "Mail Format" tab and the "Signature Picker" button.

Click "New", then enter a name for the signature and click the "Start with a blank signature" option. Then click "Next>".

Now enter the text that you want to appear at the bottom of your e-mail.
No one likes to get an e-mail with a signature that three times as long as the e-mail message. You can use periods of hyphens to create line separators in the text. Then click "Finish".

In the pull down box next to the words "Use this signature by default", select the name of the signature you just created or choose "<None>" to stop the signature from being inserted automatically so you can choose which signature to use manually.

Check off the box that says, "Don't use when replying or forwarding" if you want the signature to only be inserted in new e-mail messages. Then click OK.
Every time you create a new e-mail in Outlook the signature will be appended to the bottom.

You can use this method to create multiple signatures for different e-mails. To choose a signature from a several you have created start by creating a new e-mail in Outlook. Address the e-mail and type your message as normal. Then click the "Insert" menu and choose "Signature". A list of signatures that have been created will appear in a popup box. Choose the signature you want and it will be inserted wherever the cursor in the e-mail is (hopefully at the bottom of the message).

Instructions for Outlook 98 are on this page: www.cyberwalker.com/r/sig-outlook-98.html

The process in Outlook Express 5.5, the e-mail client that comes with Internet Explorer 5.5, is slightly different. In the program click the "Tools" menu then click "Options", then the "Signatures" tab. Then click the "New" button.
Make sure the "Text" option is selected and type in your signature. If you want, check off the "Add signatures to all outgoing messages".

Click OK and the signature will be added to all new e-mails, If you want to keep your signatures in a text file, create the signature in a text file on your hard drive and instead of selecting "Text" in signature creator box, choose "File and use the "Browse" button to specify the location of the text file you created.
When creating a new e-mail, you can use the "Insert" menu's signature option to specify which signature to use if you have more than one.

Netscape Messenger 4.7 also has this ability, though it is less flexible.
First create a text file on your hard drive that contains you signature and make a note of which folder it is saved.

Open the program and choose "Preferences" from the "Edit" menu. Then click "Identity" in the left hand pane of Preferences window. On the right side of the pane click the "Choose" button next to the "Signature" field and find the signature field you just created. Select it and click OK.

If this column still doesn't fully help you with your e-mail problem or answer all the questions that you may have, you should see our Emergency Help page for personalized help.