How to setup an email signature in Outlook 2010
Install your HTML email signature in no time! Use our signature installer or follow our step-by-step guides to install your email signature in Outlook 2010.
It's never been easier to create a new email signature for Outlook 2010. Check out our beautiful email signature templates and easy to manage email signature software, that makes creating email signatures for Outlook 2010 a breeze.
Before you start
You will need:
- To make sure you have chosen the correct guide for your version of Outlook. If you're on Outlook 2010 on Windows then you've chosen the correct guide. If you haven't got the right guide, you can select the correct guide here.
- Your email signature file (.html file) open in your web browser, or be logged into your Email Signature Rescue account with your signature open in Full Screen Preview.
- To have Outlook 2010 on Windows open.
Next Step
If you are using an email signature HTML file created by our Email Signature Rescue software, click on Get Started: Windows 7/10 Installer App for a quick and easy HTML email signature install into Outlook 2010. This will complete the Advanced Installation process for you, resulting in much better image quality and attachments not showing in most email clients. You can read more about this in our Troubleshooting FAQ.
If you do not have a HTML file created by our Email Signature Rescue software, click on Basic Installation Guide below to follow our written installation guide with screenshots (recommended). There is a Basic Video Installation Guide available if you prefer.
Our Advanced Installation Guide will fix issues such as blurry images and attachments showing in some email clients, however this is more technical than our Basic Installation Guide. Consider joining Email Signature Rescue to get access to our Installer App which completes the Advanced method of installation for you, if you are having trouble with this.
If you run into any issues during your HTML email signature installation in Outlook 2010 on Windows, please see the Troubleshooting FAQ for frequently asked questions, before contacting support through your member account.
Install: Signature Installer App
Installing your email signature via the app
Install your email signature once, then never worry again. Our signature installer app for Windows features auto-update functionality which syncs your email signature with our software, allowing it to automatically update when changes are made from your Email Signature Rescue account.
Download the Installer App for Windows
1Step One
Open the Email Signature Rescue Installer app and click the ( + ) button to add a new signature.
2Step Two
Select your email client.
3Step Three
Select the email account you want to install your email signature into.
4Step Four
Paste your email signature key. If you have HTML file instead of a key, click Use File, then click and select your saved HTML email signature file.
5Step Five
Select to insert for replies/forwards if you would like, then click Install Signature.
6Step Six
The app will install your email signature into your email client for you, and automatically update it if changes are made to it by the Email Signature Rescue account holder.
Installer app not working?
You can report an issue with our Windows Installer App here or via the app.
Install: Basic Guide
1Step One
Login to your Email Signature Rescue account and click on the full screen preview button to open your email signature in a full screen view.
Or if you have been emailed your HTML email signature file, simply open it in Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer/Edge browser.
2Step Two
Once the Email Signature is open in your web browser, press CTRL + A to highlight the signature, then press CTRL + C to copy the signature.
IMPORTANT: Do not use your mouse to select the area, only use Ctrl + A as you may miss out on grabbing some of the code.
3Step Three
Open Microsoft Outlook 2010.
4Step Four
Once Outlook 2010 is open, select the File tab at the top right of the program on the Menu Bar.
5Step Five
On the left hand side, click the Options button.
6Step Six
Once the Outlook Options box has opened, select the Mail tab on the right hand side just beneath General.
7Step Seven
Click the Signatures...
button on the right hand side.
NOTE: If the email signature preview in the settings area is cutting off your email signature, do not worry, this is expected and is due to the way the signature preview renders HTML signatures. Simply send yourself a test email and you will see it displays correctly.
8Step Eight
Click the New
button to create your Signature in Outlook 2010.
9Step Nine
The New Signature box will open. Enter what you would like to name your signature, and click OK
.
10Step Ten
Click inside your signature field below, then press Ctrl + V
to paste your copied email signature. At the top right of your signature window, select your signature to send on new messages and reply/forwarded messages.
11Step Eleven
Save your changes, then compose a new email and your signature will automatically be inserted.
Congratulations!
That's it. Try your email signature now by composing an email to yourself or a friend!
Install: Advanced Guide
This is our Advanced email signature installation instructions for installing a HTML email signature in Outlook 2010. These should only be used if:
- your Signature Installer App can't find your email account
- you want images to be less blurry
- you want images to not show as attachments in some Mac email clients
1Step One
Open your email signature HTML file in Notepad or select Copy Code from your dashboard. Copy the code by pressing Ctrl + A
to select all, then Ctrl + C
to copy the selection. Make sure you copy all of the code. Don't use your mouse to highlight the code, only use Ctrl + A.
2Step Two
Now open Outlook 2010. Go to your Signature settings by going to File
> Options
> Mail
> Signatures...
. Create a new signature by clicking New
. Give your signature a name you will remember, eg. your name, and then press OK
to save.
3Step Three
Keep the File
> Options
> Mail
screen open. This time when you click on the Signatures...
button, hold Ctrl
while you do it. This will open the Outlook 2010 signatures where they are saved on your computer's hard-drive, in the following location:
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Signatures
4Step Four
Find the signature .htm file that you just created, it will be called whatever you named your signature when you created it in Outlook 2010 just now, eg, your name. Right click on the correct .htm file and open it in Notepad, right-click > Open with
> Notepad
. When the .htm file is open in Notepad, select all of the text that is already in the file and delete it by pressing Ctrl + A
and then Delete. Now, paste in your copied email_signature.html file by pressing Ctrl V
. Save the .htm file.
If this Advanced process is too hard, try using our Signature Installer App, watching our Advanced Video or following our Easy Step-by-Step Guide. If you're a member and experience any issues, you can contact support through your member account for additional help.
Install: Advanced Video Guide
Troubleshooting: FAQ
If you have tried our Written Instructions, Video Instructions and Advanced Instructions for installing your signature into Outlook 2010 and you run into any issues, please read through this troubleshooting guide before contacting Support for further help.
Email Signature Rescue members: We now have a Windows 7/10 Installer App that will install your email signature in Outlook 2010 in a jiffy! Learn more and download it here
Why can't the Signature Installer App find my mail account?
If your email account is an Exchange account then the Signature Installer App won't be able to recognize your mail account when attempting to install your email signature. We are currently adding functionality to the app so it will recognize Exchange accounts.
Until this is available, you can follow the Basic or Advanced Installation Guide to have your email signature installed within minutes.
When should I use the Advanced Instructions?
You should use the Advanced Instructions if you:
- are using a HTML email signature file produced by our Email Signature Rescue software but cannot install your email signatures using our Installer App and have been advised by Support Staff to follow these instructions instead
- are having issues with installing your email signature using our Basic Installation Guide
- want images to be less blurry
- want images to not show as attachments in some Mac email clients
The reason the images may be blurry using our Basic Installation Guide, is because when you paste the email signature into the settings, Outlook saves your images and compresses them, and then attaches them to the email message in it's own way. If you paste the HTML directly into Outlook's created HTML file and override the Outlook created HTML (following the Advanced Instructions or using our Installer App), it will no longer serve the blurry, compressed images that Outlook created, it will serve the images correctly, from the web server, as per your HTML file's instructions.
The images in my signature are still blurry or distorted and I'm using the Installer App or Advanced Installation Guide
If the images in your email signature are still distorted or quite blurry, it could be a display setting on your computer. Go to Control Panel > Display in your computer's settings. There you will see three text size options for 100%, 125% and 150%. If your computer is not set at 100%, it can cause the signature to look distorted when it's pasted in. Change the settings to 100% and press Apply to save them. Then re-install the email signature.
My email signature images are showing as attachments in some email software
If you are concerned about images showing as attachments when you send emails to some Apple Mac email clients, use the Installer App or Advanced Instructions to install your email signature. As explained above, this will force Outlook to use the images located directly on the web server, and not the ones it creates, compresses and attaches instead.
My email signature does not look right when I paste it into Outlook 2010
First check - has the user selected all of the HTML?
A majority of the time when this happens, the user installing the signature has not copied all of the relevant code before pasting it into Outlook 2010. To ensure that all of the code from the signature is copied, the user needs to use Ctrl A to select the signature when open in the browser or full screen preview and Ctrl C to copy it.If the user uses their mouse to select the code, they may not select all of the HTML for the signature to work correctly, which will cause the signature to look different when pasted in.
Second check - has the user deleted all prior HTML/ characters/text from the signature settings box before pasting?
You need to make sure you delete everything from the signature box before you paste the signature in. If you do not delete everything before you paste your signature in, it will not work correctly. Delete all of the email signature from the signature settings box by selecting it all (Ctrl A) then hit Delete. Make sure that your cursor is at the top left of the signature box and you cannot select anything inside the box. You should not be able to move the cursor anywhere, it should remain in the top left corner. You may not be able to see it, the only way to ensure you have deleted it all it to double click around inside the box and delete anything you find. Now copy and re-paste in your email signature, using only Ctrl A, Ctrl C and Ctrl V.
Third Check - does the User have their text size display settings set higher than 100% in the computer settings?
To find this out, go to Control Panel > Display in your computer's settings. There you will see three text size options for 100%, 125% and 150%. If your computer is not set at 100%, it can cause the signature to look distorted when it's pasted in. Change the settings to 100% and press Apply to save them. Then re-install the signature following our guide.
The email signature preview box cutting off email signature view in Outlook 2010
We have noticed that the preview box in the Outlook 2010 email signature settings may cut off your HTML email signature preview. Usually the email signature has been pasted in correctly, so do not touch it at all once you have pasted it. Double check if your email signature is installed correctly, by composing a new email message instead and sending a test email to yourself.
When I compose an email message, it's composing in plain text
If you don't see any images or colors, or your email signature has lost it's formatting when you compose a new message, it's most likely that you have your compose settings are set to plain text. Go to your compose settings and change it to HTML. See this article for more information.
Need more help?
Please contact our Member Support Team through your Email Signature Rescue account using the red help button for direct assistance.
Troubleshooting: Where do I find my email signature HTML file
- If you are an Email Signature Rescue member and are logged into your account, you can download your HTML file directly from your Dashboard, by clicking on the Download button.
- If you have been emailed your HTML file, go to the email and open the file in Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
- If you have your HTML file saved on your computer hard drive, navigate to where you have saved the HTML file and open with Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
Troubleshooting: I don't have an email signature HTML file
If you don't have an email signature HTML file, consider joining Email Signature Rescue now and get creating! We offer over 20 professionally designed and tested email signature templates, tools and features to create and manage your email signatures online and a whole lot more.