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Super easy HTML
email signatures

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How to setup an email signature in Outlook 2003

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 2003.

It's never been easier to create a new email signature for Outlook 2003. Check out our beautiful email signature templates and easy to manage email signature software, that makes creating email signatures for Outlook 2003 a breeze.

Before you start

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 2003 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 2003 on Windows open.

Next Step

Follow either our Basic Step-by-Step Guide or Advanced Step-by-Step Guide to get your email signature installed in Outlook 2003.

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.

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: Basic Step-by-step Guide

Install: Basic Step-by-step Guide

1
Step 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.


2
Step Two

Once the Email Signature is open in your web browser, press Ctrl + A to highlight the signature, then press Ctrl + Cto copy the signature.

ctrl a to highlight

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.


3
Step Three

Open Microsoft Outlook 2007.


4
Step Four

Once Outlook 2007 is open, select Tools from the menu bar, then select Options.


5
Step Five

Once the Options box has opened, select the Mail Format tab in the middle. Ensure the "Compose in this message format" option has HTML selected. Then click the Signatures... button.


6
Step Six

Once on the Signatures and Stationery screen, click the New button and type a name for your signature.


7
Step Seven

Click inside your Signature window and press Ctrl + V to paste your copied email signature.


8
Step Eight

Close out of your settings and compose a new email, you will now see that your email signature is automatically inserted when writing an email.


Congratulations!

That's it. Try your email signature now by composing an email to yourself or a friend!

Install: Advanced Step-by-Step Guide

Install: Advanced Step-by-Step Guide

This is our Advanced email signature installation instructions for installing a HTML email signature in Outlook 2003. These should only be used if:

  • you want images to be less blurry
  • you want images to not show as attachments in some Mac email clients

1
Step 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.


2
Step Two

Now open Outlook 2003. 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.


3
Step 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 203 signatures where they are saved on your computer's hard-drive, in the following location:

C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Signatures


4
Step 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 2003 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 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

Install: Advanced Video Guide

Troubleshooting: FAQ

Troubleshooting: FAQ

If you have tried our Written Instructions, Video Instructions and Advanced Instructions for installing your signature into Outlook 2003 and you run into any issues, please read through this troubleshooting guide before contacting Support for further help.


When should I use the Advanced Instructions?

You should use the Advanced Instructions if you:

  • 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), 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've followed the 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 2003

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 2003. 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 2003

We have noticed that the preview box in the Outlook 2003 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

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

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.

Join Email Signature Rescue now

Everything you need to create, customize, manage and deploy HTML email signatures.

No Design Skills

No design skills required. Your signatures will look as beautiful as our examples. 20 easy to customize templates included.

No Tech Knowledge

Whether you’re a solo business owner, hairdresser, real estate agent or dog walker, anyone can create and install a signature!

Works With

Install in nearly all major email clients including Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook, iOS and more. 50+ email clients, apps and software supported.

Reliable & Tested

We refine our HTML code and conduct extensive testing regularly to ensure it is industry-leading and works across all major email clients.

Save Time

Create, customize, edit, manage and deploy HTML email signatures from one central, easy to use system.

Save Money

No expensive IT staff, developers or designers needed. From signature design, to installation and support, we take care of it all.

Easy Duplication

10, 20, 30 or 100 staff? No worries! Duplicate signatures you’ve already created from the Dashboard to create multiple signatures quickly.

Support if you need it

Hit a snag? Help is only an email away. We're here for help with any design, installation and technical issues, should you need us.

Email Signature Software for Businesses and Designers.