How to change your email signature in Outlook

Outlook has three versions and each one hides the signature setting somewhere different. Steps for all of them below.

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This is an approximation. Email clients render differently - Outlook especially - so expect small differences in spacing. If you paste into a text editor or a code window, you'll get plain text - that's normal. The formatting only survives if you paste somewhere that accepts it, like your email client's signature field.

Nothing you type is uploaded to our server or saved - the tool runs in your browser only.

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"Outlook" today means three different apps with three different settings menus. If you're not sure which you have, check whether your window has a File menu: classic desktop Outlook does, New Outlook doesn't.

Outlook on the web

  1. 1.Open Settings (the gear icon, top right).
  2. 2.Go to Account, then Signatures.
  3. 3.Click "+ New signature," name it, and paste your signature into the box.
  4. 4.Click Save.

Classic Outlook desktop

  1. 1.Go to File → Options → Mail → Signatures. From a new message, you can also use Message → Signature → Signatures…
  2. 2.Click "New," and give your signature a name.
  3. 3.Paste your signature into the "Edit signature" box.
  4. 4.Click OK, then OK again to close Options.

New Outlook for Windows

  1. 1.Go to Settings → Accounts → Signatures. There's no File menu in New Outlook, which is the fastest way to tell which version you have.
  2. 2.Click "Add signature" and give it a name.
  3. 3.Paste your signature into the editor.
  4. 4.Your signature saves automatically and syncs across devices, since New Outlook's settings are cloud-based rather than per-device.

Things worth knowing about Outlook signatures

Outlook is three different products. New Outlook, classic desktop Outlook, and Outlook on the web each handle signatures differently, and instructions written for one frequently don't apply to another. That's the single biggest source of confusion here.

Signatures don't reliably sync between them. Setting one up on desktop doesn't put it on the web version, and vice versa. Newer versions have improved this with cloud-stored signatures, but it's worth checking rather than assuming.

Extra line spacing is the classic Outlook complaint. Because Outlook renders using Word's engine rather than a browser's, spacing behaves differently: you'll often see more gap between lines than the preview showed. Usually it comes from empty fields leaving structure behind. Removing unused fields fixes it more reliably than adding negative spacing.

Corporate Outlook may block your images. Many organisations configure Outlook to block external images by default, so recipients inside those companies see a placeholder rather than your logo. Nothing in the signature can override that, which is a reason not to put anything essential in an image.

Your organisation may manage signatures centrally. Larger companies often push a standard signature by policy, in which case your local changes get overwritten. If yours keeps reverting, that's why.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my signature look different in Outlook than in the preview here?
Outlook renders HTML using Microsoft Word's engine rather than a browser's, which is why it's the client most likely to shift spacing or handle layout differently. The templates here are built as tables with inline styling specifically because that's what survives Word's renderer, but a browser preview can only ever approximate it. Expect small spacing differences; they're normal.
My signature has extra space between the lines.
That's Word's line handling, and it's the single most common Outlook signature complaint. It usually appears where an empty field left a gap. Try removing unused fields rather than adding spacing to compensate.
My image shows as a red X or an empty box.
Either the URL isn't publicly reachable, or the recipient's Outlook is blocking external images. Many corporate configurations do this by default. Neither is something a signature can fix, which is worth knowing before you rely on a logo carrying your branding.
Can I use the same signature across desktop and web Outlook?
Yes, but you have to set it up in each one separately. Outlook doesn't reliably sync signatures between them.

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