An email signature is a great way to let the recipient know your social media presence, contact information, or role within the company. Email providers like Outlook and Gmail Users create a unique signature for each email they send. This problem arises when you want to use multiple signatures for different purposes. Here's how to use different signatures on your Outlook desktop.
Let's say you're sending a personal email to friends and family. In that case, you wouldn't want to include a signature with your work details. Similarly, if you were responding to a work email, you wouldn't use a signature with your personal social media profiles.
You can always use different email addresses for different purposes, but this isn't a viable solution for using different signatures. Fortunately, Outlook lets you create different signatures to use based on the recipient's context and email address. Here's how to set it up.
Use different signatures in Outlook on Windows
The ability to use multiple Outlook signatures within a single Outlook account is limited to the desktop applications only. That is, you cannot create and use multiple Outlook signatures from one account. Outlook mobile apps Or the web.
In the example below, we'll use the Microsoft 365 Outlook app to use different signatures. Follow these steps.
Step 1: Open Outlook on your Windows computer.
Step 2: Click File in the menu bar.
Step 4: Go to Mail and select Signatures.
Step 5: You will see existing signatures for editing.
Step 6: You can make changes to an existing signature and use the New button to create a new signature.
Step 7: Type a name for this signature and click OK.
From the Default Signature selection menu, you can select your default signature for new messages as well as replies/forwards. Don't worry, you can still use a different signature when composing a new email. Here's how.
When creating a new email, you can select the signature menu at the top.
Then, from the drop-down menu, select a relevant signature and begin drafting your email. If you don't use the Signature menu, Outlook will continue to use the default signature you set from the Settings menu.
Even when you reply to or forward an email, you have the option to use a different signature in Outlook.
Let's move on to Outlook on Mac to learn how to use different signatures in email.
Use different signatures in Outlook on Mac
Microsoft recently redesigned a completely revamped app on Mac. Microsoft plans to release an Outlook app in the future. One across all operating systems. But it's not over yet, and the current Outlook app is what we get now.
To clarify, Outlook will not sync your email signatures across different operating systems. That is, Outlook signatures created on Windows will remain on Windows. The same applies to the Mac app and Outlook mobile apps.
We wouldn't consider this a flaw. Separating email signatures based on the device/operating system you're using is an understandable decision.
With that out of the way, let's learn how to use different email signatures in Outlook on Mac.
Step 1: Open the Outlook app on your Mac.
Step 2: Click Outlook in the menu bar and open the Preferences menu.
Step 3: Go to Email > Signatures.
Step 4: From the Signatures list, you'll see all current signatures on the left side. Click the + icon.
Step 5: A small dialog box with a rich text editor will open.
Step 6: Give the signature a relevant name and create an email signature.
From the Default Signature selection list, you can select your preferred account and email signature to use with new emails and replies/forwards.
Select the email signature you use most often and close the list.
Click the New Message button in the upper left corner and create a new email from the Outlook home page. You can select the Signature menu at the top and select a relevant signature to use in your Outlook email from the right side.
Use the correct signature in the appropriate place.
As we mentioned earlier, you need to use a signature that is relevant to the context of the email and the recipient. This creates a better impression on the recipient. We typically use 3-4 different email signatures with Outlook on Windows, depending on the subject of the email. How do you plan to use different signatures in Outlook? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
