Using Rich HTML in an Outlook.com Signature

Email & Messaging

Updated May 19, 2019

In Outlook.com, emails and signatures use rich HTML formatting automatically. You don't have to know any HTML code since the editor creates text in WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) unless you've chosen to send an email in plain text. If you do choose this option, you will lose the HTML formatted signature.

Instructions in this article apply to Outlook.com and Outlook Online.

Setting Up a Signature Using Rich HTML in Outlook.com

To create a signature that is added to your outgoing email messages:

Go to Settings (the gear icon).
Select View all Outlook settings.
In the Settings dialog box, select Mail.
Select Compose and reply.
In the Email signature text box, enter the text for your signature.
Use the tools on the Formatting toolbar to change fonts, add a font color, align paragraphs, insert links, and add images.
To add the signature to every new email message, select the Automatically include my signature on new messages that I compose check box (recommended).
To add the signature to messages that you forward or reply to, select the Automatically include my signature on messages I forward or reply to check box.

If you chose to not automatically add the signature to new messages, you can manually add a signature to a message before you send it.
Select Save, then close the Settings dialog box.
To test your new signature, select New message.
Your new signature appears in the message if you chose to automatically add signatures to new messages.

Manually Add a Signature to Outlook.com Email Messages

If you set up your Outlook.com signature and choose to not automatically include the signature on new messages that you compose, you can add the signature to specific email messages.

To manually add a signature to an email message:

Compose a new email message.
Place the cursor where you want to insert the signature.
At the bottom of the Compose pane, select the three dots ( ... ) and choose Insert signature.
Send your message.