What’s your email signature look like? One of those drab, plain text affairs with long, ugly URLs? Are you envious of the glorious, rich text signatures replete with images, hyperlinks and digitized signatures that you get from your classier correspondences? Envy no more, good chum, because you can create your own HTML signature in Thunderbird without even learning HTML. Here’s how:
Step One
Create a new blank message in Thunderbird by clicking Write. We’re not actually going to be sending an email here, we’re just using this message as a workspace.
Step Two
Type out your signature and format it using the formatting toolbar in the composition window. Make everything just like you want it to look in your signature.
Step Three
Personally, I like to include an image in my signature. If you’re pretty enough, you could even include a headshot, but lookin’ good isn’t really my department, so I’m going to use a logo. There are two ways to do this: attach it or embed an image on a web server. If you attach it, then every single email you send out will have your signature image attached. This’ll add a few KBs to your file size, which may or may not be an issue for you. But the real drawback is that your recipients will never know if you actually sent them an attachment other than your signature image. I don’t really like that, so I usually opt for the remote hosted image. The drawback of that is that, by default, most web clients block remote images. But once you start emailing someone regularly, they can start accepting remote images, so really, that’s only an issue for your first message.
Anyway, to insert an image, click the Insert button in the formatting tool bar and click Image.
If you’re attaching your image, you can simply browse for it by clicking Choose File… If you’re using a remote image, copy and paste the location into the Image Location field. You can also add alt text and tooltip text, if you’d like, or you can select Don’t use alternate text to forgo this.
Step Four
You’ll also probably want to include a link. To create a hyperlink, highlight the text you want to use as your anchor text and click the Insert button and choose Link.
Type in the destination URL and click OK. I don’t recommend attaching the source of the link to the message.
Step Five
Once you have your signature just the way you like it, click Edit and choose Select All (or press CTRL-A on your keyboard). This will select all the text.
Step Six
Click the Insert menu and click HTML.
Step Seven
This will show a dialogue box that has the raw HTML code for the signature that you just created. Press CTRL-A and then CTRL-C to copy the raw HTML code to your clipboard. Click Cancel.
Step Eight
Click Tools and choose Account Settings.
Step Nine
In the box below Signature text, paste your HTML code. Make sure Use HTML is checked and click OK.
Now, when you compose a new message, your custom HTML signature will already be inserted.
Remember that if you’re embedding an image from a remote site, the recipient may have to enable images from your email address before they can see your logo.
That’s certainly not the only way to get a rich text HTML signature into Thunderbird, but in my opinion, it’s the easiest, especially for those who feel daunted by raw HTML code. With this method, you can create your signature in a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) manner and save it for future use.
85 Comments
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Jim Ringle
Thanks for your help, its working great.
Jim Ringle
Thanks for the help, got the signature to work
Alun Barrett
Fantastic, you don’t know how long this has been on my list of things to do.
Regards
Alun
Jo Murray
THANKYOU!! This is a brilliant tutorial – I don’t usually have a go at anything like this but I have just managed to insert my signature with a working link to my little self catering holiday cottage business- it was so easy and no tears!
Frannie
same here. and sadly, i’ve been with the company for 3 months and I just now figured it out (with your help!) THANK YOU!
Isaias
Thanks a lot for this fantastic suggestion. You saved my day !!
Isaac
You’re the man Jack… Thanks
katrina
thank you so much
that was so clear and helpful
amazing
sa
To put it simply: After going through this tutorial, I’m signing up for your newsletter! Thank you!
Greg
Awesome work – many thanks
Tim Schutte
Very cool hint. Thanks so much!
WIll
THANKS! I have worked for weeks looking for a way to do this and you made it so simple.
Diann
Thanks very much for your clear steps outlining what to do. It took me hours of trial and error until I found your how to do steps.
LynnC
You ROCK! Thanks so much for this, Jack
…now if I can just figure out how to control how it looks to my client, since it appears in a different font on her computer than it does on mine, in Thunderbird as well as in Mac Mail….
Any and all suggestions are welcome!
Ashwin
Awesome tute pal! Great work! Thabnks!
mla
this is great! Thank you!
Name
Very good, thanks
Lil
Thank you so much!!
tourinio
Perfect !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
rade.sajic
how do I add twitter and Linkedin to the signature?
Cory Church
Perfect solution and super easy. Thanks.
Kenneth Barker
Great tutorial. If you don’t miss out steps (as I love doing, ahem) it works beautifully. Warning: Send your newly completed blank email to a friend or different email address – that’s when the link becomes active. Kenneth
Vicky
Thank you Jack for sharing this great tutorial. I’ve tried many different ways on how to do this and your step by step tutorial works great and so easy to follow.
Vicky
BTW, how do you get rid off the dash line above the Signature? I am using Thunderbird/3.1.20 on iMac. Thanks a lot.
LouLou
I’d love to know that too, although using a pc…
Wai Fu
Good tut.Thanks
Peter
many thanks for the post.
couldn’t figure it out from mozilla’s instructional….
me thinks they should borrow yours.
brilliant. simple. nice one.
Peter
Jim
Thank you for posting this. It made my email signature look great!
MALARVANNAN
lovely
Annette@Wellness WA
Thanks so much for this, was really useful :)
CF@Melb.Aus
Great ! Excellent easy.
I have spent few times fixing the problem, this time is easy fix.
Thanks.
K. Denby
Wow! You are awesome. Thank you so much. That was immensely helpful.
Diego
Hi Did what you said and work great, but when I reply a message some icons from my signature are gone..Please let me know if you have an idea>..
Thanks Diego.
Suresh M
Thank you…
Ajit P
Fantastic! I was trying to do this for ages and faiing miserably. Thanks.
Dom B
That is quite simply the clearest, most elegant how to link I have ever come across. Thank you. I follow nothing but will now bookmark your site. Brilliant.
Josko
Thanks mate this was pain in the ass from to do it for a long long time, thanks again
Nicole
Thank you, this was SO easy!
Joe Hardy Jr.
Simply amazing! To echo everyone else, THANK YOU!
Marc Fisher
Fantastic! Thank you very much.
John Willis
Thank you so so much – it works and looks great.
It also was really easy!!!
Fetze
Many thanks, this is want I was looking for since a long time!
Faiz
seriously, couldnt ever figure out. couldnt have done without your help. thank you very much!
bernhard
avesome! easy and fast. thanks so much
Mike
Many thanks. Very easy and simple to follow.
Bonnie
I notice in your signature that there are two little dashes, same thing shows up in mine – any way to eliminate them? I tried re-composing my signature but they keep showing up.
Anyway, thanks for this thorough and clear tutorial!
Tim
Nicely Done!!!
Dolly
Excellent work.
Precisely what I needed.
Thank you!
Reena
Thank you !!! its very easy steps to follow.. thanks for time saving
mike
Cool…..never posted a comment before. But hey thanks so much for posting HOW TO DO THIS…..needed this for a biz venture……looks cool
Raj
Thanks a Lot….:)
Fi Macmillan
I have just created my new signature using HTML but two dashes appear above the new signature – even though they aren’t in the HTML coding.
Veronika
Great! Been banging my head against the wall for ages! No I don’t have to do that anymore – just follow your great step-by-step! (Bookmarked of course! ;) )
Thanks!
Geeta
I tried but in my Thunderbird, In Email Setting i dont see Signature text to copy the HTML code ???
How to get that Signature Text
Geeta
Prashant
Check if two options below:
“Attach the signature from file…” and “Attach my vCard….”
are unchecked and
“Signature Text : use HTML…” is checked.
Hope this help. :)
Prashant
Thanks buddy. I was looking for something like this for long.
Michael Cussen
Brilliant Jack! This saved me hours trying to work this out through Thunderbird whose Help is pretty basic. Much appreciated mate.
Maggie
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I’ve spent hours trying to figure this out for the past 6 months! I cannot believe how easy it is to do WITHIN Thunderbird!
Patrick
Your Thunderbird advise worked, thank you for posting it.
Kim
Clearest instructions that I’ve found – thanks
Jose
Wow! Thanks to you I was able to have my e-mail signature back. I tried other ways and it was so complicated and it didn’t work. Your explanation was easy to follow and it works great; thank you!!!
Ardit
Thanks! This is a great help.
Felicia
So easy with your step by step instructions. Thanks so much!
Elizabeth
So easy…THANK YOU!!!!
ESC
November-2015, working perfect!, thanks!.
SS D
It works great ! Thank you so much !!
Martin
So easy I wish I had seen this before the other 13 websites! Thanks a lot.
kim
How do you get the signature to show up automatically when replying or forwarding a message? Using Mac.
Bryan
Well done! I was about to give up on ever getting a good looking signature into Thunderbird.
Many thanks
Bryan
Donal Curtin
Like everyone else, can I say what a great price of advice. You have a real gift – a blend of the tech expertise, plain English, and helpfulness. Well done
Vishal Kumar Ram
Just a Quick Addition You Can Also add Social Account Button like Facebook or Twitter
simply Follow This Steps
1. Search Facebook and Twitter Button — Make Sure to Pick Good Quality Image from google search
2. then go to – link — Link Your Profile Website Address — Then — Set the Image Size To 31*28 Size
3. Click Edit — Select All — Copy — Click on insert –Html — Copy Html Code —
4. Then Follow step 8 and Step 9
LouLou
This would add the external links though wouldn’t it? Do they get disabled by email handlers?
Owltan
This is brilliant and so well set out for lay person
Thanks
Rozena Erbes
Thanks!! I’ve been trying to do this but couldn’t figure it out!! Blessings!
Manish
Sorry but having had all i getting error in my signature
Joy
This was exactly what I was looking for! Thank you for making it so easy!
Hisham
Thanks a lot, you have been a greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat asiist to me
Jane
Thank you for your clear instructions
Amol
Thank you very much, very informative and simple. Excellent instructions.
Dave
Super cool, dude.
Thanks
Sameera
Perfect Information. Thank you so much. No need to wait until my office IT person to do my job.. thank you again.. Best regards,
Rammy
Thankyou so much. It worked :)
Soniya Raut
Thank you very very much!!:)
Mardi
Thanks so much. It worked for me too. My only issue is that it’s coming out double spaced when I don’t want it to. The wording I copied isn’t double spaced. Can anyone help. Thanks
Mike
It can be done and explained way easier and faster…
Open a new message, add text, links, images – edit it as you want.
Then File->Save As->File
This will save the message as html file that can be chosen for a signature in given account settings.
Plus of having it on file is that if you want to set mail accounts anew, it’s easier to point to a proper file and you can edit or view it on another program if needed.