How to add an animated signature to Outlook (new, classic and web)

To add a signature in Outlook, open your signature settings, create a new signature, paste your design into the editing box, and set it as the default for new messages and for replies and forwards. The settings live in a different place in each version of Outlook, so start by working out which one you use.

Outlook is the inbox most people worry about when they hear the words animated signature. The good news: adding one takes about two minutes once you know which Outlook you're in, and a well-built signature looks finished even in the oldest versions.

Which Outlook are you using?

How to add a signature in new Outlook and Outlook on the web

1. 1Copy your finished signature. In the Animated Sig editor, the copy button puts the formatted signature on your clipboard, not raw code.
2. 2In Outlook, open Settings (the gear icon), then Accounts, then Signatures. If you have more than one account, pick the one this signature is for.
3. 3Click New signature, give it a name, and paste into the editing box.
4. 4Under Select default signatures, choose it for new messages and for replies and forwards.
5. 5Click Save, then send yourself a test email. Our Outlook install guide has screenshots of each step.

You can create several signatures, such as a full one for new emails and a shorter one for replies, and switch between them while writing a message from Insert, then Signature. That's handy if you write to clients and colleagues from the same account.

On a work account, your IT team may also add a disclaimer or footer on the mail server using Exchange mail flow rules. That text is added after you hit send, so you won't see it while writing. Don't copy it into your own signature, or recipients will see it twice.

Classic Outlook for Windows

1. 1Go to File → Options → Mail, then click Signatures. You can also get there from a new email: Message, then Signature, then Signatures.
2. 2Click New, name the signature, then click into the large editing box and paste.
3. 3On the right, choose the email account, then set the signature as the default for new messages and for replies and forwards.
4. 4Click OK and send a test to an address you can open on your phone.

If you use classic Outlook on more than one computer, check each one. Microsoft notes that signatures stored on a device may not be available when you use Outlook on another device, so you may need to paste the signature on each machine.

Outlook for Mac and the phone apps

Outlook for Mac

Open Outlook → Settings → Signatures, click the plus button, paste into the editor and close the window to save. Then, under Choose which signature appears, pick your account and set the defaults for new messages and for replies or forwards. Microsoft's Mac guide notes that with several accounts, you set the default for each one separately.

Outlook for iPhone and Android

Outlook's phone apps keep their own, simpler signature setting. Open Settings, then tap Signature under Mail. You can use one signature for every account or turn on Per Account Signature (Microsoft). Set it up separately if you send a lot from your phone.

What makes a signature paste cleanly into Outlook

Most Outlook problems start before you paste. Classic Outlook renders email with Microsoft Word's engine, so the signature needs table-based layout, inline styles, explicit image sizes and images hosted at full web addresses. 6 rules that stop your HTML email signature from breaking covers each one.

For animation, the first frame of every GIF has to look complete, because Outlook 2019 and earlier show only that frame. Keep the content itself lean too; what to put in a professional email signature helps you decide what earns a spot.

If something looks off

Images show as attachments or a red X

The image isn't hosted. Animated Sig hosts every image at a full web address, so re-copy from the editor rather than saving images to your computer and inserting them. Also remember that classic Outlook blocks automatic picture downloads by default, so a recipient may need to click Download Pictures before images appear.

The animation doesn't move

You're likely on Classic Outlook 2019 or older, which shows the first frame. That's why every animated piece ships with a static first frame that looks finished on its own (more on that in how each email client handles GIFs). In Microsoft 365, looping GIFs pause after three plays, and animation follows the Windows setting for showing animations.

Spacing changes after pasting

Paste with the regular paste shortcut, not paste as plain text, and avoid editing the layout inside Outlook. If you need to change a detail, edit it in the signature tool and paste again.

Fonts look different

Classic Outlook ignores custom web fonts, and text set in one can fall back to Times New Roman, according to Can I email. A web-safe font such as Arial, Helvetica or Georgia looks the same in every version.

Replies have no signature

Check the replies and forwards default. It's set separately from new messages, and in some versions separately for each account.

Don't have a signature to paste yet? Build one free in the editor and copy it straight into Outlook.