I'm writing this post to answer a question my friend, Jennifer, asked about how I formatted a custom signature on my Mac (via Mac's native email client called Mail). And to be able to do it in such a way that doesn't distort or otherwise get discombobulated on the receiving end. The snapshot below is what we're shooting for.
The snapshot below is what we hope to mitigate as much as possible on the receiving end of your email.
Rather than keeping the process a secret between Jennifer and me, I figured some of you might have the same question. So, I thought I'd share it with the rest of ya'll, as well. To make it easy, I included both a video (below) and then also summarized the steps in a procedure list (further below). By the way, you can also watch the video in HD directly on the YouTube server. (Just double-click the video.) That'll give you a bigger video to see all the details. Let me know if you find it helpful.
First things first.
The steps to follow presupposes the following:
A. You have access to a web or FTP site to which you can upload your images and reference them over the web.
B. You have the basic skills to create a simple html page. (Or, at the very least, you have access to such knowledge via the skills of a friend.) It will help to have a software package like Dreamweaver or Microsoft Frontpage.
C. You are trying to create your custom signature for Mac Mail.
D. You have the Safari web browser installed on your Mac.
(Double-click it to watch it in HD.)
Steps to follow.
Assuming you have the above three conditions locked, here are the steps I follow to create a signature like the one at the top of this post such that it shows up in your Mac/Mail email signature:
The Preamble. (Do this in your html software package.)
1. Take all the graphics you intend to use in your signature and ftp them to a folder on your website.
2. Use an html software package like Dreamweaver or MS Frontpage to create the look and feel of the email signature you want to have. Use the software's features to display the email graphics via "IMG" references to the file on your web host.
3. Save your email signature design as an html file. (For purposes of this exercise, I've given my signature design the name "myemailsig.html"
The Crux of the Matter. (Do this in the Safari web browser.)
4. Now launch the Safari web browser. From Safari, select File/Open File from the menu bar.
5. Navigate to the location on your computer where you saved the html file for your email signature. Select the Open button. Your email signature will appear as a web page in your Safari browser.
6. Now, save your email signature as a webarchive file. To do this, select File/Save As... on the menu bar of your Safari web browser. Make sure to select "Web Archive" in the Format picklist of the Save As... window. (For my example, I've assigned the name "myemailsig.webarchive")
Make a "placeholder" email signature in Mac Mail.
Summary: In the next steps, we're going to use Mac Mail to create a new "placeholder" for your email signature within the Mac Mail file structure. We'll then copy the system-generated filename for this placeholder and then use it to rename the webarchive file you created in Step 6 above. As a final step, we'll copy the renamed webarchive and replace the system-generated signature file in Mac Mail. (Got it?)
7. Open Mac Mail.
8. Create a new "placeholder" signature. To do this, select Mail/Preferences... from the Mac Mail menu bar. The Preferences window will appear.
9. In the Preferences window, select Signatures from the list of menu icons. The Signatures list window will appear.
10. From the Signatures list column, select the email for which you want to create a new signature.
11. Beneath the second column, select the "+" button to add a new signature. Enter a name where prompted.
12. Now close the Signatures (Preferences) window and Quit out of the Mail program. (Mac Mail needs to restart as you complete the final steps.)
The End Game. (Do this in Finder.)
13. Using the Finder (file browser) application, navigate to the following folder: /Library/Mail/Signatures
14. Inspect the "Date Created" column for the files in the Signatures folder. (Notice these signature files are webarchive files!)
15. Find the webarchive (signature file) with the most recent date under "Date Created". (This will be the signature file you created as a placeholder in Step 11 above.)
16. Select the webarchive file with the most recent creation date and then copy the filename. (Note: This step requires you to copy the name of the file; not the file itself.)
17. Now, find the signature file you created earlier in Step 6. (i.e., myemailsig.webarchive) and replace its filename with the filename copied from Step 16.
18. As a final step, copy the file from Step 17 and replace the "placeholder" file in the folder under /Library/Mail/Signatures.
Your custom email signature will appear as a selectable item the next time you try creating an email message.
I hope this and the video helps!
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