Download | E-mail Signature

Since you can't toss your business card into an e-mail message, consider including a custom Portland State University signature instead.

Here's one way to create a signature file, complete with PSU logo, for use in Mozilla Thunderbird. Other e-mail programs may use a similar technique.

  1. Copy and paste the following html code into a text editing program like Notepad or Wordpad (for Windows) or TextEdit (for Mac).
    <p><img alt="Portland State University logo"
    src="http://webdev.pdx.edu/media/psu_signature165x35.gif"
    height="35" width="165" /></p>
    <p style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;
    font-size: 12px;">Name<br />
          Professional Title<br />
          Department Name<br />
          Portland State University</p>
    <p style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;
     font-size: 12px;">Phone Number<br />
          Fax Number<br />
          e-mail address<br />
          web address</p>

    Alternatively, save this text file of the code and start from there. [To save, right click or Command+click on the link and choose the Save Link As... option.]

  2. Replace the placeholder text with your specific information.
  3. Save the file as filename.html where filename is whatever you wish to name the file (ex., signature.html).
    • If your text editor doesn't allow you to save .html files, save the file as plain text and close the text editor. Then find the file on your computer and rename it so that it has a .html extension (ex., signature.html)
    • If you're using TextEdit on a Mac, change the format of the file to plain text before saving. Format -> Make Plain Text
  4. In Thunderbird, go to Tools -> Account Settings.
  5. On the main Account Settings page, check the Attach this signature option.
  6. Click the Choose... button and select the signature file that you created and saved on your computer in steps 1-3.
  7. On the Composing and Addressing page, check the Compose messages in HTML format option.
  8. Click the OK button to close the Account Settings dialogue box.
  9. Go to Tools -> Options.
  10. On the Composition page, click the Send Options... button and choose Send the message in both plain text and HTML option from the drop down menu. (Any of the other options are fine, too, but recipients may not accept HTML messages, in which case you'll want them to receive yours as plain text.) Click the OK button.
  11. [Optional] On the Composition page, click the HTML Options... button and set the Font to Verdana and the Size to small. Click the OK button.
  12. Click the OK button to close the Options dialog box.

The next time you compose a message in Thunderbird, you should see your e-mail signature at the bottom of the message body.

If this strategy doesn't work with your e-mail program, feel free to experiment with alternatives. Here's the logo file to use [right click or Command+click on the link and choose Save Link As...]: e-mail signature logo. Be sure to follow established guidelines.