Add an HTML email signature to Outlook (new Outlook, web, classic, Mac)

IT sent you a signature.html, or ChatGPT wrote one, and you're looking for an "Import HTML" button in Outlook. Microsoft's help shows none. Every version of Outlook builds a signature in its own editor, and the editor takes what you paste. So open the file in a browser, copy the signature the browser draws, and paste it into Outlook.

Microsoft's support pages quoted here were read on November 4, 2026.

Which Outlook you have

Microsoft's help has separate steps for each Outlook on a computer, and each keeps signatures in a different place:

Microsoft's own note: "If the steps under this New Outlook tab don't work, you may not be using new Outlook for Windows yet." Then use the classic Outlook steps.

First, copy the drawn signature

Outlook's signature editor formats text. It doesn't read code, so pasting the HTML gives you tags. Let a browser draw the signature first:

1. Open the HTML. Double-click the .html file to open it in Edge, Chrome, or Safari. If it opens in Notepad instead, see how to open an HTML file on Windows. If all you have is code, paste it into Convika's free HTML viewer: click Paste code, paste it, and click Show the page. Nothing is uploaded.
2. Copy it. Click beside the signature, press Ctrl+A (⌘+A on a Mac), then Ctrl+C (⌘+C).

On November 4, 2026, we tested that copy step from the viewer in Chrome 156 on macOS with a signature built as a table, with inline styles, a logo at an https:// link, and 2 links. The copy kept the table, the styles, the logo's link, and both links when pasted into a rich-text editor. We didn't paste it into Outlook's own editor. Microsoft's steps for that follow.

New Outlook and Outlook on the web

New Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, and Outlook.com have the same steps. Microsoft: "The steps to create a new signature is the same for new Outlook and the web versions of Outlook."

1. Open Signatures

Select Settings (the gear icon), then Accounts → Signatures. With more than one account, pick the one the signature is for.

2. Add a signature and paste

Select Add signature and give it a name. Click in the editing box below the name and paste with Ctrl+V (⌘+V on a Mac).

3. Choose when it's added, then save

Use the checkboxes at the bottom to add it to new messages, and to replies and forwards. Select Save.

4. Send yourself a test

Write a new message to an address you read in another app, and check the logo and each link in what arrives.

Microsoft adds a note for people who use both: "If you have a Microsoft account, and you use Outlook and Outlook on the web or Outlook on the web for business, you need to create a signature in both products."

Classic Outlook for Windows

1. Open a new email message. On the Message menu, select Signature → Signatures. (In an open Outlook, File → Options → Mail → Signatures opens the same window.)
2. In the E-mail account drop-down box, choose the account.
3. Under Select signature to edit, choose New and type a name.
4. Click in the Edit signature box and paste.
5. Under Choose default signature, pick it for New messages and Replies/forwards. Choose OK.

Classic Outlook doesn't add the new signature to the message you opened in step 1. Microsoft: "You'll have to add the signature manually to this one message. All future messages will have the signature added automatically."

Two more notes from Microsoft's page:

• Pasting a table is what Microsoft expects. For "a more robust signature with bullets, tables, or borders", its advice is to format it in Word and "copy and paste it into the Edit signature box".
• The signature stays on that PC. "Signatures on this device are stored locally on the device where they were created and may not be available when you use Outlook on another device."

Some guides tell you to drop an .htm file into the folder where classic Outlook stores signatures. Microsoft's signature help doesn't describe that, and a user on Microsoft's Q&A forum reports that new Outlook doesn't show signatures from that folder. This guide sticks to pasting, the way Microsoft's help describes for every version.

Outlook for Mac

1. On the Outlook menu, select Settings.
2. Under Mail, select Signatures.
3. Select + to add a signature, and type its name.
4. Click in the signature editor and paste with ⌘+V.
5. Under Set default signature, choose the account, then set For new messages and For replies or forwards.
6. Close the Signatures window.

On a Mac, copy the signature from Safari or Chrome the same way as above. Microsoft's page also says support for legacy Outlook for Mac "will end in October 2026", so these are the steps for the current Outlook for Mac.

Why the signature looks different to recipients

A signature that looked right in your editor can still change on the way:

• The logo doesn't show in classic Outlook. Microsoft: "Microsoft Outlook is configured by default to block automatic picture downloads from the Internet." The recipient sees the logo once they select Download Pictures. That's normal for a logo loaded from a link.
• The logo never shows for anyone. The image link is a placeholder the AI made up, a file on your computer, or a link that needs a sign-in. Use a PNG or JPG at a public https:// address.
• An SVG logo. Blink Brief's generator page notes that Outlook 2016 and earlier for Windows don't show SVG images. Use a PNG or JPG.
• The layout falls apart. The HTML may lay out with <div> blocks or a <style> block of CSS classes. Ask the AI again for "a table layout with every style inline and no CSS classes", or use a generator that builds that.

If Outlook drops your layout, Fluxenic's free Email Signature Generator, on Blink Brief, rebuilds the signature from your name, title, phone, website, and logo link as tables with inline styles, and has paste steps for new Outlook, Outlook on the web, and classic Outlook. Fluxenic is the company that runs Convika.

Frequently asked questions

Can you use HTML in an Outlook signature?

Yes, as a formatted signature, not as code. None of the steps in Microsoft's signature help has a box for HTML code or a button that imports an .html file. Open the file in a browser, copy the signature it draws, and paste it into Outlook's signature editor.

How do I import an HTML signature into new Outlook?

Open the .html file in Edge or Chrome, press Ctrl+A and Ctrl+C, then in new Outlook select Settings, Accounts, Signatures, and Add signature. Paste into the editing box, choose when it's added, and select Save. Microsoft's steps for new Outlook have no file import.

Why is my Outlook signature not displaying correctly for others?

Classic Outlook blocks pictures from the internet by default, so a linked logo waits until the reader selects Download Pictures. A logo that never shows usually has a link that isn't public. A broken layout usually comes from <div> layouts or CSS classes in the HTML: ask for a table with inline styles.

How do I add an HTML signature in Outlook for Mac?

Open the HTML in Safari or Chrome and copy the signature it shows. In Outlook, open the Outlook menu, select Settings, then Signatures under Mail. Select +, name it, and paste into the editor. Set it as the default under Set default signature.

Do I need to add the signature in Outlook on the web too?

If you use both, yes. Microsoft says that with a Microsoft account, if you use Outlook and Outlook on the web, "you need to create a signature in both products". Paste the same copied signature into each.

Sources

• Microsoft Support: How to add and change an email signature in Outlook (new Outlook, classic Outlook, Outlook on the web; read November 4, 2026)
• Microsoft Support: Create, insert, or change a signature in Outlook for Mac (read November 4, 2026)
• Microsoft Support: Block or unblock automatic picture downloads in classic Outlook email messages (read November 4, 2026)