A company name in boldened sans-serif, your name in orange and an obviously clickable email address? Find out here how to format your email signature in Gmail (with font faces, colors, and more).
First, Songs and Variations
Whistles and non-whistled songs taken together, the common nightingale knows some 200 songs and variations.
Not all the songs are original, of course. Like the mockingbird, a nightingale will also imitate other songbirds—and a few embellishments perhaps.
Now that you have set up some two hundred signatures In Gmail (all original, of course), how about adding some embellishments?
How to Format Your Gmail Signature
You can make text bold and italicize, add images, and orangize (or employ other colors, of course) in Gmail—even in your signature.
Time needed: 10 minutes
To add formatting to the text of your Gmail email signature:
- Set a up the text for your email signature line in Gmail as desired.
- Click the Settings gear icon (⚙️) in Gmail using a desktop browser.
- Choose See all settings from the menu that has shown.
- Go to the General tab.
- If you have multiple signatures set up in Gmail, select the one to receive formatting under Signature:.
- Highlight the part of the text you want to format.
Not just words: you can also highlight individual characters.
- Use the formatting toolbar at the Gmail signature editor’s bottom to apply formatting.
Font: Click Sans Serif to change the font face.
Size: Choose the font size using TT.
Bold, italics, underline: Click B for bold, I for italics and U to underline.
Color and highlight: Using A, you can choose the foreground and background color for the selected text.
Gmail keyboard shortcuts: Gmail also includes keyboard shortcuts for formatting text; see below.
- Click Save Changes.
Add a Clickable (Email) Link to Your Gmail Signature
To make sure an email address can be clicked to start a new message, for instance:
- Enter the email address in your Gmail signature.
- Highlight the address with the mouse.
- Click the Link button (it sports a chain).
That should be enough.
If Gmail did not automatically turn the email address into a link:
- In the Edit Link sheet that has come up, check the text under Text to display:.
What to look for: Does it contain anything but the email address—a stray character such as a comma, for instance? - If it contains unwanted characters, click Cancel and highlight the email address (and nothing but the email address) anew.
If you do want to include those stray characters in the clickable email address, select Email address under Link to: and type the email address (again, I know) under To what email address should this link? before clicking OK.
Use Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts to Format an Email Signature
To apply formatting using the keyboard, you can use the following shortcuts:
- Ctrl Shift 5, Ctrl Shift 6: Toggle a selection of font faces (a bit haphazardly)
- Ctrl Shift + (plus): Increase size
- Ctrl Shift - (minus): Decrease text size
- Ctrl B: Make bold
- Ctrl I: Italicize
- Ctrl U: Underline
- Ctrl K. Add or edit link
- Ctrl Shift L: Align left
- Ctrl Shift R: Align right
- Ctrl Shift E: Center-align
- Ctrl Shift 7: Insert/make numbered list
- Ctrl Shift 8: Insert/make bulleted list
- Ctrl Z: Undo
- Ctrl Shift Z: Redo
On a Mac, replace Ctrl with the Command key.
How to Format Your Gmail Signature: FAQ
Can I remove all formatting and start fresh?
Yes.
To strip all formatting from text in your Gmail signature and return it to the default state:
- Highlight the part whose formatting you want to remove.
All anew: You can select the entire signature’s content, of course; press Command A (Mac) or Ctrl A (Windows and Linux) inside the signature editor. - Click
Tin the formatting toolbar.
Gmail keyboard shortcut: You can also press Ctrl \ (Linux and Windows) or Command \ (Mac) to remove formatting.
What happens if I send a plain-text email with a rich-text signature?
If you have set a signature in Gmail that uses rich-text formatting, it will strip all that formatting to create a plain text signature when you send a message using plain text.
That means images, boldening, font choices, colors or alignment may be lost, but all the text will be there.
I don’t see a formatting bar for my signature in Gmail; what can I do?
To make sure rich-text formatting is available for signatures in Gmail (if you see Plain Text above the signature editing page):
- Save your current signature setup by clicking Save Changes if you are on Gmail’s Settings page.
- Click COMPOSE.
- Now click the More options button (▼) in the new email editor that has appeared.
- Click Plain text mode to make sure it is not checked.
Here’s what happens: Rich text will appear briefly in the message’s status bar. - Click Discard draft button.
- Open Gmail Settings again.
Here’s how: A straightforward way is to click Inbox, then select Settings from the Settings gear menu again.
Can I add an image to my Gmail signature?
Yes:
You can add an Image or logo to Your Gmail email signature.
(How to format your email signature in Gmail tested in a desktop browser; first published July 2017, last updated August 2024)