Try the example, then check the result.
Download the fictional material and follow the steps below. The video uses English illustrative diagrams; it does not present a live app recording. Product controls may vary by version.
Check the answer before applying the method to your own data. How we review guides ↗
Watch the complete lesson.
The video uses English illustrative diagrams; it does not present a live app recording. English captions. Product menus may differ in your account.
An Outlook signature can be saved and appear in new messages while still being absent from replies or forwards. Outlook on the web and Outlook.com let you choose a default for each compose type. This guide uses a fictional coordinator signature and stops at unsent drafts. The video panels are labelled illustrative diagrams; the current account UI has not yet been captured for this lesson.
1. Open the signature settings
In current Outlook.com and Outlook on the web guidance, Microsoft lists Settings > Accounts > Signatures. Select the correct account there. Add signature is a control on that page if you need a new signature. Do not follow an unrelated desktop Outlook menu.
Find the signature you expect to see in replies. If none exists, create one. The three-line Jordan Lee — Practice signature from the download is for a dedicated demo account or a temporary test only. Do not overwrite an existing business signature just to run the example. Record your original defaults before making a temporary change.
2. Assign both defaults deliberately
Look for the default choice for new messages and the separate choice for replies/forwards. In your own mailbox, assign the signature you actually want on replies. In a dedicated demo account, you can select the practice signature for both and save. If you intentionally do not want a signature in new messages, leave that default empty; the crucial control for this problem is the replies/forwards default.
| If the signature appears in... | Check this setting |
|---|---|
| New messages but not replies | Replies/forwards default |
| Replies but not new messages | New-message default |
| Neither | Signature saved, correct account, and both defaults |
Swipe or scroll sideways to see every table column →
Saving the signature text is a configuration step. It does not by itself prove that Outlook inserts it into a reply.
3. Inspect unsent drafts
Open a new message without a recipient and check for the signature. Do not send it. If a fictional test message is already available, choose Reply to it and inspect the unsent reply. Check Forward the same way if relevant. No customer, coworker, or personal message should be used as the practice example.
If you cannot open a fictional reply safely, stop after the saved default check and label reply insertion not yet verified. A saved setting is not an observed compose result. Use the independent answer check to record which of the two levels you actually confirmed.
After testing in a real mailbox with a temporary fictional signature, restore the original new-message and replies/forwards defaults you recorded in step 1. Check a new unsent draft again so practice text cannot appear in future outgoing mail.
Common questions
Why does my signature show in a new message but not a reply? The replies/forwards default can be different from the new-message default. Check that separate choice first.
Did saving a signature turn it on for every message? Not necessarily. Assign the saved signature to the compose types where it should appear.
Do the settings labels look different? Check that you are in Outlook on the web or Outlook.com, then look for Accounts > Signatures in Settings. The classic desktop Outlook route is different.
Sources and verification
Microsoft's Outlook.com and web signature guide and current Outlook signature guide document the web path and separate defaults. Reviewed 13 October 2026. No live Outlook setting, new draft, or reply draft was tested while creating this source package.
Practice downloads.
The exercise files contain invented information. Save a local copy before editing.