Try the example, then check the result.
Download the fictional material and follow the steps below. The video includes one marked screenshot from the English app, with illustrative diagrams for the other steps. 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 includes one marked screenshot from the English app, with illustrative diagrams for the other steps. English captions. Product menus may differ in your account.
Set different Gmail signature defaults for new messages and replies, then verify them in unsent fictional drafts. Download the fictional practice and answer check.
Before starting: Changing signatures affects future drafts from that Gmail account. This package documents the steps but has not changed an owner's signed-in settings. Do not include a real phone number, address, or private account detail in any viewer-facing capture.
1. Prepare two fictional signatures
The practice file gives a three-line first-contact signature and a one-line reply signature for Morgan at Harbor Workshop. Use example.com, not a real address or phone number. In Gmail on a computer, open Settings > See all settings > General > Signature, then create and name the two signatures so their purposes are obvious.
Checkpoint: Full: three lines; Reply: one line; Fictional details.
2. Set the new-message default
In Signature defaults, select the full signature for New emails. Gmail's help says multiple signatures can be managed separately and assigned by message type. Do not assume that creating a second signature automatically changes a default; choose it in the dropdown. Check the account address if Gmail offers more than one send-as identity, because defaults can vary by sending address.
Checkpoint: Choose full signature; New emails dropdown; Check sender identity.
3. Set the reply default
For On reply/forward use, choose the short signature. If you want the signature before quoted text, inspect the placement option in your editor; its presence may vary. The important check for this lesson is which signature appears by default. Scroll down and save changes, then reopen settings to confirm both dropdowns kept your intended choices.
Checkpoint: Choose short signature; Reply/forward dropdown; Save changes.
4. Inspect two unsent drafts
Open a new compose window and confirm the full three-line block appears. Close or save it as a draft without sending. Open an authorized fictional test message and click Reply; confirm the one-line signature appears instead. If you have no safe test message, the settings check is still useful, but do not claim a reply draft was observed.
Checkpoint: New mail: full block; Reply: short line; Send nothing.
5. Fix a signature mismatch
If replies still show the full footer, return to Signature defaults and check the reply and forward dropdown, then save again. If a different send-as address is selected, review its defaults too. You can also switch signatures manually in a draft, but that does not fix the saved default. The practice answer check distinguishes those two behaviors.
Checkpoint: Check reply default; Check send-as address; Save again.
Verify the result
The finished state is simple: a new fictional message shows Morgan's full contact block, and a reply draft shows only the short Harbor Workshop line. Both remain unsent. The reference guide records the exact fictional text, so a viewer can compare the two drafts without exposing a real contact or assuming that a signature setting has changed delivery behavior.
Expected result: In Gmail Settings, two signatures exist. Signature defaults select the full signature for New emails and the short signature for On reply/forward use. An unsent new message shows the full three-line block; an unsent reply shows only the short line. Neither test draft is sent.
Official instructions: Gmail help, checked 15 October 2026. One actual English Gmail screenshot shows distinct fictional defaults staged in Settings. The changes were canceled; no signatures remain in the account, and no live draft comparison was recorded. Other panels are illustrative diagrams.
Practice downloads.
The exercise files contain invented information. Save a local copy before editing.