Email signature is HUGE

Yes, there is a solution I just found. Do exactly the following:

- Go to any computer with Microsoft Outlook.

- Create a signature in Microsoft Outlook. Write your signature, edit the fonts, sizes, etc...

- Make sure the font and font size is the same as the one you set in Mail as your default font.(example: Arial 12)

- Save it, and send an email from Outlook with this signature to yourself (the computer where you use Mail)

- Once you've received this email in Mail, select and "copy" the signature

- Go to Mail, and create a new signature

- Paste the signature (the one you sent to yourself from Outlook)

- Make sure that "Use the same message format as the original message." is unchecked !!

Now try to send an email with this signature, open the email in any mail client like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc... and now the signature should have the same size as the text.

Warning: whenever you want to modify your signature, you have to re-do this entire process. Let's say you want to put a word in Bold in Mail Signature, do not do it, it will screw up everything again. So make sure when you edit your signature in Outlook that it is complete and properly edited.

I know it's not easy, but Apple seems unwilling to solve that MAJOR issue....

I looked into this and discovered its an issue with some CSS styles applied to the outgoing message. I'm assuming it looks big in the browser but not in Mail correct?

I wrote up a post on it if you care to read.

http://alxndrmlr.biz/2011/07/apple-mail-signature-inconsistency/

I am experiencing the same thing...actually what happens when the reciever sees my emails is the fonts are all screwed up. Some small, some paragraphs huge.

I have small business and my clients are annoyed and so am I that my messages look so unprofessional. I have been following this problem with no real solution from Apple for a while now.

Is the only option really to move the Enterauge or **** can Apple altogether (and I am a huge fan but this is rediculous)

I'm having the same issue... only it resizes my signatures upon response from the recipient. It looks completely absurd. I've tried changing the preferences to limit font size but it doesn't work. Have any of the prior suggestions worked?

In the Mail Preferences are, to the Signatures pane. In the right-sided area, where you see your signature, highlight all the text. Then use the menu option: Format > Show Fonts. You can adjust the font size there and it will stick.

Thank you, Altazon - this FINALLY solved my issue.

Big thumbs-down to Apple for not fixing this. If I wasn't so dependent on Spotlight search functionality in Mail, I wouldn't use your crappy email. Unfortunately for me, Outlook for Mac doesn't seem to fully utilize Spotlight, and I depend on searching to search thru the enormous quantity of email I have to deal with.

That works if you don't use size 12. Problem is if you are asking the UI to just match your default message font size it doesn't match up in Gmail

Rather, its not matching your font size in gmail if you change it. If you do that and set it to 10px it just makes it font-size:small which in Gmail displays as 13px

Yes / No

Using the formatting available via the UI will only set the font size to; small, medium, large, etc. rather than 8pt, 10pt, 14pt.

Because of that the App you via the email in then has to make a decision on what size they call medium is. Furthermore once they've done that it may decide to hardcode that style.

Example: You wanted 12pt, Apple Mail set it to medium. You send an email to a friend, they read it on Gmail. Gmail sets the font to 14pt. Your friend replies to you. You see your signature as 14pt text because Gmail inlined that style when it sent the message back to you.

The only way to avoid this is to create an HTML signature wherein you are essentially doing exactly what the apps do however its at a tigheter scope so they can't override it.

Here's a guide on how to do it http://smokingapples.com/miscellaneous/html-signature-apple-mail/

You can argue that these apps shouldn't do that however there are other considerations that come into play as to why they make the choice to use medium rather than a specific pt size. One of them is for meeting 508 accessibility requirements.

I finally found the solution to the problem, after several failed attempts, this steps really worked:

1. create a new signature

2. send out a test email and you should see the problem

3. go to preference, then fonts and colours, under message font, choose a font size that you're not going to use, say 36

4. go back to the signature that you just created, you should see that the font of the signature was automatically changed to 36 too..now select the signature texts, right click and choose font->show fonts, then change the font size to your desired size, say 13

5. send out a test email and the font size of the email content should be 36 while the font size of signature should be 13

6. go to the preference again and change the message font to your desired font size, say 13 as to be the same as signature

7. send out a test email again and now you should see that everything is working perfectly!

by the way, do not check the box "always match my default message font"

This is not my solution, it's gilbertlau's in:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=881983

I'll give it a try. Thanks!

Here's another method of solving the big signature problem that I believe will simply ensure that the signature is rendered in the same font and size as the body of the email. Unless you manually format the body of the email, it will still be displayed in the default font of the recipient's mail client.

Follow the method here: http://code.coneybeare.net/how-to-make-an-html-signature-in-apple-mail-f. However, for the code in step #2, just use:

<div style="font-size: 1em; ">

signature line 1<br>

signature line 2<br>

</div>

Obviously replace "signature line #" with whatever you want and use as many or as few lines as you want. Equally obviously, this only works for simple text signatures.

Unfortunately for me, Outlook for Mac doesn't seem to fully utilize Spotlight

I've never had any problem searching Outlook's database. How are you trying to search in Outlook? Just Command+F? If so, that will only search the email currently highlighted. If you want to search everything, press Command+Shift+F. You will be presented with this:

I have All Mail highlighted, which will of course search all emails in all folders. If you choose All Items, it will even search in your contacts, calendar, tasks and notes. Notice also you can then choose how it searches. The drop down is Item Contains be default, but there are quite a few choices to determine how Outlook searches for the text you enter.

You're welcome !

But I found an even better solution that solves all fonts problem in Mac Mail, without the need of special tricks.

Just download the plugin Universal Mailer, and install it. It's free, and updated for mountain lion. Once installed, you will never have problems again with the fonts.

Apple should hire the guys who created that plugin ! Unbelievable that Mail is still ot fixed by Apple, and that we need a plugin to fix it.

You can get it here : http://noware-it.zxq.net/download.php

By far the best solution.

Enjoy !

Open Text Edit

Copy and paste your problem signature into text edit.

Adjust the size how you want it

e.g.

Arial

12pt

Copy the revised signature from TextEdit

Open Mail.

Go to preferences / signatures

Uncheck "Always match my defeault post"

Paste into the signature box

Test