Accessibility Tip: Creating and Modifying Signatures in Outlook

Introduction

Almost all professionals include a signature at the bottom of their emails. A signature is a block of text automatically added to the bottom of a message that usually contains contact information or other important details the user may wish to communicate to anyone who receives their emails.

Accessing Signatures from the Options Menu

One way to add or edit a signature is to directly access the Options Dialogue. To do so:

  1. Open the Backstage View using Alt + F

  2. Arrow down to Options and press Enter. The user may also type the letter T to open the Options Dialogue more quickly.

  3. The cursor is in the leftmost navigation pane. Press the Down Arrow or the letter M to navigate to the Mail area. Press Tab until the Signatures Button is in focus. Press Enter.

  4. The Signatures Dialogue will open. Use Tab to navigate. Or use the following keyboard shortcuts to jump directly to specified areas of the dialogue:

  • Select Signature to which Changes should Apply – Alt + C

  • Delete Selected Signature – Alt + D

  • Save Selected Signature – Alt + S

  • Rename Selected Signature – Alt + R

  • Edit Selected Signature (use Tab to navigate among the font options and the edit field) – Alt + T

  • Choose Account to which the Selected Signature should Apply – Alt + A

  • Apply Signature to New Messages Dropdown (choose which signature to apply to new messages) – Alt + M

  • Apply Signature to Replies/Forwards Dropdown (choose which signature should apply to replies and forwards) – Alt + F

  1. Use Tab to navigate to the OK button to close the Signature Dialogue. Press Escape until the Options Dialogue closes and focus is returned to the Inbox.

Accessing Signatures from the Tell Me Box

The Tell Me box is a common way to find a settings or function if the user does not know where to locate it within the menus or does not wish to navigate the Backstage View.

  1. Navigate to the Tell Me Box by pressing Alt + Q.

  2. Type the word “signature”.

  3. Press Down Arrow until JAWS says “Signature Submenu”. It may also say “add one of your email signatures to this message”. Press Enter.

  4. JAWS should then be focused on a submenu that says “Signatures dot dot dot”. Press Enter.

  5. The Signatures Dialogue will open. Use Tab to navigate. Or use the following keyboard shortcuts to jump directly to specified areas of the dialogue:

  • Select Signature to which Changes should Apply – Alt + C

  • Delete Selected Signature – Alt + D

  • Save Selected Signature – Alt + S

  • Rename Selected Signature – Alt + R

  • Edit Selected Signature (use Tab to navigate among the font options and the edit field) – Alt + T

  • Choose Account to which the Selected Signature should Apply – Alt + A

  • Apply Signature to New Messages Dropdown (choose which signature to apply to new messages) – Alt + M

  • Apply Signature to Replies/Forwards Dropdown (choose which signature should apply to replies and forwards) – Alt + F

  1. Press Enter at any time to save changes made within the Signature Dialogue.

Add a New Signature

  1. Open the Signature Dialogue in one of the two methods listed above.

  2. Press Alt + N to create a new signature. Alternatively, use Tab to find the New Button and press Enter.

  3. A dialogue will appear asking the user to name the new signature. Enter a name and press Enter.

  4. Use Tab to navigate to the Edit Area or press Alt + T.

  5. Before focus is brought to the Edit Field so the user can make changes, they must navigate past Font Attributes buttons that include but are not limited to:

        • Size

        • Font Attributes (Bold, Italic, color, etc)

        • Alignment (Left, Center, Right)

        • Insertion Options (insert business card, link, or picture)

  6. After these items are navigated, the user will find the edit box to begin to edit the signature.

        • Pressing Enter will add a new blank line in the Edit Field and pressing Tab will navigate the user out of the Edit Field.

Select the Signature to Edit

When making modifications, it is important to ensure that changes are being made to the correct signature. For example, some users have multiple signatures added. One signature may be for new messages and a different one may be used for replies and forwards. To ensure that the correct signature is being modified:

  1. Once the Signatures Dialogue is opened, press Alt + C to bring focus to the selection box. Use arrows to place the desired signature in focus.

  • DO NOT PRESS ENTER

  1. Navigate to the desired option and continue making changes

  • Use Tab to navigate to desired option

  • Use the commands found earlier in this article to jump directly to desired location.

Editing your Signature

  1. If the user chooses to jump to the Editor Box to modify the signature, they will need to use the Tab Key to navigate formatting functions including:

  • Font

  • Size

  • Font Attributes (Bold, Italic, color, etc)

  • Alignment (Left, Center, Right)

  • Insertion Options (insert business card, link, or picture)

  1. After these items are navigated, the user will find the edit box to begin to edit the signature. Type or modify the signature until satisfied, then navigate to the OK Button and press Enter.

Resources

JAWS Tip: Create and Edit Signatures in Microsoft Outlook with JAWS