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More HTML Signatures
In an earlier episode of the Gmail Podcast I described how to do HTML signatures using Google documents to copy and paste the content. Thanks to listener Bob, there is an easier way using Greasemonkey.
Step 1 involves installing Greasemonkey. Greasemonkey is a Firefox extension that lets you manage other scripts. You can find it at www.greasespot.net. This is a pretty straight forward download and install to Firefox so I won’t get in to the details here.
Step 2 involves downloading and installing the actual HTML script for Greasemonkey which I have included in the text of this show available on the web site.
http://gootch2.googlepages.com/htmlsig.user.js
Once Greasemonkey and the script are installed, you are ready for step 3 – Editing the signature. Right click on the monkey icon on the bottom of your Firefox screen and select “manage user scripts”. You should see a selection on the left that reads “HTML Signatures for GMail”. Highlight that by clicking on it and then click on the “Edit” button.
Here is where things get a little technical. Stick with me and we’ll get through this together… The first time you click Edit, you may be asked to locate a text editor. On Windows you can navigate to C:\Windows\Notepad.exe. On a Mac I suggest using TextEdit in the Applications folder.
Once you have chosen your text editor, you will see the actual script that does all the hard work. You don’t need to be a fluent JavaScript programmer to modify this. Just find the line about half way down that says “var htmlsignature =. Change the text between the quotes. By default it reads Edit the script to change this signature, with some HTML tags. If you are comfortable with HTML, be creative and have fun. If you aren’t, start by just modifying the text and see what happens. When you are done, save your file and close the dialog box in Firefox for the Greasemonkey script.
Remember, good email etiquette suggests you keep your signatures short. Four to six lines of text is a good rule of thumb.
To test your creation, compose a new email in Gmail. You should see your signature pop in the message body automatically. If you want to change your signature at any time, go back and repeat step 3 of this process.
That’s it for using Greasemonkey to create HTML signatures in Gmail. I’ve installed it, confgured it, use it, and love it. Although, I have to admit that I did spend most of my time tweaking the HTML to get the styles just right.
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By Chuck Tomasi
4.8
1616 ratings
In an earlier episode of the Gmail Podcast I described how to do HTML signatures using Google documents to copy and paste the content. Thanks to listener Bob, there is an easier way using Greasemonkey.
Step 1 involves installing Greasemonkey. Greasemonkey is a Firefox extension that lets you manage other scripts. You can find it at www.greasespot.net. This is a pretty straight forward download and install to Firefox so I won’t get in to the details here.
Step 2 involves downloading and installing the actual HTML script for Greasemonkey which I have included in the text of this show available on the web site.
http://gootch2.googlepages.com/htmlsig.user.js
Once Greasemonkey and the script are installed, you are ready for step 3 – Editing the signature. Right click on the monkey icon on the bottom of your Firefox screen and select “manage user scripts”. You should see a selection on the left that reads “HTML Signatures for GMail”. Highlight that by clicking on it and then click on the “Edit” button.
Here is where things get a little technical. Stick with me and we’ll get through this together… The first time you click Edit, you may be asked to locate a text editor. On Windows you can navigate to C:\Windows\Notepad.exe. On a Mac I suggest using TextEdit in the Applications folder.
Once you have chosen your text editor, you will see the actual script that does all the hard work. You don’t need to be a fluent JavaScript programmer to modify this. Just find the line about half way down that says “var htmlsignature =. Change the text between the quotes. By default it reads Edit the script to change this signature, with some HTML tags. If you are comfortable with HTML, be creative and have fun. If you aren’t, start by just modifying the text and see what happens. When you are done, save your file and close the dialog box in Firefox for the Greasemonkey script.
Remember, good email etiquette suggests you keep your signatures short. Four to six lines of text is a good rule of thumb.
To test your creation, compose a new email in Gmail. You should see your signature pop in the message body automatically. If you want to change your signature at any time, go back and repeat step 3 of this process.
That’s it for using Greasemonkey to create HTML signatures in Gmail. I’ve installed it, confgured it, use it, and love it. Although, I have to admit that I did spend most of my time tweaking the HTML to get the styles just right.