Multiple signatures not working with multiple email accounts. HELP

[Lorraine]

System: XP Pro 2002 SP2; Word 2003 SP2; Outlook 2003 SP2 (w/o business
contact mgr); Word is selected as editor; compose in HTML.

I had 3 active email accts with 8 signatures. I could select the outgoing
account I wished, then right click to choose from any of the initial 8
signatures that had been created. (stored in C: docs & settings/my
name/Application data/microsoft/signatures). Then a new email account was
added for business purposes. This email acct. is NOT the default acct. Now
I'm up to 4 email accts., along with 2 NEW signatures (business copmplete
with logos and hyperlinks).

My problem comes when I create "new" email. The default signature pops up,
then I indicate on the "account" button the email acct. from which I wish to
send (not the default...actually the business account). One of the new
business signatures pops up, but sometimes I need the other created business
signature....so I right click and choose from 10 signatures (the original 8
plus the 2 new ones). I can choose any of the original 8, and that specific
signature will pop up, if I choose the other NEW bus. sign.....then all
signatures disappear from the message body! How can I fix this??? See info
below for additional problems!
Also, when I try to "insert" as MSO Assistance info indicates..."click
insert", "point to signature" and click the sign you want or click MORE and
click the Signature Box. On my system I can only get to signature thru;
insert, autotext, signature. The only word that shows up is "user" (the name
typed in when MS Office was installed on my machine) Also "More" does not
appear nor does a separate signature box. In addition on MSO Assistance info
sheet titled "create or modify email signatures"...."add a signature to a
single email message" no. 4...says to click CLOSe, then click cancel after
pressing CTRL+C. My system does not have a "CLOSE" button, only OK. So if I
click OK, etc. then cancel and follow up by CTRL+V on the message body of the
email ...all I get is the "name of the signature file" not the actual
contents of that file.!
When the new signatures were created....there are different "saving options"
from the original ones. The old signatures when reviewing have File name;
Save as type (web page html); and encoding: Western Europe(windows). The new
signatures have Page Title; File Name; and Save as type (word file or web
file).

I know this is wordy....but thought you would need to know ALL. I just want
to have all my signatures working and the ability to use any email account as
the default and use ANY of the signatures with any account. Some of the
signatures will do this ... the new one not marked as the default with the
new acct won't! How can I make this happen?? Thanks in advance! I hope!
Lorraine

 

[Mary]

The way around this is to set every acct (or only some changing accts) to
NONE in the default signature box. Then each email comes up without any sig.
and you can choose to Insert>signature>pick one from the whole list. Or you
just choose to send it without any signature. This works for me. You can also
write the email and choose the sending acct after composing it and it will
not put any sig in unless you insert it.

 

[Lorraine]

Mary....sorry this won't work for me.....see my earlier notes on "insert"!!
No signatures show to choose from.....when using insert, autotext, signature,
....only "user" shows up. Info at bottom of my original request as to what I
see and keys available to me. STILL HAVE PROBLEM....Need a fix.! Any other
suggestions? Lorraine

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Mary's suggestion won't work, because the Insert | Signature command is not available in WordMail.

It sounds like the signature that's causing problems might not have any text in it and, thus, causes Word to lose the bookmark that it uses to make the signature-switching feature work. I'd try recreating that signature.

Signatures should be created through the Tools | Options | Mail Format dialog. AutoText is a completely different feature, not associated with signatures in Outlook 2003.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Lorraine]

Sue......Re: the new signatures....If I make one the default with the bus.
email account, then it pops up, but I can't right click to bring up the
other; the same is true if I make the other bus. signature the default. Yet I
can bring up all the others! Driving me crazy! Both of the 2 bus. emails
have text, 2 logos (jpg), 2 hyperlinks.....almost identical, except one has
more text and 3 hyperlinks. I've also deleted both sigs from the sig file
in app data/microsoft/signatures and from Outlook AND Word and recreated them
each 3 times, using tolls, options, mailformat, signatures new, next advanced
edit. The wierd part happens when I try to save the advanced editor in word.
(See original notes at bottom) The system keeps beeping (Outlook gives me an
error message about not finding the location of the new signature) and I have
to erase the info in the "page title" and save again. Then both signatures
show up in Outlook.......but I can't right click and get the other one. I
change the default to # 1 and right click on no. 2 and message body is
blank...no signature of any kind. If I change the default to # 2, and right
click on # 1.....then same thing happens and no signature. It seems that
they are in conflict.....but don't know how to fix! Any other suggestions
Sue?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

I don't know how to fix it either. I've never seen a case of signatures being so confused. If it were me, I'd probably take the brute force approach and start over with a new mail profile and move all the old signatures out of the Signatures folder so I could start clean.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Lorraine]

Sue...do you mean a new email account or setting up a separate distinct
profile with the business email and corresponding signatures under a
"business profile" and my original 3 email accounts under the original? If
this is what you mean.....how do I set up the new profile? Would that mean I
would have two sets of Docs and Settings?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

You can create a new mail profile through the Mail applet in Control Panel, using the Show Profiles button, then the New button.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Lorraine]

Sue...When I do as you suggest....there is no New Button. Cntl
Panel/mail/show profiles....Existing one is "outlook" with the buttons add,
remove, properties, copy.
Before doing this tho, I want to do what is best....I currently have 4 email
accounts ( 3 personal & 1 specific business). I need to be able to use at
least 1 personal and one business all day long. So ease of moving between
the two is necessary! Should I set up a separate user (control panel/user
account/pick a task (create a new account)?? I would like to be able to have
"my docs" separated between business and personal too? If I did this, would
I be able to be logged on as both users at the same time?? Or by your initial
suggestion, I think I would be creating a 2nd outlook user profile? The
original containing 3 email accounts; the 2nd containing the business one?
Which would be the better method for the business/ease of use? Would this
last method only have 1 set of "my docs"? Using either method how could I
forward/copy all of my business emails (stored in Outlook folders) to the new
"profile/user"??