AppsLife™

Adding an image to Gmail Signature/Footer

by mjm on March 3, 2011

We get asked this question all the time, and while it can be a little bit tricky to do, it is well worth the end result, especially as many businesses like to get their logos or other special images into the Footer (E-mail Signature) for all outgoing messages.

Part One – Hosting the Image

The first part of our solution here is to first make sure you can get your image (company logo etc.) available publicly so that anyone can access it via a URL – this could be done through a Hosting provider (perhaps where your company website already lives), or alternatively we offer a slightly more unique option using Dropbox. Let’s look at both options.

Hosting your Image via an existing Web Host

We can’t provide specific instructions here, so just use your best judgement to upload any image file (preferably a JPG or GIF) using whatever access methods you currently have for transferring other files to an existing provider.

Hosting your Image via Dropbox

Step 1. Sign-up to the Dropbox service using this link (you’ll get an extra 250MB of Storage)

Step 2. Install the Dropbox software and get it up and running (see this video if you’re unsure)

Step 3. Locate your preferred Image file that you’ll be using for your Gmail footer and copy it into your Dropbox PUBLIC folder, and then “Copy the Public Link” into your clipboard (you’ll need that for the next part) – see this Help if you’re still unsure how to do this.

Part Two – Adding the Image to your Gmail Footer

Now that you’ve uploaded your image to either your existing Web Host provider, or to the Dropbox Service you should have a URL where that image can be seen. (If you used Dropbox you’ve copied this URL to your clipboard).

To add an image to your Gmail footer, simply do this:

Step 1. When logged into your Gmail go to “Settings” -> “General” and scroll down to “Signature:”

Step 2. On the Toolbar for the Signature Editor is a button to “Insert Image” (see example below)

Step 3. In the popup window, simply enter the URL from Part One of this solution and paste it in.

Step 4. When you return to the signature view you should now see your new image in your Gmail Signature/Footer! Congratulations

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Setup Google Apps Gmail with Mac Outlook 2011

by mjm on October 28, 2010

Outlook 2011 (as part of the Office 2011) for Mac OS-X has just been released in Australia, and some of our most eager customers are wanting to get up and running with it as quickly as possible.

Here are the instructions you need to successfully configure IMAP for your Google Apps (or Gmail) account with Mac Outlook 2011:

Step 1. Launch Outlook 2011

Step 2. From the “Outlook” menu choose “Preferences…”, then select “Accounts”

Step 3. At the lower left hand corner of the window that appears click the “+” symbol to add a new e-mail account.

Step 4. Start by entering your full Google Apps primary e-mail address and password, and de-select the option to configure automatically (further options will appear)

Step 5. Enter the following details in the additional fields:

User name: Your full Google Apps primary e-mail address (or Gmail address)
Type: IMAP
Incoming Server: imap.gmail.com (accepting the default port 993)
Select the “Use SSL” option for the Incoming Server
Outgoing Server: smtp.gmail.com
Select “Override default port” and manually enter the port 587 (instead of 25)
Select the “Use SSL” option for the Outgoing Server

Step 6. Click “Add Account” button.

Step 7. Once the account has been added, click “More Options” (under the Outgoing Server section), and select “Use Incoming Server Info” from the Authentication drop down menu.

Congratulations! Your Mac Outlook 2011 should now be configured to send and receive e-mail for your Google Apps or Gmail account. Please note that Google recommend some other options regarding IMAP configurations that change the preferred way your Sent Items, Trash and other built-in folders operate so you may choose to look at that also.