vLetter Support - Using SmartFonts in E-mail

The following instructions address issues related to using SmartFonts fonts for Windows or Mac.

Why can't I type my handwriting or signature into an e-mail message?

- If the recipients don't have your custom font installed on their machines, their computers will substitute a standard font (such as Arial) for the custom font.
- You need to send your handwriting or signature as an image in the e-mail body, or to embed your font in a Word document to send as an attachment in the e-mail, or to create a PDF file with your font to send as an attachment.

How do I create an image of my signature for E-mail messages?

Windows: You will need an image program that allows you to create and edit images. Enter your signature in a Word document; set it to the size and color you prefer. Press the Alt and Prnt Scrn keys to take a picture of the Word document. Next, open a new document in an image editing program, and paste (Ctrl-V) the picture. You should be able to crop the image to include only the signature. Save the image as a .bmp, .gif, .jpg or .png file.

Mac: Enter your signature in a document (using TextEdit or Pages or Word), and set it to the size and color you prefer. Next, press Command-Shift-4; the mouse pointer will become crosshairs. Position the crosshairs at the top left corner of your signature, where you want the image to start. Click and drag the crosshairs diagonally down to the right until a rectangular shape appears around your signature, then let go of the mouse. An image will be placed on the desktop as a .png file.

Once you have made the image, check your email program to see how to add images to the email message (attach files), or to the "signature" portion of a message (usually, this means the bottom of a message, where you can add your name and contact info).

You can look into the Help menu for Microsoft Outlook to see how to insert your signature image (picture) into the "signature" feature within Outlook, so that your signature image is included every time. Simply search "add picture to signature" in the Outlook Help index.

How do I sign a Word document and e-mail it?

- Word 2010: Click on the File tab (top left), then choose Options (down by Exit), then click on Save, then check the option to "Embed fonts in the file." Then click OK. Save the document and e-mail it as an attachment.
- NOTE: This only works if you send the document to someone who also has Word on Windows. This does not work for other word processing programs or non-Windows systems (e.g. Word for Mac).
- NOTE: Do not use the option to e-mail directly from Word. This will convert the document to an e-mail message to send, and your signature will no longer be embedded.
- NOTE: Do not check the option to "Embed only the characters used in the document" to try to reduce file size. This sometimes has the unintended effect of not embedding the font at all, which defeats the purpose.

- Word for Mac: Word for Mac does not have the option to embed fonts. Instead, choose to Print the document, then in the Print dialog box, click the PDF button in the bottom left corner and choose Save as PDF. This saves the whole document as a PDF file and embeds the signature.

What about signing Excel documents to send via e-mail?

We have a step-by-step guide for using signatures in Excel for Windows and Mac.

How do I sign other documents to send as e-mails?

You can make a PDF file of your signature to insert in the document (if the program allows this), or you can make an image as described above to insert in the document. You need the full version of Adobe Acrobat or another PDF-making program to make a PDF of your signature for Windows. See your Adobe software for instructions.

Can I create a signature "stamp" to use?

Yes. You can make a PDF "stamp" of your signature to use to sign PDF documents. Here are the basic steps to create a PDF signature stamp.