How can I define a default template/stationary for all my "Write" messages?
I have a need to use "stationary" with a logo in all the messages I write. How do I do this?
Chosen solution
The usual thing in email is to add a "signature" - a standard sign-off placed at the bottom of your email messages. It can be text, a picture or a mixture. It often contains hyperlinks to a company website.
Some users refer to a "letterhead" or banner, rather quaintly IMHO alluding to the pre-printed headed paper you might have in an office environment. I don't think these are a good fit to email, where a message may be quoted back and forth between correspondents, adding a bit each time.
Thunderbird has simple support for a signature which you can set up and will be added each time you write an email. You can choose whether or not to use it in replies and forwards.
It also has support for templates, which can also include a signature, so you can use both or either. Templates are fine for when you create a new message, but can't be used with replies or forwards. A template is a familiar concept in a word processor, where you can have a pre-defined layout with styles set up. I don't think the thunderbird template lends itself to such lofty ambition.
I find that I want different signatures, and even different layout styles according to place and context. My own choice is to use two add-ons.
Signature Switch lets me choose among multiple signatures, and it can offer whichever is appropriate to the context by using rules. So at work the default signature would be the ugly monstrosity required of me by my employers, whereas messages to my wife or family will use rather more friendly concise and informal personal signatures. This add-on also allows both plain text and fancy version of a signature, so the appropriate one is selected and added to the message dependent on whether or not it uses html.
Stationery, in a similar vein, allows me to choose which of several stationery templates to use. Again these can incorporate signatures, but they also have a placeholder that allows a signature to be imported, and so these two add-ons play together very well.
In both add-ons, the pre-prepared data is stored in an html file.
We can easily create a signature in Thunderbird.
Start a new message. Clear everything out so you have a blank sheet to start with. Build your signature just as if you were typing an email message, entering text, setting its font, size, colour, placement and so forth. You can add images and links using the options offered under Insert in the menu.
When you're satisfied with it, you can save it using File|Save. You could save it as a template, but I can't recommend these; too limited. You can save it as an html file. You can then select this file to use for a signature via Signature Switch, or you can add the filename into account settings.
The Stationery add-on isn't quite as easy. I think you have to learn a little about html and css to create your own. The stationery add-on site offers some to start with, and you can still find on the web providers who offer stationery for use in Outlook Express (e.g. CloudEight) which you can use with this add-on.
Here is one of my Stationery templates. It sets some fonts styling and reserves a place for a signature. I haven't bothered using it to define heading styles. A significant advantage of the Stationery add-on is that you can apply it in replies and forwards, or change it on the fly.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<style type="text/css">
body {
text-align: left;
font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif;
font-size: 14px;
color: black;
background-color: white;
margin-top: 25px;
margin-left: 25px;
}
</style>
<title>stationery template for work email</title>
</head>
<body>
<span id="_AthCaret"><!-- initial caret placement --></span><br>
<span stationery="content-placeholder">
<!-- content placeholder begin, pre-filled to look familiar in browser -->
somebody@somewhere write:
<blockquote type="cite">
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
</blockquote>
<!-- content placeholder end -->
</span>
<br>
<span class="moz-signature" stationery="signature-placeholder">
<!-- signature placeholder begin, pre-filled to look familiar in browser -->
-- <br>
My signature goes here<br>
lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
<!-- signature placeholder end -->
</span>
</body>
</html>
See also:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/signatures
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Signatures_(Thunderbird)
https://www.groovypost.com/howto/howto/create-html-signatures-in-thunderbird-without-learning-html/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/signature-switch/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/stationery/
http://thundercloud.net/tbird/
All Replies (1)
Chosen Solution
The usual thing in email is to add a "signature" - a standard sign-off placed at the bottom of your email messages. It can be text, a picture or a mixture. It often contains hyperlinks to a company website.
Some users refer to a "letterhead" or banner, rather quaintly IMHO alluding to the pre-printed headed paper you might have in an office environment. I don't think these are a good fit to email, where a message may be quoted back and forth between correspondents, adding a bit each time.
Thunderbird has simple support for a signature which you can set up and will be added each time you write an email. You can choose whether or not to use it in replies and forwards.
It also has support for templates, which can also include a signature, so you can use both or either. Templates are fine for when you create a new message, but can't be used with replies or forwards. A template is a familiar concept in a word processor, where you can have a pre-defined layout with styles set up. I don't think the thunderbird template lends itself to such lofty ambition.
I find that I want different signatures, and even different layout styles according to place and context. My own choice is to use two add-ons.
Signature Switch lets me choose among multiple signatures, and it can offer whichever is appropriate to the context by using rules. So at work the default signature would be the ugly monstrosity required of me by my employers, whereas messages to my wife or family will use rather more friendly concise and informal personal signatures. This add-on also allows both plain text and fancy version of a signature, so the appropriate one is selected and added to the message dependent on whether or not it uses html.
Stationery, in a similar vein, allows me to choose which of several stationery templates to use. Again these can incorporate signatures, but they also have a placeholder that allows a signature to be imported, and so these two add-ons play together very well.
In both add-ons, the pre-prepared data is stored in an html file.
We can easily create a signature in Thunderbird.
Start a new message. Clear everything out so you have a blank sheet to start with. Build your signature just as if you were typing an email message, entering text, setting its font, size, colour, placement and so forth. You can add images and links using the options offered under Insert in the menu.
When you're satisfied with it, you can save it using File|Save. You could save it as a template, but I can't recommend these; too limited. You can save it as an html file. You can then select this file to use for a signature via Signature Switch, or you can add the filename into account settings.
The Stationery add-on isn't quite as easy. I think you have to learn a little about html and css to create your own. The stationery add-on site offers some to start with, and you can still find on the web providers who offer stationery for use in Outlook Express (e.g. CloudEight) which you can use with this add-on.
Here is one of my Stationery templates. It sets some fonts styling and reserves a place for a signature. I haven't bothered using it to define heading styles. A significant advantage of the Stationery add-on is that you can apply it in replies and forwards, or change it on the fly.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<style type="text/css">
body {
text-align: left;
font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif;
font-size: 14px;
color: black;
background-color: white;
margin-top: 25px;
margin-left: 25px;
}
</style>
<title>stationery template for work email</title>
</head>
<body>
<span id="_AthCaret"><!-- initial caret placement --></span><br>
<span stationery="content-placeholder">
<!-- content placeholder begin, pre-filled to look familiar in browser -->
somebody@somewhere write:
<blockquote type="cite">
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
</blockquote>
<!-- content placeholder end -->
</span>
<br>
<span class="moz-signature" stationery="signature-placeholder">
<!-- signature placeholder begin, pre-filled to look familiar in browser -->
-- <br>
My signature goes here<br>
lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
<!-- signature placeholder end -->
</span>
</body>
</html>
See also:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/signatures
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Signatures_(Thunderbird)
https://www.groovypost.com/howto/howto/create-html-signatures-in-thunderbird-without-learning-html/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/signature-switch/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/stationery/
http://thundercloud.net/tbird/