Got a nice email signature you want to use on another Mac? You could email it, then copy and paste into the Signatures window. But here’s another method that works well when you have a set of multiple signatures. Note: this method replaces any existing signatures with the new set.
Begin on a computer that has the desired signature in its Mail app. Note: iCloud must not active on the master computer. Turning iCloud off can have unintended consequences. If the computer has iCloud, send emails containing the signatures to a computer or user account that does not have iCloud enabled. Then follow the steps below.
Preparing signatures for other computers
- Quit the Mail app if it’s running.
- Click the Finder, then the Go menu and choose Go to Folder… Type or paste ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/
- Drag the Signatures folder to a shared or portable drive.
Deploying signatures on multiple computers
Perform these steps on a computer that needs the custom signatures. Note: iCloud poses some challenges as it will attempt to sync signatures with Apple. Since you’re replacing signatures “under the hood,” iCloud may delete them from the computer when you quit Mail. We’ll avoid this by locking the signatures first.
- Quit the Mail app if it’s running.
- Open System Preferences and click iCloud. Make a note of whether or not iCloud is signed in.
- If iCloud is enabled, click the Finder, then the Go menu and choose Go to Folder… Type or paste ~/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~mail/Data/MailData/ and click Go. If the folder can’t be found, iCloud is not signed in. Skip to the next step. Otherwise, open the Signatures folder and drag the contents to the trash.
- Click the Go menu and choose Go to Folder… Type or paste ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/
- Drag the Signatures folder from the shared or portable drive to the MailData window. Replace the old signatures.
- Open the Mail app, click the Mail menu and choose Preferences.
- Click Signatures and select a signature. It should display correctly except for linked images — they show as a question mark. (The images will display when you use the signature.)
- Make any changes to the signatures. You may edit the name, job title, extension number, etc. Be careful not to change any elements that destroy the look or function of the signature. Close the window.
- If iCloud is not signed in, you’re done.
- If iCloud is signed in, do not quit Mail yet. Click the Finder, then the Go menu and choose Go to Folder… Go to the ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/Signatures folder again.
- Select all the files inside Signatures except AccountsMap.plist and SignaturesByAccount.plist
- Hold the option key and choose File–Show Inspector. Lock the files.
- Quit Mail and reopen it. Check to make sure the signatures still work. If not, repeat the steps in this section.
Editing signature code after deployment
Found a mistake? If you’ve locked the signatures to protect them from iCloud deletion you will not be able to make future changes in Mail. You’ll need to edit the code in TextEdit.
- Quit the Mail app if it’s running.
- Open TextEdit, choose Preferences and click Open and Save. Check the box Display HTML files as HTML code. Close the window.
- Click the Finder, then the Go menu and choose Go to Folder… Type or paste ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/
- Select the mailsignature file(s) inside, hold the option key and choose File–Show Inspector. Unlock the files.
- Drag the mail signature file(s) to TextEdit.
- Make changes to the signature, taking care not to damage the code. It helps to use the Find function, look for the incorrect text and replace it.
- Save the signature. Keep the long hex name exactly the same, replacing the old version. Close the file.
- Repeat step 6 with any other mailsignature files.
- Select the mailsignature file(s), hold the option key and choose File–Show Inspector. Lock the files.
- Open the Mail app, click the Mail menu and choose Preferences.
- Open Mail. Check to make sure the signatures still work. If not, repeat the steps in this section.
Learn more about custom signatures.
