PC World Business

E-mail is the ultimate killer app. Even technophobes who hate everything digital reluctantly acquire e-mail accounts so that they can stay in touch with family and friends.

But e-mail clients (the programs that access e-mail) don't always behave the way they should. Here I answer three reader questions about making e-mail work better--or just plain work.

Can I insert an image into my signature?

Lyman E. Bertsch, Bossier City, LA

A small .gif or .jpg above or beside your name gives you a professional image (a large one, however, just makes people mad). Different e-mail clients make inserting an image easy, difficult, or all but impossible. I'll give you instructions for the various Microsoft clients, as well as for Google Mail.

Outlook 2007 This is the easiest one. Just select Tools, Options, Mail Format, and then click the Signatures button. The resulting dialog box has an editor into which you can easily insert an image by clicking the picture icon and selecting the image you want.

Outlook 2003 Click the New button to create a new message. In that message, design your signature, inserting the image and typing the text. Once the signature looks right, press Ctrl-A to select it, and then Ctrl –C to copy it to the Clipboard. Close the message window without saving it.

Select Tools, Options. Click the Mail Format tab, the Signatures button, and then the New button. Name your signature, select Start with a blank signature, and click . In the resulting text box, press Ctrl –V to insert the signature. Save it.

Outlook Express, Windows Mail, and Windows Live Mail Setting up images in the signatures for these apps can be a real kludge. But hang in there: Once you have a picture set up, it's easy to use.