A signature is a customary, fundamental aspect of correspondence that we have come to expect and value. A signature adds a personal touch and an element of sincerity.

E-mail signatures can play a role in providing contact information and in helping to close messages with an appropriate tone. Add your own picture or company logo and you make your identity or affiliation instantly clear.

To learn more about this course, read the text in Goals and About this course, or look at the table of contents. Then click Next to start the first lesson.

If you're looking for information about digital signatures, that's something else. When you send a digitally signed message (which you do by attaching a digital certificate to the message), you offer assurance to the recipient that you "signed" the contents of the message and that the contents have not been altered in transit. If that's the subject you're after, see Send a digitally signed message.