How to manually insert signature in Thunderbird? (impossible?)

Question

How can I manually insert a signature in Thunderbird when I am busy composing an email? I don't find the option/action in any of the menus (specifically not under Insert, as I would expect).

(Note: I know how to configure Thunderbird to automatically insert a signature when creating a new mail in a certain account. But if you delete the signature (accidentaly or not), how can you reinsert it? Or how can you insert it for an account which isn't configured to automatically insert a signature?)

Answer 1

There seems to be a specific reason why the feature 'Insert signature here' is not available in Thunderbird.

This FAQ entry from the Thunderbird add-on Signature Switch (suggested by Horatio) actually provided me with some insight as to why Thunderbird probably doesn't have this feature.

FAQ Question: My signature doesn't get removed when it is placed before quoted text. Is that a bug?
No it isn't. ;-) If your Thunderbird is set to place the signature below your reply (above the quote) the removal won't work.That's because Thunderbird then doesn't insert the standard-delimiter ("-- \n") before the signature (for a good reason!). And that's what "Signature Switch" is looking for.
Some people might try to bypass that problem by manually adding the sig-delimiter to their signature file. But that will cause another problem. The "-- \n" always marks the very end of a mail-message. "Signature Switch" assumes that any text placed below the signature-delimiter (including any quoted lines) is part of the signature. ... and therefore removes everything below the delimiter.
Besides... this option isn't recommended by Thunderbird itself! So please put your signature below your quotings. (check the Wikipedia-excerpt below)

here is the excerpt:

From Wikipedia: " ... The formatting of the sig block is prescribed somewhat more firmly: it should be displayed as plain text in a fixed-width font (no HTML, images, or other rich text), and must be delimited from the body of the message by a single line consisting of exactly two hyphens, followed by a space, followed by the end of line (i.e., "-- \n"). ... "

and finally:

FAQ Question: I want to place my signature at any desired position within the message. Could you please implement cursor-point-insertion to "Signature Switch"?
Definitely no. Sorry. (And please don't ask me to reconsider.) Due to the reasons explained for the previous question I can't offer you this. Besides... something like that wouldn't have anything to do with "signatures" anymore.
If you're looking for an easy way to paste predefined text please check out other extensions especially made for that purpose.

Still, that is all fine and correct from a technical point of view, but usability-wise I just would like to insert my signature where I want.

Answer 2

Hopefully you are using at least two email accounts for Thunderbird. Or at least have another identity to email under. If so, you can just reset the signature by fiddling with the From header.

1. Go to the From field in the Compose window
2. Use the arrow keys to go up (↑) or down (↓) the possible identities/accounts to email from

You'll notice as you do this that the relevant signature will be attached to the footer of the email.

Even if you cycle through an email address you're already writing from, the signature will be put back unless you choose to remove it again.

If you only use Thunderbird to email from the one account, you can always set up a dummy email account to allow for the above quick switch method.

If you land on an account that does not have a signature set up, there won't be one waiting for you if you use this method. For that, best go and copy-paste as you cycle in the above steps mentioned.

Answer 3

Luckily, thunderbird has an add-on facility. You can go to their 3rd-party add-on page via a link within the program. A quick search immediately brought up:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/611/

PLEASE NOTE that I have NO idea if the linked add-on works or is even safe to use!

Answer 4

Well, its not a fast solution, but you can go

1. Main Window -> Menu -> Preferences -> Account Settings -> Select your Account expander -> Signature text: -> Select All
2. Email Composer Window -> Put Cursor where you want the Signature Inserted -> Menu -> Insert -> HTML... -> Enter HTML tags and text: -> Paste -> Insert

Wala, only 15 steps!

_{Almost seems like we need a "Ui/UX Golf" stackex site.}