OL 2002 SP3
Win XP HE SP1

Follow-up to: microsoft.public.outlook

I am having a really hard time creating proper html signatures in OL
that "stick", i.e. remain the way I designed them using Advanced Edit
(using Word as editor) in OL.

The problems seems to be rather complex and perplexing to me--but
probably a "style" issue:

This is what I do:

I create an html signature using Tools|Options|Mail
Format|Signatures|Edit|Advanced Edit whic opens Word as the editor.
I make changes to styles by selecting the signature text and changing
fonts size or color; save the signature--which saves it as an html file
(and creates matching txt and rtf files in the "signature folder.)

Then, when I create a new email--I use Word as the html/rich Text
editor--the signature n is there but using the default font Times New
Roman 12 pt, for example, not what I had created during edit process.

Example: Let's say I used Verdana as font while creating signature.

When creating a new message, it comes back as Times with text apparently
being style "Heading1" when I selected normal or normal+Verdana during
edit process.

Even if I go back to editing the signature in Word and reselect the text
and apply the style, it does not stick and is back to Heading1 upon
creation of new emails--thus looking different than intended (different
font, etc.).

THAT in itself, is frustrating.

I then decided to "be smart" (I was only kidding myself probably) based
on this reasoning: Perhaps, the style created during design of
signature--the style will be normal+modifications--does not appear in
normal.dot And since I have to come to believe that when one creates a
new email message in OL [when using Word as html and Rich Text editor]
OL uses normal.dot; I added the style to normal.dot; so that it would
"stick".

Then came other problems; possibly conflicts of styles based on names, etc.

Then I tried deleting the modified style (cascading children) and create
brand NEW styles with a custom name, and build it from scratch, adding
it to normal.dot. (To avoid conflicts).

That seemed to resolve my problem in the signature in question but
created problems in other signatures that undoubtedly use some form of
cascading children of some style I have modified and thus now looking
different and like crap.

Unfortunately, I cannot back track completely what I did.

SO, faced with this mess, I am just about ready to delete my normal.dot
and let it recreate itself, delete all the signatures--there are many of
them unfortunately--and start from scratch.

My problem is that I don't have a PROPER and EXACT procedure for
creating html signatures for use with OL2002; so that they display the
way I design them, consistently.

I was wondering if any experts out there can help me by:

1) Confirming that to use custom styles in OL signatures, I HAVE to add
the custom styles to normal.dot OL uses normal.dot when it creates a
"New Message". True or false?

I really don't like adding all kinds of styles to normal.dot or making
lots of changes to it as I might screw it up, etc. I'd much rather
create styles in a template called custom.dot, for example; but.....

2) Tell me an exact and proper procedure to follow to design and create
a properly formatted html signature in OL2002 SP3 so that it WILL
display the way I designed it in Word using the Advanced Edit feature
under Tools|Signatures, etc.?

Thanks a lot!