Overview

This guide details the steps to fix a known issue in Microsoft Office that causes the email signatures feature to crash/hang. This error is caused by a pre-installed version of Microsoft Office from the Microsoft Store.

This guide will provide instructions to remove the Microsoft Office desktop application.

Procedure

Windows 10

1. Press the Start Button / Black square with the Windows logo to open up the start menu. Alternatively pressing the Windows button on a standardised keyboard will also work.
2. In the Start menu, type in Settings and select the option Settings where underneath it says Trusted Microsoft Store App (Win 10).

3. This will load up the Windows Settings Menu, from this menu choose the option that says Apps (underneath it will say Uninstall, defaults, optional features).
4. In the Apps & features search for the program called Microsoft Office Desktop Apps and highlight it so it goes grey to show it is selected. Then press the Uninstall button to remove the application.
5. Once the Application has been uninstalled from the computer, restart the machine. Once the machine has rebooted, load into Microsoft Office Outlook.
6. To locate the Signatures feature; select File > Options and in the Options window select the second option in the left-hand menu titled Mail.
7. From this menu, find the option for Signatures (Create or Modify Signatures for messages). And press the Signatures button; if Outlook loads the Signatures feature without crashing or hanging then the error has been fixed.

Windows 7

1. Press the Start Button / Blue circle to open up the start menu. Alternatively pressing the Windows button on a standardised keyboard will also work.
2. In the Start menu, type in Control Panel to bring up the Main Control Panel of the computer. Select the option that says Programs and Features > Uninstall a Program.
3. From the list of options that load scroll down and find the option that is called Microsoft Office Desktop Apps and uninstall it from the system.
4. Restart the PC and load into Microsoft Office Outlook.
5. To locate the Signatures feature; select File > options and in the Options window select the
   second option in the left-hand menu titled Mail.
6. From this menu, find the option for Signatures (Create or Modify Signatures for messages). And press the Signatures button; if Outlook loads the Signatures feature without crashing or hanging then the error has been fixed.