Gmail

Introduction

Setting up a Gmail account is easy. You will begin by creating a Google Account, and during the quick sign-up process you will choose your Gmail account name. In this lesson, we'll show you how to set up your Google Account for Gmail, add and edit contacts, and edit your mail settings.

Setting up a Gmail account

To create a Gmail address, you'll first need to create a Google Account. Gmail will redirect you to the Google Account sign-up page. You'll need to provide some basic information like your name, birth date, gender, and location. You will also need to choose a name for your new Gmail address. Once you create an account, you'll be able to start adding contacts and adjusting your mail settings.

To create an account:

1. Go to www.gmail.com.
2. Click Create an account.
   Clicking Create an account
3. The sign-up form will appear. Follow the directions and enter the required information, such as your name, birth date, and gender.
   Entering your information
   
4. Finally, review Google's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, click the checkbox, and then click Next step.
   Agreeing to the TOS and Privacy Policy, then clicking Next step
5. The Create your profile page will appear. Click Add a photo if you wish to add a photo to your Google+ profile. If you don't want to set a profile photo at this time, click Next step.
   Clicking Next step
6. Your account will be created, and the Google welcome page will appear.
   The Google welcome page

Just like with any online service, it's important to choose a strong password—in other words, one that is difficult for someone to guess. For more information, check out our Password Tips lesson.

Signing in to your account

When you first create your account, you will be automatically signed in. Most of the time, however, you'll need to sign in to your account, and then sign out when you're done with it. Signing out is especially important if you're using a shared computer (for example, at a library or office) because it prevents other people from viewing your emails.

To sign in:

1. Go to www.gmail.com.
2. Type your username (your email address) and password, and then click Sign in.
   Signing in
   

To sign out:

• In the top-right corner of the page, click your name and select Sign out.
  Signing out

Mail settings

Occasionally, you may want to make adjustments to Gmail's appearance or behavior. For example, you could create a signature or a vacation reply, edit your labels, or change the theme. These adjustments can be made from your Mail settings.

To access your mail settings:

1. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the page, and select Settings.
   Going to Mail settings
2. From here, you can select the category that you want to edit.
   Choosing a theme in mail settings

Adding contacts

Like all major email providers, Gmail lets you keep an address book of contacts so that you don't have to memorize everyone's email addresses. You can also add other contact info, such as phone numbers, birthdays, and physical addresses.

To add a contact:

1. In the Gmail drop-down menu, select Contacts.
   Clicking Contacts
2. Your contacts screen will appear. Click New Contact.
   Clicking New Contact
3. Type the person's name and email address. You can also type additional contact information if desired. All changes you make will be saved automatically.
   Typing the contact's name and email address

To edit a contact:

1. In the left menu pane, click My Contacts.
   Clicking My Contacts
2. Click on the contact you would like to edit.
   Clicking on a contact
3. You can now make any changes that you want to the contact.
   Editing a contact's name

By default, when you send an email to a new address, Gmail adds the address to your contacts. You can then go to your contacts to edit the person's information as needed.

Importing mail and contacts

You may already have a contact list from another email address, and it would be a lot of work to re-enter all of that information manually. Gmail allows you to import your contacts from another email account, and you can even import all of your email messages from that account. Many different email providers are supported, such as Yahoo!, Hotmail, and AOL.

To add other accounts:

1. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the page, and select Settings.
2. Go to Accounts and click Add a POP3 mail account you own. You can then follow the instructions on the screen to import your mail.
   Importing mail