Setting up a Google Account

1. Go to www.google.com and in the top right hand corner click on Sign in.
2. On the sign in page, you'll see how you can log in to your account, and directly beneath that is "Don't have a Google Account, Create An Account Now". if you have Google mail, simply log in using your existing account. If not, sign up for one. the steps are easy to follow.
3. Or, on the Create an Account page, enter your current email address (non-Gmail address), create a password, choose your settings, (read them carefully...it asks questions like enabling web browser history, setting Google as your default webpage, etc). You will need to provide them with your birth date, your other email address if you choose to create a Gmail account and a cell phone number. These are all so they can provide you with secure ways to reset your account in the event you forget your password or think it has been hacked.
4. And Bingo...you are the proud owner of a Google account.
5. See the photo below for an sample sign up page.

Once you have completed the application process for a Google Account, you will receive an email from Google (hence the reason they need an alternate account) to validate your application (they want to prove its really someone and not a robot attempting to scam them and other people). Follow their instructions in the email to validate your account, once you do, you will have access to other Google Services like Calendar, Docs, Drive and more.

Now your Google account is active. You can log into Google Docs and see your Google Docs Home Page or the Doc List. It is important to note the following features:

• Create and Upload allows you to start new projects or upload existing files (including word files) from your PC or find a template to create your first Google Doc.
• Use Google Calendar (PS...if you have Alexa from Amazon Prime, you can request the calendar events, appointments, reminders, birthdays, etc).
• You can see the Docs List..all the projects with format, title, whether or not you've shared it (shared status) and folder names in this area.
• Filter and Sort...Upper right corner is the capability to filter and sort...allowing you to search by doc type, visibility or who owns a particular document (in the event of a shared doc), organize your docs by title, date, or priority.
• To the right of each project, you'll see the project "detail pane" which is a snapshot of the item, the sharing status of the item and the creation date.
• See the Google Docs Tips page for more tips