• This is my most popular post – *sigh*! It describes how to set up a Gmail account and also how to have all the email sent to that account forwarded automatically to a different email address.
• I wrote this to help all the members of the choir I was singing with to be on Google and therefore able to sign up for a Google group (an easy way to share info and clique-ish chat!).
• Please let me know if this is useful, or if there is any other info you would like.

[original post follows]

A Google account is easy to set up and you can redirect all the mail that comes to it to your existing email address, so all will carry on as normal in your email world.

Here’s what you do:

1. Go to www.gmail.com and click ‘Sign up for Google Mail’ at the bottom right.
2. Fill in the form, choosing your spangly new email address.
3. A screen will appear telling you about Gmail’s super-duper features.  Click ‘I’m ready – show me my account’ when you’re ready and want to be shown your account.
4. Your new account shall appear.
5. Click on ‘Settings’.
6. Click on ‘Forwarding and POP/IMAP’.
7. Where it says ‘Forward a copy of incoming mail to…’, fill in your main email account.  (The button to the left of the line will automatically ‘switch on’.)
8. My personal preference would be to change ‘keep Gmail’s copy in the inbox’ to ‘archive Gmail’s copy’.  Up to you.
9. Click ‘Save changes’ at the bottom of the yellow box.