How to register for an Email Account.
Go to www.hotmail.com
- Click on the Sign Up button.
- The registration form below will appear.
Begin to fill in the form with your information. We will demonstrate how the form is filled out by using a fictional name.
Beside Hotmail address, click into the box. You need to create your Windows Live ID username. Type in anything that you would like to be your username. Click on the Check availability button to see if it is available or not. We’ll type in “franklinjoseph”.
If your username is available, you will get a message saying that it is available. Notice that the computer address for this email account ends with “hotmail.ca” instead of “hotmail.com”. If you are happy with the “hotmail.ca” computer address for your email account, then, you can keep filling in the registration form.
Let’s say that we wanted an email account with a computer address ending with “hotmail.com”. Click the down arrow beside “hotmail.ca” and then, from the list, click on “hotmail.com”. You’ll see that we get a message indicating that our desired username ending with “hotmail.com” is not available.
A list of Available IDs is shown. We can choose one of these by clicking on one or if we don’t like any of them, we can click on the Use Windows Live ID advanced search link and follow the instructions. If you got a similar list of Available IDs for your username, you would follow the same instructions as in our example.
Please notice that some of the Available IDs have “hotmail.com” and some have “live.ca”. This is the computer address for your email account and if you choose a “live.ca” Available ID over a “hotmail.com” Available ID, that will be your computer address for your email account.
Since we know that is available, we’ll change the computer address back to “hotmail.ca” by clicking on the down arrow beside “hotmail.com” and then, from the list, click on “hotmail.ca”.
When you have successfully chosen your username and computer address, you will see a message saying that email account is available. Continue your registration.
Beside Create a password, click into the box. Type in a password that is at least 6 characters in length. Note that it is also case sensitive. As you type in your password, the “Password Strength” indicator activates. This indicator will tell you if your password is weak, medium or strong. When choosing a password, you may wish to choose a word, some numbers and some punctuation marks that you will remember.
Beside Retype password, click into the box. Type in the same password you have chosen.
When typing in your password, you will see black dots displayed instead of the actual letters, numbers and punctuation marks. This is a security measure – only you should know your password.
Beside Alternate e-mail address, click into the box and type in an alternate email address if you wish. This email address is used in case you forget your password.
Or if you do not have an another email address, click the Or choose a security question for password reset link.
After clicking on this link, a Question box appears. Click on Select one.
Choose one of the questions by clicking on it. We will choose “Name of first pet”.
Notice that your chosen question has been put into the Question box.
Beside Secret answer, click into the box. Type in the answer to your chosen question. Note that the answer must be a minimum of 5 characters in length and that it is not case sensitive.
Beside First name, click into the box. Type in your first name. If you decide to type in a fictional first name, write it down so you will remember it.
Beside Last name, click into the box. Type in your last name. If you decide to type in a fictional last name, write it down so you will remember it.
The Country/region box already has Canada. Skip this box.
Beside Province, click on Select one.
Choose a province or territory by clicking on one.
Your choice will be put into the Province box. We chose “Ontario”.
Beside Postal Code, click into the box. Type in your postal code. If you decide to type in a fictional postal code, write it down so you will remember it.
Beside Gender, click into a circle or radio button to choose your gender.
Beside Birth year, click into the box and type in the appropriate year. If you type in a fictional one, write it down so you will remember it.
Notice the box below the wavy characters. Click into the box and type in the wavy characters that you see. If you cannot figure out the characters, you can click on the New link to get new characters displayed. You can also use the Audio link to listen to the characters to type into the box if headphones or speakers are available.
Underneath the box, you will see a statement with the Microsoft service agreement and privacy statement links. Review this information by clicking on the links, if you wish.
When you are ready, click on the I accept button.
If you get an error message like “The characters didn’t match the picture. Please try again”, click on the New link and type in the new characters into the box. Then, click the I accept button again.
If you are successful in creating your account, you will see your Windows Live Hotmail or Windows Live Email account screen open.
Start exploring your account. Remember to click the Sign Out link when you are finished using your account for the day.
Consider taking an Email Made Easy class at a Toronto Public Library branch to learn more about email.
For further assistance, please contact a librarian at your local Toronto Public Library branch or phone Answerline at 416-393-7131.
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