Creating a search form and results page using Views

I've successfully (sort of) set up fuzzysearch with the Search Pages module, but search pages has zero customization available (select what fields to display, show results in a table, filter for only published content, etc.) So, it seems using the Views module is the way to go. I've looked at the readme file, I've looked at any issues/posts relating to setting up views, and it's just not clicking.

All I've been able to get is a page with a fulltext search field on it...but it doesn't do anything. It's not actually searching (or displaying results).

If anyone has successfully set up a search page using the Views module, can you *please* post instructions how you did it. Also, how to put the search box in the sidebar...

Thanks.