Learn spreadsheet basics with Leila Gharani and Pulenaz

Start with the boxes

Leila Gharani’s beginner guide to Excel has a video to follow alongside its written steps. She starts with opening a blank workbook and entering data, then explains cell addresses and a first total. It is a useful starting point if someone at work has handed you a spreadsheet and assumed you already know the names for everything.

References: XelPlus

A spreadsheet is a grid. Each box is a cell: its address combines the letter at the top of its column with the number at the side of its row. B2 is the box in column B, row 2. Click a box, type into it and press Enter. You can correct an entry by selecting that box again.

References: XelPlus

Pulenaz makes an expense list

Pulenaz wants to share a small list of office supplies. In a blank Excel sheet she enters Item in A1 and Cost in B1. Below them she puts Paper in A2 and 12 in B2, then Pens in A3 and 8 in B3. In A4 she writes Total.

In B4 she types =SUM(B2:B3) and presses Enter. The answer is 20.

In Excel, SUM adds values. The address B2:B3 refers to the boxes from B2 through B3, so the formula adds those two entries.

References: Microsoft Support

At first Pulenaz types the formula without its opening equals sign and does not get a total. She selects B4, adds the equals sign and checks the result against 12 plus 8. Then she changes the pens to 10 and sees the total become 22. If your answer differs, check both the cell addresses and the numbers before starting over.

Practise the keyboard slowly

Gharani takes a short typing break with Pulenaz before they name the file. On a standard English QWERTY keyboard, they rest the fingers of the left hand on A S D F and the right hand on J K L and the semicolon. With the screen in view, they type asdf, a space, then jkl; and return their fingers to those keys.

Try a few repetitions in a blank document. Look down to find the starting keys, then try the next repetition without watching your hands. If a letter is wrong, slow down and find the position again. This is a starting drill for touch typing; practise other keys gradually rather than trying to type the entire expense list blind on the first day.

Save it, find it, send it

Pulenaz clicks Save, chooses Documents as the location, enters Office supplies as the filename and clicks Save. She closes the sheet, opens Documents and finds the file by that name before writing an email. That small check answers the question that often comes next: where did my work go?

Gharani walks through an attachment with her. Pulenaz opens a new message, finds Office supplies in Documents and attaches it. She checks that the filename appears, then adds the recipient and a short explanation.

In Gmail on a computer, choose Compose, select the paperclip marked Attach, choose the file and click Open.

References: Google Gmail Help

To practise without involving a colleague, send the file to your own address first. Open the received attachment and check that it is the sheet you meant to send. If you cannot find it in the file picker, return to Excel and check the name and save location before trying again.

Sources and attribution

1. XelPlus

   How to Use Excel: A Beginner’s GuidePublished Feb 5, 2021 · Recorded Oct 30, 2026

2. Microsoft Support

   Use the SUM function to sum numbers in a rangePublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026

3. Google Gmail Help

   Send attachments with your Gmail messagePublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026