I need to count the number of entries in a spreadsheet where a chosen string
appears anywhere in column K and a (different) chosen string ALSO appears in
column D. I have tried to call this by putting a formula in the cell where
the result should appear.

For example - count all the rows where "Smith" appears in column K and "Not
present" appears in column D and put the result in cell A1.

As far as I can discover, you can't use COUNTIF with two parameters and I
believe SUMPRODUCT can be used, although I think I've read that you can't use
SUMPRODUCT on entire columns.

I've read all the posts I can find around this and - sorry all - I can't
really understand what I should do. Would any kind person be able to tell me
in VERY SIMPLE words if this can be done and how?

Thanks in advance - I'm new to this and currently beaten!!

Sue