Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Typing Check Marks into Excel.

Typing Check Marks into Excel

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated March 16, 2020)

12

It is not unusual to use an Excel worksheet to create different types of checklists and forms that are used by other people. When you are developing your checklist, you may want to actually put a check mark into a cell. There are several ways you can go about doing this. Both methods involve changing the font applied to a cell and then typing the character you want in the cell.

For instance, try these steps:

  1. Select the cell that you want to contain the check mark.
  2. Using the Font drop-down list, select Wingdings. The cell is now formatted to use the Wingdings font.
  3. Start the Character Map accessory included with Windows. (Use the search capabilities of Windows to locate and run the Character Map accessory.) (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Character Map accessory.

  4. In the Character Map, select the Wingdings font.
  5. Scroll though the available characters until you find the check mark you like.
  6. Copy the character to the Clipboard. (The controls in the Character Map accessory allow you to do this, although the controls differ from one version of Windows to another.)
  7. Close the Character Map accessory.
  8. In Excel, press Ctrl+V to paste the character into the cell.

This is quite a few steps to put in a simple check mark. There is a simpler way, however, if you simply remember that you need to pick a font that contains check marks, and then put in the character to produce that check mark.

When it comes to fonts containing check marks, there are quite a few. The appearance of the check mark will depend on the font you use. The following information shows what you would type (on the keyboard) in various fonts to achieve a check mark:

Character to Type Font to Use
a Marlett
a Webdings
b Marlett
C Erilogo
P Wingdings 2
Alt+129 Wingdings
Alt+0214 Symbol
Alt+0252 Wingdings

For those instances where an Alt combination is mentioned, you simply need to hold down the Alt key as you type the three or four numbers on the keypad.

There are undoubtedly numberless other character/font combinations that will result in a check mark in a cell. If you want to do your own exploring, you can use the Character Map accessory to look around through different fonts to find out what is available. (You can also find different fonts containing check marks at some Web sites, such as www.dingbatpages.com.)

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11474) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Typing Check Marks into Excel.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Full Path Names in Headers or Footers

Using a macro to add the full path name into a header or footer in an Excel worksheet.

Discover More

Making VLOOKUP Trigger a Macro

VLOOKUP is an oft-used worksheet function to lookup values in a data table. If the function cannot return a value, it ...

Discover More

Applying Styles

Styles are a powerful formatting tool for the text in your documents. Once you've created styles that describe how you ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Showing Text when a Cell is Empty

Wouldn't it be great if you could have Excel display some text in a cell only when that cell is empty? Unfortuantely, ...

Discover More

Using the Fill Handle from the Keyboard

The fill handle can save a huge amount of time when you are editing a worksheet. If you are really good at using the ...

Discover More

Character Limits for Cells

Excel places limits on how much information you can enter into a cell and how much of that information it will display. ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is nine more than 0?

2020-03-16 10:34:35

MinBee

this seems like a lot of work either way. Why don't you just select Insert > Symbol, then scroll to an available checkmark and select it. Better yet, go to macros start a macro and then do the above step. Then you would have your symbol with one key combination always.

2016-04-20 09:22:46

Robert Chavous

=IF(ISBLANK(B2)," ",IF(B2=0,"","X"))

IN THE SECOND IF STATEMENT, I NEED A CHECK MARK BETWEEN THE "". I CAN PUT A C THERE FOR CORRECT BUT I WOULD RATHER USE A CHECK MARK.

2015-11-16 08:22:56

ribit

I was asked to set up a system that allowed users to click into a cell and it changed to a tick, if they clicked again it changed into a cross, and clicking a third time blanked the cell. After formatting an area of the sheet as Wingdings I used this simple routine to perform the required task.

If ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "" Then
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "þ"
ElseIf ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "þ" Then
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "ý"
Else
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = ""
End If

2015-11-15 19:24:28

Stewart Borowski

What happens if you utilise a font that is not available on the client/target system? Will it generate one of the rectangular 'system char' things? looks a bit like " [] ". My concern is that displaying the sheet on another OS (Mac or *nix rather than Win, for example) may not display the chosen character correctly.

2015-11-15 11:22:26

Tim Coddington

I think this person may want to add a checkbox control. Here is a helpful article on that ...
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Add-a-check-box-option-button-or-toggle-button-to-a-worksheet-1b4a1c18-e99a-4a49-abc5-ca2c120f426f

2015-11-15 07:10:57

Maarten Daams

I use the square root symbol as check mark. This way, you are font-independent. (Can be found under Mathematical Operators). I've defined an autocorrect, when I type "xr" this is replaced by the square root/check mark.

2015-11-14 16:42:14

Tom Edge

Useful tip - thanks. It would also be useful to know how to change the Un-checked checkbox into a checked box (for a distributed task list, or for an indicator that something was completed) Guessing that it might involve some VBA using onClick and changing the character.

Thanks.

Tom

2015-11-14 15:23:42

GRH

Quicker and easier:

1. On the "Insert" ribbon tab, click "Symbol"
2. Dialog box appears, scroll down and click the checkmark
3. Click Insert!

2015-11-14 12:50:59

John Downes

I've been using the Monotype Sorts font for years. Typing a "4" in that font gives you a nice big tick. "6" gives you a cross.

2015-11-14 12:31:14

Chris Finn

For a tick, I have always used 'a' in Marlett, which is easy to remember. It's also a nice bold tick.

For a cross, I generally just use an X in the current font (unless using an 'odd' font).

2015-11-14 06:16:19

Akporhuarho Samuel

It was excellent.

2015-11-14 06:02:56

Mark Gerdes

Great tip - always wondered how to get ticks and crosses in a spreadsheet. Thanks!

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.