Box with check mark in word

Show the Developer tab

If the developer tab isn’t already visible, see Show the Developer tab.

Make your list

  1. Type the list.

  2. Go to Developer and select the Check Box Content Control at the beginning of the first line.

    Checkbox control in the Controls group on the developer ribbon.

  3. To change the default X to something else, see Make changes to checkboxes.

  4. Copy and paste the check box control at the beginning of each line.

  5. Select a checkbox to put an X (or other character) in the check box.

Add hanging indentation

If some list items are more than one line long, use hanging indents to align them.

  1. Select the list. Bullets or numbers won’t look selected.

  2. Go to Home and select the Paragraph dialog box launcher Dialog box launcher .

  3. Under Indentation, in the Left box, type 0.25.

  4. Under Special, choose Hanging.

  5. For By, Word sets a default value of 0.5 inches. Change this if you want your additional lines indented differently.

  6. Select OK when finished.

Lock the text and controls to prevent changes

  1. Select the list and checkboxes.

  2. Go to Developer >Group > Group.

    To unlock the list, select the list and choose Group > Ungroup.

Create a print only list

  1. Go to Home and select the down arrow next to the Bullets button.

    The bullets down arrow highlighted in the Paragraph group.

  2. In the drop down menu, select Define New Bullet.

  3. Select Symbol and find a box character. If you don’t initially see one, change Font to Wingdings or Segoe UI Symbol.

  4. Select OK twice, and create your list.

Example of a bulleted list with boxes.

Make a checklist you can check off in Word

To create a list that you can check off in Word, add content controls for checkboxes to your document.

Show the Developer tab

For more info if the developer tab isn’t already visible in Word, see Show the Developer tab.

Make your list

  1. Create your list.

  2. Place you cursor at the start of the first line.

  3. Go to the Developer tab, and then click Check Box.

    Click Check Box to insert a check box that you can mark in Word.

  4. If you want a space after the check box, press Tab or Spacebar.

    Use a Tab character if you want to format the list item with hanging indentation, like Word applies to bulleted lists.

  5. Select and copy (⌘ + C) the check box and any tabs or spaces.

  6. Place the cursor at the start of the each list item, and paste (⌘ + V ) the copied check box and characters.

  7. Paste the checkbox at the start of each line in your list.

Add hanging indentation

If some of the list items are longer than one line, use hanging indentation to align them.

  1. Select the list.

  2. Go to Format and select Paragraph.

  3. Under Indentation, type 0.25 in the Left box.

  4. In the Special list, choose Hanging.

    For hanging indentation of a list, set indentation for Left, and set Special to Hanging.

    For By, Word sets a default value of 0.5 inches. Change this if you want your additional lines indented differently.

Make a print only check list

You can replace the bullets or numbers in a list with another symbol, such as a box can be checked on a printed version of your document.

  1. Select the entire list.

  2. Select Home and select the arrow next to Bullets.

    Click the arrow next to the bullets icon to select or add bullets.

  3. Select Define New Bullet.

    Click Define New Bullet if Bullet Library does not have the symbol that you want.

  4. Select Bullet, and choose a symbol from the table of symbols.

    For more choices, in the Font box choose a symbol font, such as Wingdings.

  5. Select a symbol to use, such as an open box (A plain open box in the Wingdings font.) or a three-dimensional box (A shadowed open box in the Wingdings font.).

  6. Select OK, and then select OK again.

Word for the web supports only the on-paper form of checklist.

  1. Write your list, and then select it.

  2. On the Home tab, choose the down-arrow next to the Bullets list to open the bullet library, and then choose the checkbox symbol.

    Choose the checkbox symbol in the bullet library

Tick symbol in Word

Tick symbol (🗸) also known as a check mark is a symbol for “Yes”. Sometimes tick in a box (☑) is preferred over tick symbol to denote yes or completion. In this blog we have covered, four different ways to insert tick and tick in box symbol in Microsoft Word.

Place your cursor where you want to insert the symbol and use any of the following 4 methods. Method 4 is easiest and up to 7 times faster.

Shortcut for inserting Tick Symbol in WordDifferent ways to insert tick mark in Word.

Method 1 – Insert > Symbols

  1. Navigating Insert Tab > Symbols and select More Symbols

Insert More Symbols in Word

Navigate to Symbols in Word

2. Select Symbol Tab > Wingdings Font, and double click on desired symbol i.e. 🗸 or ☑.

Step by step method to Locate Tick Mark (Check Mark) or Tick in Box in Ms Word Symbols

3. Select Close

Method 2 – Alt Code (Requires dedicated Number pad keys)

Ms Word Alt code for Tick (or Check) Mark and Tick in Box are:

Tick Symbol or Check Mark (🗸) Tick in Box (☑)
128504 128505
Ms Word Alt code for Tick Symbol (or Check mark) and Tick in Box

To insert symbol, type corresponding Alt Code using Number pad (not using numerics key using above letters) while holding down Alt key.

Method 3 – Autocorrect (Fastest method for Tick Symbol Word)

Smartest way to insert check mark in Word
  1. Create Autocorrect entry
    • Locate Tick Symbol or Tick in Box symbol (as shown in Method 1) by navigating to Insert > Symbols > More Symbols and select symbol.
    • Click Autocorrect Button to open new AutoCorrect Dialogue box.
    • Type desired shortcut text (say tick or checkbox) in Replace.
    • Click Add.
    • Close Autocorrect and Symbol Window.

Setting autocorrect entry for Tick Mark Symbol in Word

2. Type autocorrect text created in above step and press space (for e.g. tick) to convert into corresponding symbol.

Method 4 – Alt X

Alt X code for Tick (or Check) Mark & Tick in Box are

Tick Symbol or Check Mark (🗸) Tick in Box (☑)
1F5F8 1F5F9
Ms Word Alt X code for Tick Mark (or Check mark) and Tick in Box

To insert thick (or check) mark, type 1F5F8 and press Alt + X immediately following it. Similarly, for inserting tick in box, type 1F5F8 and press Alt + X.

Summary

There are four different methods to insert tick symbol in Ms Word. Of all, Alt X and Alt Code method requires remembering 4-5 digit code. While, the Insert Symbol and Autocorrect method are straightforward and relatively easy to remember. Of all these, the smartest way to insert tick symbol or tick in box is Autocorrect method as it is fastest and easy to remember.

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Want to add a check box or tick box to a list or form in Microsoft Word? It’s easy to do, and you can even make it checkable so you can click the box with your mouse. We’ll show you an easy way to add a clickable checkbox using Developer Mode in Microsoft Word.

Steps

  1. Image titled Insert a Check Box in Word Step 1

    1

    Open a new file in Microsoft Word. Do so by opening the app shaped like a blue W. Then click on File in the menu bar at the top of the screen, and click on New Blank Document.

  2. Image titled Insert a Check Box in Word Step 2

    2

    Click on File in the menu bar and then Options in the menu.

    • On Mac, click on Word in the menu bar and then Preferences… in the menu.

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  3. Image titled Insert a Check Box in Word Step 3

    3

    Click on Customize Ribbon and then Main Tabs in the «Customize the Ribbon:» drop-down menu.»[1]

    • On Mac, click on Ribbon & Toolbar in the «Authoring and Proofing Tools» section of the dialog box, then click on the Ribbon tab at the top of the dialog box.
  4. Image titled Insert a Check Box in Word Step 4

    4

    Check «Developer» in the «Main Tabs» pane.

  5. Image titled Insert a Check Box in Word Step 5

    5

    Click on Ok.

  6. Image titled Insert a Check Box in Word Step 6

    6

    Click on Developer. It’s a tab in the upper-right part of the window.

  7. Image titled Insert a Check Box in Word Step 7

    7

    Position the cursor where you’d like to insert the check box.

  8. Image titled Insert a Check Box in Word Step 8

    8

    Click on Check Box. It’s in the menu bar at the top of the window.

  9. Image titled Insert a Check Box in Word Step 9

    9

    Add additional check boxes and text as needed.

  10. Image titled Insert a Check Box in Word Step 10

    10

    Lock the form. To do so, select the entire list, to be found in the Controls section on the Developer tab, then click on Group and Group.

    • On Mac, click Protect Form in the Developer tab toolbar.
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Add New Question

  • Question

    What should I do if the check box is grayed out in my ribbon?

    Community Answer

    It is grayed out for me too. However, if you click on the one icon that isn’t — Legacy Tools — then you will find the exact same checkbox, which you should be able to select.

  • Question

    How can I enlarge the size of a text box without enlarging the text?

    Community Answer

    In Word, just dragging the corner of the text box should be sufficient. If the text changes size accidentally, you can always highlight it and change it back to the desired size.

  • Question

    How do you make a drop box in word?

    Community Answer

    Download LibreOffice. Follow the manual on how to add a list or list/add or list/multiselect box (or just look under «insert» in the menu). You can add a data source for the dropdown menu items from a database, a spreadsheet or within the file structure itself.

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About This Article

Article SummaryX

1. Open a document.
2. Click File.
3. Select Customize Ribbon and then click Main Tabs.
4. Check the «Developer» box.
5. Click Save.
6. Click Developer.
7. Click where you want to insert the check box.
8. Click Check Box.
9. Add additional boxes and text.
10. Lock the form.

Did this summary help you?

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,240,190 times.

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Microsoft Word Logo Hero

First, you need to customize Word’s ribbon and enable the “Developer” tab to show the option to add check boxes. Then, select “Developer” and click the “Check Box Content Control” button to insert a check box into your document. You can also transform Word’s bullets into checkboxes.

When you create surveys or forms with Microsoft Word, check boxes make the options easier to read and answer. We’re covering two good options for doing just that. The first is ideal for documents that you want people to fill out digitally within the Word document itself. The second option is easier if you’re planning to print documents like to-do lists.

Option 1: Use Word’s Developer Tools to Add the Check Box Option for Forms

In order to create fillable forms that include checkboxes, you first need to enable the “Developer” tab on the Ribbon. With a Word document open, click the “File” drop-down menu and then choose the “Options” command. In the “Word Options” window, switch to the “Customize Ribbon” tab. On the right-hand “Customize the Ribbon” list, select “Main Tabs” on the dropdown menu.

Select "Customize Ribbon," then make sure that "Customize the Ribbon" is set to "Main Tabs."

On the list of available main tabs, select the “Developer” check box, and then click the “OK” button

Notice that the “Developer” tab is added to your Ribbon. Just position your cursor in the document where you want a check box, switch to the “Developer” tab, and then click the “Check Box Content Control” button.

You should see a check box appear wherever you placed your cursor. Here, we’ve gone ahead and placed a check box next to each answer and, as you can see, those check boxes are interactive. Click a box to mark it with an “X” (as we’ve done for answers 2, 3, and 4) or select the whole form box (as we’ve done for answer 4) to move the check box around, format it, and so on.

You can add as many check boxes as you want.

RELATED: How to Create a Fillable Form With Microsoft Word

Option 2: Change Bullets to Check Boxes for Printed Documents

If you’re creating a document to print out—like a to-do list or printed survey—and just want check boxes on it, you don’t have to mess around with adding Ribbon tabs and using forms. Instead, you can create a simple bullet list and then change the bullets from the default symbol to check boxes.

In your Word document, on the “Home” tab, click the small arrow to the right of the “Bullet List” button. On the dropdown menu, select the “Define new bullet” command.

In the “Define New Bullet” window, click the “Symbol” button.

In the “Symbol” window, click the “Font” dropdown and choose the “Wingdings 2” option.

Set the font to "Wingdings 2."

You can scroll through the symbols to find the empty square symbol that looks like a check box, or you just type the number “163” into the “Character Code” box to automatically select it. Of course, if you see a symbol you like better—like the open circle (symbol 153)—feel free to choose that instead.

When you’ve selected your symbol, click the “OK” button to close the “Symbol” window, and then click the “OK” button to close the “Define New Bullet” window, too.

Scroll until you find the empty box character, or enter "163" into the "Character Code" box. Then hit "OK."

Back in your Word document, you can now type your bullet list. The check boxes appear instead of the regular bullet symbol.

You add new check boxes just like you would any other bullets.

And the next time you need the check box symbol, you don’t have to navigate through that whole set of windows. Just click that small arrow to the right of the “Bullet List” button again, and you’ll see the checkbox listed under the “Recently Used Bullets” section.

The "Bullet List" check boxes are not interactive, so only use them for printed documents.

Again, this method is really only useful for documents you want to print out. The check box symbols are not interactive, so you can’t check them off inside a Word document.

If you’re also creating spreadsheets and presentations, you may want to learn how to insert checkboxes in Excel and add checkboxes to PowerPoint too.

RELATED: How to Add a Check Mark or Tick Mark in Word

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Insert or Type a Check Mark or Tick Mark Symbol in Microsoft Word (with Shortcuts)

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated April 2, 2021

Applies to: Microsoft® Word® 2013, 2016, 2019 or 365 (Windows)

You can insert or type a check mark or tick mark symbol in a Word document in several ways. Check marks can be inserted using built-in commands or keyboard shortcuts. It’s important to note that there is a difference between inserting a static check mark and inserting a clickable check box which is typically used in a Word form.

Recommended article: How to Show or HIde White Space in Word Documents

Do you want to learn more about Microsoft Word? Check out our virtual classroom or live classroom (in-person) Word courses >

In this article, we’ll review 5 ways to insert a check mark symbol in a Word document:

  1. Insert check marks as bullets
  2. Use the Insert Symbol command
  3. Add and use a custom Word keyboard shortcut
  4. Add and use an AutoCorrect shortcut
  5. Use an Alt code shortcut by pressing Alt and then entering a number sequence

Do you want to learn more about Microsoft Word? Check out our virtual classroom or live classroom Word courses >

1. Inserting a check mark by inserting bullets

If you want to insert a check mark at the beginning of one or more paragraphs, you can apply custom bullets using the Wingdings font (or a similar font).

To apply check marks as custom bullets to paragraphs:

  1. Select the paragraph(s) to which you want to add check marks.
  2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
  3. In the Paragraph group, click the arrow beside Bullets. A drop-down menu appears.
  4. Click Define New Bullet. A dialog box appears.
  5. Click Symbol. A dialog box appears.
  6. Select Wingdings from the Font drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can select another font such as Wingdings 2 or Segoe UI Symbol.
  7. Click the desired check mark.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Click Font. A Font dialog box appears.
  10. Select the desired font color and size. This dialog box offers the same options as the regular Font dialog box.
  11. Click OK twice.

The check marks will be added at the beginning of the paragraph(s).

In the Define New Bullet dialog box (below), you can select Symbol, Font or Picture:

Define new bullet dialog box in Microsoft Word.

The following characters appear when you select Wingdings as the Symbol font for bullets:

Insert check mark in Symbol dialog box in Word.

In the Define New Bullet dialog box, you can select Picture and then navigate to a picture you want to use as a bullet and then double-click it.

2. Inserting a check mark using Insert Symbol

If you want to add a check mark in a line of text (or at the end of a line of text), you can use Insert Symbol.

To insert a check mark using Insert Symbol in the Ribbon in Word:

  1. Position the cursor in the Word document where you want to insert a check mark.
  2. Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
  3. In the Symbols group, click Symbol. A drop-down menu appears.
  4. Click More Symbols. A dialog box appears.
  5. If necessary, click the Symbols tab.
  6. Select Wingdings from the Font drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can select another font such as Wingdings 2 or Segoe UI Symbol.
  7. Scroll through the list of symbols until you find the check mark symbol you want to use and then click it.
  8. Click Insert.
  9. Click Close.

Once the check mark has been inserted, you can change its size or color using the Home tab in the Ribbon or by right-clicking and selecting formatting options from the mini-toolbar.

In the example below, Wingdings is selected in the Symbol dialog box:

Insert Symbol dialog box in Word with check mark selected.

3. Inserting a check mark using a custom Word keyboard shortcut

If you insert a check mark frequently, you can create your own keyboard shortcut for the check mark symbol.

To create a keyboard shortcut for a check mark:

  1. Position the cursor in a Word document.
  2. Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
  3. In the Symbols group, click Symbol. A drop-down menu appears.
  4. Click More Symbols. A dialog box appears.
  5. If necessary, click the Symbols tab.
  6. Select Wingdings from the Font drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can select another font such as Wingdings 2 or Segoe UI Symbol.
  7. Scroll through the list of symbols until you find the check mark symbol you want to use and then click it.
  8. Click Shortcut. A dialog box appears.
  9. Click in the box below Assign New Shortcut key.
  10. Press the keys you want to assign (such as Ctrl + Alt + M). Don’t type any text, just press the keys. Be careful not to override a useful built-in shortcut such as Ctrl + C.
  11. Click Assign. Typically the location for these shortcuts is the Normal (or default) template.
  12. Click Close twice.

Test the shortcut in your document by pressing the assigned keys.

The Customize Keyboard dialog box appears as follows:

Customize keyboard dialog box in Word to assign keyboard shortcuts.

Since these shortcuts are typically saved in the Normal template, when you exit Word, if you are prompted to save the Normal template, click Yes.

4. Inserting a check mark using an AutoCorrect shortcut

You can also insert a check mark automatically using AutoCorrect.

To set up an AutoCorrect entry for a check mark:

  1. Position the cursor in a Word document.
  2. Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
  3. In the Symbols group, click Symbol. A drop-down menu appears.
  4. Click More Symbols. A dialog box appears.
  5. If necessary, click the Symbols tab.
  6. Select Wingdings from the Font drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can select another font such as Wingdings 2 or Segoe UI Symbol.
  7. Scroll through the list of symbols until you find the check mark symbol you want to use and then click it.
  8. Click AutoCorrect. A dialog box appears.
  9. In the Replace box, enter the name of the entry (such as cm1).
  10. Click Add.
  11. Click OK.
  12. Click Close.

To insert the entry in the document, type the entry (such as cm1) and then press the Spacebar.

The AutoCorrect dialog box appears as follows:

Add AutoCorrect entry for check mark in Word.

Since these shortcuts are typically saved in the Normal template, when you exit Word, you should be prompted to save it.

5. Inserting a check mark using an Alt keyboard shortcut

You can press the Alt key in combination with numbers on the numeric keypad to insert a check mark symbol.

To insert a check mark symbol in a Word document using Alt:

  1. Position the cursor where you want to insert the check mark symbol.
  2. Press Alt + 0252 or Alt + 0254 on the numeric keypad. If the sequence doesn’t work, press NumLock on the numeric keypad. Word will insert a different character.
  3. Select the character, click the Home tab in the Ribbon and select Wingdings from the Font drop-down menu.

If you want to create clickable check boxes, you could create a Word form using controls or create a dynamic form using Microsoft Forms.

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