5 Ways to Add Check Boxes in Excel without Developer Tab

You may be mastering Excel software because you are constantly required to use it at work. Among the many things you can do in Excel is add a checkbox for pre-created lists. However, you may have problems because you don't know how to add check boxes in excel online without developer tab. 

Q: How to insert checkbox in Excel quickly?

This guide will show you 5 different ways with step by step guide on how to insert Checkboxes in Excel without developer tab and how to remove Checkbox in Excel on MacOS and Windows. 

Method 1: Using the Forms' Option to Insert Checkboxes in Excel

Excel spreadsheets are compatible with different softwares, but WPS Office is the most effective, easy-to-use, user-friendly interface and free-of-cost tool. Microsoft Office and WPS Office are reverse compatible, meaning you can use a file created within both softwares. Follow the steps to know how to insert Checkbox in Excel quickly in WPS Office.

• Insert a Single Checkbox in Excel

Overall: Go to menu –> Insert –> Forms –> Check Box

1. Open the Excel file where checkboxes are required.

2. Click Insert, and move towards the right of most of the menu to find forms.

3. Select the row where you want to insert the checkbox in your Excel.

4. Click on Forms, and select Checkbox from the drop-down menu.

5. Click on Checkbox from the Forms drop-down menu and again click on the cell where Checkbox will be created.

6. Double-click on the checkbox to edit the text. To place a tick mark, simply click on the box, and it will fill the checkbox.

• Insert Multiple Checkboxes in Excel

Work Situation: Project Task Management

"When managing a project in Excel, you can utilize multiple checkboxes to track the completion of various tasks. Create a spreadsheet with columns for task descriptions, deadlines, assigned team members, and checkboxes for task completion. As each task is completed, check the corresponding checkbox to indicate its status. This visual representation allows you to quickly assess the progress of the project and identify any pending or outstanding tasks. It also helps in coordinating efforts among team members and ensuring that all necessary tasks are completed on time.  " - Example from superuser.com

Following are the detailed steps to know how to insert multiple Checkboxes in Excel with WPS Office.

Overall: Go to menu -> Insert -> Forms -> Check Box -> CTRL+Shift ->Copy ->Paste

1. These checkboxes can not be simply copied and pasted like normal text. To copy, press CTRL+Shift, and then move vertically or horizontally and it will automatically create its copies.

2. You can also insert multiple checkboxes into your Excel spreadsheets. Once you create copies of checkboxes, click on the group as shown below.

3. Now press CTRL + Shift, and these three checkboxes will move. You can make copies of these checkboxes by pressing CTRL + Shift and moving horizontally or vertically.

Format Check Boxes in Excel

1. You can also format your checkbox. Select the checkbox you want to format, and right-click on it. Then select the format objective.. . It will open a menu of different options.

2. You can find four different options for formatting your checkboxes.

Change colour, size, and line: The colours and lines allow you to change the colour of the checkbox and its lines. With Size, you can increase the size of checkboxes in inches.

Fix or Move the Position: The properites has controls of object positioning and controls allow you to either keep your check box checked, unchecked or mixed.

Method 2: Using The Developer Tab to Insert Checkboxes in Excel

MS Office is a powerful tool for spreadsheets and has a robust developer tool. The developer tool enables you to automate your Excel spreadsheets and insert different options like checkboxes, combo boxes, spin buttons, options and more.

1. Open Microsoft Office and create a new spreadsheet.

2. To enable Developer mode, follow this path.
File → Options → Customize Ribbon → Developer

3. Once the Developer tab is enabled, click it and head to Insert. Then select Checkbox from Controls.

4. Select the checkbox from the list and place it in the row. Then you are done for inserting checkbox in excel. You can adjust its length and width according to your requirement.

5. You can create a single checkbox using the Developer mode. Let us find out how to add multiple Checkboxes in Excel.

There are two methods to create multiple Checkboxes in Excel.

1. First, create a single checkbox, as mentioned above.

2. Select the checkbox you want to duplicate, press CTRL + C and then move to the empty box and press CTRL + V.

3. This way, you will copy the recently created Checkbox as it is. Repeat this process for as many checkboxes as required.

4. Moreover, you can duplicate the checkbox by using the command CTRL + D. Select the checkbox you want to copy, then move to the next box below the checkbox and press CTRL + D. You will be able to create multiple checkboxes using a single command.




Tips:
Action	Shortcut
Access Developer Mode	File → Options → Customize Ribbon → Developer
Copy Checkbox	CTRL + C
Past Checkbox	CTRL + V
Duplicate Checkbox	CTRL + D
Format Checkbox	CTRL + 1
Copy Checkbox	CTRL + SHIFT
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Method 3: Using Check Mark(Symbol) To Insert Checkboxes in Excel

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This is rather easy to insert the Check box into Excel using the Check Mark Symbol. You can use either MS Office or WPS Office for this method. Follow the below-mentioned steps to insert Check Box in Excel without developer mode.

1. Select the cell where you want to insert the checkbox.

2. Head to the Insert tab and select Symbol and click on More Symbols.

3. In the symbol, select Wingding as Font. Scroll down to find the check mark symbol (✓) and click on it.

4. Once you find the symbol, click insert. You can copy and paste this symbol into any cell of your requirement.

5. You can also format the cell having this symbol like bold, font size, font color, and background color as needed.

Method 4: Using Formula to Make Checkbox Checked Based on Cell Value in Excel

There are two different methods when inserting Checkboxes in Spreadsheet. The first one is Symbol Checkbox, and the other is the Optional Checkboxes. This method is technical and requires basic formula knowledge of Excel. This method will compare two values in different columns, set the formula, and then convert it to Checkbox. Follow the stepwise guide.

• Symbol Checkbox

1. Suppose you have two columns with some data. You want to compare the values; the resulting output is TRUE or FALSE.

2. It requires the simple formula,”=IF(A2=B2, "TRUE", "FALSE") “. It will yield the following output.

3. Now we will amend the formula to get our desired results. We change the output to “þ” in case of True and “...” in case of False. The Formula seems like “=IF(B2=A2, "þ","¨")”.

4. Now select the whole column, right-click on it and select Format Cells.

5. Find the Wingding font from the font list and select it. You can make the necessary changes in font size, color, indentation, and more.

6. Finally, you will have check boxes depending on your result against each cell. This is one of the most efficient ways to create checkboxes in Excel without developer mode.

• Optional Checkbox

This method is used when you want to check box 1 to be checked automatically when the value in cell A1 equals a specific term like“Work”. We must insert Checkbox, implement a formula first, and then link both.

1. First, insert a checkbox from the ActiveX tab. Link it with its next column that will give us output based on our input. To do so, link the checkbox to the next column, as shown in the snap below.

2. Our checkbox is in the B column, and we need to link it to column C, where we will implement a formula. Right-click on the checkbox and  Refer to the below snapshot for linking these two cells.

3. It’s time to use the formula in column C. We use the following formula, which will mark the checkbox when the input is “work,” In column C, its output will be True.
=IF(A2="Work", "True", "False")

4. When we input the word “work”, it gives us the following output while ticking the checkbox automatically.

Method 5: How to Remove A Checkbox in Excel

Work Situation: Task Completion Tracking

"When tracking task completion in Excel, you may insert checkbox in excel and also you can utilize checkboxes to indicate the progress of each task. Create a spreadsheet with columns for task descriptions, assigned team members, deadlines, and a checkbox column for marking task completion. As tasks are completed, you can check the corresponding checkbox. However, if a task is incomplete or needs to be reassigned, you can remove the checkbox by clearing it. " - Example from exceltrick.com

If you want to remove a checkbox in Excel, there is an easy process to follow. This stepwise guide will elaborate on how to delete a checkbox in Excel.

1. Open WPS Office, click on the Home tab, go to Find and Replace and choose Select-Object.

2. After that, select the Checkbox that you want to remove. After selecting it, press the Delete button on your keyboard.

3. It will permanently delete that specific checkbox from your Excel.

4. You can use the same method in MS Office to remove the Checkbox from your spreadsheet.

Although Microsoft Excel is capable of performing these functions, I would recommend that you use WPS Office because it is a free and powerful office program and WPS Office is compatible with Microsoft Office documents. This means you can open, edit and save Microsoft Office documents in WPS Office. With all the features of Microsoft Office, come and click the button below to enter the office journey of WPS Office.

FAQs

• Q1: How to Insert Checkboxes in Word?

To insert a Checkbox in Word, go to the Developer tab and click "Check Box Content Control" in the Controls group. In WPS Office, it's easier, as go to menu > input "check" in search box > choose "Check Box Content Control" from the search results.

• Q2: How to Insert Check Boxes Online?

You can use different tools to insert Check boxes Online, like WPS Docs, Google Docs, Wufoo, and Google Forms. Keep in mind that once you download the online document, the format of the checkbox will change.

• Q3: How Can I Make The Check Box More Eye-Catching with The Red or Green Color?

Right-click the checkbox and select "Properties", then go to the "Fill" tab and choose the desired color to make your check box more eye-catching.

Summary

Adding checkboxes to Excel makes the visual presentation of your data more appealing. It also reduces the time to analyze data and improves data organization. There are easy methods to help reslove problem of how to insert Checkbox in Excel with or without developer tab to help your spreadsheet stand out. Not only can you add checkboxes, but also you can format it as per your requirements.

These checkboxes can be added in all spreadsheet-compatible softwares like Microsoft Excel and WPS Office. While WPS Office is a light version of MS Office and they are reverse compatible with each other, it is recommended to use WPS Office for inserting eye-catching and visually appealing checkboxes. WPS Office is available online; you can also download it on your PC, and it is completely free.