We often have the need to insert a tick mark or a check mark in our Excel and Word documents. But look around the Ribbon interface and you won;t find one simple button or command that can let you insert a tick mark in a click. However, there are a number of workaround solutions that can help you accomplish the task.
How to insert a check mark Updated: by Computer Hope Adding a check mark symbol to a document, spreadsheet, presentation slide, or a web page can be done several ways. Insert Tick Mark or Cross Symbol in Word / Excel Using Character Code If you are good with numbers, this method is perfect to insert tick symbol or cross symbol in Word or Excel. In order to insert tick/cross symbol with this method, your keyboard must have numeric pad.
How to Insert a Tick Mark in Microsoft Word and Excel
Method 1 – Copy and Paste the Symbol
You can copy a tick mark from anywhere on the web and insert it in your Excel or Word document.
Method 2 – Use Font Shortcuts
You can change your font to either Wingdings 2 or Webdings and then use some keyboard shortcuts to add a tick mark of your choice. In this method, you have a few different styles of tick marks you can choose from.
1. On the Ribbon, in the Font group, click the Font dropdown and select Wingdings 2 or Webdings.
2. Then use the shortcut mentioned in the list below to add a tick style of your choice.
When you choose Wingdings 2 as your font:
Shortcut | Symbol |
Shift+O | |
Shift+P | |
Shift+Q | |
Shift+R | |
Shift+S | |
Shift+T | |
Shift+U | |
Shift+V |
When you choose Webdings as your font:
Shortcut | Symbol |
a | |
r |
Method 3 – Using Symbols
In Excel, you can use symbols to insert a tick mark.
1. Select the Insert tab.
2. In the Symbols group, click Symbol to open the Symbol dialog box.
3. In the Font dropdown, select Wingdings. The tick mark will be found at the bottom of the box.
Method 4 – Using Character Code
Another quick way to insert a tick mark in Microsoft Word and Excel is to use the character code of the tick symbol. This method will work only on the numerical keypad rather than the keyboard. You will need to remember the code numbers to insert different types of tick marks.
1. Select the Wingdings font.
2. On the numerical keypad (not the horizontal line of numbers), hold down Alt and enter any one of the following combination of numbers:
Ticks
- ALT + 0252
- ALT + 0254
Crosses
- ALT + 0251
- ALT + 0253
Method 5 – Using AutoCorrect in Word
You can use the AutoCorrect feature in Word to define the text and symbol and then use that definition to add a tick mark in Word.
1. Select the Insert tab.
2. In the Symbol group, click Symbol, and then click More symbols to open the Symbol dialog box.
3. In the Symbol dialog box, in the Symbol tab, in the Font box, click Wingdings, and then scroll to the bottom of the list.
4. Select the symbol that you want, and then click AutoCorrect.
5. The AutoCorrect dialog box will now be displayed. In the With box, you will notice that the tick symbol you selected will be displayed.
6. In the Replace box, type a word or phrase that you want to associate with the check mark symbol — for example, I’ll type TM
7. Click Add and then click OK.
The next time you want to insert a tick mark in your documents, type TM or the word you used in the Replace box.
These are the most common and easy ways to insert a tick mark into an Excel or Word document. I have used Microsoft Word and Excel 2016 to perform these steps but it should work on previous versions as well.
Adding a check mark symbol to a document, spreadsheet, presentation slide, or a web page can be done several ways. Follow the steps below for the type of file, document, or page you want to have a check mark.
NoteA check mark should not be confused with the square root symbol ( √ ).
- HTML web page.
Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
Option one
- Open the Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint application.
- Click on the Insert tab in the Ribbon at the top.
- In the Symbols section on the far right side of the Insert tab, click on the Symbols icon.
- If using Microsoft Word, in the Symbols pop-up menu, click on the More Symbols... option. If using Microsoft Excel or PowerPoint, skip to the next step.
- In the Symbols window, click on the Font drop-down list and select the Wingdings font.
- Below the Font list is the Wingdings symbols that can be inserted. Scroll to the bottom of the list of symbols and select the check mark symbol in the last row of symbols.
- Click the Insert button to insert the check mark into the document.
Option two
- Open the Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint application.
- On the Home tab, in the Font section, click on the Font drop-down list and select the Wingdings font.
- Create a check mark symbol by pressing the Alt key and typing 0252 using the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard while still pressing the Alt key.
- After creating the check mark symbol, change the font back to the desired font for text in the document.
Microsoft Notepad
You can create a check mark in Notepad by inserting the ASCII character check mark by following the steps below.
- Open Microsoft Notepad.
- In Notepad hold down the Alt key and on the number pad type 251 and then let go of the Alt key.
Other Microsoft Windows programs
On Microsoft Windows computers and most Windows programs, you can add a check mark by using the Charmap (Character Map) utility. Below are the steps on how to add a check to most Microsoft programs using Charmap.
- Open the Microsoft program and Charmap.
- In the Character Map window, select Wingdings as the font.
- Scroll down until you see the check mark (character code: 0x6FC).
- Click the check mark and then click the Select button.
- Once the check mark is entered into the characters to copy text box, click the Copy button.
- Switch back to the Microsoft program and then paste the checkbox into the document.
HTML web page
In the web page's HTML source code, add one of the following extended special codes depending on the type of check mark you want to insert.
- ☑ - inserts the ' ☑ ' symbol.
- ✓ - adds the ' ✓ ' symbol.
- ✔ - inserts the ' ✔ ' symbol.
Additional information
- See our check mark definition for further information and related terms.