We are all familiar with the checkbox, i.e. the box that remains blank or displays a checkmark, an X, depending on its state. If you want to make lists for different things, these checkboxes come in very handy. You could do both, either update the checkbox electronically with a click or print a form manually and check off each item.
Here, in this article, we will see two different ways to add checkboxes to a To-Do-list. We will add a checkbox symbol that you can print first and then we will add the checkbox control that could be updated onscreen by clicking.
Adding A Checkbox Symbol That You Can Print
If you want to use either a pencil or a pen to mark each item as you complete it on a printed list, you can add checkbox controls via a bullet list:
- Select the textual list of items.
- Click on the Home tab if required.
- Click on the Bullets dropdown in the Paragraph group. (Just clicking the option will automatically enter the default bullet.)
- From the dropdown list choose Define New Bullet (Figure A).
- Click Symbol, in the resulting dialogue box.
- From the Font dropdown choose Wingdings.
- Select the checkbox on the first row (Figure B). On your list, the symbol might be in a different spot.
- Click on OK twice.
The default bullet character will be replaced with the selected checkbox (Figure C). The symbol here wouldn't actually let you check anything in the document but it is very good for printing.
Figure A
Add a checkbox control using Word's bullet feature.
Figure B
Figure C
To a printable list add printable checkbox controls.
Adding A Checkbox Control That You Can Update Onscreen
If you want to check or uncheck the boxes within Word itself or in the electronic format with a simple click you can use content control.
You will get these controls on the Developer tab, which isn't visible by default. You can do the following to display the Developer tab:
- On the ribbon's background, right-click anywhere and choose to Customize the Ribbon.
- On the list to the right, check the Developer item.
- Click OK.
You can do the following once the Developer tab is available:
- Just point the cursor where you want the first control. (Multiple controls can't be entered)
- Click on the Developer tab.
- In the Controls group, click on the Checkbox content control.
Here, Figure D shows a completed list.
It is unfortunate that content controls cannot be inserted into the entire group of items, as a group, like how you would add bullets. Each control has to be entered individually.
When you select the checkbox content control, it toggles between checked and unchecked.
You can consider using a checkbox not just for To-Do-lists but for any time you have a two-state choice.
