How to Insert a Checkbox in Excel (With Examples)? | Simplilearn

Microsoft Excel is a powerful tool that provides the user with lots of interactive options. One such feature is the Checkboxes in Excel. A checkbox is an interactive tool that allows users to select or deselect an option.

How to Get the Developer Tab in the Excel Ribbon?

The first step in inserting the checkbox is to turn on the developer tab on the Excel ribbon, hidden by default. To add the developer tab to the Excel ribbon, do the following:

1. Right-click anywhere on the ribbon and select Customize the Ribbon.
2. Under Customize the Ribbon, check the Developer box and click OK.

How to Insert a Checkbox in Excel?

If you are creating an Excel checklist, the first step will be to make a list of tasks or other items for which the checkboxes will be inserted.

For this example, we’ve created the following grocery list.

To insert a checkbox in Excel, execute the following steps:

• Step 1: Go to Developer Tab — -> Controls — -> Insert — -> Form Controls — -> Check Box.

• Step 2: Click in the cell where you want to insert the first checkbox (F4 in our example).
• Step 3: Position the checkbox by dragging it. To remove the text “Check Box 1”, right-click the check box, select Edit Text in the context menu, and then delete the text.

Your first checkbox is ready.

Copy the Checkbox to other Cells

Drag the checkbox cells to all the below cells to copy them.

Link a Checkbox to a Cell

To capture the status (checked or unchecked) of a checkbox, you need to link the checkbox to a particular cell. To do this, execute these steps:

1. Right-click on the checkbox and select Format Control.
2. In the Format Control dialog box, make the following changes, and click OK.

• Value: Checked. This makes sure that the checkbox is checked by default when you open the workbook.
• Cell Link: $H$4. This is the cell linked to the checkbox. You can also enter it manually or select the cell to get the reference.

Now your checkbox is linked to the cell. In the linked cells, TRUE appears for selected checkboxes and FALSE for cleared checkboxes.

Creating an Interactive To-Do-List in Excel

Below is the example of a To-Do-List that uses the checkboxes to mark the task complete.

A couple of things will happen in the example.

• As soon as you check-mark the list, the status will change to DONE from TO BE DONE.
• The value of the cell linked to that checkbox changes from FALSE to TRUE.
• It reflects the changes in the Task Completed and % Of Task Completed cell.

Follow these steps to make this interactive To-Do-List:

1. List all the activities from G5:G9.
2. Insert the checkboxes from H5:H9.
3. Link the checkboxes to cell J5:J9. You will have to manually link each checkbox one by one.
4. In the cell I5, enter the following formula: =IF(J5,” Done”,” To Be Done”) and drag for all the cells below.
5. In the cell H11, enter the following formula: =COUNTA(G5:G9) to count the total number of tasks.
6. In the cell H12, enter the following formula: =COUNTIF($J$5:$J$9, TRUE).

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The Next Step

In this article, you have learned how to add a checkbox to your Excel worksheet. You have also created an interactive To-Do-List with the help of the checkboxes.

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Do you have any questions FOR US? Feel free to mention them in this article’s comments section, and our experts will answer them for you at the earliest!

FAQs

1. How to make check boxes in Excel?

In order to make a check box in Excel, you need to go to Developer Tab — -> Controls — -> Insert — -> Form Controls — -> Check Box. Now, click on the cell where you want to place the checkbox; you can position the checkbox by dragging it.

2. How to delete checkbox in Excel?

To delete a checkbox in Excel, on the Home Tab, click Find & Select and click Select Objects. Now, click on the checkbox objects you want to delete. Press on the Delete key to clear boxes on the keyboard.

3. How to align checkboxes in Excel?

On the Quick Access Toolbar, click on the Align dropdown option. Select from the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right Align.

4. How to Insert a Checkbox in Excel? 3 EASY Examples

To insert a Checkbox, on the Developer Tab, select controls, Insert, Form Controls, and then Checkbox.

5. How do checkboxes work in Excel?

Add the Developer Tab to the Top Ribbon of your Excel sheet, select Insert, Form Control, and then Checkbox. Select the cell where you want to insert the checkbox and right-click on the checkbox to edit the text and sizing.

Originally published at https://www.simplilearn.com on January 7, 2021.