Check boxes make a more viable option when you need to make question papers or online forms. But how do you insert them in a Word document? In this article we’re going to be talking about how you can insert check boxes in a word document using two methods- the first being a digital word document and the second is more appropriate if you’re planning to print out the document.
In Microsoft Word, you can create two kinds of checkboxes: ornamental ones for printed papers (that can be marked off with a pen or pencil in real life) and functional checkboxes that users may check with a mouse click if they’re reading the document on a computer.
METHOD 1: Checkbox Option using Word’s Developer Tools.
- To build fillable forms with check boxes, you must first enable the “Developer” tab on the Ribbon.
- When you have a Word document open, select the “File” drop-down menu and then the “Options” command. Go to the “Customize Ribbon” tab in the “Word Options” box.
- Select “Main Tabs” from the dropdown menu on the right-hand “Customize the Ribbon” list.
- Choose the “Developer” check box from the list of possible primary tabs, and then click the “OK” button.
- The “Developer” tab has now been added to your Ribbon.
- Simply place your mouse where you want a check box in the document, go to the “Developer” tab, and then select the “Check Box Content Control” button.
- You should see a check box appear where your cursor was.
To move the check box around, format it, and so on, click a box to mark it with an “X” or select the whole form box to move the check box around, format it, and so on.
METHOD 2: Replace bullets with check boxes.
If you’re going to print something like a to-do list or survey, and only want check boxes on it, you don’t have to worry about with adding Ribbon tabs and forms. Rather, make a basic bullet list and then replace the bullets with check boxes instead of the default symbol.
- Under the “Home” tab of your Word document, click the little arrow to the right of the “Bullet List” icon.
- Select the “Define new bullet” command from the dropdown menu.
- Click the “Symbol” button in the “Define New Bullet” window.
- On the “Symbol” window, select the “Wingdings 2” option from the “Font” selection.
You may either scroll through the symbols until you locate the empty square symbol that looks like a check box, or you can simply input the number “163” into the “Character Code” field to pick it automatically.
Of course, if you see a symbol you like, such as the open circle (symbol 153), feel free to use it instead.
- After you’ve chosen your symbol, click the “OK” button to close the “Symbol” window, and then click the “OK” button to dismiss the “Define New Bullet” window as well.
- You may now type your bullet list in your Word document. Instead of the standard bullet symbol, check boxes show.
So the next time you require a check box sign, you won’t have to go through all of those windows. Simply click the tiny arrow to the right of the “Bullet List” button once again, and the checkbox will appear under the “Recently Used Bullets” area.
However, this approach is basically just helpful for printing documents. Because the check box symbols are not interactive, they cannot be checked off within a Word document.
These were the basic two methods of inserting check boxes in a word document. Check boxes become necessary when you want to make a question paper containing Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). We hope we’ve made it easier and much clearer on how you can insert check boxes into a Word document.
