How to add Check Boxes to your Microsoft Word Document

Adding checkboxes to your Microsoft Word document gives you the functionality of a check list. Ticking off line items as they are complete, actioned or done.

Inserting a check list into your Word document is incredibly handy, most commonly used when creating surveys in word.

There are two ways to insert check boxes into Word, the first being more suitable for digital marking within Word itself and the second more suited to documents being printed and then checked off, such as a to do list.

In this post, we will show you how to insert both types of check boxes into your document with ease.

Inserting a tick-box in Microsoft Word

Option 1: Best for Digital Marking in Word itself

1. Open Word
2. Check that ‘Developer’ is turned on
   1. How to Turn Developer on
      1. Select the Customize Quick Access Toolbar dropdown
      2. Select More Commands
      3. Select Developer Tab
      4. Select Tick Box
      5. Press Insert

3. Once the Developer Tab has been activated:
4. Place your cursor where you would like to insert the tick box

5. Select the Tick Box in your Quick Access Short Cuts

6. Repeat for each line that you would like a tick box added in front of

Option 2: Best for Printing

1. Open Word
2. Highlight your list
3. Click the Bullet Point button
4. Click Define New Bulletpoint…

5. Click Bulletpoint…

6. Change Font to Wingdings 2
7. Select the Square Symbol

8. Press OK

You have now successfully inserted check boxes in front of all highlighted lines.

Is Version Control causing issues for you? We have a solution!

If you are collaborating on a Microsoft Word Document with others and are required to keep each version saved away for future reference, it is likely you are facing the same version control pain points that every other company is.

A very cluttered shared drive or cloud, one where each new version is saved every time one of your colleagues makes an edit. Leaving you with a shared drive full of documents looking something like ReportV4_updated_final_FINAL1 and no idea if that is actually the final version or not.

Then you face the challenge of naming your new document, do you add another _FINAL2 or is _JDsedits enough for everyone else to understand what’s going on?

If it wasn’t for the ability to sort your files in date order, I’m sure most of us would have given up on the search for the most recent file a decade ago and just rolled the dice on what looked like it was most recent. It must be _final_FINAL2_FINALFINAL right?

Or those days you don’t have shared drive access and do the drag and drop to your desktop and hope you remember to take that file back over into the shared drive next time you are in the office.

Its risky business. There must be an easier way!

Lucky for us all there is, companies such as Simul Docs offer purpose built tools to help us collaborate better and manage our version control for us.

Yep thats right, Simul docs will manage the version control for you. When you open your file, from the moment you start making edits Simul will save the document as the newest version giving it a version number such as 0.0.2 or 0.0.3.

You can then refer back to any version with ease, knowing at a glance which version is the most recent (goodbye _FINAL2_Updated) and hello simple numbered versions and clearly marked authors next to each.

Its version control bliss!

Not only that, but Simul Docs allows you to access your Word Document from anywhere, anytime. There is no need for remote shared drive access or the old clunky desktop saving. Simul gives you access to every version, anywhere, all you need is an internet connection.

Now that you have accessed your document from the comfort of the airport or your own home, you can add your tracked changes and comments, press save and let Simul notify the other collaborators that you have made some changes and they should probably jump in and check them out.

That means, no more emailing Word Documents back and forth with every edit.

Did your shared drive and inbox get a little lighter just thinking about these possibilities?

There really isn’t a downside to collaborating better with Simul Docs.

With free entry level packages on offer, its worth checking out.