A checkBox in Excel (Table of Contents)
Introduction to Excel CheckBox
A checkbox in excel is available in the Developer menu tab under the Controls section’s Insert option. Checkboxes are used for ticking right for choosing any option. When we use checkboxes which means if the option is applicable for which we have a checkbox, then we can check into them by just clicking on it. It will then take it as a tick mark, and it can be deselected by clicking on it again. We can fix the cell for which we want to have a checkbox from the Format Control option.
To unlock the developer tab, we need to:
- Go to the File tab, then click on options.
- Then, in the customize ribbon tab, we need to tick mark the developer CheckBox (highlighted in the image below).
The developer tab opens up lots of form controls, including our CheckBox. Check Box summarizes the data for us.
In addition, in the developer tab option, we can see our CheckBox control go to the insert section. It is a square box with a tick marked on it. Refer to the below screenshot:
How to Insert a Checkbox in Excel?
In order to insert the Checkbox in excel, follow the below steps. Let us learn the usage of CheckBoxes in Excel through few examples.
Example #1
My friends and I am planning to go for a holiday as I am organizing the outing. I need to plan all the details and check whether everything is sorted or not. There will be a few steps involved. Firstly, I need to make a list of tasks. Below are my lists of tasks.
Now follow the below steps to insert CheckBoxes.
- Go to the Developer tab; there is an insert section click on Check Box under form controls. (Refer to the below-mentioned image)
- We want our CheckBox in the B2 cell in this example, so make sure you click on the specific cell. The CheckBox will not specifically be in the B2 cell; to position it in the right cell, float around the CheckBox until we see a four-pointed arrow and drag it to cell B2.
- There is a text written in CheckBox as “Check Box 3”, to remove it right click on the checkbox and click on “Edit Text” and your own text. In this example, I will choose the text “DONE”.
- Our First CheckBox is ready.
- Now to add the other CheckBoxes, simply drag the CheckBox to other cells.
- Our checklist for our itinerary is ready. Now, have a look below,
Our checklist is ready but not completed as we can only check and uncheck the checkboxes, but excel will not be able to read values as we have linked the checkboxes to our cells.
Let us learn to make checkboxes by few more examples, and then we will see how to link them.
Example #2
I want to make a to-do list for myself as I keep forgetting certain things sometimes and cannot keep track of it. Firstly, I need to create a table for my To-do list as below.
Now we follow the steps to insert checkboxes in the data,
- In the developer tab in the insert, section click on Check Box under form controls.
- We want our CheckBox in the B2 cell in this example, so make sure you click on the specific cell. The CheckBox will not specifically be in the B2 cell; to position it in the right cell, float around the CheckBox until we see a four-pointed arrow and drag it to the cell B2.
- We Edit the text written in CheckBox as “Check Box 1” and put our own text. Here I will use the text “Completed”.
- Now, as the first checkbox is ready, we drag it to the other cells.
- Our To-Do list is ready.
Example #3
Tomorrow is my birthday, and my friends are asking for a party. I need to make sure everything goes well and nothing will be left out. The data table I have made for the above task is as below,
Now we start adding checkboxes to our tasks,
- In the developer tab in the insert, section click on Check Box under form controls.
- We want our CheckBox in the B2 cell in this example, so make sure you click on the specific cell. The CheckBox will not specifically be in the B2 cell; to position it in the right cell, float around the CheckBox until we see a four-pointed arrow and drag it to the cell B2.
- We again need to edit the text pre-written in the checkbox as “checkbox 1”. In the current scenario, I will again use the text “DONE”.
- As the first CheckBox is ready, we will drag it to the other cells.
- My party planner is ready,
Explanation of CheckBoxes:
From the above examples, it is clear that CheckBoxes are small boxes, which is user interactive in order to indicate a choice. It can be either ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’
In this, either a user has completed the task or not or simply answer a question to a yes or no.
In addition, when a checkbox is marked as “TICK”/checked, it means it is an affirmative choice, and if it is unchecked, it means it is a negative choice.
We have learned how to make checkboxes and what their uses are. Now, let us now learn how to use checkboxes in our examples.
Example #4
From example 1, where we made the below-mentioned table,
As already discussed, in order to excel to evaluate the responses, we need to assign a checkbox to a certain cell. Below are the steps:
- Right-click on a checkbox and click on “Format Control”.
- A dialog box pops up; in the dialog box, click on the cell link and then select an empty cell to link the checkbox.
- Repeat the above step to all the CheckBoxes.
- In order to identify the linked cells of the CheckBoxes easily, link them to the adjacent cell. In the current scenario, I have linked the first CheckBox to cell C2.
- Now click on any checkbox, and we can see that if it is checked a value, then “TRUE” appears in the corresponding cell, and if it is unchecked, a value “False” appears in the cell.
In the above image, the task of booking a hotel is not completed yet, whereas the rest of the tasks are completed.
Example #5
From Example 2, the table was as follows,
Now to assign the checkboxes to specific cells, we follow the steps,
- Right-click on a checkbox and click on “Format Control”.
- A format control dialog box pops up; in the dialog box, click on the cell link and then select an empty cell to link the checkbox.
- Repeat the same task for all the checkboxes, and do not forget to select the adjacent cell to avoid confusion.
- When we click on any checkbox, it gives us a “TRUE” value, and it is unchecked; it gives us a “FALSE” value.
In the above image, we can see that I have again forgotten to feed the cat.
Example #6
From example 3, the table was,
Let us assign checkboxes to this table,
- Right-click on a checkbox and click on “Format Control”.
- A format control dialog box pops up; in the dialog box, click on the cell link and then select an empty cell to link the checkbox.
- Repeat the same task for all the checkboxes, and do not forget to select the adjacent cell to avoid confusion.
- Now click on any checkbox it gives us a “TRUE” value, and it is unchecked; it gives us a “FALSE” value.
In the above example, I have completed all the tasks of party planning.
Things to Remember
- CheckBox control can only be activated by unlocking the developer tab option in the customize ribbon section.
- Check Box needs to be aligned to the desired cell.
- Checkbox needs to be assigned to a specific cell for excel to read the values.
- If the checkbox is checked, it returns “TRUE” as the value, and if it is unchecked, it returns “FALSE” as the value.
- One should assign the checkbox to the adjacent cell in order to avoid any sort of confusion.
Recommended Articles
This has been a guide to CheckBox in Excel. Here we discuss its uses and how to create CheckBox in Excel with examples and downloadable excel templates. You may also look at these useful functions in excel –
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