6 ways to insert a tick symbol and cross mark in Excel

How to put a tick in Excel using the Symbol command

The most common way to insert a tick symbol in Excel is this:

1. Select a cell where you want to insert a checkmark.
2. Go to the Insert tab > Symbols group, and click Symbol.
   
3. In the Symbol dialog box, on the Symbols tab, click the drop-down arrow next to the Font box, and select Wingdings.
4. A couple of checkmark and cross symbols can be found at the bottom of the list. Select the symbol of your choosing, and click Insert.
5. Finally, click Close to close the Symbol window.
   

Using the Symbol command, you can insert a checkmark in an empty cell or add a tick as part of the cell contents, as shown in the following image:

How to insert tick in Excel using the CHAR function

Perhaps it's not a conventional way to add a tick or cross symbol in Excel, but if you love working with formulas, it may become your favorite one. Obviously, this method can only be used for inserting a tick in an empty cell.

Knowing the following symbol codes:

Symbol	Symbol Code
Tick symbol	252
Tick in a box	254
Cross symbol	251
Cross in a box	253

The formula to put a checkmark in Excel is as simple as this:

=CHAR(252) or =CHAR(254)

To add a cross symbol, use either of the following formulas:

=CHAR(251) or =CHAR(253)

One you've inserted a formula in one cell, you can swiftly copy a tick to other cells like you usually copy formulas in Excel.

Insert tick in Excel by typing the character code

Another quick way to insert a check symbol in Excel is typing its character code directly in a cell while holding the Alt key. The detailed steps follow below:

1. Select the cell where you want to put a tick.
2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, change font to Wingdings.
3. Press and hold ALT while typing one of the following character codes on the numeric keypad.

Symbol	Character Code
Tick symbol	Alt+0252
Tick in a box	Alt+0254
Cross symbol	Alt+0251
Cross in a box	Alt+0253

As you may have noticed, the character codes are the same as the codes we used in the CHAR formulas but for leading zeros.

Add tick symbol in Excel using keyboard shortcuts

If you do not particularly like the appearance of the four check symbols we have added so far, check out the following table for more variations:

Wingdings 2		Webdings
Shortcut	Tick symbol	Shortcut	Tick symbol
Shift + P		a
Shift + R		r
Shift + O
Shift + Q
Shift + S
Shift + T
Shift + V
Shift + U

To get any of the above tick marks in your Excel, apply either Wingdings 2 or Webdings font to the cell(s) where you want to insert a tick, and press the corresponding keyboard shortcut.

The following screenshot shows the resulting checkmarks in Excel:

How to make a checkmark in Excel with AutoCorrect

If you need to insert tick marks in your sheets on a daily basis, none of the above methods may seem fast enough. Luckily, Excel's AutoCorrect feature can automate the work for you. To set it up, perform the following steps:

1. Insert the desired check symbol in a cell using any of the techniques described above.
2. Select the symbol in the formula bar and press Ctrl+C to copy it.
   

   Don't be discouraged by the appearance of the symbol in the formula bar, even if it looks differently from what you see in the screenshot above, it just means that you inserted a tick symbol using another character code.

   Tip. Look at the Font box and make a good note of the font theme (Wingdings in this example), as you will need it later when "auto-inserting" a tick in other cells.
   

3. Click File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options…
   
4. The AutoCorrect dialog window will open, and you do the following:
   • In the Replace box, type a word or phrase that you want to associate with the check symbol, e.g. "tickmark".
   • In the With box, press Ctrl+V to paste the symbol that you copied in the formula bar.
     
5. Click Add, and then click OK to close the AutoCorrect dialog window.

And now, whenever you want to put a tick in your Excel sheet, do the following:

• Type the word that you linked with the checkmark ("tickmark" in this example), and press Enter.
• The symbol ü (or some other symbol that you copied from the formula bar) will appear in a cell. To turn it into an Excel tick symbol, apply the appropriate font to the cell (Wingdings in our case).

The beauty of this method is that you have to configure the AutoCorrect option only once, and from now on Excel will be adding a tick for you automatically every time you type the associated word in a cell.

Insert tick symbol as an image

If you are going to print out your Excel file and want to add some exquisite check symbol to it, you can copy an image of that check symbol from an external source and paste it into the sheet.

For example, you can highlight one of the tick marks or cross marks below, press Crl + C to copy it, then open your worksheet, select the place where you want to put a tick, and press Ctrl+V to paste it. Alternatively, right-click a tick mark, and then click "Save image as…" to save it on your computer.

Tick marks          Cross marks
                     

Tick symbol in Excel - tips & tricks

Now that you know how to insert a tick in Excel, you may want to apply some formatting to it, or count cells containing the checkmarks. All that can be easily done as well.