Comments on: How to insert checkbox in Excel: interactive checklist, to-do list and report

This tutorial will guide you on how to insert a checkbox in Excel and use the check box results in formulas to make an interactive checklist, to-do list, chart or report. Continue reading →

Comments page 2. Total comments: 101

  1. Hi Svetlana, thanks for the useful information; would like to follow you for these useful excel functionalities.
    Have you any kindly of newsletter or facebook handle

  2. First, thanks so much for such a very useful tutorial and your personal effort to support us.
    I have several lines with 7 adjacent cells containing each one a checkbox control. What I need is than once a checkbox is checked all the rest in the same row get automatically unchecked -so allowing not to check more than one (or none) of the 7 checkboxes at a time. Any suggestion on how to do this? Thanks in advance.

  3. In the Format Control dialog box, I don't see the Control tab. Is that because I need to purchase the Able Bits Ultimate Suite to see aControl tab in the Format Control dialog box?

  4. Is there a way to have one tab with interactive tick boxes or drop downs, where someones ticks all the relevant fields they want, which will then guide them to check out the content that matches that criteria?
    For example, you want a blue skirt and a white top that are under £15 and there are tabs listing all skirts and all tops with a range of prices. But by selecting the criteria Blue + under £15 it then gives you the product name/code of the item you're after?

  5. How can I make an edit in one worksheet and it then become reflected in another worksheet. I have one worksheet that has a checklist list and I want another worksheet to tick that item if it is ticked on the other sheet as well?

    I basically have a list of items and I tick them when I have them on my database, but I have a second worksheet that has the same items with more detail and notes on each item and i want them to become ticked automatically if I tick them on the other worksheet.

    Hopefully I am using the correct language - these are two worksheets/tabs in the same excel document.

  6. Hi,
    Can you please guide how to keep correct alignment of check box, sometimes the related alignments are disordered in excel.

    Thanks in advance

  7. I have a list I created in Worksheet 2, that is used to create the dropdown list in Worksheet 1. What I am trying to do is when a selection is made from the dropdown list, I want the associated checkbox next to the selected item in the dropdown list to be checked. In this context, we are creating a buyout tracking list. I am in the construction industry and want to use this as a way to track my buyouts and know what is still open without having to do it by hand. Any suggestions? Everything I have tried has failed - miserably. :-(

    1. Here is the list was created on Worksheet 2 with the check-boxes in adjacent cells. When the selection is made on Worksheet 1, I want the checkbox to populate on Worksheet 2.

  8. if I wanted to use 2 check boxes one as yes and one as no for example is there a way of only 1 being checked at a time?

  9. I cannot get the cells to carry the checkbox down to cells below once inserted.
    I have tried hovering over the bottom RH corner and dragging on the cross as per the instructions (like normally in excel), and it doesn't work for me.
    how do I fix this?

  10. Svetlana ur hot.how to clear check box once unticked

    1. Hi Amir,

      If you want to delete a checkbok, here's what you do:
      - Select the checkbox (alick on the checkbox while holding the Ctrl key).
      - Press the Delete key on your keyboard.

      If you are asking about something else, please clarify.

  11. Thank you very much!

  12. Hi, I am trying to build a quote sheet to where if I check the check box it will show me the value of the option chosen versus true or false. Is that something that can me done?
    Example:
    Microwave $100 check box (if checked would = to the microwave total in a different cell
    Thank you so much for your help

  13. We have 100's of check boxes and any shortcut to apply cell link

  14. This has been incredibly useful. Thank you :-)))

  15. All that I want is a simple checkbox in a simple cell. A lot of hoo ha in the explanation, and Excel menus are SO cluttered, it takes an extraordinary weird person to find stuff.

    How about a simple "Add, Checkbox" !!!

    Ridiculous !!!!!!!!!!

    And Certainly:

    "Unfortunately, due to the volume of comments received we cannot guarantee that we will be able to give you a timely response. When posting a question, please be very clear and concise. We thank you for understanding!"

    Gee effen wizzzz !!!

  16. In the explanation of how to create an interactive report with check boxes,
    the DAVERAGE formula should be wrapped by IFERROR in order to avoid division by zero [#DIV/0!] when no region is chosen.
    It should read:
    =IFERROR(DAVERAGE($A$5:$G$49,"Average",$J$1:$J$5),0)
    instead of:
    DAVERAGE($A$5:$G$49,"Average",$J$1:$J$5)

    1. Hi Meni,
      Good point, thank you! Added the remark to the tutorial.

  17. Thank you :)

  18. This is very helpful, but the checkboxes don't appear to work when using grouping and/or filters. The checkboxes don't remain with the line they are attributed to. Any ideas?

  19. guys Im using vb so 'd like to use check box to select item from the sheet then label will caption the selected item in the userform...

  20. You can link the check box to the same cell you are placing the check box and use a font color to hide the value.
    You can use a formula to obtain a TRUE/FALSE result and the check box will be checked if formula = TRUE and unchecked if FALSE (so it autofills)

    @Zubair Checkboxes are objects, you can place them wherever you want

  21. How do I add multiple developer checkboxes in one cell

  22. Excellent article! Exactly what I needed to know, clearly explained and illustrated! Thank you SO much!
    ~ Gwen

  23. If I have checklist of 300 points, will i have to repeat step of 'Format Control'--> 'Cell Link 300 times' ??? If yes than aaahhhhh

  24. Hello,
    I hope you are well!

    Thank you very much for this tutorial, very very helpful.
    I do have a quick question for you.
    For the step: How to link a checkbox to a cell, any way to apply that to all check boxes ? I'm asking because I have a few thousand rows & check boxes, you can imagine how long that would take me to format each check boxes to link them to the associated cell.
    Spasibo Svetlana, greatly appreciated!

  25. Is it possible to excel in a dropdown list by making multiple selections with check box?

  26. Hi,
    I have inserted a check box in column 'A' via the 'developer' tab and it works ok.
    Only problem is that when column 'B' - (which has the 'wrapped text'setting applied) -has text entered and it wraps the text, the column 'A' with the check box suddenly makes a extra check box within the same cell.
    Any ideas why this may be please?
    Thank you

  27. I found your tutorial very helpful! It's very easy to generate the checkbox and customize filtering based on results. In my spreadsheet, I am anticipating data entry into another cell after the checkbox formatting. It looks like when new data is entered and if that data increases the size of the row, the checkbox does not move with the cell. It would be awesome if cell formatting could be accepted by the checkbox. Have you found this to be an issue or do you have a solution?

  28. Thank you for the tutorial, very informative.
    OI also need a similar solution as "Diana C" To have a series of checkboxes, but only 1 box can be selected per each row, eg: either "Male" or "Female", or also a multiple range such as "Married", "Single" "Divorced" or "Widowed" but only 1 box can be checked

  29. If I have to add another line item within my list, is there a way to reorder them (A-Z for example) and keep my checkboxes with the line item, not the line row? When I sort, I lose my true/false data to the original row.

  30. Is there a formula to make the check box check automatically if a cell is filled out. For example check box in a4, I want it to check if I put info in cell a3 otherwise leave blank if that cell is blank.

    1. Might be easier NOT to use a Checkbox. Just use COUNTBLANK which also counts zero-length strings (e.g. "") sometimes left as a result from a formula as blanks so this is a valid alternative depending on the data layout

      Example:
      In A4 type (or paste): A3 Has Data
      In B4 type (or paste): =COUNTBLANK(A3:A3)=0
      B3 Will now show 'FALSE'
      In A3 type some data (or paste): 123ABC
      B3 Will now show 'TRUE'

      Use Cell 'Conditional Formatting' on B4, select Red = 'FALSE' and Green = 'TRUE'

      or you could put the formatting instead on A4 BUT linked to B4 being either FALSE or TRUE as above... and then hide B column.

      Have left =COUNTBLANK(A3:A3)=0 range as A3:A3 a 'range of 1' but could be changed to any range, but obviously this means that all cells in the range would have to have data present.

      If you need the reverse, change =0 to =1 to get FALSE = Data Present.

      No check boxes to tick, no having to remember, its automatic, its reminding you all the time! until you enter some data!

      Hope this helps

  31. Hi Svetlana. Thanks for this info. Just wanted you to know your tutorial is still getting mileage!

  32. I am attempting to place a check box on my spread sheet that when it is checked, it will ignore or delete the contents of another box in a formula. I am not having much luck. Any suggestions?

  33. Very helpful article, I learned many new things, thank you!

    I have an additional question though. I'm trying to build something like a form, where people would tick, let's say the "Male" or the "Female" box. Is there a way to add a restriction so that people would be unable to check both boxes? So when they click on one box, it gets checked, but if after that they click on the second box, the second gets checked while at the same time the first gets unchecked.

    Thank you in advance!

  34. Hi

    I have a task to do.

    I've got list of parts in excel - number, name and symbol.
    I wish that i mark checkbox in the line with one of part number -> part number will be copied to another place with name and symbol - how it is possible to make ?? -> I'm an enginier and sometimes I have to order parts for my machines. It would be nice if someone will share knowledge with me - or give me solution.

    Thanks.

    1. Hello,

      I'm afraid there's no easy way to solve your task with a formula. Using a VBA macro would be the best option here.

      However, since we do not cover the programming area (VBA-related questions), I can advice you to try and look for the solution in VBA sections on mrexcel.com or excelforum.com.

      Sorry I can't assist you better.

  35. Hi,

    The checkboxes are a great tool, but I have a problem. I have like 1000 checkboxes in my file, do I need to link them to a cell one by one? Its a to do list that the employees must fill in for every job. So its the same list always repeating itself. But when I copy/paste it, and I click on the checkbox of the first job, the checkbox of the second job is also selected..

    1. Hi Anthony,
      Unfortunately, it is not possible to link checkboxes to cells in bulk. You can only do this individually for each checkbox.

  36. I have a template to utilize each month and I would like to clear the checkbox each month and utilize the list again.
    is this possible?

  37. Thank u so much

  38. Awesome! Thank you so much. Great tutorial!

  39. how to create drop down list to open different different data or sheet in excel 2016.

  40. how to hyperlink in a cell by using if function to open the different data.

  41. Hi,

    Can you help me??

    how to insert tick mark in Excel 2007.

    Regards,
    Netrapal Yadav

  42. hi Svetlana

    how i can control checkbox size and position

    thanks

    1. Hi Hussam,

      The easiest way to resize a checkbox is drag the sizing handles using the mouse. Or, you can right-click the checkbox, and then click Format Control... > Size.

      To fix the position of a checkbox in the sheet independently from the cells, right-click the checkbox, click Format Control > Properties, and select the "Don't move or size with cells" option.

  43. I noticed your checkboxes are larger than what actually occurs when adding the Checkbox form control in my version of excel (checkbox is extremely small in my version. How are you able to resize the box itself? What version of Excel are you using, maybe that is the difference. Kindly, Mia

    1. Hi Mia,

      I used Excel 2013, and these are the default checkboxes, I did not resize them.

      To resize a check box, right-click it, click Format Control, switch to the Size tab, and set the desired size.

    2. Hello, Mia,
      if the problem with your checkboxes isn't gone and you still need our assistance, please, email us at support@ablebits.com with a screenshot of your checkboxes and the info about your Excel and Windows versions that you're currently using. Don't forget to link this article and your commentary number in your email letter. We will get back in touch.

  44. In the example above, is there a way to combine 2 criteria? For example, what is the total of avocados sold in East region? Or any other similar combination?
    Thank you for this very useful information!

  45. Svetlana;
    This is close to what I'm trying to do. I want to create a list of instructions depending on the outcome of a check box. So clicking one check box in say C1 would display a long list of To Do's in another column.
    The list is built from numerous rows on another sheet of ideally from a "library" of text boxes for different tasks.

    I have a list of say 10 questions with Yes/No check boxes. If an answer is yes, I want to display a predefined list of "To Do's" from a given textbox or table.
    Can you help me find the answer??
    THANK YOU!

    1. I'm trying to do this as well. Any insight will be greatly appreciated!

      1. Hello!

        I think you can use the following approach:

        - Link check boxes to some cells (say, link a checkbox in C1 to cell D1), the column of linked cell can be hidden later.

        - Use the IF function to pull a list of To-Do's or other entries depending on the value in the linked cell (please mind the use of absolute and relative cell references in the formula):
        =IF(AND($D$1=TRUE,H1<>""), H1, "")

        Where D1 is a linked cell and H1 is the first entry of the list to be pulled.

        The screenshot below shows a "prototype":
        List of instructions depending on the outcome of a check box

  46. Thank you!!!! This is VERY helpful!

  47. how to delete excell cell or row with check box in excel 2013

  48. I need some help: I have multiple check boxes in multiple rows. I have 6 check boxes going across the spreadsheet. I'm having difficulty with: If all check boxes are checked then TRUE. If a check box is NOT checked, then FALSE. Any suggestions are greatly appreciative.

    Ideally, I want to track which person has which items. If a person has all items, then it's good. If a person does not have all the items then I know I need to do some follow up.

    Thanks,
    Steve

  49. very good tips. I am using the above tips. I will be grateful, if, I will guided how the "to be done lists" will be automatically forwarded to my email as a reminder.

    Regards.
    Rajanikanta

  50. Hi Svetlana,

    Yes, I found the way... I would like to put the number above the speedometer chart but I could not put the box above the chart (with the value link to the cell). Instead of that I used the chart title which links to the cell. Therefore once the value of the cell changes, the value inside the chart title also changes.
    Thank's

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