Quickly Insert Check Mark Symbols in Excel (3 Easy Ways)

When working with reports, comparison tables, status lists, or formatted worksheets in Excel, you may need to insert check mark symbols to visually highlight completed items, approved results, or key information. Although Excel includes built-in symbol options, repeatedly finding and inserting check marks can be time-consuming—especially when you need to fill multiple cells. In this guide, you’ll learn several practical ways to insert check mark symbols in Excel, including a much faster batch insertion solution with Kutools for Excel.

• Insert check mark symbols using keyboard shortcuts
• Insert check mark symbols by Symbol feature
• Quickly insert check mark symbols in batches with Kutools for Excel

Insert check mark symbols using keyboard shortcuts

If you only need simple check marks occasionally, keyboard shortcuts can help you insert them quickly.

Step 1: Change the font to Wingdings

Select the target cell(s), then set the font to: Wingdings 2.

Step 2: Enter shortcut characters

Select the cell where you changed the font to Wingdings 2, then type one of the following shortcut characters.

After typing, the corresponding check mark symbol will appear automatically in the cell.

However, this approach only works correctly with specific fonts, offers limited symbol styles, requires memorizing shortcuts, and is not ideal when you frequently need to insert different types of check mark symbols.

Insert check mark symbols by Symbol feature

While keyboard shortcuts are fast for basic check mark symbols, Excel’s built-in Symbol feature provides more symbol styles and greater flexibility. It allows you to manually insert different types of check mark symbols into cells as needed.

Step 1: Open the Symbol dialog box

Select the cell where you want to insert the check mark, then click Insert > Symbol.

Step 2: Find and insert the check mark symbols

In the Symbol dialog box:

1. Select Wingdings from the Font drop-down list.
2. Scroll down to locate the check mark symbols.
3. Select the check mark symbol you want to use.
4. Click the Insert button to add the selected check mark into the cell.

   

Limitations of this method

Although this method provides more symbol styles than keyboard shortcuts, it still has some limitations:

• You can only insert a check mark symbol into one cell at a time.
• It is inefficient when you need to insert symbols into multiple cells quickly.

Quickly insert check mark symbols in batches with Kutools for Excel

If you frequently work with check mark symbols, Kutools for Excel provides a much faster and more convenient solution. Its Batch Insert Check Symbols feature lets you insert various check mark styles into one or multiple selected cells instantly with just one click.

Steps

1. Select one or multiple cells where you want to insert check mark symbols.
2. Click Kutools > Insert > Batch Insert Check Symbols.

   

3. In the following dialog box will appear:
   Simply click any check mark symbol in the dialog box, and it will immediately be inserted into all selected cells.

   

Advantages of Kutools method

Compared with the keyboard shortcuts and Excel's built-in Symbol feature, Kutools provides a much faster and more convenient way to insert check mark symbols in Excel:

• Insert symbols into multiple selected cells at once.
• Supports various check mark, checkbox, and cross symbol styles.
• No need to repeatedly open the Symbol dialog box.
• Much more efficient for repetitive insertion tasks.

Conclusion

There are several ways to insert check mark symbols in Excel, depending on your needs.

• Keyboard shortcuts provide a quick lightweight solution.
• The Symbol feature works well for occasional manual insertion.

But for speed, convenience, and batch operations, Kutools for Excel's Batch Insert Check Symbols feature is by far the most efficient method.

With just one click, you can insert professional-looking check mark symbols into multiple cells at once, making it ideal for questionnaires, checklists, surveys, and task-tracking worksheets.