Using Excel to Insert Tick Symbols and Cross Marks

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The following guide shows four different ways to insert tick and cross symbols in Excel documents.

Ticks and cross symbols are useful visual cues in a dataset, typically representing “yes/no” or “true/false” values.

1. Using the Symbol command:

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

2. Using the CHAR function:

This method works best for inserting a tick in an empty cell.

  1. Enter the formula for the desired symbol
    1. checkmarks are =CHAR(252) or =CHAR(254)
    2. cross symbol are =CHAR(251) or =CHAR(253)
  2. Apply the Wingdings font to the cell

3. Typing the Character Code:

  1. Select the cell where you want to put a tick.
  2. Change the cell font to Wingdings 
  3. On your keyboard, press and hold ALT while typing one of the following character codes on the numeric keypad:
    1. Alt+0252 for a tick,
    2. Alt+0254 for a tick in a box,
    3. Alt+0251 for a cross, or
    4. Alt+0253 for a cross in a box.

4. Inserting Tick Symbol as an Image:

  1. If you want to use a specific tick symbol – you can copy an image into your Excel document.
  2. For example:
    1. Tick:  
    2. Cross: 

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