Specify the format (color and the strike-through format).In the Conditional Formatting pane that opens, click on the ‘Format cells if’ drop-down.Click the ‘Conditional Formatting’ option.Select the cells in Column A (the ones that have the items in it).Enter the tasks/items in column A and insert the checkboxes in column B in adjacent cells.This value is then used in Conditional formatting to highlight the cell and apply the strikethrough format.īelow are the steps to create this type of interactive checklist and then highlight the completed tasks/items: When you check any of the checkboxes, the value in the cell changes to TRUE. It uses conditional formatting to highlight the cell with the task in green and apply a strikethrough format to it. In the above example, you can click on the checkbox to mark an item/task as completed. With checkboxes in Google Sheets, you can create a to-do list or a checklist where as soon as you click on the checkbox in a cell, it will mark the item as complete.īelow is an example of a completed to-do list with checkboxes. Example 1: Create Interactive To-Do Lists with Checkboxes Let’s go through each of these examples in detail and see the different ways of using a checkbox in Google Sheets. Create Interactive charts in Google Sheets.Highlight specific data points based on selection (such as top/bottom 10).Create a to-do list and mark tasks as done/complete.You can do some really cool things with checkboxes in Google Sheets – such as: I can also count the total number of completed items by simply counting the value of TRUEs in the list. For example, I can have a list of items and I can use the checkbox to mark an item and complete. The amazing thing about this is that now you can use these TRUE/FALSE values in the formulas. You will see the value the checkbox represents, which would be either TRUE or FALSE.īottom line – when you insert a checkbox, you simply insert TRUE when it’s checked and FALSE when it’s not checked. You can actually see this yourself by selecting any cell that has the checkbox and pressing the key (or looking at the formula bar). If the checkbox is not checked, the value is FALSE.If the checkbox is checked, the value is TRUE.
While you see a checkbox in the cells in Google Sheets, these are actually either TRUE or FALSE. Once you have inserted the checkbox in a cell, you can click on it to check it and click on it again to uncheck it (it works as a toggle). How Does the Checkbox in Google Sheets Work
This will also sort the checkboxes in the selected range. Similarly, you can also change the font in case you want bigger checkboxes.Īlso, since the checkbox is a part of the cell, you can sort and filter these.įor example, if you have a list of tasks with checkboxes in adjacent cells, you can select the entire range and sort the list alphabetically. Since a checkbox is a part of the cell, you can format it just like any other cell.įor example, you can apply a color to the cell and the checkbox will change the color from gray to the selected color. Note that in case you have any text or formula in a cell and you insert a checkbox in it, Google Sheets will remove the text/formula and replace it with the checkbox. In case you have selected multiple cells, checkboxes will be added to all the selected cells. The above steps would insert a checkbox in the selected cell. Select the cell in which you want to insert the checkbox (tick box).Inserting a Checkbox (Tick Box) in Google Sheetsīelow are the steps to insert a checkbox in Google Sheets: You can only have the checkbox and nothing else.
Note that you can not have any text before or after a checkbox (tick box) in Google Sheets. So if it’s unchecked and you click on it, it will be checked (and vice versa).
While it is confined to a cell, you can click on it and it will change the state. You can have text before or after a checkmark.Ī checkbox, on the other hand, is interactive. It doesn’t have any interactivity and can be used merely as a symbol or a bullet point. Example 3: Create Dynamic Charts using Checkboxīefore I get into the mechanics of inserting and using a checkbox/tick box in Google Sheets, let me quickly cover the difference between a checkbox and a checkmark.Ī checkmark is a symbol that you insert as text within the cell.Example 2: Highlight Data Using Checkboxes.Example 1: Create Interactive To-Do Lists with Checkboxes.How Does the Checkbox in Google Sheets Work.Inserting a Checkbox (Tick Box) in Google Sheets.