How to Type a Check Mark With Keyboard Shortcuts

To type a check mark, press Windows + . on Windows 11 or Control + Command + Space on Mac, search for check, and select the mark you want. In Word for Microsoft 365 or Word 2024 on Windows, type 2713, select those four digits, and press Alt + X to insert ✓ directly. The Windows steps below use Windows 11 menus.

Insert a check mark on Windows

Place your cursor in a compatible app or browser text field and press Windows + .. Type check, then select the check-mark emoji you want, such as ✅. The panel also has a Symbols section, and plain symbols can look different from emoji.

For a plain ✓, open Character Map by pressing Windows, typing Character Map, and pressing Enter. Choose Segoe UI Symbol under Font, then select Advanced view. Set Character set to Unicode and enter 2713 in Go to Unicode. Select ✓ and click Copy, then return to your text and press Ctrl + V in a program that can display the character.

To keep the mark ready for reuse, copy ✓ and press Windows + V. If clipboard history is disabled, select Turn on, then select the copied check mark to paste it. Pin the item to retain it for repeated use.

Find a check mark on Mac

Press Control + Command + Space to open Character Viewer, then search for check mark or 2713. Click the character to insert it, or double-click it when Character Viewer is expanded. Apple also documents Fn + E as a shortcut for opening the viewer.

In supported apps, you can also choose Edit > Emoji & Symbols, search for the mark, and select it. Mail and Messages also provide an emoji-picker button. For faster reuse, expand Character Viewer, select the mark, and choose Add to Favourites.

Use the Chromebook symbol picker

In a compatible text field, press Search + Shift + Space or Launcher + Shift + Space, depending on your keyboard. Search for check mark, or browse Emoji > Symbols and the Symbols categories. Select the character you want to insert.

You can also right-click the text field and choose Emoji. On Chromebooks with Quick Insert available, press the Quick Insert key, or use Launcher + F or Google + F without that key. Search for the check mark, highlight the result, and press Enter.

On ChromeOS with key-customization options, select the time, then open Settings > Device > Keyboard and inputs > Customize keyboard keys. Select the key to change, then select Quick Insert from its dropdown. Use the remapped key to open Quick Insert and select a check mark.

Type check marks in Word and Excel

In Word for Microsoft 365 or Word 2024 on Windows, type 2713, select the four digits, then press Alt + X to turn them into ✓. Substitute 2714 for ✔ or 2705 for ✅. Selecting the digits prevents hexadecimal characters immediately before them from being included in the conversion.

For Windows desktop Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and classic Outlook in Microsoft 365 or Office 2024, you can also use the Symbol dialog. In Word or classic Outlook, choose Insert > Symbol > More Symbols. In Excel or PowerPoint, choose Insert > Symbols > Symbol.

Choose Segoe UI Symbol under Font, then enter hexadecimal Character code 2713, 2714, or 2705. Select Insert, then Close. These steps apply to the Windows desktop apps listed above.

For a Wingdings check mark, open the same app-specific Symbol dialog and set Font to Wingdings. Enter Character code 252 for a check mark or 254 for a boxed check mark, then select Insert and Close. Preserve the Wingdings formatting because the character depends on that font.

In Excel for Microsoft 365 or Excel 2024 on Windows and Mac, enter =UNICHAR(10003) in a cell and press Enter for ✓. Use =UNICHAR(10004) for ✔ or =UNICHAR(9989) for ✅.

If you need readers to mark items complete, add clickable check boxes in Word. In Word for the web, press Ctrl + , or choose Home > Paragraph > Checklist, then click an empty checkbox to mark its item complete. This creates an interactive checklist rather than a standalone text character.

Add check marks in Google Docs and Sheets

In Google Docs or Slides in a desktop browser, choose Insert > Symbols > Special characters. Enter the Unicode value 2713, search or browse for a check mark, or draw one in the box on the right. Click the result to insert it.

Google Sheets does not provide that same special-character dialog, but you can copy a character from Docs or Slides and paste it into a cell. Sheets also accepts =UNICHAR(10003) for ✓, =UNICHAR(10004) for ✔, and =UNICHAR(9989) for ✅. Enter the formula in a cell and press Enter.

For an emoji in Google Docs or Sheets in a desktop browser, type @emoji and press Enter. Search for check and select the desired result. The menu route is Insert > Symbols > Emoji in Docs, or Insert > Emoji in Sheets.

In Google Docs, you can also type : followed by a search term to find an emoji within the document. To disable this behavior, open Tools > Preferences and uncheck Insert emojis using the colon character.

Insert check marks on your phone or tablet

On iPhone or iPad using the standard keyboard, tap a text field, then tap the Emoji or globe button. Enter check in Search Emoji, or browse the symbols and tap the check mark. If the emoji keyboard is missing, open Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard > Emoji.

To create a text shortcut on iPhone, open Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement and tap Add. Put ✓ in Phrase and a distinctive trigger such as ;tick in Shortcut, then use that trigger while typing with Apple's text-replacement support. You can also reach these settings by holding the Emoji or Switch Keyboard key and choosing Keyboard Settings > Text Replacement.

On an Android phone or tablet with Gboard already installed, tap a text field, tap Emoji, and select the check-mark emoji. Tap ABC to return to letters. Google notes that some Gboard steps require Android 7.0 or later. For a plain ✓ instead, copy that character and paste it into your text.

On a Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet using Samsung Keyboard, open Settings > General management > Samsung Keyboard settings > Text shortcuts, then tap +. Some device or regional versions place Text shortcuts under More typing options. Enter ;tick in Shortcut phrase and ✓ in Expanded phrase, then tap Add. Type the trigger and tap its expanded phrase in the predictive text bar; to remove the shortcut, use the bin icon in Text shortcuts.

Use GNOME LibreOffice or Slack

In a GNOME application that supports Unicode input, press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 2713, and press Space or Enter to insert ✓. Use 2714 for ✔ or 2705 for ✅. Keep this shortcut specific to supported GNOME applications.

For an emoji in a supported GNOME text field, press Ctrl + ;, search for check, and select the result. If the application does not handle that shortcut, launch Characters from Activities and search or browse for the desired mark.

In LibreOffice desktop apps with the character dialog, choose Insert > Special Character. Enter check mark in Search, choose a font containing the character, select the mark, and click Insert. In the tabbed interface, use Home > Insert Special Characters or Insert > Symbol. Choose Add to Favorites to make the character easier to reuse.

In Slack on desktop, web, iOS, or Android, type : followed by check in the message field and choose a matching emoji. On desktop, you can also click the smiley-face icon and search for the emoji. Both methods insert an emoji into the message composer.

Set up reusable check mark shortcuts

On Mac, open Apple menu > System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements and click Add. Enter a distinctive trigger such as ;tick and ✓ as its replacement, then click Add and Done. In the destination app, enable Edit > Substitutions > Text Replacement, then type the trigger. This works in apps that support Apple's text substitutions.

In Excel for Microsoft 365 or Excel 2024 on Windows, insert and copy a check mark, then open File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options. Paste the mark into With and enter a distinctive trigger such as check1 in Replace. Select Add, then OK, and type the trigger when you need the mark.

If your Excel replacement uses a Wingdings mark, retain the Wingdings font. To remove an AutoCorrect rule, select its entry in the same dialog and select Delete.

Fix check mark shortcut problems

If a shortcut fails, check that you are using it in the intended app. Treat Alt + X as a Word shortcut for the Windows versions listed above, and use the app's symbol picker or copy and paste elsewhere. The GNOME Unicode shortcut and Mac text replacements also depend on application support.

If the mark looks different after insertion, check which character you selected. Use ✓ for a simple check mark, ✔ for a heavier check mark, or ✅ for a check-mark emoji; their hexadecimal Unicode values are 2713, 2714, and 2705, respectively. The destination font and emoji renderer can change their appearance.

For a quick alternative, select one of these characters: ✓ ✔ ✅. On Windows or ChromeOS, press Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + V to paste; on Mac, use Command + C and Command + V. On a touch device, select the character and use Copy, then Paste.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you open the Windows emoji panel from the taskbar?

Yes, on Windows 11 installations with the emoji system-tray feature, open Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and set the emoji-and-more icon to Always or While Typing. Click the icon while entering text, find the check-mark emoji, and select it. Microsoft documents the feature's rollout to versions 24H2 and 25H2.

Can you select a check-mark emoji with Windows Voice access?

Yes, on Windows 11 version 22H2 or later with Voice access configured, focus the destination text field and say Show keyboard. Say the displayed number corresponding to the emoji button. In the emoji menu, say the displayed number corresponding to the check-mark emoji.

How can you change the way you open Character Viewer on Mac?

Open Apple menu > System Settings > Keyboard and set Press fn key to or Press Globe key to to Show Emoji & Symbols, depending on your keyboard. Press Fn or Globe, as configured, to open the picker. Alternatively, under Text Input, select Edit and turn on Show Input menu in menu bar to access Character Viewer from the Input menu.

Can your Apple devices share a saved check mark text replacement?

Yes, set up iCloud Drive and use the same Apple Account on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad to keep text replacements synchronized. To import an existing replacement file on Mac, open System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements, drag the property list.plist file into the window, and click Done.

How do you insert a check-mark emoji with a Chromebook touchscreen?

Select the time, then open Settings > Accessibility and turn on On-screen keyboard under Keyboard and text input. Open a text field, select Emoji at the bottom of the keyboard, and select the check-mark emoji. Compatible convertible Chromebooks also open the keyboard automatically in tablet mode.

How do you insert a checkbox you can toggle in Excel?

In Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows or Mac, select the target cells and choose Insert > Checkbox. Select the checkbox cells and press Spacebar to toggle their checked state. Pressing Delete first clears checked boxes; pressing Delete again removes unchecked boxes. These are interactive TRUE/FALSE cells rather than typed Unicode check marks.