Hi - Dave here.
Happy Friday!
One of the big changes to Excel in the last year was the introduction of a native checkbox in Excel. Checkboxes might seem like a small thing, but they're very useful for organizing information, tracking progress, and creating interactive spreadsheets. There's something very satisfying about ticking a box to finish off a task!
Unlike the clunky solutions of the past, this new checkbox sits happily in a cell and is very easy to set up. Because the checkbox lives in the grid, it will move around naturally as columns and rows are adjusted. Because it returns TRUE or FALSE, you can use the output directly in formulas and to apply conditional formatting. This means that checkboxes are a great tool to make a spreadsheet interactive.
You can see an example below, where I've used checkboxes to create a simple checklist. As you tick the boxes, the tasks get crossed off automatically:
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Download the workbook and read the full explanation]
Because the new checkboxes connect easily with formulas and conditional formatting, there are many practical ways you can use them. The article above shows 5 different examples. Download the workbook and try them out yourself.
Note: Native checkboxes are a new feature in Excel. You will need Excel 365 or Excel 2024 to try them out.
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Have a great weekend!
Dave
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