Format cell as a checkbox (TRUE, FALSE)
Offer a format that displays the boolean value of a cell as a checked box if TRUE, unchecked box if FALSE, grayed box if text or other nonbool.
Bonus: Toggle value OnClick would be intuitive.
Lots of uses for this. Current options are awkward for users. Yes/No dropdown is not as good as a checkbox for touch/mobile.
Anonymous
shared this idea
Thanks for the idea! We think formatting cells as a checkbox is an interesting suggestion, but we won’t be able to address it in the near future. We’ll continue tracking votes for it.
33 comments
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Roy
commented
You can forget usability things like this. Anything they do to let you do with the Excel-you-already-subscribe-to rather than PowerApps which requires a new subscription for each app, each creator, and each user works to defeat that 10-100x cash (cow) flow.
Nowhere is this more definite than in useful things to ease a user's experience and lower his barrier to acceptance of those apps vs. that horrible monster Excel. NOTHING that eases that barrier for Excel will be done in the next two-three decades. And this one is absolutely that. Date Picker is another that flat isn't happening.
Sorry guys, I'd like this too. Especially if able to selet this formatting, then "inside it" select the character it uses. Or color. After all, it's a TRUE/FALSE thing so any either/or available to general formatting could conceivably be opted for here, and also, any several either/or's like not-checked is light red background, light blue dot fill, no check character and checked is yellow background, no fill, "X" check character.
Ugh, and for God's sake, never try to make the built-in control work. It just doesn't and it's a beast anyway.
Actually, since formatting is simply text stored in a regular way in the XML file/s, it is hard to imagine why no one finds any of this, and other similar complaints, compelling enough to write a standalone program, hooking in via Addin or what-have-you, or even opening any file Excel is told to, then passing it to Excel as if it were reading it off the disk, that does exactly that, store things Excel won't itself create.
Unless... MS is right to not do it because it is some kind of beast of a job that no one outside Excel wants either... validation of their ignore-ance of these complaints would suck, I think. Hope that's not it.
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rp
commented
Your plans may not change but that of your users will. Ignore your customers at your own risk. Or become the software you help put out business - Lotus 123 - remembered only by the few.
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Arne Munther commented
Sound like very good idea.
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Nick
commented
You guys are really dropping the ball here!!! WAKE UP!!! This is a feature that REALLY needs an overhaul and both google and even apple for that matter are far ahead of you and you are just going to say you are not interested. You guys are making a BAD decision and you will regret it in the coming years as all your customers slip away and you have no clue and the real reason is something as small as checkmarks. Google is making it SUPER easy and a lot of people are switching over because of SIMPLICITY. You can keep the old way of doing things if that would make you happy, but for the love of a good spreadsheet software add a simple checkbox! Putting it in Data validation would be fine, or having it as a format, doesn't matter, just make it before this hole in the ship sinks you!
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Anonymous
commented
My Excel files are quickly losing ground to Google Sheets at work because executives want simple functionality that's only available in Sheets - the checkbox is just one example.
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Anonymous
commented
i have a 137 x 137 bool matrix to configure manually.. this would be nice
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Ionut
commented
The functionality should be very easy to be implemented... or?
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Anonymous
commented
I would really like to see this. I have partial files in Google Sheets just for this feature as well as a simple date picker just using data validation. We are pushing hard to use MS Teams with Excel online built into some of the tabs and this missing feature is really lacking. It's always one step forward them two back to meet our needs. We finally got Sheet Views this month but now I need check boxes and a date picker easily implemented in Excel Online.
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Craig Beuthin
commented
Brilliant - I already have thought of many situations where that would work for me.
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Jon Wittwer
commented
I'm finding that this feature alone is why I now use Google Sheets for ALL of my to do lists, instead of Excel. Yes, even though I can press ALT+Down to open a drop-down and select a check mark (my make-shift method for checkboxes in Excel), there is just something awesome and fun about clicking on a checkbox that makes the Google Sheets implementation better than work arounds with Excel.
Microsoft, don't forget to pay attention to the little things! You don't have a monopoly on spreadsheets any more, so let competition drive you to become even better.
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G
commented
@NB: Your excel-hack link couldn't be a better illustration of the need for this. Perfect. Thanks!
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Samaan
commented
Convert True False To Checkbox Controls With VBA
This section will introduce a VBA macro to convert multiple true and false to checkbox controls in Excel. Please do as follows:1. Select the cells equal to “TRUE” and “FALSE” you will convert to checkboxes.
2. Press Alt + F11 keys together to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.
3. Click Insert > Module, and then paste below VBA code into the new Module window.
VBA: Convert TRUE and FALSE to checkbox controls in Excel
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Sub ConvertTrueFalseToCheckbox()
Dim xCB As CheckBox
Dim xRg, xCell As Range
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
On Error Resume Next
Set xRg = Selection
For Each xCB In ActiveSheet.CheckBoxes
xCB.Delete
Next
For Each xCell In xRg
If (UCase(xCell.Value) = "TRUE") Or (UCase(xCell.Value) = "FALSE") Then
Set xCB = ActiveSheet.CheckBoxes.Add(xCell.Left, xCell.Top, cDblCheckboxWidth, xCell.Height)
xCB.Value = xCell.Value
xCB.LinkedCell = xCell.Address
xCB.Text = ""
End If
Next
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub
4. Press F5 key or click the Run button to run this VBA.Then you will see all selected TRUE and FALSE are converted to checkbox controls. TRUE is converted to a ticked checkbox, and FALSE is converted to an unticked checkbox.
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NB
commented
Not as easy as Google sheets but this page shows how you can do it all within Excel
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Jason Szotak
commented
Google Sheets does this with data validation which works perfectly. Time to catch up MS.
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Allan R Veler
commented
This is one of the features I use the most in Google Sheets, it would be great if it was in Excel as well.
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TJ
commented
How is this not an option yet? This should've been implemented in the 90s. Cmon!
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Todd O'Connell
commented
I agree with Tom Christopher. This should be simple. It would make an intuitive cell feature. It is simple for a programmer but difficult for the average user. And the competitor already does it. Will it sell more licenses? I don't know. Will it make the average user happy? Absolutely! Will it make the mobile device version easier to use? You bet! Also, what I know is that, once this feature is added, I double the number of spreadsheets I make in Excel. Imagine if my grocery list/travel list/to-do list is in OneDrive using Excel and I have a checkbox next to each item as I am shopping/traveling.etc. That is an average user creating a list in Excel and the feature that would enable it is just is not there. Disappointing to see a company ignore such an obvious feature.
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Anonymous
commented
i'd love this
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Tom Christopher
commented
yea, look how old the comments are. This has been an issue for years. And Not only mobile but for Mac as well. I used a bunch of code and the Dropdown for an autofill list that only works half the time. Shame on you MSFT. Just spent hours doing a golf scoring sheet using the forms controls only to find it won't work on my phone.
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Anonymous
commented
would love this too