Insert a Check Mark or Tick Mark in PowerPoint for Mac

Do you want to insert a check mark, which is also called a tick mark, in your slides? Very often, this symbol indicates a task is done, and you may want to add it as part of your regular text in text placeholders and boxes, shapes, tables, and even charts.

Fortunately, it is very easy to complete this task in most versions of PowerPoint for Mac. There may be slight differences, depending upon whether you are using a newer or older version of PowerPoint, but even then, the process is very similar. Using one of these options, you will be able to add a check mark or tick mark in PowerPoint.

We will look at two ways to add a check mark in PowerPoint for Mac:

1. Use the Symbol option to bring up Character Viewer
2. Create an AutoCorrect entry to use often

1. Use the Symbol option to bring up Character Viewer

To access the check mark character from the Symbol dialog box, follow these steps:

1. Click inside any text container object to place your insertion point, as shown in Figure 1, below.
2. 
   Figure 1: Place your insertion point
2. Now access the Insert tab of the Ribbon, and click the Symbol button, as shown in Figure 2, below. Alternatively, press the Ctrl + ⌘ + Spacebar keyboard shortcut.
3. 
   Figure 2: Click the Symbol button


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3. Either option brings up the Character Viewer dialog box, that you can see in Figure 3, below.
4. 
   Figure 3: The Character Viewer dialog box
4. Drag the Character Viewer diaog box a little so that you can see the controls at the top of the box, as shown in Figure 4, below (compare with Figure 3, above). You then scroll within the dialog box, until you see the Bullets/Stars category. Here you will find the check mark symbol, as you can see again in Figure 4, below.
5. 
   Figure 4: Locate the check mark in the Character Viewer
5. Double-click any character to quickly add it to your insertion point in PowerPoint.

2. Create an AutoCorrect entry

You can create an AutoCorrect entry that lets you add the check mark quickly, with a shortcut. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Choose Tools | AutoCorrect Options in the menu, as shown in Figure 5, below.
2. 
   Figure 5: AutoCorrect Options in the Tools menu
2. Doing so will bring up the AutoCorrect dialog box, as shown in Figure 6, below. Select the AutoCorrect tab, and type in your shortcut in the Replace box, highlighted in red within Figure 6. We typed _/, that is an underscore followed by a slash.
3. 
   Figure 6: AutoCorrect dialog box
3. In the With box, we typed in u with an umlaut. You can use any technique, or just copy this character (ü) into the With box, highlighted in blue in Figure 6. Next, click the Plus button, highlighted in green.
4. Now click the red close button on the top left of this dialog box.

Now, whenever you type _/, PowerPoint will replace with the u with an umlaut. In case you don't want the underscore followed by a slash to be replaced with the u with an umlaut, press ⌘ + Z to undo. Also, do note that any AutoCorrect entry you create will work in all Microsoft applications, such as Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.

Next, to change the u with an umlaut to a check mark, just select the u with an umlaut character only, and change the font to Wingdings. Typically, Wingdings is found on Mac computers that have Microsoft Office programs installed.

As you learned, there is not one but two ways that you can use to insert a check mark or a tick mark within your slides in PowerPoint for Mac. Do use the way that works best for you, and wish you all success in your presentations.