How to make a checklist in Word documents

If you are trying to be productive and organized, you probably use checklists. They are made for any purpose and any event. Many applications allow you to create checklists. But what if you want to create your personalized one? In this article, you will find how to create a checklist in Word documents using bullets or fillable fields.

Why use checklists

A checklist is a list of all the tasks you need to do, the information you want to learn, or things you need to take somewhere. On such lists, you can check the tasks and the extent: not started, in progress, done, need help, etc. Regardless of the purpose and content of the checklist, it helps to:

• Keep everything in mind. Because of the large amount of information, small details and things can just get forgotten. The best way to avoid this is to write everything down on a checklist.
• Be organized. While making a to-do list, you can range your tasks properly in advance. For example, you can stop by the store on your way home, so you don’t have to go there on purpose.
• Save your resources. Being well organized, you save time and money. Shopping with a checklist prevents impulse buying and therefore helps you save money.

Checklists can be completely different: to-do lists, daily cleaning checklists, shopping lists, travel checklists, birthday party planning checklists, habits trackers, etc. The apps Friday, Todoist, Trello, Toggl Plan, Google Tasks, and others allow tracking the tasks and making checklists. However, users often want to create their personal checklists or visually arrange things as they see fit. In this case, it is possible to make a checklist in Word documents.

Let’s see how to create a checklist in Word documents using ONLYOFFICE Document Editor.

How to create a checklist in Word documents using bullets

A bullet is a standard tool to create checklists in your document. It can be used as a sort of checkbox. However, checklists created this way are suitable for working in paper form. You can make a checklist with bullets, print it out, and then mark your tasks by hand. Place it near your workplace so that they are always in plain sight.

To create a checklist in Word using bullets, follow these simple steps.

Step 1: Write the things you need to do.

Step 2: Add bullets.

Highlight your list. Go to the Home tab —> Click the arrow near Bullets —> Select Bullets. It is better to use ones with blank space in the checklists.

Step 3. Make the bullets more visible. Click the arrow near Bullets —> Choose List Settings and change the size of the bullets. Click OK.

In this case, the bullets will be larger, and it will be more comfortable to check them after completing the task.

Now the list is ready. Save it and print it out, then stick it in a visible place.

How to make a checklist in Word document with fillable fields

To make checklists that can be filled out digitally, you can use fillable fields. ONLYOFFICE allows you to do it directly in the text editor. Watch the video about ONLYOFFICE forms and their functionality:

Now let’s make a fillable template for the checklist using the ONLYOFFICE forms.

Step 1. Create a blank document in .docxf format. This is a format that supports adding fillable forms.

Step 2. Add fields for the day.

Since we are creating a completely fillable checklist, we will first create fields where the user can select the day of the week.

Go to the Form tab —> Select Combo Box.

The field will appear where the cursor is. Then, set it up in the right-side toolbar. In the placeholder, we specify Day of the week. And in the tip, Select a day of the week. The tip will appear on the screen when the user hovers over the field.

In the Value Options field, add days of the week. To do this, enter each option in the field below, and press Plus, so all the options that the user can select will appear in the list.

In the Combo Box, the user can also add his own option. This is useful if the to-do list relates to a birthday or party, for example.

Step 3. Create fields for tasks.

Now let’s make fields where you can enter tasks. Go to the Form tab —> Select text field.

As in the previous step, fill in Placeholder and Tip in the right-side toolbar. Then check Fixed size field. Resize the box manually, like an ordinary shape.

Now that one field is ready, we can copy and paste it for the other tasks.

Step 4. Add checkboxes.

When your task is completed, it should be marked. To do this, let’s add checkboxes to our checklist.

Place the cursor where you want to add a checkbox. Then, go to the Form tab —> Checkbox. Add all other checkboxes in the same way.

Our checklist will reflect the degree of completion of the task, so we will create two more columns of checklists. Also, we will add the name for each column: Not started, In progress, Completed.

In the Form tab, you can also change the color of the field and format it to your taste. Go to Highlight Settings and change the color.

Now the checklist is ready. Save it in OFORM format to fill it out online. Or choose PDF format to fill the checklist in any software.

Get the ready-to-use template for a checklist, or visit our library to find more document forms:

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