Want check box to Use a Tick in the form check box

Problem

I want to use an actual check mark in a form check box—not the default X character. How do I do this?

Solution

If you have symbolic fonts installed on your computer, you can 1) assign the font to the field, and 2) assign the special character to the True/False variable format.

The following steps provide two different ways of creating a tick mark using fonts.

To merge a check mark in a check box using the Symbol font

  1. On the form template, create a check box field. (See Create a check box Field.)
  2. Attach a True/False variable to the field. (See Customize a True/False Variable.)
  3. Enter the following text in the Default format field: Ö/ . (The capital O with an umlaut can be entered by pressing Alt+0214. This character represents the check mark character in the Symbol font. You may need to enter the character in a separate text editor and then copy and paste it into the Format field.)
  4. Select the field and click the Field Properties button. The Field Properties dialog box appears.
  5. Change the font to Symbol. (See Change the Font Used for a Field.)

When the template is assembled, HotDocs uses the check mark √ instead of the X.

To merge a check mark in a check box using the Wingdings2 font

  1. Select the grouped check box fields and click the Field Properties button.
  2. Edit the variable field properties by clicking on the Variable button.
  3. Edit the output text based on variable type.
    • For a True/False variable in a single field: use a format of P/  (i.e ‘P/<space>’); this will merge the correct character only if TRUE
    • For a True/False variable in two grouped fields: use a format of P / P (i.e ‘P<space>/<space>P’); this will merge the correct characters across the two fields
    • For a Multiple Choice variable in two or more grouped fields: use the character P in each appropriate merge text field
  4. Click OK to get back to the Field Properties dialog box.
  5. Click the Font… button, set the font to Wingdings 2 and click OK.
  6. Close the Field Properties dialog box.

Your check boxes will now show the P character instead of an X.