Adding Square Symbols to Your Word Docs

Need to pop some square symbols into your Microsoft Word document? I’ve gathered a bunch of ways to do it. Let’s dive in.

Square symbols can be tricky little things. You know what I mean?

Unicode Shortcuts - The Quick Way

Type these codes for instant squares:

• Empty square (□): Alt + 9616 on Windows
• Filled square (■): Alt + 9617 for Windows
• Outlined square (▢): Alt + 9674

Mac folks get a slightly different approach. Try Option + 00B3 for that outlined square.

The Symbol Menu Route

Sometimes clicking is easier. Find the Insert tab. Click Symbol. Browse around until you spot a square you like. Double-click it.

Done.

Checkbox Territory

Interactive checkboxes seem fancier. First, you’ll need the Developer tab visible. Not everyone has it showing by default.

Right-click the ribbon. Select “Customize the Ribbon.” Check “Developer” on the right side. Hit OK.

Now you can add proper checkboxes through Developer → Controls → Check Box Content Control. It’s kind of surprising how many clicks this takes, but there you go.

Square Bullets

Want square bullet points? Start a bullet list. Right-click. Define New Bullet. Pick a square.

Simple.

Math Stuff

For mathematical squares, the equation editor works best. Insert → Equation will get you there. Then use superscript for squared values, which isn’t technically a square symbol, but it serves its purpose in equations.

So that’s the square situation in Word. Not entirely clear why Microsoft made so many different ways to do this, but at least you have options.