How to Add Tick Mark in PDF on Windows and Mac Quickly

When you’re reviewing a PDF, you may need to annotate the file by adding shapes to a PDF, or other visual elements like a tickmark to the document to indicate completed tasks or approved items in a form or checklist.

Of the many PDF annotators out there, this guide highlights the top two that allow you to quickly and easily insert tick signs into your PDF documents.

How to Add a Checkmark in Adobe Acrobat Pro

As a pioneer of the PDF industry, Adobe Acrobat offers a straightforward way to insert a tick sign in a PDF document. Additionally, you can use the keyboard shortcut “Shift + K” to apply a check mark in the Comments List when you comment on a PDF in Adobe Acrobat.

Provided you have installed the program, take a quick look at the step-by-step guide to type a tick in Adobe Acrobat below:

Step 1. Open a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro

Launch the Adobe Acrobat application on your computer, select a PDF to open, and choose the Fill & Sign tool from the right side toolbar.

Step 2. Put Tickmark in PDF with Adobe Acrobat

In the Fill & Sign toolbar, click the check symbol ✔ at the top of the editing window. You can pick the color you want and adjust the size of the checkmark, then simply use your mouse to place it wherever you need it on the PDF.

Step 3. Save the Updated PDF File

After you insert the tick sign in the PDF, navigate to the File menu, and click Save or Save As to store the new PDF document.

Though it is easy to apply a checkmark to a PDF using Adobe Acrobat, the functionality is only available with a paid subscription. The monthly fee, around $20/mon, is quite pricey and out of reach for many users.

Therefore, Adobe Acrobat may not be the most cost-effective solution for people looking to mark up PDFs.

How to Insert Checkmark in PDF with Adobe Acrobat Alternative

In contrast to the premium-priced Adobe Acrobat, PDFgear stands out as a completely free PDF editor that lets you edit text in a PDF file, annotate PDF documents, convert PDFs, and more.

Additionally, PDFgear functions as a free PDF Form Filler & Creator that allows you to add a fillable text box in PDF and insert checkboxes in a PDF without Adobe Acrobat.

Aside from filling out PDF forms, PDFgear offers a full suite of document management features such as digitally signing PDFs, organizing PDF pages, and reading PDFs with ChatGPT.

Step 1. Run the Free PDF Editor and Open a PDF

Compatible across Windows, macOS, and iOS devices, you can simply download PDFgear software, install the program, and launch it on your computer.

Then click Open Files, select the target folder, and open the PDF you want to put a tick symbol.

Step 2. Insert a Checkmark in PDF

Once you open a PDF with PDFgear, locate the Form section from the toolbar, then you will see the check symbol ✔, click on the tick symbol, and place it in the desired position.

Right-click the symbol in the PDF, and you can duplicate or delete the icon if you have placed it in the wrong place.

Step 3. Store the New PDF File

Once you’ve made the tickmarks to your PDF, you can head to the Save icon to store the file straight away or click Save As token to create a new version of the document.

FAQs about How to Make Tick Mark in PDF

How to put a checkbox in PDF online for free?

You can use PDFgear online PDF annotator to add a checkbox to PDF online at no cost. No sign-up is required. Just upload the file and add the checkbox, then download the updated PDF.

How do I type ✔ on a keyboard on a Mac?

On a Mac, you can quickly type a checkmark symbol by pressing the shortcut Control +Command+Spacebar to open the Character Viewer. Then simply search for ‘checkmark’ and select the symbol to insert it into your document.

How to annotate PDFs in Microsoft Edge?

The built-in Microsoft Edge browser on Windows allows you to annotate a PDF. Open a PDF file with Microsoft Edge, choose the Highlight icon from the toolbar, select the content, right-click, and you can easily highlight the PDF and make comments to the selected content.

With the Draw tool, you can also manually write a checkmark sign ✔ in PDF in Microsoft Edge.

How can I insert a checkmark into a PDF with Microsoft Word?

Open a PDF with Microsoft Word, navigate to the Insert tab, select Symbol, and click More Symbols if the tick does not show up.

In the Symbol pop-up, find the check mark you want, and hit Insert to apply the tick mark to the file. Finally, save the Word file as a PDF document.

The Bottom Line

To sum up, both Adobe Acrobat and PDFgear can help you quickly and easily make tick marks in PDF files.

But given the high subscription fee of Adobe Acrobat, we recommend the PDFgear software, a comprehensive PDF-related solution, with which you can get the same PDF solution capabilities as Adobe Acrobat, but for free.