Org mode table- make entire column to contain checkbox

Question

I have a table like this using Org mode (by typing |-- and then tab to complete

|-- Item-- |--Notes---|
| blah blah|blah blah |

Now I would like to add another column just before Item and contains checkbox. This is so that I can go down the table and check which item I have done. I know another way to do this is via a simple todo list. However, I would like to know how to do this via table.

In other words, I want:

|--Check--  |-- Item-- |--Notes---|
|  [    ]   | blah blah|blah blah |

And so on and so forth. I would like to be able to do C-c-C-C on [ ], as I move down the column and it would check X in the box.

In contrast to the example above, my actual table is very long (around 7 columns and 15 rows)

Answer 1

To insert a column on the left, start with the cursor on the first column, then press M-S-right (followed by M-left depending on the version you're using).

AFAIK there's no checkbox support in tables the way you're used to, so here's a command that toggles the presence of a "checkbox" in the current cell and moves down one row.

(defun check-cell ()
  (interactive)
  (let ((cell (org-table-get-field)))
    (if (string-match "[[:graph:]]" cell)
        (org-table-blank-field)
      (insert "X")
      (org-table-align))
    (org-table-next-row)))