
- #Keystroke for em dash on pc how to
- #Keystroke for em dash on pc software
- #Keystroke for em dash on pc code
- #Keystroke for em dash on pc windows
Option 6: Use your own shortcutĭash in word is to assign your own keyboard shortcut to it.
#Keystroke for em dash on pc code
This will convert the code (2014) into an em dash. With that being said, obey the following steps to type the em dash in Word using its Character Code:
#Keystroke for em dash on pc software
However, these codes don’t work in any software except This option is very similar to using the Alt Code The em dash sign into your Word document. This is how you may use the insert symbol dialog to insert You can also double click on the symbol to insert it into your Word Select the symbol and then click on the Insertīutton.Leveraging this feature, you can easily type the Em dash MS Word has a feature called AutoFormat which automaticallyįormat certain characters when you type them into your document. The above shortcuts are all valid ways you can use to type the em dash in Word.įor more interesting options, continue reading. Type this sign on Mac, press and hold the Command (⌘) key and the hit the M key. If you are on mac, below is a shortcut to help you type the This will insert the em dash symbol into your Word document. To use this shortcut, obey the following instructions: If the above shortcut didn’t work for you, here’s another one you can use. It works only with the minus key on the numeric keypad. NOTE: This will not work if you use the minus key just before the equal sign key. Key to type the em dash into your Word document. Turn on the Num Lock key by pressing Fn +.Keypad (such as a mini laptop), use the following instructions: If you are using a keyboard without a separate numeric simultaneously press and hold the Ctrl and the Alt keys, then press the Minus key on the numeric keypad at the right-hand side of the keyboard.If you are using a keyboard with a separate numeric keypad: To type this shortcut for the em dash, obey the following instructions:
#Keystroke for em dash on pc how to
So, my first option will show you how to insert this sign in Word using a keyboard shortcut.īelow are two easy ways you can type the em dash in word However, below are the step by step break down on how to type it. Type the em dash sign into your Word document.

The table above contains all the information you need to
#Keystroke for em dash on pc windows
Also, they are commonly slanted up with little swashes on the ends (although you see swashes on all three in Contenu at the beginning of this post).The table below also gives you the em dash shortcuts and alt code for Windows and Mac. They are higher above the baseline than en or em dashes. When you place it into InDesign these converted characters often come is as Ö or something even more strange.įinally, do not think you will not be caught.

Be careful of Word’s automatic conversion. You can set up the same conversion in InDesign by adding an auto-correction item. However, I have heard enough other suggestions to realize that usage varies widely.Įm dashes automatically: Word converts two hyphens to an em dash if you have auto-formatting turned on. I was taught a thin space before and after, currently I am using no additional spacing (especially in this blog where a thin space is not available. Spacing around em dashes: this is wide open to personal opinion. In fact, it is one of the sure signs of amateurism. This is an embarrassing error to professionals.

Typewriters use a double hyphen for the em dash. In many ways they are very helpful-but traditionalists tend to have knee-jerk reactions to anything outside the grammar books (written decades ago). In many cases, there are no rules anymore. These changes have accelerated in recent years.
Other than that, there is no standard anymore.Īmerican English is a living language in constant flux. Grammatically it is stronger than a comma but weaker than a period. The keystroke for an em-dash is Option+Shift+Hyphen (PC: Ctrl+Alt+Num–). This is the typographer’s decision to make.Įm dash: This dash is an em long. It seemed to me to be easier to read and more understandable written as one–twenty-fourth with the en dash between the one and twenty-fourth. Last week, when talking about the width of a hair space for InDesign was one example. The keystroke for an en-dash is Option+Hyphen (PC: Ctrl+Num–).Ī special case: In rare cases, hyphens and en dashes need to be mixed for clarity. It is a typo to use a hyphen in these cases. It is used with numbers, spans, or ranges. So, you have a couple keystrokes to learn because en and em dashes are used quite a bit during the creation of normal copy.Įn dash: This dash is an en long. In fact, hyphens are used in no other places. For example, 10-point is the normal point size for book publishers’ body copy. Hyphen: This is the character used to hyphenate words at the end of a line and to create compound words. All three have very specific usage rules. Type has three-the hyphen, the en dash, and the em dash. The next major change we need to discuss is dashes.
