The em dash, em rule, or mutton is longer than an en dash. Here are the em dash and en dash proofreaders marks at work. An em dash sets off one part of a sentence from the rest of the sentence. Alternatively, you can insert these special characters using the insert symbol menu. The em dash is about the same width as the letter m. In lots of writing, the use of dashes is very inconsistent regardless of how. Templafy is a security first organization with a strong commitment to privacy, security, and compliance. The autoformat rule assumes that spaces are used either before or on both sides of dashes, and that text appears after or on both sides of hyphens. Or what if you use em dashes in every other paragraph, or lots of fractions. To learn more about word 2016 features, download heathers free minibook here. How to insert an en dash or em dash in microsoft word. Methods of producing the other characters are described below.
If well need to use an en dash in the future, however, we should be able to temporary undo whatever action taken now to achieve the goal. Turns out the em dash also known as an m dash, mrule, the long dash, or, in the grammatical slang circles, mutton, and i am not making that up is just that extended dash you see when there is a break in narration or conversation. In this short video tutorial, microsoft mvp heather ackmann discusses the differences between the hyphen, en dash, and em dash, as well as how to insert these different symbols in microsoft word. One em is the same length as the fonts height which is typically measured in points. If you want to replace the em dash or en dash with a normal hyphen, type the hyphen after removing the em or en dash. Therefore, if a space appears before a hyphen, word replaces the hyphen with an en dash. Includes a language spelling checker, syntax highlighting, macros, workspaces, wordstar, brief and ms editor emulations. Jul 05, 2011 wordpad is a free little wordprocessorit comes with windows.
The script will open up in notepad, and youll see some default text at the top. Yes, i did use the special charater button to add the greek letter omega. Data is not displayed perfectly, working on refining the algorythm at the moment. If youre a writer, then you need the em and en dashes. Even if i cant get a true em dash and i have to settle for.
If your word document has an em dash or en dash and you want to remove it, do one of the following. How do i insert an em dash via keyboard with nonnumeric one. In any windows application, you can create an em dash by holding the alt key down and entering 0151 with the numeric keypad. Type a space, type dash dash dash and touch the spacebar. How to choose the right hyphen character in word techrepublic. Why do symbols like apostrophes and hyphens get replaced. The em dash is perhaps the most versatile punctuation mark. Windows speech recognition lets you control your pc by voice alone, without needing a keyboard or mouse. Why do symbols like apostrophes and hyphens get replaced with black diamonds on my website. An easy way to insert an ndash or mdash in microsoft word. This means some symbols especially the downloaded ones may only be. This is the simple page to learn how to type make em dash em dash on your windows keyboard. Most keyboards and software programs lack the em dash, therefore it must be created by using a special function key supported by the software program or by entering two hyphens. May 24, 2010 when you spot that hyphen you can mark it up with with the en dash mark.
Em dash definition of em dash by the free dictionary. Pressing the on your keyboard, usually next to the 0 zero key, will produce a hyphenminus. A dash smaller than an em dash, but usually longer than a regular hyphen, the en dash is often used in place of the word to such as 105 p. Find the mdash in the character map, or just click on the special characters tab and they should be at the top. Whilst reading novels, you will see the longer em dash used. Place the text cursor after the em dash or en dash, then press the backspace key. How to get special characters using alt key codes or the word. Platformdependent methods edit to make a dash using the unicode numbers 20 en dash, 2014 em dash or 2212 minus sign, see the hexadecimal code input section of the unicode input article. Notwithstanding its versatility, the em dash is best limited to two appearances per sentence. To assign a different shortcut for em dash, choose the insert symbol option of the words menu, find the em dash and press the shortcut key button. In vista or windows 7, click start and in the search box type. So i wouldnt say that the dash as an actor can perform the same roles as terminal punctuation, as periods or question marks or exclamation points, but rather i would say that it is cutting off the sentence before we can even get to.
Use one before the parenthetical information and one after it. Textpad is an award winning text editor for windows. The en dash, em dash and hyphen also ndash and mdash, n dash and m dash or n dash and m dash 31 comments. Apr 17, 2018 when you type text that is followed immediately by a hyphen, word does not insert an en dash. How to add or remove a page border in microsoft word. How do i insert an em dash via keyboard with nonnumeric.
Em dashes are often used to set off parenthetical information. Historically particularly in metal type, the em dash was the length of the em square in a given point size of type, except for some condensed designs which had shorter dashes. Mar 23, 2012 now open edit find and replace, enter in find box and move to he replace box, now ctrl v to paste the em dash. The apache openoffice help describes two ways to enter en and em dashes. Credit goes to paradoxgames for making the original in his game. How to replace hyphens with en dashes though most people dont know or care when told, the correct character to use for a range of numbers is the en dash, not the hyphen. The rules of punctuating dialogue, whether in fiction or nonfiction, are tricksy little creatures. So in 9point type, an em dash is nine points wide, while in 24point type the em. Microsoft word, like all textbased programs, uses a numeric character code called. I used to have a mac, which had a keyboard shortcut for inserting em dashes without having to open up the character map or copy and paste from the web. Solved find and replace with an em dash view topic. Dec 06, 2011 the em dash, which is what many people, like myself are getting frustrated with, when writing, need an em dash, the width of a capital m. Use the em dash to separate a unique thought from the main clause of a sentence. Hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes in microsoft word youtube.
It does this in a variety of ways you choose which ones you like. Four ways to insert an em dash in a word document by susan harkins susan sales harkins is an it consultant, specializing in desktop solutions. Can be used to edit any plain text files, including html, java, c, pascal, fortran, latex. If you are using frequently the em dash line you might like to have a keyboard shortcut for that. The em dash signals an interruption in the sentence.
Make monospaced font in find dialog optional, disabled by default. Documentationhow tosinserting en and em dashes apache. These are two other hyphenlike characters in word, the emdash and the endash. Documentationhow tosinserting en and em dashes with. When you type hyphens, word inserts an em dash or an en dash. How to change how often autorecover saves in microsoft word. An em dash is the longest dash, often called simply the dash, but also called the em rule or the long dash. To add the long dash also called em dash, click the special character. Similar to an extended hyphen, an em dash is used to show a break in thought or a shift of tone. I have the latest version of microsoft word, i have checked to make sure that the auto correct option for replace hyphens with dash is check off, yet i still can not create an em dash. I will try to condense the various bits of information scattered throughout cmos. Download a free evaluation copy, to discover the powerful features that will increase your productivity immediately. The less complicated waywhich what i usually dois to search for em dash in my browser. Wordpad is a free little wordprocessorit comes with windows.
All three marks are essentially horizontal lines, though their lengths vary as do, occasionally, their designs see figure 1. Related pages how to insert an en dash or em dash in microsoft word. The em dash is made on most pcs by holding down the alt key while typing 0151 on the keypad. On one of the pages, wherever theres an apostrophe or a dash, the symbol gets replaced with a weird black diamond with a question mark in the center of it. Most folks know about the hyphen, but fewer are familiar with the em dash and the en dash. Creating em dash in word perfect 10 solutions experts. You can also copy and paste the dashes from another. Microsoft office 2007 word assignments computers grade 9. The two main types of dash are the en dash roughly the width of the letter n and the em dash roughly the. One is called the en dash and one is called the em dash. The en dash is used in ranges, such as 610 years, read as six to ten years. Four ways to insert an em dash in a word document techrepublic. Download this icon to link to the chicago manual of style online from your site. How to use special characters in windows documents attaching this picture for reference.
How to type an em dash on a pc or mac when you want a hyphen. Fix popup dialog on startup regression regarding notepad replacement issue. Keyboard shortcut for long hyphens in windows short tutorials. This information is also available as a pdf download. En dash according to wikipedia, the en dash, or n dash, nrule, etc. Templafys platform is hosted in microsoft azure, chosen for its extensive security features and strict compliance standards that enable commitment to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the templafy solution. The character is called an em dash because it is one em wide, a length that varies depending on the font size. Find answers to creating em dash in word perfect 10 from the expert community at experts exchange. How to download an app, file, or program from the internet. There are two similar but distinct punctuation marks called dashes.
Sep, 2016 how to choose the right hyphen character in word. Insert three em dashes in the place of a repeating authors name in a bibliography. However, the new word created will not divide at the end of a line. The dash kind of serves that role, because its a very fancy actor. I work for an online newswire and frequently work from home. The arrow key is available pointing either direction.
First of all, there are three lengths of what are all more or less dashes. The 2 em dash can be used to indicate missing letters in a word, either because material is missing or illegible, or to conceal a name. Despite our exposure to hundreds of thousands of dialogue lines, writers arent always familiar with how to punctuate a scene where characters are speaking to each other. I know how to use em dashes in word, but what i need help with is figuring out how to use those elusive keys on a laptop that doesnt have the nowcoveted num pad. Hyphens, en dashes, em dashes the chicago manual of. If you delve into typography keep in mind that there is a difference. The em dash is the longest of the three marks, and is used to indicate a break in thought, or to set off a thought within a thought. How to create an em dash as required by apa and other referencing styles. How to enable and disable the ruler in microsoft word. Aug 29, 2010 mdash or em dash automatically created in word when you type somethingsomething wordhyphenhyphenword. Microsoft word em dash keyboard shortcut freeware downloads. In this short video tutorial, microsoft mvp heather ackmann discusses the differences between the hyphen, en dash, and em dash, as well as how. The item if youre toby fox or temmie chang, please email me if i need to change something or remove it altogether.
This can create a spacing problems when two long words are connected by a dash. In everyday life, most of us use the same key to type all three. This is what i use in writing, but i have a slight gap between my en dash and dash to make my em dash. The hyphenminus keyboard hyphen, en dash, em dash, and mathematical minusnegative symbols are different see wp. How do i insert an em dash via keyboard with nonnumeric one on a windows laptop.
Putting spaces before and after an em dash is a matter of preference. When you type text that is followed immediately by a hyphen, word does not insert an en dash. Word can automatically insert em dash if you type to dashes immediately after the final letter of a word, followed again immediately without an. Depending on the context, the em dash can take the place of commas, parentheses, or colons. Autoformat converts some hyphens to long dashes in word. Math symbols, accented characters, currency symbols.
Find an en dash or em dash already in some textin this sentence, for exampleand paste it where a new one is wanted. How to create keyboard shortcuts for special characters in. In xp navigate to start programs accessories wordpad. What is the difference in usage between an em dash and an en dash. But if you miss an ndash while you type or if you want to add one later when editing text it is not easy to get the dash that you want. Its a littleknown fact that dashes come in different sizes.
In windows, you can do it quickly with an external keyboard with a number pad. Sharpeyed readers will notice that ive used the closeup mark above my em dashes and my en dashthats to indicate that there shouldnt be any spaces between the dashes and the adjacent characters. So, unless youre working in microsoft word, the best way to get special characters like em dashes and en dashes is to use one of the following options. The em dash is preferred when typesetting to the typrewriter dash. Em dash the em dash is the longest of the three dashes and lines in the english language. Em dash outside of word i dont have a num pad, and no i dont have an fn num pad. Those dashes are imported from ms word texts copied and pasted, then put into text files used by web applications, where they cause troubles. When you need an em dash, you can let word enter it for you the easy way. Simple keyboard shortcut to make long hyphens em dash in windows is 0151 press the alt key and hold it down while typing 0151 on the windows keyboard. The following tables list commands that you can use with speech recognition.
In word, you can do it even more quickly if you have a number pad, but that requires an external keyboard. Creating em dash in word perfect 10 solutions experts exchange. Word can automatically insert em dash if you type to dashes immediately after the final letter of a word, followed again immediately without an empty space by the letter of the next word. A word processing program designed for smartphones with modern features and a sleek mobile design. How to create an emdash as required by apa and other referencing styles. Well, one way to get the em dash when your device doesnt have a number pad or the fn key is through the character map. Using em dashes instead of parentheses puts the focus on the information between the em dashes. May 01, 2012 insert three em dashes in the place of a repeating authors name in a bibliography. Hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes in microsoft word. How to mail merge and print labels in microsoft word. Highlight the em dash or en dash using your mouse, then press the delete key. Hyphens, endashes and emdashes are frequently used punctuation marks that are just as frequently misunderstood. How to use the shortcut for em dash microsoft community popular alternatives to for windows, mac, linux, web, ipad and more. This ultrasimple program makes it easy for you to just type the dash and move on.
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