How to write a big dash. Em dash and hyphen in Word
When typing, users very often ignore some punctuation marks. This statement is also true for a dash, instead of which a hyphen is used. Let's try to figure out together how to put this symbol in the text.
By the way, there can be two types of dashes - middle (–), which is used mainly to indicate a range, and long (-), used for explanatory text instead of parentheses (the second type is practically not used in Russian).
In most cases, the need to enter a dash in the text arises in this text editor. There are several easy ways to do this:
In OpenOffice or LibreOffice editors
Just like in a program from the Microsoft Office package, we can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + minus sign on the numeric pad of the keyboard. But by default, free editors have autocorrect configured:
- we put a hyphen between words with spaces on both sides, and we see how the punctuation mark automatically changes to a dash;
- If autocorrection does not occur, then try putting two hyphens in a row; the editor will interpret them as one dash.
In any Windows input field
There are cases when you need to enter a dash not only in Word. In this case, you can use the character input system using the so-called “Alt codes” supported by Windows. Place the cursor at the required location, make sure that the numeric keypad (Numpad) is enabled, and enter the following combinations:
- With “Alt” held down, the code is “0150” for the middle dash;
- “Alt” – “0151” – en dash;
Instead of an afterword
As you can see, putting a dash instead of a hyphen in the text is very simple. We hope that with our help you will no longer neglect this punctuation mark. Be careful - many of the codes described above must only be entered using the additional numeric keypad.
And those who work with documentation. Everyone knows where the hyphen is located, which is why it is very often used to replace the dash. But it happens that the customer, for example, has strict punctuation requirements, and such a replacement does not suit him at all.
Did you know that there are actually 3 different types of dashes:
- long (-),
- average (-),
- “electronic” (-).
He should always minimize manual work and therefore uses quick hotkeys in his work.
There are at least 5 different ways to insert a dash into text. Today we will analyze not only situations for the Microsoft Word program, but also some methods can be applied in any text or HTML document.
2. How to put an em dash in Word
AutoCorrect in Word
The Microsoft Office Word program by default can replace a hyphen with a dash when you type, for example, the text “Life is” and at the moment when you put a space after the word “this”, the hyphen will be replaced with a dash. In other words, it will turn out: “Life is.”
Autocorrect also works when there is a space on either side of the hyphen, but if it is just a word where it is used, such as the word “someday,” then naturally autocorrect will not work.
Keyboard shortcut
If autocorrect does not work, then you can add a dash yourself using typed numbers or keyboard shortcuts.
In Word, simply type the number 2014 and press the key combination alt + x (x). The number 2014 will immediately be replaced with an em dash. The number 2013 will be replaced by a shorter dash, and 2012 by an even smaller one.
Hot key in Word
There is a hotkey for inserting a dash in Word. To do this, hold down the Alt key on the keyboard and type the number combination 0151 using the numeric keypad, release the Alt key. An em dash will appear in the place where you placed the cursor. By the way, this method is great for inserting dashes in absolutely any html editor.
Keyboard shortcut in Word
If your keyboard has an additional “numeric” keyboard, then you can press the key combination Ctrl and “-” (Ctrl and minus sign) or the key combination ctrl + alt + “-” (capital dash).
Special Word characters
Go to the “Insert” menu in Word
On the right, find the “Symbol” button
Click on it and a tab will appear on which you need to select the “Other symbols” menu
A window will open with many different symbols
In order not to search for dashes for a long time among them, you can simply go to the “Special characters” tab. Select the em dash there, click “insert” and it will be placed in your document.
As you can see, everything is easy and simple. We hope that this article will help you write more competent and high-quality essays.
Every Habr user who has at least once typed “space-hyphen-space” here can see how the hyphen is magically replaced by an em dash. It was autocorrect that worked, similar to that found in Word and other word processors.
What is an em dash
The dash, or simply dash, comes in three main varieties, if you don’t bother:
- The hyphen, the shortest one, is entered from the keyboard.
- An em dash or EM DASH is a dash the width of a Latin M. Like in this phrase.
- The em dash or EN DASH is a dash the width of the Latin N. Like this: –
Due to my line of work, I have to deal with typography, and in order to format the text correctly and immediately, without relying on the mercy of the iron brain, I need to be able to enter symbols from the keyboard that cannot be entered. In particular, the em dash, which is often used in direct speech.
But, as we know: if you can’t, but really want to, then you can. I used Windows for a long time and used the well-known combination to quickly enter characters missing on the keyboard: pressed
Several years ago, when I made the final decision to move to Linux, the problem of quickly entering typographic characters arose in full force. These are not only dashes, these are various types of typographic quotation marks - “Christmas trees” and “paws”, but also degrees of vodka Celsius °, approximate equality ≈ and other necessary things.
As usual, I went to the Internet to look for a solution. As usual, it was found immediately.
Compose key
Search engines came up with this method in large numbers. What it is?The Compose method allows you to press and release a specially assigned key, enter a code sequence of characters and get a candy wrapper of the corresponding symbol on the screen.
For example, pressing 1 and then 2, we get ½. To get the recommended em dash, press the hyphen three times, and so on. Learn the code table, bro, it requires memorizing code combinations, sometimes intuitive, sometimes not so much.
You can assign, for example, the left Win, also known as Super, to the role of Compose. Or the right one, whichever suits you. However, after some time I felt: a certain discomfort of the method, felt at the beginning, did not want to dissipate over time. I remembered the rapid method of tapping numbers and felt slightly nostalgic.
Level 3
Let me remind you that this happened several years ago. In the stream of search results, there were several references to the mysterious third level, but I couldn’t immediately Google what it was.And I remained a happy Compose presser until one day I got into the jungle of my Linux keyboard settings and stumbled over... the word “level 3”! Both on…
(Or has it already been translated into Russian?.. I don’t remember. It doesn’t matter. And - I won’t bore you with the lyrics, straight to the point.)
The keyboard has levels. The first level is when you just pressed a key. For example, pressing “A” will type “a”; By pressing “2” you will print “2”.
The second level is when you pressed a key while holding Shift. Then pressing "A" will type "A"; By pressing “2” you will type “@” (in the Latin layout) or “"” in Russian.
By using the third level, you will be able to type other characters, but you no longer need to hold down Shift, but a modifier key specially assigned by you. It’s convenient for me to switch to the third level with the right Alt. Easily and easily enter frequently used herringbone quotes and em dashes with one hand.
But that's not all! By simultaneously holding down the Shift and Level3 keys, we get the fourth level and a few more symbols that do not fit into the logical, intuitively expected places of the third.
To take advantage of this feature, Linux users must remember to enable “additional typographic characters” in “miscellaneous compatibility settings.” Well, of course, select the key to select the third level (or third row, depending on the translation, level 3, in general). After which you can view and print a map of the symbols involved there in the settings.
But there is also a fifth level - but the inquisitive reader will figure it out on his own; the inquisitive person doesn’t need it at all, as IMHA whispers to me.
The feature is available in all major DEs (Gnome 3 users will have to install a tweaker). What about Windows? It turns out that there is such an opportunity there too. The search keyword is “Birman layout”.
For obvious reasons, I myself have not tested this software. I would be grateful for sensible comments from those in the know. I'll bring it in.
Total
Both Linux and Windows users can customize their Birman layout, or use the Compose method, or both, as Winnie the Pooh used to say.Now we can easily enter the symbols “”-°≈½⅓¼←→, numbers squared², cubed³, and other chiaroscuro.
And we can even place accents on the right place!
Upd1:
Comrade suggests: the configuration of third-level symbols is in the file /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/typo.The Compose method for Windows users is recommended by comrade: the WinCompose project on GitHub.
Upd2:
For Android there are several keyboards that have something like a third level. A long tap will bring up a window in which you can select additional symbols. At first I used Hacker's Keyboard, then switched to its Full Keyboard mod by a Russian-speaking author.There are three different spellings for the dash sign. They differ in length, according to the spelling rules of some countries; there is a separate rule for the production of a particular one. There is no such thing in our rules, but despite this, it is possible to write any of them in the Word text editor. Let's look at options for using em dashes in the MO Word editor. We will need:
- Personal Computer;
Instructions
- The MO Word text editor has a function to automatically replace a standard dash with an em dash. Replacing a single dash should be done automatically after you finish typing the word following this character. Also, to perform this function, a standard dash must be separated on both sides by spaces.
- You can also use a combination of “hot keys” to set an em dash. Typically, this method is used to insert a dash in already typed text, or if for some reason the autocorrect option does not work. To write an em dash:
- Place the cursor at the required location;
- Press the key combination Ctrl + “minus” (minus is pressed on the numeric keypad).
To add an even longer dash, use the Ctrl+Alt+ “minus” button combination. If you do not have the ability to enter on a numeric keyboard, use the program settings and set a different key combination for this operation.
3. Another way to write an em dash is to enter a special hexadecimal code for this character. Enter the code 2014 in the place where you want to put a dash and create the Alt+X key combination. The code characters will be replaced with an em dash. To make a middle dash appear in your document, use code 2013. There is also an “electronic dash”; according to the writing rules, it is located slightly higher than the middle dash, but in the Word editor it is displayed no different from the middle one. To enter it, use the code 2012.
4. You can also add a dash sign without using a computer keyboard; to do this, you need to follow these steps.
Working in the Word text editor is very interesting: it seems that you already know everything about it, but that’s not the case, the program offers new interesting solutions to well-worn problems. For example, did you know that the question “how to make an em dash in Word” can be solved in more than one way? Of course, as many people as there are, there are so many opinions and opportunities to solve the same problem in different ways. I propose to consider the most interesting of them.
AutoCorrect
The first option is the laziest, because the user, by and large, does not have to make any effort to add a dash. The fact is that the text editor in question provides . For it to work, the hyphen between words must be separated by spaces on both sides, and the word following the hyphen must be added to the end.
Symbols
Another variation on the theme of how to put an em dash in Word is to use the “Character” tab. And here's what you need to do for this:
- Place the cursor where you want the em dash to be.
- Now go to the “Insert” section, inside of which, on the far right side, is the “Symbol” button. Click on it and select "Other symbols". And through the “Symbol” menu you can also .
- A new window will open with a “Special Characters” tab. There will be a list, and in the very first place there will be an em dash.
- Select this line and click "Insert".
Key combination
Perhaps any symbol in Word can be displayed using hot buttons on the keyboard. To do this with an em dash, go again to “Symbol” – “Other Symbols” – “Special Characters”. As you probably already noticed, opposite the inscription “Embold” there is a key combination, by default it is Alt+Ctrl+Num-. Please note that the Num- button is the most common minus button, located on the numeric pad of the keyboard (numpad). As you understand, you should press this combination, and at that very second the desired dash will appear in your text.
Specify your key combination
The above combination of buttons is not the last resort; if desired, it can be replaced with any other. To do this, open the special characters again and select the desired line with the mouse. Next, you need to click on the “Keyboard shortcut” button, after which the “Keyboard settings” window will open. In the “New keyboard shortcut” field, you can specify any combination that is most convenient for you. Next, click “Assign”. 
There are many ways to make an em dash in text. Just choose the one you like and add dashes easily and naturally!
Video to help
