If you are using a Mac computer, the table below will help you find shortcuts to type some special symbols in Microsoft Word. To use these shortcuts, Hold down the Option key, or the Shift key or both, then type the specified character. For example, to type the delta symbol, press Option + J. 7/10/2009 Anyone know the shortcut key for the em dash? I can get the en dash — with shift-option-hyphen, but i need the longer one. MacBook Pro 17', Mac OS X (10.5.7), 2.4 GHz 2GB Posted on Oct 7, 2009 3:03 PM. Reply I have this question too (209) I h.
An em dash (—)is longer than an en dash (–) and three times as long as a hyphen (-). Don’t be afraid of it. It is useful and versatile, and too few writers make use of it.
Uses of the em dash
1. Em dashes set apart parenthetical phrases or clauses in a sentence. In this use, em dashes are similar to commas and parentheses, but there are subtle differences. For example, em dashes are used when a parenthetical remark contains an internal comma or would otherwise sound awkward if enclosed by commas. Perhaps a useful way to think of the em dash is as a pause or parenthesis with somewhat more emphasis than a comma and somewhat less than parentheses. Here are a few examples of em dashes used well for this purpose:
Steely Dan’s title track to FM—a justly forgotten, Robert Altman-inspired 1978 comedy that tries to pass off Foreigner, Foghat, and REO Speedwagon as paragons of rock rebellion—initially sounds like an extension of that movie’s middle-of-the-road sounds. [AV Club]
Since 2007, the consensus of the economic establishment—bankers, policymakers, CEOs, stock analysts, pundits—has been catastrophically wrong. [Slate] Magix music maker 14 activation keygen for mac.
- Easy Em Dash Shortcut on Windows 10? I've moved from Mac to Windows, and while I love it so far, my only gripe is the lack of easy shortcuts. I found a way to shortcut the snipping tool, but I'm having trouble getting a quick em dash shortcut. 3.Ctrl + O-opening the document.
- Jul 21, 2016.
Both Dagan and Diskin oppose military action against Iran unless all other options—primarily international diplomatic pressure and perhaps sabotage—have been exhausted. [Guardian]
In other cases, em dashes can go where parentheses would be too strong a break in a sentence, for example:
The president’s nephews—sons of his late brother—include Amar, the deputy director for national security … [New York Times]
2. An em dash can indicate a sudden break, an interruption, or a trailing off, for example:
HOWARD: … She’s totally unapologetic, she’s—
CHEW-BOSE: She’s everything. [Interview Magazine]
The long dark restore save game. 3. Em dashes can replace colons or serve as harder versions of commas (similar to semicolons). While parenthetical em dashes often operate in pairs (see the examples under the first point above), hard-comma em dashes often function alone at ends of sentences, for example:
The all-renewable energy sector is 30 years away — and always will be. [Salon]
It’s that time of year again—time for New Year’s Resolutions! [Pegasus Books] Drivers placa mae intel emerald lake 2.
Em dash typography
Publications make varying style choices when it comes to rendering the em dash. Some use the equivalent of three linked hyphens surrounded by a space on each side (like — this), and some omit the surrounding spaces (like—this). Others, like the online New York Times and most non-U.S. publishers, use an en dash (or the equivalent of two hyphens) surrounded by spaces (like — this). Some use an en dash with no spaces (like–this). Others, such as the BBC online, use a hyphen surrounded by spaces (like – this). The hyphen is traditionally regarded as a poor substitute for the dash, but given the relative ease of typing the hyphen, its use in lieu of the dash seems to be on the rise, and many see nothing wrong in it. Ultimately, it is a matter of editorial preference.
In Mac OS X, an em dash can be typed very easily by holding down the option and shift keys and typing a hyphen.
In Microsoft Word, an em dash can be typed with ctrl + alt + numeric hyphen. Note that this is only available using the hyphen on the numeric keypad not the main keyboard. Word (on a Mac or a PC) will automatically render an em dash when two hyphens are typed, unspaced, between words.
Dashes are longer than hyphens. The two main types of dash are the en dash (roughly the width of the letter n) and the em dash (roughly the width of the letter m). Wikipedia has lots of information about when to use en or em dashes.
Using AutoCorrect
Apache OpenOffice provides a convenient way to enter en and em dashes when you are typing. This method uses the Replace dashes option under Tools > AutoCorrect > Options to replace one or two hyphens, under certain conditions, with the corresponding dash.
In the following table, the A and B represent text consisting of letters A to z or digits 0 to 9.
| Text that you type: | Result |
|---|---|
| A - B (A, space, minus, space, B) | A – B (A, space, en-dash, space, B) |
| A -- B (A, space, minus, minus, space, B) | A – B (A, space, en-dash, space, B) |
| A--B (A, minus, minus, B) | A—B (A, em-dash, B) |
| A-B (A, minus, B) | A-B (unchanged) |
| A -B (A, space, minus, B) | A -B (unchanged) |
| A --B (A, space, minus, minus, B) | A –B (A, space, en-dash, B) |
Using the Special Characters Dialog
Another means of inserting en or em dashes is through the Insert > Special Characters menu. Select the U+2013 or U+2014 character, respectively.
Using Keyboard Shortcuts
Many people like to use keyboard shortcuts, especially when editing existing material that includes incorrectly-done dashes.
The shortcuts vary depending on your operating system.
Windows
Hold down one of the Alt keys and type on the numeric keypad: 0150 for an en dash or 0151 for an em dash. The dash appears when you release the Alt key.
| On a keyboard with no numeric keypad, use a Fn (Function) key combination to type the numbers. (The Fn key is usually to the right of the left-hand Ctrl key on the keyboard.) For example, on a US keyboard layout, the combination for an en dash should be Alt+Fn+mjim and for an em dash it should be Alt+Fn+mjij. |
| You might prefer to install a small, free, open source program for Windows called AllChars, which you can get here. |
Linux
Press and release the Compose key, then type two hyphens and a period for an en dash, or three hyphens for an em dash. The dash appears when you release the last key.
| The key that operates as a Compose key varies with the Linux distribution. It is usually Shift-AltGr, but may be another key (e.g. the windows key), and should be user-configurable. |
On Linux distributions based on the Gnome/GTK+ desktop environment, you can also input Unicode characters by pressing Ctrl + Shift + U, followed by the hexadecimal value of the Unicode character (2013 for an en dash, 2014 for an em dash). To end the input sequence, press either the Return key or release the Ctrl/Shift keys.
Mac OS X
Hold down the Option (Alt) key and type a hyphen for an en dash. For an em dash, the combination is Shift+Option+Hyphen.
Record Macros and Assign Them to Shortcut Keys
You can also record macros for inserting dashes and assign those macros to key combinations. Mac os 9.2.2 emulator.
Step 1: Record macros for inserting en and em dashes.
- Use Tools > Macros > Record Macro to start recording a macro.A small window is displayed so you know that OpenOffice.org is recording.
- Use Insert > Special Characters to open the Special Characters dialog. Scroll down until you find the en dash (U+2013) character. Select it and click OK.Find and choose the en dash.
- Click the Stop Recording button to stop recording, save the macro, and display the OpenOffice.org Basic Macros dialog. Type a descriptive name for the new macro in the Macro name box on the upper left. For this example, we have used Endash and Emdash for the names of the macros.Naming the new macro and storing it.
- Be sure to open the library container named My Macros. Find the library named Standard under My Macros. Select Module1 and click Save.
- Repeat steps 1–4 to create another macro, to insert an em dash (U+2014 in the special characters table).
Step 2: Assign the macros to key combinations
- Use Tools > Customize > Keyboard tab.
- In the Shortcut keys list, pick an unused combination (for example, Ctrl+Shift+N for an en dash). In the Category list, scroll down to OpenOffice.org Macros, click the + sign, then click the + next to the Standard library and choose Module1. In the Function list, choose Endash and click the Modify button on the upper right. The selected key combination now appears in the Keys list on the lower right, and Endash appears next to Ctrl+Shift+N in the Shortcut keys list.
- Repeat for the em-dash , then click OK.
| For inserting en- and em-dashes, and other special characters, you may find extensions such as Compose Special Characters useful. See Adding functionality with extensions in the Writer Guide. |
| Content on this page is licensed under the Public Documentation License (PDL). |
Windows Em Dash Keyboard Shortcut