Why isn em dash on keyboard how to#

Note that em-dashes create emphasis by forcing the reader to pause. An en dash is more fluid, being either half of one em or the width of a capital letter N. Increase font size and the em gets bigger as well. One em is the same as the height of a capital letter in the font. An em is a unit related to the font youвЂ™re using. To set up text snippets, visit System Preferences > Keyboard > Text. Why is it called an em dash An em dash is simply a dash that is one em wide. Note that Macs and iOS devices have built-in text expansion. For example, when I type вЂњemdвЂќ with aText running, those letters are immediately replaced by an em-dash. Use a text expansion program such as aText or PhraseExpress to create a text snippet that expands into an em-dash. Then, highlight вЂњEm DashвЂќ and click вЂњKeyboard Shortcut.вЂќ In my version of Word, you can accomplish this by visiting Insert > Advanced Symbol > Special Characters. In Word or other text-editing programs, create a keyboard shortcut such as Ctrl + Alt + M that inserts an em-dash. In Microsoft Word, type a letter immediately followed by two hyphens and then another letter, as in вЂњa-b.вЂќ The two hyphens should automatically expand into an em-dash. Here are three ways to create em-dashes (which are sometimes referred to simply as вЂњdashesвЂќ): Sadly, keyboards do not normally include an em-dash key. I read War and Peace this summer - all 1,200 pages of it. Use em-dashes to add an afterthought to a sentence.

This yearвЂ™s 2Ls - many of whom have had their plans disrupted by COVID-19 - are even more concerned about grades than usual. Use em-dashes to set off a phrase that modifies or explains something in the middle of the sentence. (For this purpose, em-dashes are more emphatic than parentheses or commas.)ДЇirst-year law students read judicial opinions as they read most other material - from beginning to end - but experienced lawyers often jump straight to the rule. Use an em-dash to set off and emphasize a parenthetical phrase. En-dashes are used primarily for numeric ranges (e.g., вЂњMarch 15вЂ“20вЂќ and вЂњpp. The em-dash ( - ) is particularly useful for this task.ДЄt the outset, you should learn to recognize the difference between em-dashes (-), en-dashes (вЂ“), and hyphens (-). Help the reader absorb information in manageable chunks by using punctuation to break the sentence into parts. Click on it.When you are writing longer sentences, keep the readerвЂ™s short-term memory and mental energy in mind. Within the tools menu, you will find an option labeled as Preferences. Click on Copy and then select Tools option. To insert en dash and em dash in Google Docs, select the dash symbol and right-click. But, unlike Google Docs, Microsoft Word comes with a built-in function вЂ“ вЂњAutoFormatвЂќ which converts hyphens automatically into en dash and em dash whenever you will type вЂ“ вЂ“ and вЂ“ вЂ“ вЂ“ respectively.Д«ut, you can definitely set preferences that will convert strings of characters like hyphens into en dash and em dash in Google Docs. Google Docs does not automatically convert hyphens into en dash and em dash whenever you will type вЂ“ вЂ“ and вЂ“ вЂ“ вЂ“ respectively. Creates en dash and em dash automatically You can connect an external keyboard via USB. Some laptops do not have a separate numeric keypad. When you release the Alt key, an em dash will appear where the cursor was. Enter the numbers on the numeric block on the right, when NumLock is on. Within the tools menu, you will find an option labeled as Preferences. Press the Alt key while holding it, type 0151 without quotes.

Why isn em dash on keyboard how to#

Keep reading to know how to automatically create en dash and em dash in Google docs. To insert en dash and em dash in Google Docs, select the dash symbol and right-click. In such cases, you can tell Google Docs to automatically format hyphens into en dash and an em dash.

Once you select the dash you want, it automatically gets inserted directly into the file where your cursor is in the file or document.ДЇollowing the above method can be a lot of hassle if you tend to use these punctuation marks a lot.