Documentation/How Tos/Inserting En and Em Dashes with Keyboard

Checked for technical accuracy jeanweber nov08

The OpenOffice.org help describes two ways to enter en and em dashes: using the Replace dashes option under Tools > AutoCorrect > Options and through the Insert > Special Characters menu (selecting the U+2013 or U+2014 character, respectively).

Many people prefer to use keyboard shortcuts, especially when copyediting.

The required shortcuts depend on your operating system.

You can also record macros to insert en and em dashes and assign those macros to unused key combinations, for example Ctrl+Shift+N and Ctrl+Shift+M.

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.

Linux

Hold down the Compose key and type two hyphens and a period for an en dash, or three hyphens for an em dash. The dash appears when you release the Compose key.

The key that operates as a Compose key varies with the Linux distribution. It is usually one of the Alt or Win keys, but may be another key, and should be user-selectable.

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.