Hyphens often go unnoticed. These useful symbols can find more than one use, and exist in all dimensions. The two most popular dashes are the dash (-) and the long dash (-). The dash is as long as a lowercase “n” (“en dash”, in English), while the long dash is as long as a capital M (“em dash”, in English). You can use these dashes in your lyrics to indicate breaks, dialogue, and more. Read on to learn more.
Steps
Method 1 of 5: Microsoft Word
Step 1. Open a Word document
Place the cursor where you want the dash to appear. When you're ready to type the hyphen, use one of these key combinations.
Hyphens are typically used to separate numbers in rough estimates (8-10), while long dashes can indicate pauses in the sentence. Stylistically, the long dash is similar to parentheses, but gives a stronger meaning to the words it encloses
Step 2. Type a dash
Hold down the Ctrl key and press - on the numeric keypad. A dash will appear.
Step 3. Type a long dash
Hold down the Ctrl + Alt keys and press the - sign on the numeric keypad. The dash will appear.
Method 2 of 5: Windows Alt Codes = "Image"
Step 1. You can use this method in any text file on Windows
Almost all North American and European (Western European) versions of Windows support alt codes. These codes can be used in any text box to type special characters, such as em dash and long dash.
If you are using a laptop, you will need to press the NumLock key, otherwise pressing the numeric keys will not show any symbols
Step 2. Type a dash
Hold down the Alt key, press 0150 on the numeric keypad and release the Alt key. The dash will appear in the selected text box.
Step 3. Type a long dash
Hold down the Alt key, press the 0151 keys on the numeric keypad and release the Alt key. The long dash will appear in the box you selected.
Method 3 of 5: Mac OS X
Step 1. Use this method in any text box you find on Mac OS X
Almost all versions of OS X support these codes. You can use these codes in any text editor or any other text box where you need to enter text.
Step 2. Type a dash
Hold down the ⌥ Option key and press the - key on the numeric keypad. The dash will appear.
Step 3. Type a long dash
Hold down the {keypress | Option | Shift}} keys and press the - key on the numeric keypad. The dash will appear.
Method 4 of 5: Linux
Step 1. Use these codes to create dashes
Just like Windows, Linux supports four-digit codes for using special characters. To insert the codes, place the cursor where you want the dash to appear and press Ctrl + ⇧ Shift + U. You should see a "u" appear. Enter the code for the symbol you need to type.
- To type a dash, press the 2013 keys and press the Enter key.
- To type an em dash, press the 2014 keys and then Enter.
Step 2. Use the Compose button
If your keyboard does not have a dedicated Compose key, you can assign one to the keyboard layout on the operating system, to allow you to type special characters quickly. Choose a key that you don't typically use to perform the function of the Compose key.
- To map the ⎄ Compose key on Linux, open the "Settings" panel and select "Keyboard Layout". Click on "Options" and select a key to assign to the ⎄ Compose key on the layout.
- To create a dash, press ⎄ Compose and then -.
- To create an em dash, press ⎄ Compose and then ---.
Method 5 of 5: HTML
Step 1. Open your HTML editor
You can use special HTML codes to display dashes on your website. There are a couple of options for doing this, and disregarding any browser-specific bugs, both should return the same output. Either way, you might want to use the second option, as it is the easiest code for the programmer to read.
Step 2. Type a dash
Insert a dash on your site by typing "-" or "-"
