Where to find em dash on keyboard for free#
Where to find em dash on keyboard how to#
Where to find em dash on keyboard mac#

This route to putting an em dash on a keyboard uses a piece of software called AutoHotkey (which you can download for free from: ).ДЄutoHotkey is a powerful piece of software which has many uses in addition adding an em dash key, but those applications are beyond the scope of this note.

Where to find em dash on keyboard mac#

I have chosen the option set out in this note because it has many advantages (itвЂ™s fast, robust, simple, customizable, and expandable-you can add an em dash, an en dash, an ellipsis, and accents over letters, among other options, and it works for all apps on Windows, not just Word) and thereвЂ™s only a small disadvantage (a piece of software needs to be installed).ДЇor Mac users, IвЂ™m sure there are ways to achieve the same end, but IвЂ™m a Windows person, so IвЂ™m not going to offer any thoughts about systems IвЂ™m not familiar with. There are several ways to implement an em dash key in Windows.

Where to find em dash on keyboard how to#

So now weвЂ™ve looked at when an em dash or an en dash might be used, letвЂ™s move on a look at how to assign an em dash or an en dash key on a Windows keyboard. You can read more about the em dash and the en dash at The Punctuation Guide website. While the en dash does have specific uses, I tend to use a hyphen since itвЂ™s nearly indistinguishable from a hyphen and a meaning is never unclear to a reader if a hyphen is substituted for an en dash. The en dash can also be used to compound words, but this is more of an aesthetic choice. The en dash is used with a span or range of numbers, times, or dates. вЂњBut I love you, andвЂ¦вЂќ And what I thought? En Dash In this case, an ellipsis is the correct mark: However, an em dash is not appropriate when a speaker trails off or loses their train of thought. The em dash can be used twice when a second speaker interrupts the first, and the first speaker then continues. This may happen when another character talks over the first, thereby cutting the dialog, or if an external factor causes the speech to be silenced.

Cut Off SpeechДЄn em dash should be used to show dialog that is choked or abruptly cut off. However, there is no other clear way to represent cut off speech. To my mind, the deployment of the em dash gives more of a following on flow and so I often prefer it. The choice to use the em dash parenthetically or in place of a colon is-to a large extent-a matter of taste.

third, it can be used for cut off speech.

second, it can be used where a colon would commonly be deployed, and.

first, it can be used parenthetically (instead of brackets/parenthesis).

There are three main situation when an em dash should be used: If youвЂ™re just here to get an em dash on your Windows keyboard, jump to the section Why This Way.

For Windows computers thereвЂ™s a quick and easy way to add this key.Д«efore I get to how to implement an em dash key, letвЂ™s look at when an em dash may be used. A standard computer keyboard does not have an em dash key.