TechInfoDepot:How to make dashes

Short explanation
Copy and paste an en dash ("–"), or an em dash ("—"), as required.

For Macs: Opt+ (en dash) or Opt+Shift+  (em dash), and ignore the rest of the page.

For Linux, if you have a Compose key: Compose, -, -,. (en dash) or Compose, -, -, - (em dash), and ignore the rest of the page.

For Windows: Alt+0150 (en dash) or Alt+0151 (em dash), and ignore the rest of the page.

For iPhones and iPads: hold the - on screen keyboard until a pop up appears with choices including the en dash "–" and em dash "—". If using an external keyboard use the Mac advice above. Ignore the rest of the page.

Select. First, select a dash already in the text. That is, click just to the left of the dash but don't let go of the mouse button. While holding down the button, move to the right side of the dash. Now let go of the mouse button. The dash should now change color, and nothing else should change color. If not, try again.

Copy. Next, press Ctrl+ ; that is, hold down the Ctrl key, probably at the lower left corner of your keyboard. Without letting go of the Ctrl key, press the C key; then let go of both keys. This is designed to be done with two fingers of your left hand, but can, of course, be done any way you like.

Locate insertion point. Go to where you want to add the dash. Click there.

Insert. Press Ctrl+ ; it's similar to Ctrl+, but with a v instead of a c.

Long explanation
There are several ways to make en dashes and em dashes. Each has its partisans. Each has advantages and disadvantages. This table shows en dashes. Em dashes are similar, and are described below the table. If you make hundreds of dashes, invest some time learning software to make it faster. If you just want to make one dash, see the short explanation above.

Em dashes
The alternatives for em dashes closely resemble the alternatives for en dashes. In the table above: substitute — for –; mdash for ndash; Alt+ for Alt+ ; the longer (second) equals sign for the shorter (first) equals sign after the blue arrow; etc. An em dash can also be approximated using the typewriter convention of two hyphens: