How to Type an Em Dash: Top 5 Methods
While working on a word processor tool like MS Word or Google Docs, you can insert an em dash by navigating to the Special characters section. To know more about these two and other methods of how to type an em dash, continue reading.
The em dash is an important punctuation mark. It may not be as commonplace as the comma or semicolon, but it doesn’t lessen its value. People know its importance, and hence, there are hundreds of queries on how to type an em dash.
If you’re also looking for the technique, you’ve come to the right post. Here, we’ll discuss the top methods to include an em dash on different word processing tools and operating systems. But first, let’s learn more about the em dash.
What Is Em Dash and When to Use It?
The em dash (—) is a versatile punctuation mark that you can use in place of commas, colons, and parentheses, depending on the contextual needs. Needless to say, its use will have different effects on each case. While using it, you mustn’t confuse it with an en dash (–) or hyphen (-).
You can use an em dash in the following situations:
- In place of a pair of commas to emphasize a section of the sentence
- To replace parenthesis to draw attention to the words in between
- In place of a colon to emphasize the end of a sentence
Depending on the style guide, you may or may not insert a space before and after an em dash.
How to Type an Em Dash on Windows With Num Pad
Unfortunately, there is no straightforward way for Windows users with which, they can conveniently type an em dash on any app. But, with a Windows keyboard that has a numeric keypad, you can do it.
- First, press any of the Alt keys on your keyboard and hold it.
- With another hand, type “0151” on the num pad.
- You’ll see an em dash appearing on your cursor location.
How to Type an Em Dash on Windows Without Num Pad
If your keyboard doesn’t contain the num pad, you can still add an em dash on any app using the emoji keyboard. For that, follow these steps:
- Press the Windows key and the full stop key (.) at the same time to get the Emoji Keyboard window.
- On the top, there are three tabs. Select the right one with the omega (Ω) symbol.
- Scroll a bit to find the icon just above the Fahrenheit (F) symbol.
- Click on the em dash icon to use or insert.
How to Put an Em Dash on Mac
While using a Mac-compatible keyboard for your Mac machine or MacBook, this is what you need to do.
- To get an em dash, you need to press Option + Shift + the minus (-) key. The minus key is located beside the 0 on your keyboard.
How to Insert Em Dash in Microsoft Word
If you want to add an em dash in your online MS Word, perform these steps:
- Open a Microsoft Word document.
- Click on the Insert tab.
- Choose the Symbol drop-down menu and select More Symbols…
- Find the em dash from the list (below the x symbol) and select it to insert it.
You can also add indent in MS Word using these methods.
How to Insert Em Dash in Google Docs
If you’re accessing Google Docs from your Windows computer, you can readily type an em dash in your writing using multiple techniques. Here is how you can do it:
- Make sure you open a Google Docs file with permission to write on it.
- Click on Insert from the top menu bar.
- Scroll down a bit until you find the Special characters section. Click on it.
- Insert special characters window will open.
- In the blank field named Search by keyword, type “em dash.”
- On the left panel, some characters will appear. Select the leftmost symbol.
- That’s it. An em dash will get included in the document.
Alternative Method: If you don’t want to go through these steps but need to use an em dash quite often, there is another approach for you. On your keyboard, you’ll find a key for hyphen (-) and underscore(_). Press that key three times without any space, and you’ll get an em dash.
In addition, here is a blog on inserting a symbol on Google Docs by drawing it.
FAQs on How to Type an Em Dash
How Do You Type an Em Dash Without a Numpad?
To type an em dash without a number pad, you need to follow some simple steps. If you’re in a document processing tool like MS Word or Google Docs, you can select an em dash from the Special character section and insert it.
If you’re typing on Notepad, a web browser, or any other application with no option to insert symbols, you can open the emoji keyboard by pressing Windows and full stop/period keys together. Then, choose the Omega (Ω) tab and click on the em dash icon when needed.
You might also want to know how to use the Microsoft Teams secret emoticons.
What Can Replace an Em Dash?
The em dash is a punctuation mark we use in written language. Depending on the context, you can use a comma, colon, or parenthesis to replace an em dash. However, inserting an em dash is quite easy if you follow the method mentioned here. Now, there shouldn’t be any reason to replace it with any other punctuation mark.
