Wikipedia:How to make dashes
 | This help page is a how-to guide. It explains concepts or processes used by the Wikipedia community. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines and may reflect varying levels of consensus. |
The hyphen-minus (keyboard hyphen), en dash, em dash, and mathematical minus/negative symbols are different . Pressing the - on your keyboard, usually next to the 0 (zero) key, will produce a hyphen-minus. Methods of producing the other characters are described below.
Methods that work on any platform
[edit]| - + − | |
|---|---|
hyphen-minus, plus, minus signs compared |
The CharInsert toolbar
[edit]To insert a dash or minus sign, use the toolbar below the edit box. Click where you want the character to be inserted, select "Insert" from the pull-down menu, and then:
- To insert an en dash (–), click on the first character (the shorter dash).
- To insert an em dash (—), click on the second character (the longer dash).
- To insert a minus sign (−), click on the
−between the±and the×.
Templates or HTML codes
[edit]- For an en dash, type
{{ndash}}or–.- For a spaced ndash, use the template
{{spaced ndash}}– or, more commonly, its shortcut{{snd}}– since this template also provides the essential non-breaking space before the dash. Alternatively, the raw HTML –sequence could be used but will clutter the source text needlessly.
- For a spaced ndash, use the template
- For an em dash, type
{{mdash}}or—. - For a minus sign, type
{{minus}}or the HTML code&minus.
Copy and paste
[edit]Find an en dash (–), an em dash (—), or a minus sign (−) already in some text—in this sentence, for example—and paste it where a new one is wanted.
Platform-dependent methods
[edit]Mac
[edit] | Parts of this Wikipedia page (those related to section) need to be updated. The reason given is: System Preferences was renamed System Settings in macOS Ventura in 2022. Please help update this Wikipedia page to reflect recent events or newly available information. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. (September 2026) |
For Mac (or iOS/iPadOS with an external keyboard) use:
- ⌥ Opt+- (en dash) or ⌥ Opt+⇧ Shift+- (em dash).
Alternatively for Mac:
- Pull down the Input menu and select Show Emoji & Symbols. Then select from Punctuation.
- If the Input menu is not displayed, open Language & Region within System Preferences. Then click on Keyboard Preferences... and check Show input menu in menu bar.
Linux
[edit]- Use AltGr- (en dash) or AltGr⇧ Shift- (em dash).
If you have a compose key:
- Use Compose--. (en dash) or Compose--- (em dash).
Windows
[edit]For Windows on a keyboard with a numeric keypad:
- Use Alt+0150 (en dash) or Alt+0151 (em dash) using the numeric keypad.
iOS and Android
[edit]For iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android:
- Hold the - (hyphen) on the on-screen keyboard until a popup appears with choices, including the en dash and em dash.
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]- AutoHotkey A scripting language for Windows. Character replacement needs only short one-line scripts.
- KbdEdit Modify an existing keyboard or create a new keyboard.
- abcTajpu An add-on for the Firefox browser.