How to Type a Dash

Windows-1252 Alt codes. Hold Alt and type the digits on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. The relevant codes are Alt+0150 for – and Alt+0151 for —. On a US keyboard, a hyphen is the key next to the 0. Num Lock must be on, and the digits must come from the keypad, not the row above the letters.

Word’s Alt+X. In Microsoft Word, type the hexadecimal code point of any character and press Alt+X. For example, type 2014 and press Alt+X to get —. This works for every dash on this site, including the ones that have no Windows-1252 Alt code.

Character Map. The built-in Character Map app (charmap) lists every installed font’s glyphs. Tick “Advanced view”, search for “dash” or “minus”, select the character and copy it.

No numeric keypad? Many laptops do not have one, and the Alt codes will not work from the top-row digits. Use Word’s Alt+X, Character Map, or copy the dash from this page.

Two useful shortcuts. On the US keyboard layout, Option+Minus types – and Option+Shift+Minus types —. These are the two dashes most Mac users need every day. The shortcuts follow the character produced by the key, so they may differ on other layouts.

Character Viewer. Press Control+Command+Space to open the Character Viewer. Search by Unicode name — “em dash”, “minus sign”, “horizontal bar” — and double-click the result to insert it. The viewer covers every character in this database.

Text replacement. If you type an em dash often, add a shortcut in System Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacement. For example, typing ;;em could expand to “—”. This can sync to iPhone and iPad through iCloud.

Ctrl+Shift+U. On many GTK/IBus desktops, press Ctrl+Shift+U and release the keys — an underlined “u” appears. Type the hexadecimal code point (2013 for –, 2014 for —, 2212 for −) and press Enter. The character is inserted at the cursor.

Compose key. If you have configured a Compose key, desktop layouts usually provide sequences for the common dashes. The exact sequences depend on your XKB configuration, so check your desktop’s keyboard documentation rather than relying on a remembered combination.

Character map apps. GNOME Characters and KDE’s KCharSelect both let you search by Unicode name and copy the glyph.

Press and hold the hyphen. On iOS and on many Android keyboards, pressing and holding the hyphen key opens a small pop-up with the en dash and em dash. Slide to the one you want and release. On Gboard the available symbols vary by language and version, so the pop-up may be shorter.

Smart punctuation. On iOS, Settings → General → Keyboard → Smart Punctuation can turn a double hyphen into an em dash and adjust some quote marks as you type. It is convenient for messages, but check the result in formal documents.

Text replacement. Add a shortcut in the same keyboard settings (iOS: Text Replacement; Android: Personal dictionary). A short trigger such as ;;dash then expands to — on every device that shares the dictionary.

Copy and paste. If the keyboard does not offer the dash you need, copy it from the copy grid and paste it. This works in every app that accepts text.

Microsoft Word. Type 2013 or 2014 and press Alt+X to convert the code into – or —. You can also use Insert → Symbol → More Symbols, set the subset to General Punctuation and pick the dash. Word’s AutoCorrect options can replace two hyphens with an em dash if that preference is enabled.

Google Docs. Use Insert → Special characters, search for “em dash” or “en dash” and click the result. Tools → Preferences → Substitutions can also be configured to replace a sequence you choose with a dash.

HTML, CSS and JavaScript. In HTML, use – and —, or paste the character. In CSS, the escapes are \2013 and \2014; in JavaScript they are \u2013 and \u2014.