You may want to quickly add an em dash within your text container—be it a placeholder, text box, shape, or even a table. It's very easy to addan em dash, and there is more than one way to achieve this task, although there may be some differences, and all ways may not work in the versionof PowerPoint you are using. But certainly, using one of these options, you will be able to add an em dash in PowerPoint for Mac.

We will look at four ways to add an em dash in PowerPoint for Mac: Sigma camera firmware.

1. Use a keyboard shortcut
2. Use the Symbol option to bring up Character Viewer
3. Create an AutoCorrect entry

1. Use a keyboard shortcut

To add an em dash using a keyboard shortcut, follow these steps:

The em dash, which is what many people, like myself are getting frustrated with, when writing, need an em dash, the width of a capital M. Equivalent to 3 hyphens. Whilst reading novels, you will see the longer em dash used. This is what I use in writing, but I have a slight gap between my en dash and dash to make my em dash.

1. Click in any text container object to place your insertion point, as shown in Figure 1, below.
2. 
   Figure 1: Place your insertion point
2. Now hold the Shift and Option (Alt) keys while youpress the hyphen (-)key (see Figure 2, below)
3. 
   Figure 2: Add an em dash

2. Use the Symbol option to bring up Character Viewer

To access the em dash character from the Symbol dialog box, follow these steps:

1. Click in any text container object to place your insertion point, as shown in Figure 1, previously on this page.
2. Now access the Insert tab of theRibbon,and click the Symbol button, as shown in Figure 3, below. Alternatively, press theControl + ⌘ + Spacebar keyboard shortcut.
3. 
   Figure 3: Click the Symbol button
3. Either option brings up the Character Viewer dialog box, that you can see in Figure 4, below.
4. 
   Figure 4: The Character Viewer dialog box
4. Drag the Character Viewer diaog box a little so that you can see the controls at the top of the box, as shownin Figure 5, below (compare with Figure 4, above). You then scroll within the dialog box, until you see theTechnical Symbols category. Here you will find the em dash symbol, as you can see again in Figure 5, below.
5. 
   Figure 5: Locate the em dash in the Character Viewer
5. Double-click any character to quickly add it to your insertion point in PowerPoint.

3. Create an AutoCorrect entry

Finally, you can create an AutoCorrect entry that lets you add an em dash quickly, with a shortcut. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Choose ToolsAutoCorrect Options in the menu, as shown in Figure 6, below.
2. 
   Figure 6: AutoCorrect Options in the Tools menu
2. This will bring up the AutoCorrect dialog box, as shown in Figure 7, below. Select theAutoCorrect tab, and type in your shortcut in the Replace box, highlighted in redwithin Figure 7. We typed ---, that is three dashes.
3. 
   Figure 7: AutoCorrect dialog box
3. In the With box, we typed in an em dash. You can use any technique, explained previously on this page to bring theem dash character in this With box, highlighted in blue in Figure 11. Next, clickthe Plus button, highlighted in green.
4. Now click the red close button on the top right of this dialog box.

Now, whenever you type ---, PowerPoint will replace the three dashes with an em dash. In case you don't want three dashes to be replaced withan em dash, press Cmd + Z to undo. Also, do note that any AutoCorrect entry you create willwork in all Microsoft applications, such as Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.

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]

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 en dash' (with a non-breaking space before the dash and a regular space after it) type {{spaced ndash}} or {{snd}}.
• For an em dash, type {{mdash}} or —.
• For a minus sign, type −.

Copy and paste[edit]

Find an en dash (–) or em dash (—) already in some text—in this sentence, for example—and paste it where a new one is wanted.

Platform-dependent methods[edit]

Mac[edit]

For Mac (or iOS 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), Alt+0151 (em dash), or Alt+8722 (minus sign) using the numeric keypad.

iOS and Android[edit]

For iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android:

• Hold 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. 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.