1. An unspaced en dash can be used in place of the word “through” when indicating a range of values, such as numbers, times and dates. For example, July 5th–9th. For example, July 5th–9th. It’s also used to show relationships between two things, such as a Boston–London flight.
2. I don't know shortcut for actual minus sign in macOS. However, you can insert one using-Go to System Preferences - Keyboard and (make sure you are on tab 'keyboard') check mark option of 'Show Keyboard, Emoji, and Symbol viewers in menu bar' this will put an icon on your mac menu bar right side. Click on that icon, will open a menu.
3. To use a keyboard shortcut that is the same as a default Mac OS X keyboard shortcut, you must first turn off that Mac OS X keyboard shortcut. On the Apple menu, select System Preferences. Under Hardware, select Keyboard, and then select the Keyboard Shortcuts tab.

The series Microsoft Word and MLA Style shows writers how to use Word to make their essays conform to MLA style guidelines. This post explains how to use dashes in MLA style and Microsoft Word.

Dashes come in two varieties: em dashes and en dashes. Whereas hyphens primarily divide compound words (“a long-standing concern”), dashes divide other kinds of compound structures or indicate breaks in a sentence. They also appear in works-cited lists in MLA publications. But dashes do not appear on standard keyboards. They are special characters. For that reason, it is a good idea to use keyboard shortcuts to insert them in your text. In what follows I provide examples of how the MLA uses dashes and how to access them in Microsoft Word.

Dashes in Your Prose

When you use dashes in your prose, they’re typically em dashes. They’re called that because they’re the width of the letter m. Em dashes—like the ones used in this sentence—separate one portion of the sentence from another. They work like parentheses. MLA style uses en dashes—so called because they are the length of the letter n—in prose after single compound adjectives that are also proper nouns. For example, the phrase “the Academy Award–winning actress” needs an en dash, not a hyphen. Our related post on hyphens and en dashes explains how we use them.

Dashes in the Works-Cited List

In student writing, there is no need to use em and en dashes in the works-cited list. But MLA publications use dashes to enhance readability. Our publications require em dashes in the works-cited list when there are two or more works by a single author. The following provides an example:

Mac operating systems all have the same shortcut for the em dash, which makes the process quick and simple. Press Option + Shift + Minus (that's -, the key right next to 0 at the top of your.

Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake. Oxford UP, 2012.

———. Ulysses. Random House, 1961.

Three em dashes appear in place of the author before the second work and all subsequent works.

MLA publications use en dashes in the works-cited list to separate numbers in numerical ranges. The following provides an example, in the page range at the end of the entry:

Barchas, Janine. “Sarah Fielding’s Dashing Style and Eighteenth-Century Print Culture.” ELH, vol. 63, no. 3, 1996, pp. 633–56.

Using Shortcuts in Microsoft Word

The instructions below will work for most versions of Word on either a PC or a Mac. If they don’t work for you, consult Microsoft’s website.

Word has built-in shortcuts for dashes. On a PC, it’s easiest to press Ctrl+- (that’s Ctrl plus the minus sign) for an en dash and Alt+Ctrl+- (that’s Alt plus Ctrl plus the minus sign) for an em dash. Or you could use Alt codes: hold down the Alt key and press 0150 for an en dash and 0151 for an em dash. Note that you cannot use the number keys or minus sign at the top of the keyboard to insert dashes using the built-in shortcuts or Alt codes on a PC; you must use the numerical keypad with Num Lock turned on, which you can’t do on a laptop. If you’re using a laptop, you’ll probably want to create your own shortcuts, which I explain how to do below. On a Mac, the built-in shortcut for en dashes is Option+- (that’s the Option key plus the hyphen key), and the shortcut for em dashes is Option+Shift+- (Option, Shift, then the hyphen key).

En Dash Shortcut Mac

Users may want to create their own shortcuts for dashes. If you are using Word on a PC, click the following tabs in order: File > Options > Customize Ribbon. At the bottom of the Customize Ribbon box, you should see Keyboard Shortcuts. Click the box marked “Customize.” In the text window labeled “Categories,” scroll all the way to the bottom. Select Common Symbols. In the text window on the right, you will see Em Dash and En Dash. If you select one, you can see if a key combination has already been assigned to it in the window labeled “Current keys.” If one has not, or if you want to change the current keys, enter a combination of keys in the box under “Press new shortcut key.” I have set up my version of Word so that Ctrl+1 creates an em dash and Ctrl+2 creates an en dash.

If you are using Word on a Mac, click Insert > Symbols > Advanced Symbol > Special Characters. You will see a list of special characters, including the dashes, and an option to assign keyboard shortcuts.

On most versions of Word, AutoCorrect creates dashes automatically in some cases. If I type a word, two hyphens, and another word and then press space, Word converts the hyphens to an em dash. If I type a word, press space, enter a hyphen, press space, enter another word, and press space one more time, Word converts the hyphen to an en dash. Our related post on AutoCorrect explains how to adjust its settings.

How to quickly add legal symbols in Word

As a lawyer, you probably frequently use legal symbols when drafting legal documents. But stopping to search and insert a legal symbol with your mouse can be disruptive when you’re right in the middle of drafting a document. Did you know you can stay in the flow with the help of keyboard shortcuts (hotkeys)?

We’ve put together a quick guide that you can refer to for all the standard legal key shortcuts.

If you're not a fan of memorizing lots of Windows or Mac shortcuts, you can also set up your own or hack Word's Autocorrect feature, to help you input symbols in just a few steps. Make sure to read on below or watch the 'how-to' video.

The standard legal symbol shortcuts

How to customize your own shortcuts

You can easily customize your own shortcuts in Word. Select the legal symbols that you use most frequently and follow these steps to set up your own shortcuts or watch our video to see how it's done.

1. Find 'Insert Ω Symbol' in the Insert tab
2. Click on 'Ω More Symbols'
3. Locate the legal symbol you want to create the shortcut for
4. Press the 'Shortcut' key
5. Type your shortcut in the ‘Press New Shortcut Key’ box
6. Click 'Assign'
7. Click 'Close'

Use autocorrect to add the legal symbol for you

Instead of assigning shortcut keys for each legal symbol, you can also hack autocorrect to insert your legal symbols for you by assigning a quick phrase to each symbol. In our video example, we will assign the word 'sects' to autocorrect to the section symbol.

Follow these steps to create your own autocorrect shortcuts:

1. Find 'Insert Ω Symbol' in the Insert tab
2. Click on 'Ω More Symbols'
3. Locate the legal symbol you want to create the shortcut for
4. Press the 'AutoCorrect' key
5. In the replace box enter in the letters to assign to your legal symbol
6. Click 'Add'
7. Click 'OK'

Now type your legal symbol letters, hit the spacebar and AutoCorrect will add the symbol into your Word document.

If you’ve tried all of these tips but you’re still not convinced then we can also recommend the LegalBoard, a keyboard specifically designed for lawyers.

Shortcut For En Dash Word Mac Os