– En Dash Symbol Text (Meaning, Type on Keyboard, Copy & Paste)
This post will teach you much about the En dash Symbol.
First, we’ll look at its meaning, HTML, CSS, and Alt code, Copy & Paste button, then the steps you may take to type this symbol text on your keyboard, and many more.
Without any further ado, let’s get started.
Copy En Dash Symbol Text
The easiest way to get the En Dash punctuation symbol is to copy and paste it wherever you need it. The copy button above will save you some time in doing so.
After copying this symbol, you can paste it anywhere by pressing Ctrl and V on your keyboard.
Meaning Of The En Dash Symbol
An en dash is a common punctuation symbol that represents a range of numbers or words or is used to clarify complex or compound words. An en dash is a horizontal line like a hyphen (-), but is slightly longer than a hyphen (–) and shorter than an em dash (—). For example, the teacher gave us homework problems on pages 10 –15.
In Unicode, the En Dash punctuation symbol is the character at code point U+02013. Its HTML code is – and you can type it on your keyboard by pressing Alt + 0150.
Continue reading for more details on this symbol.
En Dash Symbol Information Table
The table below depicts a bird’s-eye-view of the En Dash symbol.
It summarizes to include all the essential and technical information about this symbol. We will keep updating it to include the latest facts about this symbol.
| SYMBOL | – |
| NAME | En Dash |
| CATEGORY | Punctuation symbol |
| ALT CODE | 0150 |
| SHORTCUT (Windows) | Alt + 0150 |
| SHORTCUT (MS Word) | Ctrl + Num- |
| UNICODE | U+2013 |
| HTML CODE | – |
| HEX CODE | – |
| HTML ENTITY | – |
| CSS CODE | \2013 |
To the best of our ability, the above table presents some technical information about this line Symbol, including the keyboard shortcut, Unicode, and HTML code.
Continue reading to understand better how to type this symbol using the keyboard and other methods.
How to Type the En Dash Symbol
The En Dash symbol is not present on the keyboard. The first way to type it in MS Word is by using Ctrl + Num- method. Press the Ctrl key and at the same time, press the – key from the numeric keyboard. You will get an En dash (–) where your cursor is. Alternatively, press Alt + 150 to type it outside MS Word.
You can also insert this symbol in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Google Docs if you use one of the Microsoft Office or Google apps.
Below you’ll find several methods for accessing this symbol, including keyboard shortcuts and methods utilizing MS Office and Google Docs’ built-in navigation systems.
How to Type the En Dash Symbol using AutoFormat in Word
- In a Word document, type a word and put a space after it.
- Type one hyphen (-) and give space.
- Then type your next word and give space again.
The hyphen will automatically be converted to an en dash (–)
For example, if you type 1993(space)–(space)1995(space), it becomes
1993 – 1995
The En Dash Alt Code (Keyboard Shortcut)
The En Dash Alt Code is Alt + 0150.
Note: This Alt Code shortcut works in Windows only.
This Alt code method can be used to type this symbol by holding down the Alt key while typing 0150 on the separate numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard.
Make sure your num lock key is disabled before using this method.
Below is a detailed step-by-step guide you may use to type the Symbol for the En Dash with your keyboard.
- Open the document where you need to type this symbol.
- Place your cursor in the document where you need to type this symbol.
- On the keyboard, press and hold the Alt key with one hand.
- As you hold down the Alt key, use your other hand to press the En Dash symbol Alt Code (i.e., 0150).
- Now release the Alt key.
After you release the Alt key, the symbol (–) will immediately appear precisely where you place the cursor.
Insert En Dash Symbol In Word/Excel/PowerPoint
Using this simple mouse navigation, you can quickly insert the En dash Symbol into Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.
The steps below will show you how to insert this symbol in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.
- Open your Word or Excel, or PowerPoint document.
- Go to the Insert tab.
- On the far-right section, you’ll see the Symbols group. Select Symbol > More Symbols.
The Symbol window will appear.
- The symbol (–) can be found in this window. To find it quickly, type 2013 in the Character code: box. The En Dash sign will be selected as soon as you type the code.
- Insert it into your Word document by clicking the Insert button.
- Close the Symbol dialog.
These are the steps for inserting the En Dash symbol (–) and any other symbol in Microsoft Word or other Office apps on Windows and Mac OS.
En Dash Symbol In Google Docs
Google Docs is another text editor with which users may struggle to type or insert the En Dash sign.
Without further ado, let’s get into it.
METHOD 1
To get this Symbol in Google Docs:
- Launch Google Docs and position your cursor where the symbol will be inserted.
- Press and hold the Alt key and type 0150 from the numeric keyboard, then release the Alt key.
- You will get the En Dash symbol where your cursor is.
METHOD 2
- Go to Insert > Special Characters.
The Insert special characters window will appear, which includes a search bar and a drawing pad.
- Using the Search bar, search for En Dash. Then, double-click on the line Symbol in the search results to insert it into Google Docs.
- You can also draw the En Dash Symbol using the drawing pad below the search bar. If Google Docs recognizes the drawing, it will display the symbol and similar signs in the results box. Then double-click the symbol to insert it.
These steps are to insert this and any other symbol into Google Docs.
En Dash Symbol On The Character Map (Windows)
In Windows, the Character Map is a tool that can be used to view characters in any installed font, determine what keyboard input (or Alt code) is used to type those characters, and copy characters to the clipboard instead of typing them with your keyboard.
This section will demonstrate how to use the Character Map tools to easily copy and paste this Symbol.
Without further ado, let’s get into it.
- Search for Character Map in the Windows Start menu.
- You should see the character Map appear in the search results. Click on it to launch it.
- When it’s open, go to the bottom left corner of the window and click to expand the Advance view options.
- To quickly locate this symbol on the Character Map, search for the symbol name (En Dash) in the search box.
The symbol will be displayed for you to copy.
- To copy this symbol, double-click it, and it will be selected in the Characters to Copy box. Then, click the Copy button to copy it to your clipboard.
- Place your cursor where you want the symbol and press Ctrl + V to paste it.
And there you have it.
You can take these steps to copy and paste the En Dash symbol or other symbols on your Windows PC.
Adding En Dash Symbol In HTML/CSS
The En dash Symbol can also be added in HTML and CSS using entities.
HTML and CSS entities are special codes used to represent characters that have special meanings or cannot be displayed as regular text in HTML and CSS.
Entities are used to display characters such as angle brackets, ampersands, and quotation marks, as well as special symbols such as copyright, trademark, and multiplication signs.
Using entity codes is important for ensuring that HTML and CSS code is valid and can be interpreted correctly by web browsers.
The HTML code for the En Dash symbol is –
The CSS code for the En Dash Symbol is \2013
To add the En Dash Symbol to an HTML page, you can use its entity name or number (decimal or hexadecimal reference), as shown in the example below:
// html example
<span> – </span>To display the En Dash from CSS, you can use a CSS shortcode or CSS entity, as shown in the example below:
// css example
span {
content: "\2013";
}Conclusion
Most people have difficulty typing or inserting this symbol. So, we’ve broken down the various methods and steps required to type or get it into your documents.
And as you can see above, we’ve attempted to cover as much information about the En Dash Symbol as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to go through this blog.
