How To Make Em Dash In Google Docs

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How To Make Em Dash In Google Docs

The em dash is one of the best substitutes to help you instead of colons and commas. If you are using Microsoft Word you get the functionality directly meaning by default it substitutes two hyphens with an Em dash. Google Docs doesn’t provide this functionality by default but it’s possible with a few approaches. Let’s deep dive into the steps to make a long dash in Google Docs.

Along with that, we will also discuss the below topics

  • How to make em dash in Google Docs on Android/iOS
  • How to make em dash in Google Docs on Mac
  • How to make Em Dash on Chromebook

How To Make Em Dash In Google Docs

Well, let’s discuss a few best approaches to making an em dash in google docs.

Approach-1: Inserting as a Special Character

The simple way is to insert the Em Dash as a special character. Follow the below steps to insert the Em dash into your Googe Docs document.

  1. Open your Google Docs document and Click on the Insert menu –> Choose Special Characters.
how to make an em dash in google docs

2. On the Insert special characters window, search for em dash and you will find the em dash, three em dash, vertical em dash, and small em dash characters as the search result.

how to insert em dash in google docs

3. Click on any of the EM DASH symbols that you want to use in your document.

This is how to insert an Em Dash in Google Docs.

Approach-2: Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Another simple way to insert the em dash character is by using the keyboard shortcuts. Follow the below information.

  • Hold the Alt key and then enter 0151 from your keyboard.

In case if you are using Mac, You can use the Shift-Option-Hyphen to insert the em dash character.

Approach-3: Setting the Preferences (Replacing Multiple Hyphens)

Another approach is to replace two or three consecutive hyphens. So after these settings, once you will enter two or three consecutive hyphens, Google Docs will add an em dash instead.

  1. Open Your Google Docs document and click on Tools –> Choose Preferences.
How To create Em Dash In Google Docs

2. On the Preferences window, click on the Substitutions tab, type double hyphens on the Replace text box and press the Alt key, and enter 0151 to enter the em dash character on the With textbox, or if you are using Mac use Shift + Option + Hyphen or Option + Hyphen to enter the en dash or em dash character.

Note: You can also copy and paste the em dash character on the With text box (Refer the Approach-1 to insert the em dash character on your Google Docs and then once inserted, right-click on the em dash character select copy and then paste it on the With textbox).

Finally, click on the OK button to save the substitutions.

how to do em dash in google docs

Now when you will press the hyphen key twice, you can see the em dash character.

These are the best approaches to type Em Dash in Google Docs.

Now, you might be thinking about how to replace the em dash for the double hyphens in my existing documents where I have inserted a few consecutive hyphens earlier. It is obvious that the above trick will not work for you.

So follow the below information to replace the consecutive hyphens with an em dash.

  1. Open your existing Google Docs document.

2. Click on the Edit menu –> Select Find and Replace.

How To find and replace Em Dash In Google Docs

3. On the Find and Replace window, Enter a double hyphen on the Find text box and press the Alt key, and enter 0151 to enter the em dash character on the With textbox, or if you are using Mac use Shift-Option-Hyphen to enter the em dash character on the Replace with textbox.

Finally, click on the Replace All button.

how to insert an em dash in google docs

How To Make Em Dash In Google Docs on Android/iOS

You can easily insert or create an em dash in Google Docs on Android or iOS using the below steps.

  1. Open the Docs App on your Android device tap on any existing Google Docs and then tap on the Pencil icon to edit or you can tap on the + icon to create an empty Google Docs document.

2. You can Long-hold the hyphen for accessing the em dash with Gboard on Android. Basically, once you will long-press the hyphen, you will get a hyphen, en dash, em dash, and a bullet.

how to do an em dash in google docs

How to make em dash in Google Docs on Mac

Well, if you are using macOS and wish to make a long dash on Mac, then you just need to follow the below instruction.

  • Type 2 consecutive hyphens and then space, you will get the em dash as an output.
  • You can also press the Shift + Option + Hyphen keys or Option + Hyphen keys to insert an En dash or Em dash or hyphen on Mac.

How to make Em Dash on Chromebook

If you want to do an em-dash on Chromebook in Google Docs, then you just need to press ctrl+shift+u and then type the number 2014 and press space or even you can press enter key also.

Note: You do not need to hold the ctrl+shift+u keys while typing the number 2014.

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And that’s it! You can make Em Dash In Google Docs easily! Just follow the above-mentioned steps!

As part of this article, we have covered the below topics

  • How To Make Em Dash In Google Docs on Android/iOS
  • How to make em dash in Google Docs on Mac
  • How to make Em Dash on Chromebook

Hope you have enjoyed this article !!! and you will love to use em dash or long hyphen from now on.