Summary
When it comes to writing and editing, the em dash on a Macintosh (—) punctuation is a helpful stylization that may be used in lieu of a comma, colon, or parenthesis. When using a computer, gaining access to this symbol might be difficult depending on the operating system that is being used.
write an em dash on a Macintosh
The Windows operating system has a number of built-in and program-associated techniques that allow users to type the em dash into a word processor or text box, as well as bring it up, respectively. On the other hand, macOS is well-known for having access to the em dash via a variety of system-integrated techniques. Some of these methods may be familiar to you, while others may not be as clear.
write an em dash on a Macintosh : a keyboard;
Apple has made it incredibly easy to include an em dash into your text by providing a keyboard shortcut for doing so. On your keyboard, press the Shift (⇧) key, followed by the Option (⌥) key, and then press the Minus (-) key. This will cause the em dash to appear automatically in your word processor or text box.
Because this keyboard shortcut is not dependent on any particular software, you may use it in a Windows environment, Google space, or any other text area provided by a third party, in addition to using it in Mac programs.
write an em dash on a Macintosh : Bar of menus
You may also choose to use the em dash accent by using the macOS character viewer, which can be found in the drop-down menu bar at the very top of your desktop screen. This is an alternative choice. Go to Edit > Emoji & Symbols and choose it.
If you are only seeing emojis, you may expand the window to Character View by clicking the little symbol that is located in the upper-right corner of the screen. In the side menu, choose the item that corresponds to punctuation. Once you have chosen a character, you will be able to locate the em dash, which will be described in further detail on the right. In order to enter it into your word processor or text box, you will need to double-click it.
write an em dash on a Macintosh : The search engine
After looking over the several other techniques for typing with an em dash on macOS, this one could seem to be a little bit meaningless. In spite of this, you may search for the keyword “em dash” using the search engine of your choosing, copy the symbol, and then paste it into the text box or word processor associated with your computer.
There is a good chance that the first search result will be a definition of “em dash,” which will contain the appropriate symbol enclosed in single quotes. This is the situation with the Safari web browser from Apple. In a text, an em dash is not often used very frequently; nevertheless, if you find yourself in need of it again, you may just copy and paste it from the punctuation that you copied in the first place.
