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Solution to em-dash problem

  • 24-02-2012 08:23PM
    #1
    EileenG
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,775 ✭✭✭


    Anyone who uses Word has probably had problems with em-dash followed by a quote mark, because the quote mark turns the wrong way round, and it takes a lot of messing to get it the right way.

    However, I've discovered if you put your em-dash, followed immediately by a full stop, and then your quote, it goes the right way. Then you can just delete the full stop, and it's perfect.


Comments

  • #2
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 36,284 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    EileenG wrote: »
    Anyone who uses Word has probably had problems with em-dash followed by a quote mark, because the quote mark turns the wrong way round, and it takes a lot of messing to get it the right way.

    However, I've discovered if you put your em-dash, followed immediately by a full stop, and then your quote, it goes the right way. Then you can just delete the full stop, and it's perfect.
    Can you make an auto correct rule that does the last part for you?


  • #3
    EileenG
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,775 ✭✭✭EileenG


    pickarooney wrote: »
    Can you make an auto correct rule that does the last part for you?

    I don't think so. Everyone I know seems to fight with that bloody em-dash quote thing all the time. I usually have to copy a quote mark that faces the right way and manually paste it in, which is a major pain.

    But I imagine you could to do the em-dash full stop thing, and then do a find and replace at the end to get rid of the full stops.


  • #4
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 36,284 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    I usually turn off smart-quotes anyway so as not to be dealing with the mess they create.


  • #5
    Antilles
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,183 ✭✭✭Antilles


    pickarooney wrote: »
    I usually turn off smart-quotes anyway so as not to be dealing with the mess they create.

    I usually just type it without the dash, close the quotes and then go back and add the dash afterwards.


  • #6
    EileenG
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,775 ✭✭✭EileenG


    Antilles wrote: »
    I usually just type it without the dash, close the quotes and then go back and add the dash afterwards.

    Oh, that's an idea.


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  • #7
    Antilles
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,183 ✭✭✭Antilles


    EileenG wrote: »
    Oh, that's an idea.

    I'd never even realised em-dash was a thing, tbh. I've used it but just thought of it as two hyphens strung together :)


  • #8
    EileenG
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,775 ✭✭✭EileenG


    Antilles wrote: »
    I'd never even realised em-dash was a thing, tbh. I've used it but just thought of it as two hyphens strung together :)

    A lot of people just use two hyphens and it looks fine. But it often goes weird when it goes to the printer, and can come out as a question mark or other sympbol. If you use a proper em-ash (ctrl, fn, alt+-), it stays as an em-dash no matter what you do.


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