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That has nothing to do with being on a Mac. Em-dashes and the compose-key work fine on Linux, and Android has them under the '-' of the on-screen keyboard when

That has nothing to do with being on a Mac. Em-dashes and the compose-key work fine on Linux, and Android has them under the '-' of the on-screen keyboard when long-pressed. (Windows probably has some way, but those are rarely discoverable.)

BalinKing 2y ago
That's true, I do use them a lot on iOS as well—similarly, it's a long-press on '-' to get an en or em dash.
tkzed49 2y ago
I disagree, there is absolutely no easy way to do it on Windows. You can install a third party program that emulates the compose key but on macos it "just works". And I think that makes a difference for 95% of users
- underwater 2y ago
  Install PowerToys, hold dash and then press space. This works for all the variants for any keyboard character.
- pests 2y ago
  Hit Windows+. click on the "Symbols" tab and they're right there under general punctuation. Released back in 2019 for Windows 10.
- dboreham 2y ago
  I've always (well...for 20 years) done a Google search for "em-dash" then copy/paste the character off whatever result page come up. Word and other fancy editors always provided a popup pane where these characters could be clicked to insert.
- marcellus23 2y ago
  It's a bit funny. On macOS en and em dashes can be natively typed with alt+- and alt+shift+-. The responses to your comment are apparently suggesting these methods are just as easy as that: 1. Install and configure this extra tool, which also by default enables a ton of other things you may not want, and may as well be a third-party tool even though it's technically built by Microsoft 2. Do a Google search and copy-paste (!) 3. Use a keyboard shortcut to bring up a symbol picker, then click on the tab containing the en and em dashes, then click to type them in I mean, come on.
  - tkzed49 2y ago
    yeah, this is exactly my point haha. these are not at all the same
_flux 2y ago
EURKEY layout in particular has them easily accessible.

BalinKing 2y ago

That's true, I do use them a lot on iOS as well—similarly, it's a long-press on '-' to get an en or em dash.

tkzed49 2y ago

I disagree, there is absolutely no easy way to do it on Windows. You can install a third party program that emulates the compose key but on macos it "just works". And I think that makes a difference for 95% of users

underwater 2y ago
Install PowerToys, hold dash and then press space. This works for all the variants for any keyboard character.
pests 2y ago
Hit Windows+. click on the "Symbols" tab and they're right there under general punctuation. Released back in 2019 for Windows 10.
dboreham 2y ago
I've always (well...for 20 years) done a Google search for "em-dash" then copy/paste the character off whatever result page come up. Word and other fancy editors always provided a popup pane where these characters could be clicked to insert.
marcellus23 2y ago
It's a bit funny. On macOS en and em dashes can be natively typed with alt+- and alt+shift+-. The responses to your comment are apparently suggesting these methods are just as easy as that: 1. Install and configure this extra tool, which also by default enables a ton of other things you may not want, and may as well be a third-party tool even though it's technically built by Microsoft 2. Do a Google search and copy-paste (!) 3. Use a keyboard shortcut to bring up a symbol picker, then click on the tab containing the en and em dashes, then click to type them in I mean, come on.
- tkzed49 2y ago
  yeah, this is exactly my point haha. these are not at all the same

_flux 2y ago

EURKEY layout in particular has them easily accessible.