![]() ![]() When the width of an em dash seems out of proportion to the typeface in use (for example, it may be too wide for use in a condensed typeface), or either dash appears too close to its neighboring characters, there is room for artistic, or “typographic” license to improve their appearance. The design, length and spacing of hyphens, en and em dashes can vary tremendously from typeface to typeface. Because of this, the width and fit of dashes can vary dramatically. Others have no relationship to the overall width of the typeface at all, with some being a set 500 and 1,000 units to the em square (a measurement relative to the point size of the type), respectively. ![]() Some en dashes are close to the width of the n and em dashes the width of the m, keeping them in proportion to the rest of the typeface. The length of dashes is not standard, and can vary from typeface to typeface, as does the designated space surrounding them (technically called sidebearings). Excerpt from Sinopah the Indian Boy , by James Willard Schultz. The use of two hyphens instead of a dash is a major type crime, and should never be used in fine typography (lower). ![]() But if the em dash seems too wide for a particular typeface, and/or the spacing is too tight, it can be replaced with an en dash, and the spacing opened up for either dash as desired (upper right). The standard em dash is grammatically correct for a break in thought, or a thought within a thought (upper left). Unfortunately, this is still a widespread occurrence that you can see everywhere from print to the web to movie titles and kinetic type. This typographically incorrect practice is a holdover from typewriter days when two hyphens were used as a replacement for the dash, which didn’t exist on the keyboard. One of the most common type crimes associated with this symbol is the use of two hyphens instead of an em dash. It is accessed by pressing Option+Shift+hyphen on a Mac and Alt+0151 in Windows (Alt+Shift+hyphen in InDesign). The en dash, which is wider than a hyphen and narrower than an em dash, is used to indicate a range, as well as a continuation of time.Īn em dash (-) is the longest of the three, and is most commonly used to indicate a break in thought, or a thought within a thought or a sentence. It is accessed by pressing Option+hyphen on a Mac and Alt+0150 in Windows (Alt+hyphen in InDesign). In fact, an en dash is correct in any instance where a preposition such as the words “to” and “from” can be substituted. This dash is used to indicate a range, that is, elements that are related by distance, including time, years, and dates such as 3 pm–6 pm, Monday–Friday, March 2–7, or pages 20–55. Hyphens are used to connect many compound words, as well as for phone numbers.Īn en dash (–) is wider than a hyphen and narrower than an em dash, and is the most misunderstood of the three. The hyphen is easily found to the right of the zero on most keyboards. The differences between all three symbols is clear in this setting of Clarendon.Ī hyphen (-) is the shortest in width of the three, and is used to hyphenate words that break at the end of a line, as well as to connect compound words, such as mother-in-law, well-being, and merry-go-round. While some of this confusion is a result of typewriter conventions still being used in today’s digital world, it is ultimately up to the person doing the typesetting-whether it be a production artist, web programmer, or graphic designer-to get it right. Their definition and purpose are frequently misunderstood by designers and writers alike, often leading to inaccurate and unprofessional typography. Hyphens, en and em dashes are three visually similar yet significantly different punctuation marks that commonly appear in text. ![]()
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