This tutorial shows how to insert nonbreaking spaces in Microsoft Word using the Symbol dialog box method and the keyboard shortcut method. Before we start the tutorial, we’ll briefly define nonbreaking spaces and see what they look like compared to regular spaces.
This tutorial is also available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.
Place your cursor where the nonbreaking space should be inserted. Alternately, if a regular space already appears where the nonbreaking space should be inserted, select the regular space (see figure 1). Select Ctrl + Shift + Space on your keyboard to insert the nonbreaking space. Adding white space around your images can make it easier for the PDF Maker to properly tag your documents for accessibility when it does the conversion from Microsoft Word to the PDF document format.One way to add white space is by placing your cursor immediately after each image and adding a few carriage returns. Get my FREE 2-hour Introduction to MS Word 2016 course here Get the complete 6-hour Microsoft Word 2. Place the cursor roughly where you want the drawing canvas to be. Go to the Insert tab. Click the Shapes button and choose New Drawing Canvas. You can find the New Drawing Canvas command at the bottom of the Shapes drop-down list. New Channel: Mac Office: How to Use Microsoft Word - The Basics, Tricks and Tips 2017 - How to Use Apple Ma.
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The images below are from Word for Office 365, which is currently the same as Word 2019. However, the steps are the same for Word 2016 and are similar for Word 2013 and Word 2010.
What Are Nonbreaking Spaces?
Nonbreaking spaces are special characters that keep words or individual characters from separating at line breaks. Nonbreaking spaces are particularly useful between ellipsis points. However, you can use them between any words or characters that you want to stay together.
In Microsoft Word, regular spaces are represented by a small, solid dot and nonbreaking spaces are represented by a slightly larger circle positioned higher than the regular-space dot.
To see these and other formatting symbols in your Word document, select the Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group of the Home tab. To hide the formatting symbols, reselect the Show/Hide button.
Insert Nonbreaking Spaces in Microsoft Word Using the Symbol Dialog Box
1. Place your cursor where the nonbreaking space should be inserted. Alternately, if a regular space already appears where the nonbreaking space should be inserted, select the regular space, as shown in the image below.
2. Select the Insert tab.
3. Select Symbols in the Symbols group.
4. Select More Symbols in the drop-down menu.
5. Select the Special Characters tab in the Symbol dialog box.
6. Select Nonbreaking Space from the Character menu.
7. Select the Insert button to insert the nonbreaking space.
Pro Tip: You can move your cursor around the document and insert additional nonbreaking spaces or other special characters while the Symbol dialog box is open.
8. Select the Close button to close the Symbol dialog box.
Insert Nonbreaking Spaces in Microsoft Word Using the Keyboard Shortcut
1. Place your cursor where the nonbreaking space should be inserted. Alternately, if a regular space already appears where the nonbreaking space should be inserted, select the regular space (see figure 1).
2. Select Ctrl + Shift + Space on your keyboard to insert the nonbreaking space.
Further Reading:
Using the AutoFormat feature in Microsoft Word, you can create both an Em dash (—) and En dash (–) automatically by typing hyphens. Alternatively, you can insert these special characters using the Insert Symbol menu. You can also copy and paste the dashes from another document, such as a web page, into your Word document.
TipIf AutoFormat is not enabled in your copy of Microsoft Word, see: How to enable and disable Microsoft Word AutoFormat feature.
Insert an Em dash using AutoFormat
If you do the following, AutoFormat will insert an Em dash (—) as you type.
In a Word document:
- Type a word, with no space after it.
- Type two hyphens, with no space between or after them.
- Type another word.
- Type a space.
For example, typing:
Something--Something(space)
Will automatically format the line as:
Something—Something
When you press the spacebar after typing the example text above.
How To Insert A Thin Space In Microsoft Word 2016 For Macbook Air
Insert an En dash using AutoFormat
If you do the following, AutoFormat will insert an En dash (–) as you type.
In a Word document:
- Type a word, with a space after it.
- Type a single hyphen, with a space after it.
- Type another word.
- Type a space.
How To Insert A Thin Space In Microsoft Word 2016 For Mac free. download full Version
For example, typing:
1993(space)-(space)1995(space)
Automatically format the line to:
1993 – 1995
When you press the spacebar after typing the example text above.
Insert an Em or En dash using shortcut keys
To create an Em dash, use the shortcut key combination Ctrl+Alt+minus.
To create an En dash, use the shortcut key combination Ctrl+minus.
NoteNum Lock must be enabled and you need to use the minus key on the numeric keypad.
Insert an Em or En dash using the Symbol menu
You can also insert a special dash using the Insert Symbol menu:
- In a Microsoft Word document, choose Insert in the Menu bar.
- Choose Symbol.
- Choose More Symbols.
- Click the characters you'd like to insert. The Em dash should be on the second row. To insert multiple characters, click them one at a time.
- When you're finished, click Close to close the special characters window.
If the En dash is not offered in your Symbol menu, you can still use another method to insert it.
Insert an Em or En dash using copy and paste
If all else fails, copy and paste the dash from another document, such as this page.
- Highlight the dash you want to insert:
Em dash: —
En dash: –
- Copy it. (Press Ctrl-C, or ⌘-C on a Mac)
- In your Word document, place the text cursor where you'd like the dash to go, and paste it. (Press Ctrl-V, or ⌘-V on a Mac)
Remove an Em or En dash
If your Word document has an Em dash or En dash and you want to remove it, do one of the following.
- Highlight the Em dash or En dash using your mouse, then press the Delete key.
- Place the text cursor after the Em dash or En dash, then press the Backspace key.
If you want to replace the Em dash or En dash with a normal hyphen, type the hyphen after removing the Em or En dash.
Additional information
- See our Em dash and En dash definitions for further information and related links.