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CardName: Em Dash Cost: Type: Suggestion Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: Any way we can add a shorthand for em dashes? En dashes are possible - like this - but there's no way to make em dashes. Flavour Text: Set/Rarity: Multiverse Feedback None

Em Dash
 
Suggestion
Any way we can add a shorthand for em dashes? En dashes are possible – like this – but there's no way to make em dashes.
Updated on 21 Jan 2015 by Alex

History: [-]

2014-06-22 08:39:19: jmgariepy created the card Em Dash
2014-06-22 08:39:27: jmgariepy edited Em Dash

First of all, this is incredibly picky, so I apologize in advance. I'm pretty sure that I'm the only person here, or that will ever come here, that cares about the difference between an 'en dash' and an 'em dash'. In fact, I was going to just delete this entry, but I already made it, and can't remove it, so I might as well keep going.

For reference, in case you don't know what I'm talking about, en dashes are hyphens (close enough) on the keyboard. While em dashes are slightly long, and are used in Magic, both for attributing quotations, and for modal charms that include the words "Choose one". Putting them right next to each other, they look like this: '-' '—'

Told you I was being too picky for my own good, eh?

Anyhow, there's no em dash on the keyboard, and I always end up having to google the damn thing, and cut and paste it when I want to use it (which means I generally don't bother on Multiverse.) A lot of editing programs, however, automatically switch two hyphens next to each other "--" into an em dash "—". I don't suppose that would be a quick fix? Please don't waste too much time on a vanity punctuation mark, though.

2014-06-22 11:12:42: Circeus edited Em Dash:

checking that I'm not crazy

2014-06-22 11:12:55: Circeus edited Em Dash

I believe that my code translates hyphens that aren't in the middle of words - i.e. hyphens with spaces around them - into en dashes. (An en dash is rather larger than a hyphen, and I personally dislike using hyphens where an en dash is what I mean.) (As this comment demonstrates, that doesn't apply to comments, just cards.) But you're right, there's no way to create an em dash. Seems a reasonable request.

(EDIT: As Jack points out, I was completely wrong here: you can make an em dash with -- .)

2014-06-22 18:42:10: Alex edited Em Dash:

hyphen vs en dash: l-l l–l

FWIW, I care about m-dashes! :) And I also care about n-dashes, but I've got very mixed information about n-dashes vs hyphens.

I just checked and it seems multiverse does turn "--" into an m-dash. I can't remember if that's something Alex added ages ago (I remember asking for it, because I always type "--" when I mean an m-dash, and it was disconcerting that turned into something else), or if he's just added it now :) Either way, thank you!

So it seems like, for "choose one" and attributing quotes in flavour text, you always want to use m-dashes, represented on multiverse by "--".

And if you want to use grammatical dashes -- used to set off a parenthetical aside, probably in flavour text -- you can either use single "-", which will be turned into n-dashes, or double "-" with or without spaces which will be turned into m-dashes. (And "normal" usage depends on your styleguide and which side of the atlantic you're on, but it's up to the author).

And if you want to use an n-dash within a word (eg. "off–balance-sheet activity"), you have to copy and paste, but that's probably fine :)

Is that about right?

Ahh. Not quite. What Multiverse currently does is transform " - " into an en dash, and " -- " into an em dash. But you need the spaces before and after (and the resulting dash has spaces before and after as well).

So that'll do you for "Choose one -- " like on Boros Charm, but for authors like on Scathe Zombies you'll need to accept having an extra space after the dash.

Ah! I forgot to try that. But yeah, that seems fine. I think I've been using that for attribution without noticing whether there was a problem.

When I post from my phone, em dashes are quite easy. When posting from my computer, I just use ALT code (ALT+ 0151).

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