Microsoft KB Archive/63549

Word: Incorrect Spacing with Em Dash

PSS ID Number: Q63549 Article last modified on 11-02-1994

5.00 5.50 6.00

MS-DOS

= SUMMARY =

Word versions 5.00 and 5.50 may print with incorrect spacing if a document contains a long dash (called an em dash).

In some Word printer drivers, the width value for character 196 (the printing em dash) is set to the width of the nonbreaking hyphen (created by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+HYPHEN). These characters have different widths in proportional fonts, causing incorrect alignment or justification.

= MORE INFORMATION =

The em dash character is printed as extended ASCII character 196 (the line draw/em dash character). Both the em dash and the nonbreaking hyphen use the width value from character 196 in the Printer Description file (PRD).

Some PRD files have the width value of the nonbreaking hyphen at width value 196. In this case, the Character Width Table may need changing to correctly print the em dash. The width value for character 196 should be changed to the width of the em dash.

The width of the em dash varies for each font and printer. On many printers, the em dash is usually the same width as the line draw characters for that font. Setting the width of character 196 to the width of another line draw character may improve the printing of the em dash (for example, set the character width 196 to the width of character 193.)

See the “Printer Information for Microsoft Word” manual, page 226 for version 5.00 or page 323 for version 5.50, for more information on modifying the Character Width Table.

Note: Changing the value 196 in the PRD file to correctly print the em dash also changes the value for the nonbreaking hyphen. The nonbreaking hyphen and the em dash cannot both have the correct value in a proportionally spaced font.

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