How to add a non-breaking dash?

[Gregosab]

I need to insert a dash which is always linked with the word in front of it and I need to do it 1000+ times. Any ideas?

Edited June 19, 2024 by Gregosab

[Alfred]

Welcome to the Serif Affinity Forums, @Gregosab.

You can insert a non-breaking hyphen via the ‘Text > Insert’ submenu. As far as I’m aware, there’s no such thing as a non-breaking dash.

[MikeW]

2 hours ago, Alfred said:

Welcome to the Serif Affinity Forums, @Gregosab.

You can insert a non-breaking hyphen via the ‘Text > Insert’ submenu. As far as I’m aware, there’s no such thing as a non-breaking dash.

The programmers can make non-breaking dashes, etc., for APub. Quark has always had these. Well, almost forever...

[Komatös]

@MikeW

The names may be different in Publisher and InDesign Quark. But both designate the protected hyphen.
In Publisher, it is the non-breaking hyphen. In Quark it is just called hyphen.

[Alfred]

2 minutes ago, Komatös said:

The names may be different in Publisher and InDesign. But both designate the protected hyphen.

A hyphen (or hyphen-minus) is typically shorter than a dash.

[walt.farrell]

8 hours ago, MikeW said:

The programmers can make non-breaking dashes

You don't show us anything called a non-breaking dash, though. 

[Gregosab]

I think I found the solution. I just inserted a dash, created a new character style and checked the non-break box. After that, I went to find, pasted the regular dash and used the gear icon to applied the new style to all dashes, and that was it. Now all my 1000+ dashes are non breaking dashes. 

[MikeW]

2 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

You don't show us anything called a non-breaking dash, though. 

The em, en dashes are at the bottom of the flyout. Along with the hyphen. 

If you look at the flyout label everything listed there are non-breaking.

[walt.farrell]

31 minutes ago, MikeW said:

If you look at the flyout label everything listed there are non-breaking.

Thanks. Missed that label.

[nickbatz]

— m dash (Shift-Option-hyphen)

– n dash (Option-hyphen)

– dash/hypen (hypen alone)

Those are Mac keys, probably the same on Windows.

 

[Alfred]

2 hours ago, nickbatz said:

— m dash (Shift-Option-hyphen)

– n dash (Option-hyphen)

These are ordinary em and en dashes, aren’t they, rather than non-breaking ones?

2 hours ago, nickbatz said:

– dash/hypen (hypen alone)

A dash isn’t the same as a hyphen.

2 hours ago, nickbatz said:

Those are Mac keys, probably the same on Windows.

Option on Mac is Alt on Windows, but I believe that the Option (⌥) key is labelled ‘alt’ on some Mac keyboards.

[nickbatz]

1 minute ago, Alfred said:

These are ordinary em and en dashes, aren’t they, rather than non-breaking ones?

A dash isn’t the same as a hyphen.

Option on Mac is Alt on Windows, but I believe that the Option (⌥) key is labelled ‘alt’ on some Mac keyboards.

I'm not saying they're non-breaking, I'm saying these are the differences between the three characters on a computer.

A dash isn't a hyphen isn't a minus sign isn't all the same thing? In my full life on my keyboard they are.

And yes, Option is Alt on Windows.

Did I make any other egregious errors with some there there and no nothingburgers in sight?

 

[Alfred]

11 minutes ago, nickbatz said:

I'm not saying they're non-breaking, I'm saying these are the differences between the three characters on a computer.

Thanks. I mentioned the ‘non-breaking’ distinction because that’s what I understood this thread to be about.

13 minutes ago, nickbatz said:

A dash isn't a hyphen isn't a minus sign isn't all the same thing? In my full life on my keyboard they are.

A dash is usually thinner than a hyphen-minus, and an em is longer than a hyphen or an en dash.

14 minutes ago, nickbatz said:

Did I make any other egregious errors with some there there and no nothingburgers in sight?

I wouldn’t class anything you’ve written here as ‘egregious errors’!

[thomaso]

10 hours ago, Gregosab said:

I think I found the solution. I just inserted a dash, created a new character style and checked the non-break box. After that, I went to find, pasted the regular dash and used the gear icon to applied the new style to all dashes, and that was it. Now all my 1000+ dashes are non breaking dashes. 

A solution without a separate character style: A discretionary "soft hyphen" placed before the word appears to prevent its hyphenation.
With an according formula you can add it via F&R Regex before all words which include a dash.

[lacerto]

Obsolete.