How to enter en dash (CafeTran support)

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How to enter en dash

Thread poster: Erik Freitag

Erik Freitag

Germany
Local time: 17:59
Member (2006)
Dutch to German
+ ...

Feb 20, 2015

Dear all,

I'm struggling to find a way to enter an en dash in CT (Win7): CTRL+NumBlock- doesn't work (although it does in Studio and MS Word). Copy + paste from a Word document doesn't work either. Strangely, I vaguely remember having used an en dash before in CT...

Many thanks in advance,
kind regards,
Erik

Selcuk Akyuz

Türkiye
Local time: 18:59
English to Turkish
+ ...

Alt+0150

Feb 20, 2015

I don't know why but it seems en and em dash can not be typed with Ctrl+Num- and Alt+Ctrl+Num-

Until somebody explains how to do it (or Igor fixes it if it is a bug) you can use

Alt+0150 for en dash
Alt+0151 for em dash

Selcuk

Michael Beijer

United Kingdom
Local time: 16:59
Member
Dutch to English
+ ...

Use CT's "text shortcuts" feature (or Autohotkey)

Feb 20, 2015

Erik Freitag wrote:

Dear all,

I'm struggling to find a way to enter an en dash in CT (Win7): CTRL+NumBlock- doesn't work (although it does in Studio and MS Word). Copy + paste from a Word document doesn't work either. Strangely, I vaguely remember having used an en dash before in CT...

Many thanks in advance,
kind regards,
Erik

Hi Erik,

I use AutoHotkey for that.

"^+-::Send, {U+2014} ; Em dash symbol ( — )
^+6::Send, {U+2013} ; En dash symbol ( – )
^+o::Send, {U+2022} ; Bullet point ( • )
^+9::Send, {U+2018} ; Single, curly, opening quotation mark ( ‘ )
^+0::Send, {U+2019} ; RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK ( ’ )
^+[::Send, {U+201C} ; Double, curly, opening quotation mark ( “ )
^+]::Send, {U+201D} ; Double, curly, closing quotation mark ( “ )
^+x::Send, {U+00D7} ; Multiplication symbol ( × )
^+e::Send, [{U+2026}] ; ellipsis …"

However, you can also use CT's text shortcuts feature for that kind of thing:

Insert an en dash (–) in a target segment in CT, select it, then do:

Tools > Acronyms (text shortcuts) > Add selection to acronyms
Type a trigger, e.g. "endd". Click OK.
Test it by typing your trigger in the target box.
E.g., typing "endd" should automatically change into an en dash.

This will last for as long as your project is open. If you want it to be saved permanently, do the following:

Tools > Acronyms (text shortcuts) > List acronyms
Then click "Save" in the dialogue box that pops up.

The next time you type "endd" in a future project, an en dash will be typed instead.

Michael

PS: The menu item used to be called simply "text shortcuts", but Igor has now added the word "acronyms" to this (making it "Acronyms (text shortcuts)"), which I find confusing and think should be changed back.

PPS: See also (note that terminology is different!):

"Text shortcut
Tired of typing ‘hot air balloon’? The next time you type the word in CafeTran, select the term and click Edit > Add selection to text shortcuts (Ctrl + Shift + A on Windows). The text shortcut dialogue will appear where you can define a text shortcut for the term (e.g., in this case, CafeTran will suggest ‘hab’). From now on, all you need to do is type this shortcut, and CafeTran will automatically insert the corresponding complete term. Note that text shortcuts you add while translating are added for the current session only, unless you do: Edit > List text shortcuts and click on ‘Save’. This will save them to a text file on your computer (@ …\CafeTran\cafetran\resources\shortcuts\) called ‘shortcuts.txt’." (http://cafetranhelp.com/definitions )

[Edited at 2015-02-20 12:26 GMT]

Selcuk Akyuz

Türkiye
Local time: 18:59
English to Turkish
+ ...

no need for such solutions

Feb 20, 2015

If this is a bug, we will ask Igor to fix it. If it is not possible to fix, then try to remember
Alt+0150 for en dash
Alt+0151 for em dash

I use some AHK scripts for some programs but not always, and the text shortcuts feature is for advanced users I think.

My two cents
Selcuk

Michael Beijer

United Kingdom
Local time: 16:59
Member
Dutch to English
+ ...

Do you actually type: Alt + 0 + 1 + 5 + 0 EVERY time you want to type an en dash?

Feb 20, 2015

Selcuk Akyuz wrote:

If this is a bug, we will ask Igor to fix it. If it is not possible to fix, then try to remember
Alt+0150 for en dash
Alt+0151 for em dash

I use some AHK scripts for some programs but not always, and the text shortcuts feature is for advanced users I think.

My two cents
Selcuk

There is no way in hell I am going to remember "Alt+0150" and "Alt+0151" every time I want to type an en or em dash

Much easier to assign your own shortcut. Also, the Text shortcuts feature isn't just for advanced users: it's extremely simple to use.

By the way, AHK works (flawlessly) in every single program on my computer. Takes 5 minutes to set up, but I couldn't live without it anymore.

[Edited at 2015-02-20 13:04 GMT]

Selcuk Akyuz

Türkiye
Local time: 18:59
English to Turkish
+ ...

any other symbols?

Feb 20, 2015

I wonder if there are any other symbols that can not be inserted with the standard Windows/Mac shortcuts.

And which symbols are widely used, perhaps they can be added in some way to CafeTran.

These can be language specific characters, like â, Â and î in Turkish, or currency symbols, bullets •, or ‰, ≤, ≥.

Yes, I know AHK can be used for it and I remember some programs as well (antibody?).

Michael, it is not easy for me to remember<... See more

esperantisto

Local time: 18:59
Member (2006)
English to Russian
+ ...

SITE LOCALIZER

Look at Ilya Birman’s layout

Feb 20, 2015

http://ilyabirman.net/projects/typography-layout/

Michael Beijer

United Kingdom
Local time: 16:59
Member
Dutch to English
+ ...

{mnemonics}

Feb 20, 2015

Selcuk Akyuz wrote:

I wonder if there are any other symbols that can not be inserted with the standard Windows/Mac shortcuts.

And which symbols are widely used, perhaps they can be added in some way to CafeTran.

These can be language specific characters, like â, Â and î in Turkish, or currency symbols, bullets •, or ‰, ≤, ≥.

Yes, I know AHK can be used for it and I remember some programs as well (antibody?).

Michael, it is not easy for me to remember

^+-
^+6
^+o
^+9
^+0
^+[
^+]
^+x
^+e

As for Text shortcuts feature, I still think it is an advanced feature but no need to discuss it.

Selcuk

The reason they are hard for you to remember is that you didn't create them. Each of those shortcuts means sth to me, which is how I remember them. And that is the advantage of being able to define your own shortcuts for things like this, instead of being forced to memorise random numbers (0151, 0150).

All my text shortcuts of this type start with Ctrl+Shift, and the last part is somehow linked to what it inserts/means. For example:

^+6 inserts an En dash (–)
This is because the 6 on the number row is also the ^ key. The ^ looks like an en dash to me.
--------------------------
^+- inserts a Em dash (—)
This is because the - on the number row is also the underscore key (_), which looks like the em dash.
--------------------------
^+o inserts a Bullet point ( • )
This is because the "o" on my keyboard reminds me of a •
--------------------------
^+9 inserts a single, curly, opening quotation mark ( ‘ )
The 9 on the number row is also the opening bracket: (
--------------------------
^+0 inserts a single, closing quotation mark ( ’ )
The 0 on the number row is also the closing bracket: )
--------------------------
^+e inserts an ellipsis "…"
"E" for ellipsis

--------------------------
etc.

Incidentally, typing "linn" on my computer, inserts: --------------------------
A linne of dashes.

some_text

--------------------------

For characters like â, Â, etc., I currently use WizKey (https://antibody-software.com/web/software/software/wizkey-makes-it-easy-to-type-accented-and-other-special-unicode-characters/ ). My absolute favourite is Holdkey (http://www.holdkey.eu/ ), but for some unknown reason (also unknown to its developer) it won't run on my Windows installation.

Incidentally, CafeTran's Text shortcuts feature is basically the same thing as the amazing AHK auto-correct script, discussed here: http://multifarious.filkin.com/2013/05/31/autocorrect-for-everything/

Michael

Selcuk Akyuz

Türkiye
Local time: 18:59
English to Turkish
+ ...

ok, you win

Feb 20, 2015

Never seen such a keyboard and one using it is always right.
Is it a tank or tank keyboard ?

Karol Kacprzak

Poland
Local time: 17:59
English to Polish
+ ...

Your mouse can help too

Feb 21, 2015

I have actually programmed these special characters under additional mouse buttons. Work well for me

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