Word · Insert a non-breaking hyphen
Characters
Windows · Linux
Shift+Alt+MinusMac
Shift+Option+MinusStops a line from breaking at a hyphen, so a phone number or a part number is not split in half at the margin; it looks like a normal hyphen but is a different character.
- Group
- Characters
- Keys held
- 3
Press Alt in Word for Windows and every ribbon button shows a letter, so even a command with no combination is reachable as a sequence — Office for Mac has no such key tips.
Reading the key names
- Keys joined by + are pressed together: Ctrl+Shift+P means hold Ctrl and Shift, then P.
- On a Mac, Cmd is ⌘, Option is ⌥ (labelled Alt on some keyboards), Control is ⌃ and Shift is ⇧.
- Windows Ctrl usually becomes Cmd on a Mac, but not always — this reference lists both combinations separately.
- With a Korean, Japanese or Chinese input method active, shortcuts built on letter keys may not fire. Switch to Latin input and try again.
- When a combination does nothing, another program has often claimed it as a global shortcut first.
Common questions
Q. What is the shortcut for Insert a non-breaking hyphen in Word?
Stops a line from breaking at a hyphen, so a phone number or a part number is not split in half at the margin; it looks like a normal hyphen but is a different character. It is Shift+Alt+Minus on Windows and Shift+Option+Minus on a Mac.
Q. Is it the same on Windows and Mac?
No — Shift+Alt+Minus on Windows, Shift+Option+Minus on a Mac.
Q. How many keys is that?
3 pressed together. The combination sits under Characters in Word.