What does a no-width non break symbol do in Word? in Word General Questions  
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mikeg3 2/18/2006 4:04 PM PST
  Question
  What does a no-width non break symbol do in Word 2003?
This is in a list box under Insert->Symbol->Special characters.
I was trying to control which special characters create two words in the
middle of a character string and I came across this odd symbol, which is not
in any doc I could find.
Thanks.
 
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Jezebel 2/18/2006 4:31 PM PST
  Answer
  The idea is to mark places where you explicitly don't want a line break: for
example, Word thinks it's OK to insert a line break immediately after an
en-dash. You mightn't want this if the en-dash is in the middle of a phone
number. So the idea is to insert a no-width, non-break after the dash.

The reason you've never seen it is probably related to the fact that it
doesn't work. Not that I've seen, anyway.






"mikeg3" <mikeg3@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:3919B558-390C-4268-8D73-9A46ACD4C207@microsoft.com...
> What does a no-width non break symbol do in Word 2003?
> This is in a list box under Insert->Symbol->Special characters.
> I was trying to control which special characters create two words in the
> middle of a character string and I came across this odd symbol, which is
> not
> in any doc I could find.
> Thanks.


 
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Suzanne S. Barnhill 2/18/2006 4:41 PM PST
   
  En dashes have no place in phone numbers. Phone numbers use hyphens, and
non-breaking hyphens can be used.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"Jezebel" <warcrimes@whitehouse.gov> wrote in message
news:%23tKN3tONGHA.3408@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> The idea is to mark places where you explicitly don't want a line break:
for
> example, Word thinks it's OK to insert a line break immediately after an
> en-dash. You mightn't want this if the en-dash is in the middle of a phone
> number. So the idea is to insert a no-width, non-break after the dash.
>
> The reason you've never seen it is probably related to the fact that it
> doesn't work. Not that I've seen, anyway.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "mikeg3" <mikeg3@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:3919B558-390C-4268-8D73-9A46ACD4C207@microsoft.com...
> > What does a no-width non break symbol do in Word 2003?
> > This is in a list box under Insert->Symbol->Special characters.
> > I was trying to control which special characters create two words in the
> > middle of a character string and I came across this odd symbol, which is
> > not
> > in any doc I could find.
> > Thanks.
>
>

 
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Bob  Buckland ?:-) 2/18/2006 5:38 PM PST
   
  Ahh, but use hyphens in phone numbers only when the 'figure dash' is not available per this article :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash
and the U.S. Gov't Printing Office Style manual does suggest using an en dash in phone numbers.
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/2000/chapter_txt-8.html (section 8.72)
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/ 'by act of Congress...' <g>

I guess it may depend on which style guide you need to follow for a given job :)


======
<<"Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill@mvps.org> wrote in message news:uLTyuzONGHA.1532@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
En dashes have no place in phone numbers. Phone numbers use hyphens, and
non-breaking hyphens can be used.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill >>
--
Bob Buckland ?:-)
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*



 
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Suzanne S. Barnhill 2/18/2006 7:45 PM PST
   
  Interesting. I've never seen (or noticed) either a "figure dash" or an en
dash used in phone numbers. Using one would make the phone number longer (an
en dash is about twice as wide as a hyphen), and that's not always
desirable.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"Bob Buckland ?:-)" <75214.226(At Beautiful Downtown)compuserve.com> wrote
in message news:ONfutSPNGHA.1216@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> Ahh, but use hyphens in phone numbers only when the 'figure dash' is not
available per this article :)
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash
> and the U.S. Gov't Printing Office Style manual does suggest using an en
dash in phone numbers.
> http://www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/2000/chapter_txt-8.html (section
8.72)
> http://www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/ 'by act of Congress...' <g>
>
> I guess it may depend on which style guide you need to follow for a given
job :)
>
>
> ======
> <<"Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:uLTyuzONGHA.1532@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
> En dashes have no place in phone numbers. Phone numbers use hyphens, and
> non-breaking hyphens can be used.
>
> --
> Suzanne S. Barnhill >>
> --
> Bob Buckland ?:-)
> MS Office System Products MVP
>
> *Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*
>
>
>

 
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Jezebel 2/18/2006 6:15 PM PST
   
  Any number of work-arounds, but that's hardly the point here, is it?



"Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:uLTyuzONGHA.1532@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
> En dashes have no place in phone numbers. Phone numbers use hyphens, and
> non-breaking hyphens can be used.
>
> --
> Suzanne S. Barnhill
> Microsoft MVP (Word)
> Words into Type
> Fairhope, Alabama USA
> Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup
> so
> all may benefit.
>
> "Jezebel" <warcrimes@whitehouse.gov> wrote in message
> news:%23tKN3tONGHA.3408@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>> The idea is to mark places where you explicitly don't want a line break:
> for
>> example, Word thinks it's OK to insert a line break immediately after an
>> en-dash. You mightn't want this if the en-dash is in the middle of a
>> phone
>> number. So the idea is to insert a no-width, non-break after the dash.
>>
>> The reason you've never seen it is probably related to the fact that it
>> doesn't work. Not that I've seen, anyway.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "mikeg3" <mikeg3@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:3919B558-390C-4268-8D73-9A46ACD4C207@microsoft.com...
>> > What does a no-width non break symbol do in Word 2003?
>> > This is in a list box under Insert->Symbol->Special characters.
>> > I was trying to control which special characters create two words in
>> > the
>> > middle of a character string and I came across this odd symbol, which
>> > is
>> > not
>> > in any doc I could find.
>> > Thanks.
>>
>>
>


 
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mikeg3 2/18/2006 5:18 PM PST
   
  Well, it certainly doesn't stop Word from breaking after an en-dash.

Since it doesn't actually work, how do you know what a no-width non break
special character is supposed to do?

Is there really detailed doc for Word 2003 - way beyond "Word 2003 Inside
Out"?

"Jezebel" wrote:

> The idea is to mark places where you explicitly don't want a line break: for
> example, Word thinks it's OK to insert a line break immediately after an
> en-dash. You mightn't want this if the en-dash is in the middle of a phone
> number. So the idea is to insert a no-width, non-break after the dash.
>
> The reason you've never seen it is probably related to the fact that it
> doesn't work. Not that I've seen, anyway.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "mikeg3" <mikeg3@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:3919B558-390C-4268-8D73-9A46ACD4C207@microsoft.com...
> > What does a no-width non break symbol do in Word 2003?
> > This is in a list box under Insert->Symbol->Special characters.
> > I was trying to control which special characters create two words in the
> > middle of a character string and I came across this odd symbol, which is
> > not
> > in any doc I could find.
> > Thanks.
>
>
>
 
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Jezebel 2/18/2006 6:11 PM PST
  Answer
  Do a Google. You'll find a number of threads covering it. It's possible that
there are Asian fonts for which it is implemented.

It's the counterpart of the 'no-width optional break', which DOES work.
(Used for strings like asdasd/asdasda, if you want to permit a break after
the slash, but not see a space if the string is not broken.)




"mikeg3" <mikeg3@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:CD025186-85D6-4B15-AE07-F691878DD96E@microsoft.com...
> Well, it certainly doesn't stop Word from breaking after an en-dash.
>
> Since it doesn't actually work, how do you know what a no-width non break
> special character is supposed to do?
>
> Is there really detailed doc for Word 2003 - way beyond "Word 2003 Inside
> Out"?
>
> "Jezebel" wrote:
>
>> The idea is to mark places where you explicitly don't want a line break:
>> for
>> example, Word thinks it's OK to insert a line break immediately after an
>> en-dash. You mightn't want this if the en-dash is in the middle of a
>> phone
>> number. So the idea is to insert a no-width, non-break after the dash.
>>
>> The reason you've never seen it is probably related to the fact that it
>> doesn't work. Not that I've seen, anyway.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "mikeg3" <mikeg3@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:3919B558-390C-4268-8D73-9A46ACD4C207@microsoft.com...
>> > What does a no-width non break symbol do in Word 2003?
>> > This is in a list box under Insert->Symbol->Special characters.
>> > I was trying to control which special characters create two words in
>> > the
>> > middle of a character string and I came across this odd symbol, which
>> > is
>> > not
>> > in any doc I could find.
>> > Thanks.
>>
>>
>>


 
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Bob  Buckland ?:-) 2/18/2006 6:21 PM PST
   
  Hi Mike,

Insert=>Symbol=>Special Characters 'No width non-break'
inserts a "zero width joiner" (HTML entity &#8205 or &zwj, Unicode U+200D)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-width_joiner
http://www.digitalmediaminute.com/reference/entity/index.php

It's actually a bit surprising that it is listed in the Special Characters dialog even when there are no languages such as Persian
or Arabic are enabled, since it does not appear in Edit=>Replace=>More=>Special except when a cursive language is enabled for
Office.

========
<<"mikeg3" <mikeg3@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:CD025186-85D6-4B15-AE07-F691878DD96E@microsoft.com...
Well, it certainly doesn't stop Word from breaking after an en-dash.

Since it doesn't actually work, how do you know what a no-width non break
special character is supposed to do? >>
--
Bob Buckland ?:-)
MS Office System Products MVP

>>*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends

Pricing and Packages for '2007 Microsoft Office System'
http://microsoft.com/office/preview


 
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