Many persons who follow Linux agree that Ubuntu is one of the most popular for desktops, and here is a good intro to the "Compose Key" options in Ubuntu: http://www.debianadmin.com/special-characters-made-easier-in-ubuntu.html
In the latest release, "Intrepid Ibex" or 8.10, there apparently is still be a bug in _both_ routes to this feature ( see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gtk+2.0/+bug/74360 ) (some behaviors depend on choice of Gnome / KDE and some never work) but I imagine it will be fixed soon. Thanks for all your good work, and IHTH (I Hope This Helps). Regards, Jim Harris >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 17:14:06 2008-11-11 >>> Because so many people (especially ex-MSWord users) are accustomed to using keyboard shortcuts for inserting en and em dashes (instead of OOo's Autocorrect or Insert>Special Characters methods), and the Help includes no info that I can find about keyboard shortcuts for dashes, I'm adding the section quoted below to Chapter 3 of the Writer Guide. I don't have access to an Intel Mac with OOo3 on it, so I can't verify what the corresponding method is on the Mac. Can someone with a Mac please let me know? Thanks! --Jean <quote> These shortcuts vary depending on your operating system. Windows Hold down one of the Alt keys and type on the numeric keypad: 0150 for an en dash or 0151 for an em dash. The dash appears when you release the Alt key. Tip On a keyboard with no numeric keypad, use a Fn key combination to type the numbers. (The Fn key is usually to the right of the left-hand Ctrl key on the keyboard.) For example, on a US keyboard layout, the combination for an en dash should be Alt+Fn+mj5m and for an em dash it should be Alt+Fn+mjij. Linux Hold down the Compose key and type two hyphens and a period for an en dash, or three hyphens for an em dash. The dash appears when you release the Compose key. Tip The key that operates as a Compose key varies with the Linux distribution. It is usually one of the Alt or Win keys, but may be another key, and should be user-selectable. </quote> --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]