En Dash Spacing
Spacing around an en dash depends on the governing style and the job the dash is doing. Microsoft normally uses unspaced en dashes for numeric/date ranges but allows spaces in specified UI date/time ranges; the Australian Government Style Manual likewise varies spacing according to the elements in a span.
Do not assume one spacing rule covers every en dash. Many numeric ranges are unspaced, while some date/time spans are spaced under specific house-style rules.
Key details
Important caveats
Context Boundary
Australian Government guidance varies en-dash spacing for date and time spans depending on what appears on each side, so follow the target house style and span structure.
Default Boundary
Microsoft normally uses no spaces around en dashes, including ordinary number/date ranges, with defined exceptions.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Dashes and hyphens — Microsoft Style Guide (opens in a new tab)Microsoft · En-dash and em-dash functions, including number ranges and sentence breaks
- Dates and time — Australian Government Style Manual (opens in a new tab)Australian Government Style Manual · Australian Government guidance for day–month–year dates, ordinal dates, decades, centuries, time zones, and en-dash spacing in date/time spans