# Is there a way to do this in MS Word? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 2, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252 "2004-10-02T23:42:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/1 "2004-10-02T23:42:39Z")
I want to do negative 1 as a (bar over the top) 1. is there a way to do this character in Word? ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/2 "2004-10-02T23:52:44Z")
I think it’s \1\ in HTML. And technically, Word can do this, since Word can do HTML. But that may not be what you want. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/3 "2004-10-03T00:49:17Z")
Thanks! I really don’t want to dick around with it that much, I’m doing crystal faces (Miller indices) and there are lots of them. But I’ll keep that in mind for another time. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tom\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_P)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/4 "2004-10-03T07:41:54Z")
You can do it with the Equation Editor (under Insert, Object, Microsoft Equation). Under Embellishments you can select “over-bar”. There is also Unicode character 02C9, “Modifier Letter Macron”, that should be able to combine with other letters as a bar over them. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/5 "2004-10-03T11:42:23Z")
> [@](#): > > …There is also Unicode character 02C9, “Modifier Letter Macron”, that should be able to combine with other letters as a bar over them… - - - How can you enter letters by the Unicode number in MS Word? I have Office 2K and wanted to do this once, and could not figure out how it was done. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tom\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_P)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/6 "2004-10-03T12:18:35Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > - > - > - How can you enter letters by the Unicode number in MS Word? I have Office 2K and wanted to do this once, and could not figure out how it was done. > ~ AFAIK, there is only one way to do this in Word 2000, through the “Insert Symbol”-dialog. In Word 2003, you can write the unicode number in the document and press Alt-X. There is also the “Hold down Alt and use the numeric keys”-method, but it doesn’t work for high-numbered Unicode Characters, and you have to convert the number to decimal first. ---
**Author:** ![jester21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed655f/32.png) [@jester21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jester21)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/7 "2004-10-03T13:32:24Z")
while it has nothing to do w/ your Q… ANOTHER thing Word CAN’T do… is Double Indent. … well, let me rephrase that: I have YET to discover how to Double Indent in Word… (you may be wondering, why on earth would anyone care…) So, I have Word Perfect for the express purpose of being able to write dialog in a screenplay format (which requires, you guessed it, double indenting). Now back to the original Q… Next! ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/8 "2004-10-03T13:48:32Z")
I don’t seem to have Microsoft Equation under objects. I have Word 2003, btw. With the “insert symbol” way, I can see the overline in the box, but when I go to insert it, ends up on the right or left of the number I want over barred, and I can do that with the - sign anyways, so I don’t really see the point. Am I doing it wrong? I have never dealt much with unicode characters except stuff like º symbols. \ Hmmm…whenever I try and do an alt+(number) in Firefox it kicks me back to my home page. Luckily it didn’t lose my post.\ ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/9 "2004-10-03T14:19:23Z")
Type your number, say 1. Insert | Symbol… and select one of the Unicode fonts in the drop-down, say Lucida Sans Unicode or Arial Unicode. In other dropdown, select “Combining Diacritical Marks”. Pick the overline character there, and it should insert itself over the 1. Like this, if your browser supports Unicode: 1̅. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/10 "2004-10-03T14:25:49Z")
> [@Bambi Hassenpfeffer](#): > > Type your number, say 1. > > Insert | Symbol… and select one of the Unicode fonts in the drop-down, say Lucida Sans Unicode or Arial Unicode. In other dropdown, select “Combining Diacritical Marks”. Pick the overline character there, and it should insert itself over the 1. > > Like this, if your browser supports Unicode: 1̅. Yee-haw! Thanks Bambi, I got it now. 1̅ 1̅ 1̅ 2̅ 2̅ 2̅ 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tom\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_P)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/11 "2004-10-03T14:27:29Z")
> [@Boscibo](#): > > I don’t seem to have Microsoft Equation under objects. I have Word 2003, btw. > > With the “insert symbol” way, I can see the overline in the box, but when I go to insert it, ends up on the right or left of the number I want over barred, and I can do that with the - sign anyways, so I don’t really see the point. Am I doing it wrong? I have never dealt much with unicode characters except stuff like º symbols. Microsoft Equation can be installed from the Office CD. You have to select “Choose advanced customization of applications” under installation (You can restart the installation by going to Add/remove Programs" in the Control Panel). Equation Editor is located under “Office Tools”. The overline is part of a group of characters that can be combined with other characters; ^ and o becomes ô and so on. On preview, I see that **Bambi Hassenpfeffer** has told you how to combine them in Word 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/12 "2004-10-03T14:29:51Z")
> [@jester21](#): > > while it has nothing to do w/ your Q… ANOTHER thing Word CAN’T do… is Double Indent. … If by double indent, you mean a paragraph nested inside another, so the nested one is indented differently from the parent one, Word can do that. Just define a style for each. One style will have a paragraph of X indent, the other, Y indent. Select the text you want then apply the style you want. Actually, Word can do some of this automatically, but I try not to let it – it’s too confusing to figure out what Word thinks I am doing; it’s usually wrong. ---
**Author:** ![jester21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed655f/32.png) [@jester21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jester21)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/13 "2004-10-03T16:47:06Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > If by double indent, you mean a paragraph nested inside another, so the nested one is indented differently from the parent one, Word can do that. Just define a style for each. One style will have a paragraph of X indent, the other, Y indent. Select the text you want then apply the style you want. > > Actually, Word can do some of this automatically, but I try not to let it – it’s too confusing to figure out what Word thinks I am doing; it’s usually wrong. an example: (ignore the dots) Joe and his friends walk into a room. There are several hungry looking lions in the room. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .JOE . . . . . . . . . I don’t think we should’ve . . . . . . . . . come in here. Joe and his friends are eaten by lions. Joe was correct. … I didn’t follow how to do what you suggested, but my main point is that WP only requires CNTL + ALT + F7. and like most MS products, Word generally assumes it’s smarter than the user. ok… I’m done hijacking this thread 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/14 "2004-10-03T17:53:45Z")
> [@jester21](#): > > an example: > (ignore the dots) > > Joe and his friends walk into a room. There are several hungry looking lions in the room. > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .JOE > . . . . . . . . . I don’t think we should’ve > . . . . . . . . . come in here. > > Joe and his friends are eaten by lions. Joe was correct. > > … > > I didn’t follow how to do what you suggested Define a style called “CharName”, with a left indent this big: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Define a style called “CharDialog”, with a left indent this big: . . . . . . . . . Define a style called “SceneDesc”, with no left indent. If you’re feeling energetic, define macros to apply each of those styles with a single keystroke. Then when you’re typing the text, apply the styles as appropriate. RTFM to find out how to create and apply styles, and how to create macros. I’ve never had to create macros, so I can’t comment about that, but creating and applying styles is easy. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/15 "2004-10-03T19:07:38Z")
- - - The Microsoft Equation Editor is on the CD, but the instructions for finding it stink. The instructions I found state that it “installs upon first use” indicating there is some way to call it up before it is installed–and there isn’t. You have to find it manually on the CD and install it first. I tried it just recently with Word 2K. ~ ---
**Author:** ![dlack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@dlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dlack)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/16 "2004-10-03T20:21:30Z")
> [@](#): > > The Microsoft Equation Editor is on the CD, but the instructions for finding it stink. The instructions I found state that it “installs upon first use” indicating there is some way to call it up before it is installed–and there isn’t. You have to find it manually on the CD and install it first. I tried it just recently with Word 2K. I’m not 100% sure this works if Equation Editor isn’t installed already, but if I think I’ve done it before. On one of your toolbars, click the little down arrow on the right hand side which says “Toolbar Options” on mouseover. Go to “Add or Remove Buttons,” then “Customize.” Then go to the “Commands” tab. In the left pane, click on “Insert.” In the right pane find “Equation Editor.” Drag the icon out of this pane and on to one of your toolbars. Now you can easily access Equation Editor and I think trying to use it will cause it to be installed from your disk. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/17 "2004-10-03T20:46:04Z")
I installed it per your directions **dlack** , thanks. I did need to use my office CD, but I didn’t have to look for it. Since I already have my Miller indices table printed up (with bars over the numbers/letters that need them!) I didn’t redo it, but I want to thank you anyways. I would have never figured that out on my own. Word is so complex. ---
**Author:** ![dlack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@dlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dlack)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/18 "2004-10-03T20:50:57Z")
You’re welcome. Glad I could help. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/19 "2004-10-03T22:16:06Z")
> [@](#): > > …Then go to the “Commands” tab. In the left pane, click on “Insert.” In the right pane find “Equation Editor.” Drag the icon out of this pane and on to one of your toolbars. Now you can easily access Equation Editor and I think trying to use it will cause it to be installed from your disk… - - - That’s one of the ways the instrictions I found said, but it was not listed there for me at all. It wasn’t listed _anywhere_ at all until after I had installed it manually off the CD. …This may have something to do with the fact that I _think_ I installed Office manually last time around, just picking what I needed off the list instead of letting everything run as the default install… ~ ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-do-this-in-ms-word/267252/20 "2004-10-03T22:48:14Z")
> [@Hunter Hawk](#): > > If you’re feeling energetic, define macros to apply each of those styles with a single keystroke. No need to define macros. Just go to Tools | Customize | Keyboard and select “Styles” from the left pane. The right pane will show a list of your styles, and you can assign keystrokes to any or all of them. I do this all the time–it really speeds things up.