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TL;DR: EXAMPLE-AAA changes to EXAMPLE  —  AAA after closing and opening a pptx.

I have PowerPoint 2013 on Windows 7 Enterprise.

In math mode (i.e. inserting an equation), sometimes I need to use a short hyphen. In the equation environment, PowerPoint treats the hyphen as a 'minus sign', so its length, and the space before, and after the sign are increased automatically, and significantly.

This can be prevented by typing [\-] or ["-"] instead of [-] (without the brackets) or selecting the minus sign, and then clicking on 'EQUATION TOOLS'->'Normal Text'.

No matter which method I use, if I save, and close the file, after opening it again, the hyphen will be long again. The spacing is seems good when using the 'Normal Text' method or typing ["-"] (with no brackets). Not when I type [\-].

I checked the proofing options, but it does not explain it. There is nothing set for a single dash, neither in normal mode, nor in math mode. I turned off all autocorrect options, including the 'replace two consecutive hyphens with a long dash' option at the 'AutoFormat As You Type' tab, which didn't help.

This happens with any pptx file, not only with one particular file. Doesn't happen in Word, though. Restarting the computer didn't help either. Nor did repairing Microsoft Office. Before and after the hyphen there are capital letters but if there is nothing in the equation box before or after the hyphen the problem is still there.

Search over the internet didn't help, the results are mostly about recovering unsaved files or about fonts that change after reopening. The solutions for those don't help me.

Any suggestion is greatly appreciated.

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  • Somewhat related questions: link and link
    – thanks
    Sep 1, 2017 at 15:53
  • Kindly share us a sample file with your issue since I don't have the 2013 edition or Windows 7
    – Sanny
    Oct 18, 2017 at 14:20

1 Answer 1

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I found a very impractical solution.

(1) use quotation marks, and

(2) don't type a hyphen but insert one, using the 'Insert' -> 'Symbol' menu. The character you need: Unicode name: Hyphen. Unicode character code: 2010.

So if you type [ASD""ASD] (without the brackets) in equation mode, and then you insert the Unicode character called Hypen, then [ASD-ASD] will not change to something like [ASD  —  ASD] after closing and opening the file.

There must be an easier way to prevent the prolongation of the hyphen, though.

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