Example
Before
The result was clear—nothing else changed.
After
The result was clear - nothing else changed.
What to check
- The tool cannot decide which punctuation is grammatically best.
- Review dialogue, numeric ranges, and quoted material.
How this cleaner works
The option finds em and en dash characters and replaces each one with the selected separator. Surrounding spaces are normalized so the replacement does not create doubled spacing.
Punctuation carries meaning. A hyphen, comma, colon, or plain space can change rhythm or grammar, so TextClean asks you to choose and shows the exact diff instead of pretending one replacement is universally correct.
Useful for
- Matching a publication style guide
- Cleaning copied AI or editorial text
- Replacing unsupported punctuation in older systems
Common questions
Which replacement is best?
It depends on the sentence. A spaced hyphen is the most literal visual substitute, while a comma or colon may read more naturally in some prose.
Does it remove ordinary hyphens?
No. It targets em and en dash characters only.