Minus

Location on ribbon: Tab DVD Addin → Group Text and Number → arrow on Numbering → section Bullets

Command ID: btnMinusSign

What it does

Prepends a minus sign − plus a space to every line inside the selected cells. It is the lightest, most neutral marker in the menu, which makes it the natural second level under an item already carrying ● or a number — the components of a work item, or the small steps inside one activity.

Note that the character inserted is the mathematical minus − (U+2212), not the keyboard hyphen -. That is deliberate: it lets Remove bullets recognise exactly the symbols the add-in inserted without cutting hyphens out of your own text.

How to use

1. Select the cells that need bullets.
2. Go to the DVD Addin tab → Text and Number group → arrow on Numbering → Bullets section → choose Minus.
3. The add-in strips any existing bullet first, then handles each cell:
   • Text cell — − is added at the start of every line.
   • Empty cell — just − is written.
   • Formula cell — wrapped as =""&"− "&(original formula), so the marker shows while the formula stays live.
4. The status bar reports Processed N cells (bullet −).

Video tutorial

Narrated in Vietnamese, with Vietnamese subtitles. Dấu đầu dòng · 5 min 03 s · 9 cases · Download the video · Practice workbook for the video

Commands in this video: Filled circle · Asterisk · Filled diamond · Filled star · Checkbox · Minus · Remove bullets · Plus · Checked · Rejected

Chapters (14)

1. Giới thiệu
2. Mở lệnh
3. Chín ký hiệu
4. 1 · Ô nhiều dòng
5. 2 · Đổi ký hiệu, chọn rời
6. 3 · Danh mục kiểm tra đang lọc
7. 4 · Ô trống – mẫu in sẵn
8. 5 · Ô số, ngày tháng
9. 6 · Ô công thức
10. 7 · Ô gộp
11. 8 · Bỏ ký hiệu đầu dòng
12. 9 · Ghi đè và hoàn tác
13. Mẹo
14. Kết thúc

Illustrated walkthrough

Practice

Download this command's sample workbook — the data matches the pictures below (sheet Unit rates), so you can follow each step right away.

Step 1. Select the cells that need the bullet — here two cells listing materials, one per line (1).

Step 2. On the ribbon, open the DVD Addin tab → Text and Number group → open Numbering → choose Minus.

Step 3. The Confirm data change box tells you how many cells will be overwritten. Keep Back up sheet ticked (1) so that Ctrl+Z right after the command restores the sheet, then click Continue (2).

Step 4. Every line now starts with − (1) — this is the minus sign − (U+2212), not the keyboard hyphen -, so Remove bullets can strip it without touching hyphens in your text. The status bar reports how many cells were processed (2).

Example

The "Work components" column of a bid quantity schedule:

Before	After
PCB40 cement Coarse sand Aggregate 1×2 Plasticiser admixture	− PCB40 cement − Coarse sand − Aggregate 1×2 − Plasticiser admixture

Keeping ● on the parent item and − on its components gives the schedule a clear hierarchy without hand-made indentation.

Notes

• The inserted character is the minus − (U+2212); a hyphen - you typed yourself is not recognised, so Remove bullets will not remove it.
• Cells holding numbers, dates, or TRUE/FALSE are skipped entirely.
• Text cells are switched to Text format (@) before writing; formula cells keep their existing format.
• Ctrl+Z right after the command puts the cells back (it backs the sheet up first).
• Hidden rows and columns are skipped, and each merged area is processed once, at its top-left cell.

Related

• Filled circle — the first-level bullet that usually sits above these.
• Plus — the other plain ASCII marker in the menu, easy to retype by hand.
• Remove bullets — strip the markers and return to plain text.
• Multilevel numbering — when the list needs 1.1.1. numbers driven by indent level.