Insert multiple minus ('-') characters using the universal argument (C-u)

Question

I was manually creating a table in my source code's multiline comments and inserting horizontal separators using - and =. E.g. C-u C-u C-u = as expected and inserts 64 =s at the point. But - is used to provide negative arguments and does not work in the same way. describe-function for universal-argument does not address this.

So, is there a way of interpreting - as a "raw character" instead of part of a key chord?

Answer 1

For example, C-u C-u C-q -.

You can C-h k C-q for more details.

Answer 2

To type a minus sign with a numeric prefix argument, you can enter the number by typing the digits: C-u 6 4 - or ESC 6 4 - or M-6 M-4 - or C-6 C-4 - (or a few other combinations). This method doesn't let you abbreviate 4ⁿ by typing C-u ⁿ times.

Another method, which also works with a digit, is to use the C-u prefix, then enter the number, then another C-u and finally the character. For example C-u 6 4 C-u - inserts 64 minus signs, and C-u 6 4 C-u 0 inserts 64 zeros. This method doesn't let you abbreviate 4ⁿ by typing C-u ⁿ times.

In most cases, an alternative way is to use C-q before the minus sign, e.g. C-u C-u C-u C-q - inserts 64 minus signs. However there are a few cases where this is different, such as Overwrite mode, where C-q inserts instead of overwriting. This method doesn't work for digits (except 8 and 9 when read-quoted-char-radix is the default octal): you would have to type the digit's octal code (or dec/hex if you've changed the radix), e.g. C-u C-u C-q 6 0 RET to insert 0000000000000000.