Creating the 'Mils' Symbol

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 18, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


When writing documents that are used in the military or by contractors dealing with the military, it is sometimes helpful to create a special symbol called the 'mils' symbol. A 'mil' is an angular measure where there are 6,400 mils in a circle, compared to the usual 360 degrees in a circle. (Some nations, such as those comprising the former Soviet Union, use 6,000 mils in a circle, not 6,400.)

The symbol for a mil is a lowercase 'm' with a forward-slash through it. (It is impossible to show what such a symbol look like in this newsletter.) The mils symbol can be produced through the use of fields. For instance, the following EQ field will create the proper field:

{ EQ \o(m,\s\do2(/)) }

Note that the forward-slash is set to a slightly larger font size than what is used for the letter m, in order to give a better appearance.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (3506) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Removing Errant Buttons

Got some toolbar buttons that are rather stubborn? Getting rid of buttons that are installed by an external program can ...

Discover More

Removing Shading from Many Paragraphs

Need to format a bunch of paragraphs within your document? Word provides some very easy ways to apply the same formatting ...

Discover More

Adjusting Values with Formulas

Paste Special is a great tool that allows you to modify the values in a range of cells in your worksheets. You may want, ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Meaningless Text

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, or so the story goes. Here's how to put this type of meaningless text into a ...

Discover More

Displaying Nonprinting Characters

Nonprinting characters are a great boon when you are editing a document. Turn them on and you can easily see what ...

Discover More

Replacing Random Text with Your Own Text

Word includes a little-known function that allows you to put "filler text" into your document. If you want this function ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 6 + 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.