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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Turning Off Capital Corrections

If you type two capital letters at the beginning of a word, Word assumes that you made a typing error and will attempt to ...

Discover More

Can't Select and Edit Graphics Elements

Adding graphics to your documents can make them livelier and easier to understand. What if you can't select and edit the ...

Discover More

Displaying Only Some Non-Printing Characters

Word allows you to control which non-printing characters are displayed and which are not. If you want to never display a ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Deleting a Page

Want to delete the current page? There is no automatic command to perform this task in Word, but you can create your own ...

Discover More

Quickly Moving Text with the Mouse

Drag-and-drop editing is a handy feature when you love to use the mouse. There are two ways you can move text using the ...

Discover More

Using Extend Mode

One of the most overlooked shortcut keys in Word has to be the extend key. Yet, learning how to use this simple key can ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is two more than 3?

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.