Normalize Ellipsis

Convert between the ellipsis character (…) and standard three dots (...). Fix formatting for code or typography.

Input Text
Output
This story ends abruptly... or does it? Wait... give me a moment... to think.
Changes3
Original Size77
New Size77

Continue with Related Tools

Fix Dashes

Convert hyphens to em-dashes.

Fix Quotes

Convert curly quotes to straight.

Text Cleaner

Clean all punctuation at once.

Perfect Your Punctuation

The Normalize Ellipsis tool is the definitive utility for handling the "dot-dot-dot". Casual writers type three periods (...). Professional typographers use the single ellipsis character (…). Academic styles often require spaced periods (. . .). This tool is the counterpart to Normalize Dashes, letting you instantly convert between these formats to match your specific style guide or coding requirement.

Standardize

Convert special characters back to simple ASCII dots (...). Essential for coding and data cleaning.

Typographic

Convert three separate dots into the single, professional ellipsis character (…) for print.

Chicago Style

Apply the formal academic style of three spaced periods (. . .) with a single click.

Visual Comparison

Input (Casual)

To be continued...
Wait... what?

Fixed (Typographic)

To be continued…
Wait… what?

How to Use

  1. Paste Text: Copy your draft containing various dot patterns.
  2. Choose Preset:
    • Standardize: For code or email (`...`).
    • Typographic: For books and articles (`…`).
    • Chicago: For academic papers (`. . .`).
  3. Copy: Get your perfectly correctly formatted text.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between '...' and '…'?

The three periods (...) are separate characters. The ellipsis character (…) is a single typographic symbol (Unicode U+2026) that is often narrower and looks more professional in print.

When should I use the 'Standardize' preset?

Use 'Standardize' when writing code, scripts, or plain text data where special characters like '…' might cause encoding issues. It converts everything to simple ASCII periods.

What is 'Chicago Style'?

The Chicago Manual of Style recommends using three spaced periods (. . .) to represent an ellipsis. Our tool can automatically format your text to this standard.

Can I output HTML code?

Yes! Select 'HTML Entities' generally, or specifically in Typographic mode it will output … which is the safe HTML code for the ellipsis character.

Why do my ellipses turn into weird boxes?

This is an encoding error (mojibake). If you see or weird boxes, paste your text here and use 'Standardize' to fix it back to normal readable dots.

Does this handle 4 dots?

Currently, the tool focuses on the standard 3-dot ellipsis. Sequences of 4 or more dots are typically treated as separate punctuation or retained as-is depending on the pattern.

Is my text safe?

Yes. All processing happens 100% in your browser. Nothing is sent to our servers.

Can I use this for book formatting?

Absolutely. The 'Typographic' mode is perfect for preparing novels and manuscripts for typesetting.

Is this tool free?

Yes, 100% free for everyone.

How do I type an ellipsis on Mac/Windows?

On Mac: formatting is usually automatic or Option+; . On Windows: Alt+0133. Or simpler: just type three dots and use this tool!