In text processing, hyphenation refers to splitting a word that would otherwise extend beyond the right margin.

There are two basic techniques to perform hyphenation. The first employs an internal dictionary of words that indicates where hyphens may be inserted. The second uses a set of logical formulas to make hyphenation decisions. The dictionary method is more accurate but is usually slower. GN4 uses a combination of both methods.

You can override the built-in hyphenation rules and define yourself where a word should be divided.

Hyphens inserted automatically by a hyphenation utility are called soft hyphens. Hyphens that you add explicitly are called discretionary hyphens.

Hyphenation options determine whether words can be hyphenated and, if they can, which breaks are allowable. GN4 Hyphenation is based on the Liang algorithm and exception dictionaries for the language specified for the text, and for all languages. You can create and edit dictionaries, test the quality of the hyphenation, and import or export word lists saved in a plain text file. See About GN4 hyphenation.

Hyphenation algorithm and exception dictionaries are stored in the database.