As we’ve already discussed, if a participle (a verb acting as a noun or adjective) is part of the compound word to describe a noun it should only be hyphenated if it comes before the noun. Here is one more example to make that clearer:

• The good-looking officer entered the house.
• The officer entered the house, he was good looking.

When the noun (in this case the officer) that you are describing comes before the participle compound adjective, then you do not hyphenate. When the noun comes after, you do hyphenate.

How to Type a Hyphen

Typing hyphens are much easier than en dashes and em dashes because there is actually a key for it on all keyboards. Simply hit the ‘-‘ key and a hyphen will appear.