LATEX Cheatsheet for TEXit

The TEXit Community

LATEX is a system for typesetting scientific documents. The docu- Simple Algebra Greek Letters
ments are written in plan text source and then compiled to produce a \div ÷ \alpha α
graphical output (as a PDF or an image). The document can contain a
\frac{a}{b} b
\beta β
formulae and figures, written in the LATEX language, which are then
\times × \gamma γ
rendered appropriately.
Regular text will be rendered as itself, but the following punctuation a \cdot b a·b \Gamma Γ
symbols have special meaning: The backslash symbol (\) is used for a^{b} ab \delta δ
“commands” or “macros” which insert special symbols or notation a_b ab \Delta ∆
into the text. Braces ({ and }) are used to group symbols together \pm ± \epsilon 
into a block. Dollars ($ and $$) are used to include formulae in the \mp ∓ \varepsilon ε
text. √
\sqrt{a} a \zeta ζ
There are two general modes of operation: “math mode” is used for √
\sqrt[b]{a} b
a \eta η
formulae, and “text mode” is used for text. Formulae can be sur- \theta θ
\neq,\not= 6=
rounded by single dollars to be included in the text “inline”, for ex-
\approx ≈ \vartheta ϑ
ample $a + b = c$ produces: a + b = c. Double dollars render a
\sim ∼ \Theta Θ
large formula in “display style”, which inserts line breaks around the
formula, and also has an effect on how some notation is rendered. For \propto ∝ \iota ι
example $$a + (b + c) = d$$ produces: \leq,\le ≤ \kappa κ
\geq,\ge ≥ \lambda λ
a + (b + c) = d \Lambda Λ
\ll 
As may be evident, most symbols (namely !, ’, (, ), *, +, ,, -, ., \gg  \mu µ
/, :, ;, <, =, >, ?, [, ], |) are rendered as themselves, however the \cong ∼
= \nu ν
commands in the following tables can be used to render other, more \lvert a \rvert |a| \pi π
interesting kinds of symbols. To write literal braces and dollars, \{, \lfloor a \rfloor bac \Pi Π
\}, and \$ can be used respectively. \lceil a \rceil dae \rho ρ
To place a subscript or a superscript, _ and ^ can be used respectively. \bar{a} ā \sigma σ
For example, a^b is ab and a_b is ab . To place more than one character \Sigma Σ
\Re <
in a sub- or superscript, the expression can be surrounded with { and \tau τ
}: a^{b+c} produces ab+c . \Im =
a \circ b a◦b \upsilon υ
The \frac{}{} command1 renders a fraction (e.g. \frac{a}{b}
√ is ab ),
\mathbb{N} \Upsilon Υ
and \sqrt{} renders a square root (e.g. \sqrt{a}√ is a). Order can N
be specified by writing e.g. \sqrt[3]{a} for 3 a. \phi φ
Sums are typeset with \sum, e.g. \sum_{i=0}^{n} i^2 produces Set Theory & Logic \varphi ϕ
P n 2 \Phi Φ
i=0 i . In “display style”, subscripts and superscripts on \sum are \in ∈
rendered differently; the same formula produces: ∈
/ \chi χ
\notin
n \psi ψ
X \varnothing ∅
i2 \subset ⊂ \Psi Ψ
i=0 \omega ω
\subseteq ⊆
\Omega Ω
This behaviour is an example of a “big operator”. Others include \supset ⊃
\prod, \lim, \bigcap, etc. \supseteq ⊇
Regular parentheses do not scale around a large expression, producing Calculus
a \cup ∪ P
outputs like ( ). Commands \left and \right can be used to pro- \sum
b \cap ∩ Q
duce a pair of parentheses (or other bracket-like symbols) that scales \prod
\setminus \ `
with the expression between them. The commands are followed by \coprod
\forall ∀
the type of bracket (like ( or [), for example \left( \frac{a}{b} \infty ∞
a \exists ∃
\right) produces . The \left and \right commands have to \to −→
b \implies =⇒
\mapsto 7→
be balanced, but the exact bracket-like characters used don’t have to \iff ⇐⇒
match, allowing for examples like −∞, ab .
 \uparrow ↑
In math mode, letters are italicised by default, as that is the con- \downarrow ↓
Simple Geometry
vention for variable names. To typeset operation names in ro- \prime 0
\parallel k
man font, they should be put inside \operatorname{. . .}. Like- \partial ∂
\nparallel ∦
wise, \mathbb{. . .} is used to render letters in the “blackboard” \dot{a} ȧ
font, e.g. R is produced by \mathbb{R}. Other available fonts \perp ⊥
\ddot{a} ä
include \mathcal{. . .} for calligraphic, \mathscr{. . .} for script, \angle ∠ Rb
\int_{a}^{b}
\mathfrak{. . .} for fraktur, and \mathsf{. . .} for sans-serif. \triangle 4 RRa
\iint
\square  RRR
While it is definitely possible to write \frac 1 2 for 21 , it is somewhat cus- −→ \iiint
tomary to always surround arguments to macros with braces. \overrightarrow{AB} AB \oint
H
\overline{AB} AB \nabla ∇