Text Formatting¶

Topic: LaTeX Lesson: 3 of 16 Prerequisites: Lesson 2 (Document Structure) Objective: Master text styling, fonts, colors, lists, quotations, verbatim text, special characters, spacing, alignment, and footnotes

Font Styles¶

LaTeX provides several commands for changing text appearance.

Basic Text Styles¶

Emphasis Commands:

\textbf{Bold text}
\textit{Italic text}
\texttt{Typewriter (monospace) text}
\underline{Underlined text}
\emph{Emphasized text}

Example:

This is \textbf{bold}, \textit{italic}, and \texttt{monospace} text.

The command \underline{underlines text}, while \emph{emphasis}
adapts to context.

Output:

This is bold, italic, and monospace text. The command underlines text, while emphasis adapts to context.

Emphasis vs. Italics¶

\emph{} is semantic (meaning-based), while \textit{} is presentational:

This is normal text. \emph{This is emphasized.}

\textit{This is italic. \emph{Nested emphasis is upright!}}

\emph{} toggles: in normal text it's italic, in italic text it's upright.

Combining Styles¶

\textbf{\textit{Bold and italic}}
\texttt{\textbf{Bold monospace}}
\underline{\textbf{Bold underlined}}

Shortcuts (LaTeX 2ε):

\textbf{\textit{Bold italic}}
% is the same as
\textit{\textbf{Bold italic}}

Old-Style Font Commands¶

Deprecated but still common:

{\bf Bold text}              % Old style
{\it Italic text}            % Old style
{\tt Typewriter}             % Old style

% Modern equivalent:
\textbf{Bold text}
\textit{Italic text}
\texttt{Typewriter}

Why avoid old style? - Doesn't automatically adjust spacing - Doesn't nest well - Not semantic

Small Caps and Other Variants¶

\textsc{Small Capitals}
\textsl{Slanted text}
\textsf{Sans serif text}
\textrm{Roman (serif) text}
\textmd{Medium weight}
\textup{Upright shape}

Example:

\textsc{Small Caps} are used for \textsc{acronyms} like \textsc{nasa}.

\textsf{Sans serif} is often used for headings.

Font Sizes¶

Predefined Sizes¶

From smallest to largest:

{\tiny Tiny text}
{\scriptsize Script size}
{\footnotesize Footnote size}
{\small Small text}
{\normalsize Normal text}
{\large Large text}
{\Large Larger text}
{\LARGE Even larger}
{\huge Huge text}
{\Huge Hugest text}

Example:

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

{\tiny This is tiny.}
{\small This is small.}
{\normalsize This is normal.}
{\large This is large.}
{\Huge This is huge!}

\end{document}

Scoping: Size changes are local to the group {...}:

This is normal. {\large This is large.} Back to normal.

Size Commands in Environments¶

\begin{large}
This entire paragraph is in large font.
It continues across line breaks.
\end{large}

Back to normal size.

Relative Size Changes¶

For precise control, use the relsize package:

\usepackage{relsize}

Normal text.
\relsize{+2} Two sizes larger.
\relsize{-1} One size smaller.

Font Families¶

LaTeX has three font families:

Switching Fonts¶

Declaration commands (affect all following text):

\rmfamily    % Roman (serif) - default
\sffamily    % Sans serif
\ttfamily    % Typewriter (monospace)

Text commands (affect argument only):

\textrm{Roman text}
\textsf{Sans serif text}
\texttt{Typewriter text}

Example:

Default font is roman.

{\sffamily This paragraph is sans serif.
It continues here.}

Back to roman. \textsf{This word is sans serif.} Back to roman.

Font Attributes¶

You can combine family, series (weight), and shape:

Series (weight):

\mdseries    % Medium (normal)
\bfseries    % Bold

Shape:

\upshape     % Upright (normal)
\itshape     % Italic
\slshape     % Slanted
\scshape     % Small caps

Combining:

{\sffamily\bfseries\itshape Sans serif, bold, italic}

Changing Default Font¶

Load font packages in the preamble:

% Times-like font
\usepackage{mathptmx}

% Palatino
\usepackage{mathpazo}

% Helvetica for sans serif
\usepackage{helvet}

% Latin Modern (improved Computer Modern)
\usepackage{lmodern}

Popular combinations:

% Professional look
\usepackage{charter}       % Bitstream Charter
\usepackage[scale=0.9]{inconsolata}  % Monospace

% Modern look
\usepackage{kpfonts}

% Classic LaTeX look (improved)
\usepackage{lmodern}

Colors¶

Basic Colors¶

Load the xcolor package:

\usepackage{xcolor}

Predefined colors:

\textcolor{red}{Red text}
\textcolor{blue}{Blue text}
\textcolor{green}{Green text}
\textcolor{yellow}{Yellow text}
\textcolor{cyan}{Cyan text}
\textcolor{magenta}{Magenta text}
\textcolor{black}{Black text}
\textcolor{white}{White text}

Background Colors¶

\colorbox{yellow}{Text with yellow background}

\fcolorbox{red}{yellow}{Text with red border and yellow background}

Example:

This is \textcolor{red}{red text} and this has a
\colorbox{yellow}{yellow background}.

Defining Custom Colors¶

RGB model (0-1 scale):

\definecolor{myblue}{rgb}{0.0, 0.3, 0.7}
\textcolor{myblue}{Custom blue text}

RGB model (0-255 scale):

\definecolor{myorange}{RGB}{255, 165, 0}
\textcolor{myorange}{Orange text}

HTML hex codes:

\definecolor{mygreen}{HTML}{3CB371}
\textcolor{mygreen}{Medium sea green}

Gray scale:

\definecolor{mygray}{gray}{0.5}  % 0 = black, 1 = white
\textcolor{mygray}{Gray text}

Color Mixing¶

% 80% blue mixed with 20% red
\textcolor{blue!80!red}{Purple-ish blue}

% 50-50 mix
\textcolor{red!50!blue}{Purple}

% Lighten by mixing with white
\textcolor{red!30}{Light red}

% Darken by mixing with black
\textcolor{red!50!black}{Dark red}

Page Color¶

\pagecolor{yellow}     % Yellow background for entire page
\nopagecolor           % Reset to no background color

Lists¶

LaTeX provides three list environments.

Itemize (Bulleted Lists)¶

\begin{itemize}
    \item First item
    \item Second item
    \item Third item
\end{itemize}

Output: - First item - Second item - Third item

Enumerate (Numbered Lists)¶

\begin{enumerate}
    \item First step
    \item Second step
    \item Third step
\end{enumerate}

Output: 1. First step 2. Second step 3. Third step

Description (Definition Lists)¶

\begin{description}
    \item[LaTeX] A document preparation system
    \item[TeX] The underlying typesetting engine
    \item[PDF] Portable Document Format
\end{description}

Output:

LaTeX A document preparation system TeX The underlying typesetting engine PDF Portable Document Format

Nested Lists¶

Lists can be nested up to 4 levels:

\begin{enumerate}
    \item First level
    \begin{enumerate}
        \item Second level
        \begin{enumerate}
            \item Third level
            \begin{enumerate}
                \item Fourth level
            \end{enumerate}
        \end{enumerate}
    \end{enumerate}
    \item Back to first level
\end{enumerate}

Mixed nesting:

\begin{itemize}
    \item Bullet point
    \begin{enumerate}
        \item Numbered sub-item
        \item Another numbered item
        \begin{itemize}
            \item Bullet sub-sub-item
        \end{itemize}
    \end{enumerate}
    \item Another bullet point
\end{itemize}

Customizing List Labels¶

Itemize bullets:

\begin{itemize}
    \item[$\star$] Star bullet
    \item[$\diamond$] Diamond bullet
    \item[$\rightarrow$] Arrow bullet
\end{itemize}

Enumerate numbering:

\begin{enumerate}
    \item[(a)] First item
    \item[(b)] Second item
    \item[(c)] Third item
\end{enumerate}

Global customization with enumitem package:

\usepackage{enumitem}

% Customize itemize
\begin{itemize}[label=$\triangleright$]
    \item Triangle bullets
\end{itemize}

% Customize enumerate
\begin{enumerate}[label=\Roman*.]
    \item First (I.)
    \item Second (II.)
\end{enumerate}

% Options: \arabic*, \alph*, \Alph*, \roman*, \Roman*

Compact Lists¶

\usepackage{enumitem}

\begin{itemize}[noitemsep]
    \item Reduced spacing
    \item Between items
\end{itemize}

\begin{itemize}[nosep]
    \item No spacing at all
    \item Very compact
\end{itemize}

Quotations¶

Quote Environment¶

For short quotations:

\begin{quote}
This is a short quotation. It is indented from both margins.
\end{quote}

Quotation Environment¶

For longer quotations with paragraph indentation:

\begin{quotation}
This is a longer quotation. The first line of each paragraph
is indented.

This is a second paragraph in the quotation.
\end{quotation}

Verse Environment¶

For poetry:

\begin{verse}
Roses are red, \\
Violets are blue, \\
LaTeX is great, \\
And so are you.
\end{verse}

Inline Quotation Marks¶

American style:

``Quoted text''

Output: "Quoted text"

British style (requires babel with british option):

\usepackage[british]{babel}
`Quoted text'

Nested quotes:

``She said, `Hello!' to me.''

Modern approach with csquotes package:

\usepackage{csquotes}

\enquote{Automatically formatted quotes}
\enquote{Outer quote with \enquote{nested quote}}

Verbatim Text¶

Verbatim text is displayed exactly as typed, preserving spaces and special characters.

Inline Verbatim¶

The command \verb|\LaTeX| produces the logo.

File paths like \verb|C:\Users\name\file.txt| work.

Note: The delimiter (here |) can be any character not in the text:

\verb+\textbf{bold}+
\verb!\textit{italic}!
\verb#Special & % $ characters#

Verbatim Environment¶

\begin{verbatim}
This is verbatim text.
    Indentation is preserved.
Special characters: # $ % & _ { } \ ^ ~
\end{verbatim}

Output (exactly as typed):

This is verbatim text.
    Indentation is preserved.
Special characters: # $ % & _ { } \ ^ ~

Code Listings¶

For syntax-highlighted code, use the listings package:

\usepackage{listings}
\usepackage{xcolor}

\lstset{
    language=Python,
    basicstyle=\ttfamily,
    keywordstyle=\color{blue},
    commentstyle=\color{green},
    stringstyle=\color{red},
    numbers=left,
    numberstyle=\tiny,
    frame=single
}

\begin{lstlisting}
def hello(name):
    """Greet someone."""
    print(f"Hello, {name}!")
\end{lstlisting}

Inline code:

The function \lstinline|print("Hello")| outputs text.

Minted Package (Advanced)¶

For superior syntax highlighting using Pygments:

\usepackage{minted}

\begin{minted}{python}
def fibonacci(n):
    if n <= 1:
        return n
    return fibonacci(n-1) + fibonacci(n-2)
\end{minted}

Requires: - Python and Pygments installed - Compile with -shell-escape flag: bash pdflatex -shell-escape document.tex

Special Characters¶

Reserved Characters¶

These characters have special meaning in LaTeX:

Character	Meaning	How to Print
`\`	Command prefix	`\textbackslash` or $\backslash$
`{` `}`	Grouping	`\{` `\}`
$` \| Math mode \| `\$
`&`	Table column separator	`\&`
`%`	Comment	`\%`
`#`	Macro parameter	`\#`
`_`	Subscript (math)	`\_`
`^`	Superscript (math)	`\^{}` or `\textasciicircum`
`~`	Non-breaking space	`\~{}` or `\textasciitilde`

Example:

Price is \$50. Discount is 20\%.

File path: C:\textbackslash Users\textbackslash name

Email: user\_name\@example.com

Special Symbols¶

Dashes:

Hyphen: -                    % daughter-in-law
En-dash: --                  % pages 10--20
Em-dash: ---                 % A dash---like this---for interruption
Minus sign: $-$              % In math mode

Quotation marks:

``Double quotes''
`Single quotes'

Accents and special characters:

\'{e}  % é (acute)
\`{e}  % è (grave)
\^{e}  % ê (circumflex)
\"{o}  % ö (umlaut)
\~{n}  % ñ (tilde)
\={o}  % ō (macron)
\.{c}  % ċ (dot above)
\c{c}  % ç (cedilla)
\aa    % å
\o     % ø
\ss    % ß (German eszett)

Modern approach (UTF-8 input):

\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}

% Then type directly:
Café, naïve, Zürich, São Paulo

Other symbols:

\dag      % †
\ddag     % ‡
\S        % §
\P        % ¶
\copyright  % ©
\pounds   % £
\textregistered  % ®
\texttrademark   % ™

Spacing¶

Horizontal Spacing¶

Manual spacing:

Word1\hspace{1cm}Word2              % 1cm space
Word1\hspace{0.5in}Word2            % 0.5 inch space
Word1\hspace*{2cm}Word2             % Non-removable space

Word1\hfill Word2                   % Maximum stretch

Predefined spaces:

Word\,Word       % Thin space
Word\:Word       % Medium space
Word\;Word       % Thick space
Word\ Word       % Normal space (explicit)
Word~Word        % Non-breaking space
Word\quad Word   % 1em space
Word\qquad Word  % 2em space

Negative space:

Word\hspace{-0.5cm}Word   % Overlap

Vertical Spacing¶

Text before.

\vspace{1cm}

Text after.

% Non-removable (even at page breaks)
\vspace*{2cm}

% Fill vertical space
\vfill

Predefined vertical spaces:

\smallskip      % Small vertical space
\medskip        % Medium vertical space
\bigskip        % Large vertical space

Phantom Spacing¶

Create space equal to the size of text without displaying it:

\phantom{Hidden text}        % Horizontal and vertical space
\hphantom{Hidden}            % Only horizontal space
\vphantom{Hidden}            % Only vertical space

Use case (aligning equations):

\begin{align*}
    f(x) &= x^2 \\
    f'(x) &= 2x \\
    f''(x) &= \phantom{2x}2
\end{align*}

Text Alignment¶

Center¶

\begin{center}
This text is centered.

Multiple lines
are all centered.
\end{center}

Flush Left¶

\begin{flushleft}
This text is left-aligned.
No justification on the right.
\end{flushleft}

Flush Right¶

\begin{flushright}
This text is right-aligned.
No justification on the left.
\end{flushright}

Raggedright and Raggedleft¶

For use within other environments:

\raggedright
This paragraph is left-aligned without justification.

\raggedleft
This paragraph is right-aligned.

\centering
This paragraph is centered.

Footnotes¶

Basic Footnotes¶

This is a sentence with a footnote.\footnote{This is the footnote text.}

Multiple footnotes are numbered automatically.\footnote{First note.}
And they continue.\footnote{Second note.}

Footnote Marks and Text¶

For more control:

This has a footnote mark.\footnotemark

% Later in the document:
\footnotetext{The actual footnote text.}

Use case: Footnotes in tables or headings where \footnote{} doesn't work.

Custom Footnote Marks¶

\footnote[42]{This is footnote number 42.}

Footnote Symbols¶

\renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\fnsymbol{footnote}}

This uses symbols.\footnote{Asterisk}
Another one.\footnote{Dagger}

Symbols: , †, ‡, §, ¶, ‖, *, ††, ‡‡

Return to numbers:

\renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\arabic{footnote}}

Exercises¶

Exercise 1: Font Styles¶

Create a document demonstrating: - Bold, italic, and monospace text - Combinations (bold italic, etc.) - Small caps - At least 5 different font sizes

Exercise 2: Colors¶

Create a document with: - Three predefined colors - Three custom-defined colors (RGB) - Text with colored background - A section with colored heading (use \color{...} or \textcolor{})

Exercise 3: Lists¶

Create a document with: - A bulleted list (3 items) - A numbered list (3 items) - A description list (3 items) - A nested list (itemize inside enumerate, 3 levels deep) - Custom labels for both bullets and numbers

Exercise 4: Quotations¶

Create a document with: - A short quote using the quote environment - A longer quotation with multiple paragraphs - A poem using the verse environment - Inline quotation marks (nested quotes)

Exercise 5: Verbatim and Code¶

Create a document showing: - Inline verbatim command - Multi-line verbatim environment - Code listing with the listings package (configure for Python) - Displaying special characters verbatim

Exercise 6: Special Characters¶

Create a document containing: - All reserved characters: \ { } $ & % # _ ^ ~ - All three dash types with examples - Text with accented characters - Copyright, trademark, and registered symbols

Exercise 7: Spacing and Alignment¶

Create a document with: - Text with custom horizontal spacing - Text with vertical spacing - A centered paragraph - A left-aligned paragraph (no justification) - A right-aligned paragraph - Use \hfill to create a title page with centered title and right-aligned author

Exercise 8: Footnotes¶

Create a document with: - At least 3 footnotes with automatic numbering - A footnote with a custom number - Demonstrate \footnotemark and \footnotetext

Exercise 9: Complete Styled Document¶

Create a comprehensive document combining: - Custom title with large, colored font - Sections with different font families - Lists (bulleted, numbered, description) - Colored text and backgrounds - Code snippet in verbatim - At least 2 footnotes - Centered quotation

Exercise 10: Real-World Application¶

Create a resume or CV using: - Bold for section headings - Italics for job titles or dates - Bullet lists for responsibilities - Custom spacing for visual hierarchy - Footnote for contact information

Summary¶

In this lesson, you mastered:

Font styles: Bold, italic, typewriter, emphasis, small caps
Font sizes: From \tiny to \Huge
Font families: Roman, sans serif, typewriter, and custom fonts
Colors: Predefined, custom, mixing, text and background colors
Lists: Itemize, enumerate, description, nesting, customization
Quotations: Quote, quotation, verse environments, quotation marks
Verbatim: Inline and block verbatim, code listings
Special characters: Reserved characters, accents, symbols
Spacing: Horizontal and vertical spacing, phantom boxes
Alignment: Center, flush left, flush right
Footnotes: Basic, custom marks, symbols

You now have complete control over text appearance in LaTeX. Next, we'll explore mathematical typesetting—one of LaTeX's most powerful features.

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