# Writing a limit so that the subscript goes directly underneath

When I write $\lim_{x \rightarrow p} f(x) = q$, the subscript x \rightarrow p appears to the right of the limit, instead of directly underneath it.

When I try $\displaystyle \lim_{x \rightarrow p} f(x) = q$, the subscript of the limit takes up extra space, making the line taller than usual and creating an awkward extra space underneath everything else...

Is there a way to write limits in-line with the subscript underneath, and everything squished to the normal height of the line its in?

-

One way would be to use \scalebox from the graphicx package to rescale the version obtained by \displaystyle. Here is a comparison of the usual inline version of \lim and the scaled version:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{graphicx}

\newcommand{\Text}{\noindent Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet }

\newcommand{\Lim}[1]{\raisebox{0.5ex}{\scalebox{0.8}{$\displaystyle \lim_{#1}\;$}}}

\usepackage{graphicx}
\begin{document}
\Text
$\textcolor{blue}{\lim_{x \rightarrow p} f(x) = q}$
\Text
$\textcolor{red}{\Lim{x \rightarrow p} f(x) = q}$
\Text
\end{document}
-
Would it be easy to turn this into a macro which I can use every time I write a limit? –  jamaicanworm Dec 27 '11 at 2:10
@jamaicanworm: Updated solution to use macro version. –  Peter Grill Dec 27 '11 at 2:14
One might ask which one is worse: enlarging the interline spacing or printing an ugly symbol. I'll keep with the standard TeX way of typesetting the limit. :) –  egreg Dec 27 '11 at 11:21
$\underset{x \to \infty}{\lim}$