What commands are there for horizontal spacing?

Question

I know that \: in LaTeX produces a space when rendered.

Are there any alternatives, because my LaTeX renderer doesn't support \: (it renders it as text), and there is no help / FAQ that I can find.

Answer 1

There are a number of horizontal spacing macros for LaTeX:

1. \, inserts a \thinspace (equivalent to .16667em) in text mode, or \thinmuskip (equivalent to 3mu) in math mode;
2. \! inserts a negative \thinmuskip in math mode;
3. \> inserts \medmuskip (equivalent to 4.0mu plus 2.0mu minus 4.0mu) in math mode;
4. \; inserts \thickmuskip (equivalent to 5.0mu plus 5.0mu) in math mode;
5. \: is equivalent to \> (see above);
6. \enspace inserts a space of .5em in text or math mode;
7. \quad inserts a space of 1em in text or math mode;
8. \qquad inserts a space of 2em in text or math mode;
9. \hspace{<len>} inserts a space of length <len> in math or text mode; and
10. \hphantom{<stuff>} inserts space of length equivalent to <stuff> in math or text mode. Should be \protected when used in fragile commands (like \caption and sectional headings).

Your usage should work in math mode, so try $\:$.