Questions about typesetting units with (All)TeX.
38
votes
5answers
922 views
Why use a package to typeset units?
I've seen a lot of posts about different packages for typesetting units and their relative strengths and weaknesses. Most posts seem to agree that the siunitx package is the most up to date package, ...
20
votes
3answers
3k views
What package should I use to typeset units?
I know there are a few packages related to typesetting units:
unitsdef
units, which can be seen as a "base package" used by unitsdef
SIunits
siunitx, which is the successor to SIunits
maybe others? ...
19
votes
2answers
7k views
Best way to typeset micrometers?
It seems to be generally well accepted that the correct way to typeset a value with units is to separate the number from the units by a space, and write the units in an upright font. For example,
...
17
votes
1answer
2k views
What are the possible dimensions / sizes / units LaTeX understands?
I know there are different ways of expressing sizes or dimensions in LaTeX such as points (pt), inches (in) and ex.
As some commands, such as \hspace understand all of them, I would like to have a ...
16
votes
3answers
2k views
Should I put a space between a number and its unit?
No too much more to say.
\( 2.63\si\ohm \) looks odd. But it might be the correct way.
\( 2.64\,\si\ohm \) looks much better IMO. What about the \,? Sould it be bigger, smaller or there is no really ...
16
votes
4answers
2k views
Typesetting with Inch Symbols and Sizes in Inches
I'd be much obliged if somebody could tell me how to do the following.
How does one typeset the symbol for inches in LaTeX? Is it "?. Lamport, nor Knuth seem to mention it.
Assuming \inchcommand is ...
13
votes
2answers
913 views
Conventions for formatting scientific units?
I would appreciate some guidance on how to format units that incorporate SI, molecules, and text.
Right now I am formatting the letters in chemicals or names as 'text' and the SI units, sub/super ...
11
votes
1answer
102 views
How to achieve nomenclature entries like: symbol, Description, Dimension and unit, etc?
The title is pretty much I want to ask. More detail, the nomenclature entries should be sorted in groups like:
Nomenclature
Acronyms
Symbol Description % no Dimensions and Units
...
9
votes
1answer
275 views
How do I typeset units like MB, GB (megabytes, gigabytes)?
Is there a simple way to typeset byte units like MB, GB, TB in latex in math mode? How do you typeset 1GB for example?
9
votes
1answer
385 views
How to typeset imperial/US customary units, especially in combination with SI/metric units
I am just working on a document (a series of exercises for one of my classes), which uses both the SI and US customary unit systems (different exercises use different systems). I am trying to typeset ...
8
votes
1answer
363 views
How does PDF or PDF Viewer define a rounding rule for stroke thickness?
I defined a sequence of line segments of different thickness each as follows.
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{multido}
\parindent=0sp
\begin{document}
...
7
votes
3answers
2k views
siunitx: µ doesn't work
I'm using TeXnicCenter for Windows (7) and I'm a bloody beginner in everything that concerns LaTeX. I'm using the siunitx package for mathematical formulas and it works just fine... with one ...
7
votes
3answers
255 views
How to switch large document from units-package to siunitx?
For historical reasons, I've been using the units package in my thesis to typeset numbers with units or units with \usepackage[tight]{units}
For formatting numbers in table columns I'm already using ...
7
votes
1answer
2k views
siunitx: scientific notation
I want to use scientific notation with the siunitx package. However, when I try to do it I am getting an error:
The width of a human hair is \SI{1 \times 10^{-4}}{m}.
This has always given me a ...
7
votes
2answers
221 views
Oldstyle numerals or lining numerals with units of measurement?
What is considered proper typography regarding which set of numerals to use with units of measurement?
A real-life example:
In the experiment, shown schematically in figure 2.2, we illuminate an ...
7
votes
1answer
108 views
Wrapper for siunitx' \SI macro to automatically split number and unit
Problem
I use the siunitx-package to typeset numbers and units with correct spacing etc. There is a command
\SI{<number>}{<unit>}
for that. However, it would be much easier to write ...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
Helvetica font and ohm symbol
I am writing an industrial laboratory report, where I need to use Helvetica.
My preamble contains:
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\renewcommand{\familydefault}{phv}\selectfont
\usepackage[margin=10pt, ...
6
votes
2answers
739 views
Circuitikz doesn't recognize units
For example when I use \ohm or \micro it throws an error. For example, in the MWE:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{circuitikz}
\begin{document}
\begin{circuitikz} \draw
(0,0) to ...
5
votes
1answer
310 views
How to typeset dimensional tolerances (mechanical engineering) with LaTeX?
Is there a package which allows to typeset dimensional tolerances as used in mechanical engineering like:
?
I have to use them in the text and wonder how to do that best. So I'm searching for a ...
5
votes
1answer
82 views
Handle currencies correctly depending on language conventions
Is there a standard way of handling currencies?
Example:
in American, you'd say "$2 a piece"
in French, you'd say "2$ pièce"
I'd like to be able to write \somecommand{dollars}{2}, that would ...
4
votes
2answers
421 views
Problem with \makebox and the unit in the dimensions
I want to superpose a text to some other object (in this aces a picture). My idea is to store the picture in \mabox, to display it with in a \makebox with 0 width and height, then to display the text ...
4
votes
3answers
233 views
Subscripts and superscripts for Physiology paper
I'm writing a medicine/physiology article.
I was writing the manuscript in Microsoft Word, but have recently discovered LaTeX for rendering math equations, which it does superbly; and wanted to learn ...
4
votes
1answer
297 views
Typesetting unit-less numbers and number-less units
I am using the siunitx package to typeset my numbers, but sometimes I find situations in which I have numbers without units (when the units are not nearby) and units without numbers. E.g.:
The bird ...
4
votes
1answer
104 views
canonical units for defining white space in a beamer presentation?
When using \hspace and \vspace, I often run into a decision of which units to use. In many examples I see the use of ex, cm, mm, pt, in, and so on. I also use .1\textwidth or .1\textheight. I wonder ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
How to make pgfplots vertical labels have proper hyperref erence box?
PGFPlots and hyperref don't seem to play well together for vertical text. For example, the ylabel (which is vertical) shows its hyperref box in the middle of nowhere instead of at the position and ...
4
votes
1answer
179 views
Unit-free ratios in \path let
I want to compute pure ratios of distances in a \path let construction; for example, in the document fragment
\path let \p1 = (1cm, 2cm), \n1 = {\y1 / \x1} in ...
I would like \n1 to be the number ...
3
votes
2answers
8k views
Angstrom not working
Using \AA for angstrom is not working for me. When I write 1 \AA all I get is 2 (r)A in the output. I have tried putting the curly brackets around it {\AA} but still no success. I do not know why. I ...
3
votes
1answer
70 views
How to automatically switch unit systems?
The question Why use a package to typeset units? made me think about something else: In non-scientific context one may have to provide data for persons using ... imperial units (shiver). But there may ...
3
votes
2answers
251 views
Problem with slanted numerals when combining siunitx and arev
There is a strange interaction between the siunitx and arev packages, whereby all the numerals appear slanted when using commands such as \num or \SI.
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{siunitx}
...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
nomencl with units, nomgroups and longtable
I use nomencl with nomgroups and nomunit. The only way I achieved to properly align it is given in the picture. It was produced using the methods of the documentation.
The file.ist is standard, ...
2
votes
2answers
221 views
What unit should we use when working with (La)TeX and PSTricks to minimize conversion error?
I want to minimize conversion error when working with PSTricks and (La)TeX. The conversion error really affects the accuracy of bounding box, the thickness of LaTeX's \fbox and the thickness of ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
usepgfplotslibrary - undefined control sequence
I have problem with following example code:
%& --shell-escape --enable-write-18
\documentclass[a4paper,10pt]{article}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage{polski}
...
2
votes
1answer
321 views
How to improve accuracy when working with PSTricks?
I have tried this with TikZ that produces the same issue, you can try Leo's solution here. In other words, this issue is NOT specific to PSTricks.
The hidden idea is to avoid cropping with pdfcrop ...
1
vote
1answer
392 views
Use of math mode with SIstyle
When using the SIstyle package, I noticed that numbers inside \SI{}{} and \num{} appear in a slightly different style than inside $$.
Do the \SI{}{} and \num{} commands come with math mode already?
...
1
vote
1answer
320 views
dvips produces improperly-trimmed output for non-standard papersize
Note:
Rather than creating a new question that has almost the same code base, I rewrote my previous question. Because this issue is not specific to PSTricks, I changed the code so everybody can play ...
0
votes
1answer
342 views
Why does my EPS header have % Produced by xpdf/pdftops 3.02pl4?
I have a simple input file contains PSTricks code as follows.
% sample.tex
\documentclass[cmyk]{minimal}
\usepackage{pstricks}
\usepackage[paperwidth=144bp,paperheight=108bp,margin=0bp]{geometry}
...
0
votes
0answers
149 views
Is there a preferred way to typeset the dimensions of physical volumes? [closed]
I was wondering if there is a preferred way to typeset the size of 3-dimensional volumes with a specific unit in a scientific paper. For instance, let's say I want to describe the dimensions of a ...
