3

I created a simple macro to type a kind of a range notation (a:b) with a larger colon do distinguish if from normal text.

This is the macro with a MWE:

\documentclass{minimal}
\usepackage{graphicx}

\newcommand{\range}[3][]{%
\def\rangedbldot{\scalebox{1.4}{:}}%
\if\relax\detokenize{#1}\relax%
  \ensuremath{#2\rangedbldot#3}%
\else%
  \ensuremath{#2\rangedbldot#1\rangedbldot#3}%
\fi%
}

\begin{document}
\(1{:}2\)

\(\range{1}{2}\)

\(a_{\range{1}{2}}\)
\end{document}

This is the result:

enter image description here

What I would expect is that since I'm using a \scalebox, not a \resizebox, the scaled colon would be proportional to the current font size, that in subscripts is a little bit smaller than in normal text. But apparently that's not the case.

What have I got wrong here? And how do I fix the macro to make the colon proportional on both cases?

Improve this question
2
  • \scalebox and \resizebox are essentially the same thing, just a different syntax for the scale factor what you are scaling in either case is \mbox{$:$} which does not get smaller in subscripts
    – David Carlisle
    Dec 1, 2017 at 23:24
  • 1
    also it's best not to use minimal class for tests as it does not set up the fonts fully so you can often get artifacts there that will not be a problem in real classes. It'd avoid scaling and use something like \bm{:} to get a bold : or if you want to scale use amsmath then \text{\scalebox{...}} the \text macro will take care of setting the size in subscripts
    – David Carlisle
    Dec 1, 2017 at 23:27

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
4

Use \mathpalette, see The mysteries of \mathpalette

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}

\newcommand{\range}[3][]{%
  \if\relax\detokenize{#1}\relax
    \ensuremath{#2\rangedbldot#3}%
  \else
    \ensuremath{#2\rangedbldot#1\rangedbldot#3}%
  \fi
}
\newcommand{\rangedbldot}{\mathpalette\dorangedbldot\relax}
\newcommand{\dorangedbldot}[2]{%
  \scalebox{1.4}{$#1:$}%
}

\begin{document}
\(1{:}2\)

\(\range{1}{2}\)

\(a_{\range{1}{2}}\)
\end{document}

enter image description here

Improve this answer
1
  • Thanks! This worked perfectly. It'll take me a while to understand the mysteries of \mathpalette :P
    – Phelype Oleinik
    Dec 1, 2017 at 23:41
1

Here I use \ThisStyle{...\SavedStyle...} of the scalerel package to carry the appropriate math-size into the \scalebox.

\documentclass{minimal}
\usepackage{graphicx,scalerel}

\newcommand{\range}[3][]{%
\def\rangedbldot{\ThisStyle{\scalebox{1.4}{$\SavedStyle:$}}}%
\if\relax\detokenize{#1}\relax%
  \ensuremath{#2\rangedbldot#3}%
\else%
  \ensuremath{#2\rangedbldot#1\rangedbldot#3}%
\fi%
}

\begin{document}
\(1{:}2\)

\(\range{1}{2}\)

\(a_{\range{1}{2}}\)
\end{document}

enter image description here

Improve this answer
1

I would use a font change, but if you want to scale it is easier to use \text than use mathpalette directly.

enter image description here

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{graphicx,amsmath,bm}

\makeatletter
\newcommand{\range}[3][\@gobble]{%
  \ensuremath{#2\rangedbldot#1\rangedbldot#3}%
}
\makeatother

\begin{document}

\begin{minipage}{.2\textwidth}
\def\rangedbldot{\scalebox{1.4}{:}}

\(1{:}2\)

\(\range{1}{2}\)

\(a_{\range{1}{2}}\)
\end{minipage}
\begin{minipage}{.2\textwidth}
\def\rangedbldot{{\bm{:}}}

\(1{:}2\)

\(\range{1}{2}\)

\(a_{\range{1}{2}}\)
\end{minipage}
\begin{minipage}{.2\textwidth}
\def\rangedbldot{\text{\scalebox{1.4}{:}}}

\(1{:}2\)

\(\range{1}{2}\)

\(a_{\range{1}{2}}\)
\end{minipage}




\end{document}
Improve this answer
2
  • Indeed using \text is far less complicated than using \mathpalette. But as a matter of choice I prefer avoiding the dependence on other packages (even though I don't know if I have ever NOT used amsmath). But thanks a lot anyways!
    – Phelype Oleinik
    Dec 1, 2017 at 23:47
  • @PhelypeOleinik amsmath and bm the two packages I used there are part of the required core latex distribution, so using them offers no more dependencies than using minimal class or article class.
    – David Carlisle
    Dec 1, 2017 at 23:53

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.