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I'm trying to achieve left and right brace math delimiters, the ones that LaTeX has as standard, since I don't really like the ones that mathdesign font has. Is there some command such as \definemathdelimiter to redefine it?

\documentclass[12pt]{article}

\usepackage[charter]{mathdesign}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{abraces}

\begin{document}
\begin{equation*}
\phi(z) =
    \left\{\begin{tabular}{cl}
    $ 2\arctan\left(\dfrac{y}{\sqrt{x^2+y^2} + x}\right) $ & if  $ x>0  \text{ or }  y \neq 0 $\\
    $ \pi $ & if  $ x<0\text{ and }  y = 0 $ \\
    Does not exist & if  $ x=0\text{ and } y = 0 $
    \end{tabular}\right.\
\end{equation*}

    \[
    \aunderbrace{\text{The desired delimiter}}
    \]

\end{document}

enter image description here

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  • There is also \lbrace and \rbrace. Dec 6, 2019 at 17:26

1 Answer 1

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You can copy the original definitions from fontmath.ltx

\documentclass[12pt]{article}

\usepackage[charter]{mathdesign}
\DeclareSymbolFont{cmsymbols}{OMS}{cmsy}{m}{n}%
\SetSymbolFont{cmsymbols}{bold}{OMS}{cmsy}{b}{n}%
\DeclareSymbolFont{cmlargesymbols}{OMX}{cmex}{m}{n}%
\SetSymbolFont{cmlargesymbols}{bold}{OMX}{cmex}{b}{n}%
\DeclareMathDelimiter{\rbrace}
   {\mathclose}{cmsymbols}{"67}{cmlargesymbols}{"09}
\DeclareMathDelimiter{\lbrace}
   {\mathopen}{cmsymbols}{"66}{cmlargesymbols}{"08}

% Charter version, just to show the difference
\DeclareMathDelimiter{\rfoo}
   {\mathclose}{symbols}{"67}{largesymbols}{"09}
\DeclareMathDelimiter{\lfoo}
   {\mathopen}{symbols}{"66}{largesymbols}{"08}

\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{abraces}

\begin{document}
\begin{gather*}
\left\{\Biggl\{\biggl\{\Bigl\{\bigl\{\{\rule{0pt}{5ex}\}\bigr\}\Bigr\}\biggr\}\Biggr\}\right\} \\
\left\lfoo\Biggl\lfoo\biggl\lfoo\Bigl\lfoo\bigl\lfoo\lfoo\rule{0pt}{5ex}\rfoo\bigr\rfoo\Bigr\rfoo\biggr\rfoo\Biggr\rfoo\right\rfoo 
\end{gather*}

\end{document}

enter image description here

I can't recommend this for two reasons:

  • (objective reason) This will waste two precious symbols fonts.
  • (personal opinion) The font designers spent some time on their job. The charter braces definitely harmonize better with the rest of the font. Mixing symbols from different fonts seldom improves the appearance of a document.
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  • Of course, the font is awesome and I appreciate the work of the designer, they make LaTeX better every day. I want it for an specific and small particular case (the example of the photo was just to illustrate my needs). Thanks a lot for you response.
    – Martín
    Dec 6, 2019 at 12:15
  • 1
    @Martín I didn't want to soud too harsh. There are users who try to build up a "custom font" by mixing every glyph they like, and that's what I wanted to discourage. Note also that what you describe as "the desired delimiter" in your question is a strange mix too: if you zoom in, you'll see that the ends are from charter, while the lines are normal. I believe abraces doesn't work best with fonts different from CM.
    – campa
    Dec 6, 2019 at 12:19

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