Questions tagged [csname]
This tag is specific to the use of \csname ... \endcsname constructions, typically used to construct control sequences (macros) that are otherwise difficult to create using \<csname>.
93
questions
0
votes
1
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74
views
Doesn't "\csname" need contain "\0"?
On page 40 of The TeXbook,
Conversely, you can go from a list of character tokens to a control sequence by saying ‘\csname\endcsname’.
So \csname TeX\endcsname equals \TeX. However, \TeX contains ...
- 1,801
3
votes
0
answers
64
views
Are there tricks for detecting whether a `\csname..\endcsname`-thingie went wrong and, if so, delivering additional messages explaining the issue?
For the sake of having expandable tokens expanded before stringification I sometimes combine \csname..\endcsname-expansion with \string as in
\chardef\stopromannumeral=`\^^00
\edef\gobbleToPrefix{%
\...
- 27.5k
1
vote
3
answers
74
views
Branch over number of characters of an argument provided to a macro
I currently have the following command:
\newcommand*{\setfontshape}[1]{\@ifnotmtarg{#1}{\csname#1shape\endcsname}}
that helps me produce the command: \scshape from text sc.
I would like to modify my ...
- 4,703
0
votes
1
answer
25
views
Cannot plot CSV with PGFPlotTable, Missing \endcsname inserted
Let's say I have this pretty standard CSV file:
id,x0,y,sy,yhat,yerr,yrelerr,ychi2
0,-1,-1.083108355,0.075,-1.013608377,-0.069499978,0.068566894,0.85871057
1,-0.857142857,-0.625857469,0.075,-0....
- 195
0
votes
1
answer
70
views
Exercise 5.7 in TeX - define control sequences with grouping
I want to solve Exercise 5.7 in the TeXBook by Donald E. Knuth.
Define control sequences **\beginthe**<block name> and **\endthe**<block name>
that provide a “named” block structure.
In ...
- 1
0
votes
2
answers
63
views
! Missing \endcsname inserted error when using \seq_map_pairwise_function:ccN
This question is related to Execute list of commands generated by pairing elements from two \clist s or \seq s.
I am trying to perform a sequence of commands of the form
\def\alpha {^^^^03b1}
...
- 95
2
votes
1
answer
64
views
Operation with counter values of two \foreach loops to reference element of array in tikz
I would like to use the \x and \y variables of the two nested \foreach loops in my tikz script to reference the elements of a list. The code looks like this :
\documentclass{minimal}
\usepackage{tikz}
...
- 23
4
votes
2
answers
133
views
Removing the initial \ of a command name, for use with \csname
The TeXBook has the following text on page 40 (emphasis added)
Conversely, you can go from a list of character tokens to a control sequence by saying \csname⟨tokens⟩\endcsname. The tokens that appear ...
- 4,259
2
votes
1
answer
81
views
Command that creates new command based on argument
I want to have a command called \ensureinfocommand that can be called like this:
\ensureinfocommand{studentid}
This call will check if the command \studentid already exists and if not, it should ...
- 159
0
votes
1
answer
39
views
Redefining a command with arguments inside another comand sometimes does not work
I try to generate a \law command that behaves differently depending on the settings. \setlaw changes the behaviour differently. It seems to work for the first two cases. However, when trying to put ...
- 1,475
8
votes
2
answers
344
views
Opposite of csname
If I have a macro \Name that expands to a macro name, I can use that with \csname or the various tools from etoolbox. Can I do the opposite, i.e., get the name of a macro?
My use case is the following:...
- 2,237
1
vote
1
answer
178
views
What's causing mysterious "Missing \endcsname inserted" error that didn't exist four months ago?
I am running MacTeX 2022 with all updates applied. I have a large project that last built correctly on September 3, 2022. Today I get a mysterious Missing \endcsname inserted error on one particular ...
- 3,357
2
votes
2
answers
68
views
How can foreach be used to create synonymous macros?
I need many synonyms of many macros with key figure references?
How do I use the \foreach token as a \newcommand name?
I look to replace the ACTUAL output with the MOCKUP output
by generating and ...
- 317
0
votes
1
answer
94
views
Exercise 7.6 of the texbook
Exercise 7.6 of the texbook is as follows:
What tokens does '\expandafter\string\csname a\string\ b\endcsname' produce? (There are three spaces before the b.)
Here is my analysis to this problem ...
- 2,847
0
votes
1
answer
67
views
How to define a macro globally with a name containing a number?
I'm trying to define multiple macros in a \foreach loop. The name of each macro contains a different integer. To do that I use \csname ... \endcsname.
The issue is I would like to be able to call ...
- 45
2
votes
3
answers
103
views
How to store data for later use (list-like)
I use an environment "exo" defined by
\usepackage{amsmath}
\newtheorem{exo}{Exercice}
I would like to optionally include some exercises later in the document, using the following:
\...
- 91
2
votes
2
answers
59
views
Can't define a macro with a name derived from another macro's value: `! Missing \endcsname inserted.`
What happened
Given that the macro \CurrentOption whose value is an unknown string of English letters already exists in the document, I want to create another macro whose name is the capitalized value ...
- 479
1
vote
3
answers
60
views
Create a version of a theorem whose environment name is capitalised
I want to write a macro \createTheorem that creates two environments: a normal one and a "capitalised" one.
For example, \createTheorem{defi}{Definition} will create :
an environment \begin{...
- 6,658
2
votes
4
answers
133
views
Macro within csname
I would like to call the macro \PsalmY{} where 'Y' is a number in Roman Capital numerals (this macro display the Psalm n°Y). For example, \PsalmII{} will display Psalm 2.
Therefore I have created a ...
- 97
6
votes
4
answers
270
views
Wrapping a command (parametrically) - csname woes
I would like to "wrap" an existing command with another command.
For example, suppose that there is one command
\cmda
I would like that each time this is called we end up executing:
\...
- 315
0
votes
0
answers
47
views
Understanding some aspects of the philex package
In Philex, you can refer locally to an example (2b) by just typing
\rnx{label} and it will return just (b), otherwise just type \rn{label} and it returns (2b).
Here is the syntax of the two commands:
\...
- 417
4
votes
1
answer
116
views
How to use \csname inside \xpatchcmd?
Consider the following example, what is the correct way to use \csname and \endcsname inside \xpatchcmd?
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{regexpatch}
\begin{document}
\def\foo{foo}
\def\bar{with ...
- 8,092
0
votes
1
answer
59
views
\@nameuse fails on definition within tcolorbox
This question complements Why does \zifrefundefined fail on tcolorbox reference?
\documentclass[
a4paper,
11pt,
parskip=half
]{scrbook}
\usepackage[nospace]{varioref}
\usepackage[pdfencoding=...
- 272
0
votes
1
answer
116
views
endcsname error in the plot command in latex
I am using the following to plot 2 columns as a line graph.
\begin{filecontents*}{data.dat}
X, Y
05\%, 78.02\%
15\%, 76.70\%
20\%, 76.30\%
50\%, 75.70\% ...
0
votes
1
answer
94
views
Should we really use csname?
Over time have seen csname but I never had to learn it until now.
But after reading @egreg's (beautiful!) answer to What exactly do \csname and \endcsname do?, I am not so sure if this is good coding.
...
7
votes
1
answer
197
views
\csname does not work with #1?
I'm trying to use \csname to execute a command whose name depends on a variable. If I use \csname mygametitle\tmp \endcsname it works, but if I use instead of \tmp the argument #1 it fails:
\...
- 7,803
5
votes
3
answers
540
views
Remove extra space generated by a LaTeX command
My LaTeX document contains the following lines:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{etoolbox}
\newcommand{\defineSpecies}[2]{\csdef{spec@#1}{#2}}
\newrobustcmd{\spec}[1]{%
\ifcsname spec@#1\...
- 574
3
votes
2
answers
126
views
\cs_new:nn or \@namelet
Before I expend the effort, has anybody defined either \cs_new:nn or \@namelet, the basic idea being that I want to write
\@namelet{foo}{bar}
or
\cs_new:nn {foo} {bar}
and have that be equivalent to
...
- 13.8k
1
vote
4
answers
1k
views
How to define newcommand* with a variable name?
I'm trying this:
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\expandafter\newcommand\csname foo\endcsname{}
\expandafter\newcommand*\csname bar\endcsname{}
\end{document}
The second \newcommand* doesn't ...
- 11.7k
2
votes
3
answers
411
views
How to check if a command is empty, with a variable name?
I'm doing this:
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\newcounter{bar}
\newcommand\checkit{
\ifx\csname foo\romannumeral\the\value{bar}\endcsname\empty
empty
\fi
}
\newcommand\foovi{hello}
\...
- 11.7k
1
vote
1
answer
61
views
How to create a command with a numerical name?
I want to be able to do this:
\make{6}{hello!}
And it should turn into (vi is the roman for six):
\ifcsname foovi\else
\newcommand\foovi{}
\fi
\gappto\foovi{hello!}
I'm doing this:
\documentclass{...
- 11.7k
6
votes
2
answers
90
views
How to achieve this \StrToABBR with expl3 to allow it appear in \csname...\endcsname?
In a package of mine there are many lines of code like this:
\lowercase{\IfStrEqCase{#1}}{%
{cn}{\PJLlang@langconfig@SC}%
{chinese}{\PJLlang@langconfig@SC}%
{schinese}{\...
- 8,092
0
votes
0
answers
67
views
Why does this \gappto cause "Missing \endcsname inserted"?
I have a macro recoding the language:
\def\mylang{English}
and a command to convert the language name into its abbreviation:
\NewDocumentCommand{\StrToABBR}{m}{%
\expandafter\lowercase{\...
- 8,092
2
votes
2
answers
64
views
Using \csname to iterate over loaded pgfplots tables with \addplot
I'm attempting to create a pgfplots group plot in which each curve is made from a pre-loaded pgfplots table in an automated way. The intended application is for a complicated drawing involving many ...
- 346
0
votes
1
answer
22
views
Refer to a loaded pgfplotstable via csname
I would like to be able to use \csname to manipulate a table previously assigned to a macro via \pgfplotstableread. Attempting to use the macro indirectly, however, fails to compile. Here is a MWE:
\...
- 346
1
vote
0
answers
108
views
\endcsname error (need help fast!)
I have these two error messages and I'm not sure how to solve it, any help as soon as available would be really appreciated. I'm not very good at LaTeX and I'm using it to write my dissertation. The ...
- 19
2
votes
1
answer
37
views
Output a result file from a original file with @nameuse
i have a file a.tex
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\makeatletter
\gdef\wbsinput@files{,\jobname}
\gdef\wbsinput@current{\jobname}
\long\def\wbs#1#2{
{\expandafter\ifx\csname wbsinput@\...
- 395
0
votes
1
answer
186
views
Define a dynamic variable name and use it before its definition
I searched on the Internet but I did not find any solution for my problem, so I ask here.
Short Question
Is there a way to define a dynamic variable name in LaTex and use it before its definition?
...
0
votes
1
answer
122
views
Calling dynamically-named counters
I have several pairs of counters, Question and Subquestion, Example and Subexample, etc. I'd like to set the child series to 1 whenever the parent series advances, and I'd like to arrange this for all ...
- 725
0
votes
0
answers
238
views
newcommand + csname + sout + cref = ERROR: Extra }, or forgotten \endgroup
I'm not sure to understand why, but I created a command to automatically add a strike-command per author. If I use it strike normal text, it works. If I use it to strike a text with \cref{...} inside, ...
- 7,803
2
votes
1
answer
162
views
How to define a command that defines macro with default value
I have to define a lot of text variables with some default value.
I do it next way:
\def\name#1{\gdef\@name{#1}}%
\name{Alex}
I tried to automatize this process, but it is not working
\newcommand{\...
- 529
7
votes
2
answers
202
views
Why don't unexpandable active characters work in \csname...\endcsname?
Page 213 of The TeXbook has a definitive explanation of \csname...\endcsname:
When TeX expands \csname it reads to the matching \endcsname,
expanding tokens as it goes; only character tokens should ...
- 81
0
votes
1
answer
709
views
!Missing \endcsname inserted. <to be read again> when attempting 3dpdf
I'm trying to make a 3d pdf image, and get this error. I'd appreciate any advice.
\documentclass[a4paper]{article}
\usepackage[3D]{movie15}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage[UKenglish]{babel}
\begin{...
- 1
3
votes
2
answers
194
views
How to define a starred custom gather new environment
I'm writing a file which I need the equations inside the gather environment to not be numbered.
I was able to see the normal version (this answer, which works great:
\newenvironment{Lgather}{\...
2
votes
1
answer
61
views
\csname silences errors
It seems that \csname automatically defines the control sequence in question if it's not already defined. The code below creates a document creating "a b c"; swapping the \csname line and \...
- 135
3
votes
2
answers
176
views
extra brace when use \csname in \clist_set:No
clist is not set appropriately with \cs_if_exist_use:c or \csname ... \endcsname, it seems that there is extra braces. If I use \clist_set:Nx, error occurs.
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}...
- 4,446
0
votes
1
answer
45
views
empty control sequence in \NewDocumentCommand
In the code below, \csname ... \endcsname and \cs_if_exist_use:c inside \NewDocumentCommand do not behave as expected.
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{xparse}
\expandafter\def\csname test 1\...
- 4,446
1
vote
1
answer
48
views
Command works as "\csname cmd \endcsname" but not as "\cmd"
I'm trying to create a command (\dummy) for dynamic macro definition. It is supposed to return a macro that is named dynamically (#3) with the content of #2 concatenated after #1 iterations.
\...
- 199
10
votes
3
answers
921
views
Using \let with \csname inside a macro
So, I was looking for a way to set some commands to one of a few alternative definitions (i.e. setting \mycommand to one version of the command or others with a simple command invocation), and was ...
- 103
2
votes
8
answers
382
views
defining a new command with variable name in a loop
I was trying to not write 26 redundant lines; \magic works on its own; but the loop breaks it
\usepackage{pgffor,amsfonts}
\newcommand{\magic}[1]{
\expandafter\newcommand\csname b#1\endcsname{\...
- 43