Special Characters
The following characters play a special role in LaTeX and are called
special printing characters, or simply special characters.
# $ % & ~ _ ^ \ { }
Whenever you put one of these special characters into your file, you
are doing something special, as described below.
If you simply want the character to be
printed just as any other letter, include a \ in front of the
character. For example, \$ will produce $ in your output.
Exceptions to this rule:
#
The number (pound) sign is used to define use of arguments, for example,
in the \newcommand command.
$
The dollar sign is used to delineate math and
displaymath Enviroments.
%
The percent sign is used to insert Comments in the
input file, and to allow line breaks without generating a space.
&
The ampersand is used to separate items in the array
and tabular Enviroments.
~
The tilde generates a nonbreaking space
To create a tilde in the output, use
\verb or the
verbatim environment (or cheat by using
\~{}, i.e., placing a
tilde accent over a "blank" letter).
_
The underscore is used to create subscripts
^
The carat (circumflex) symbol generates
superscripts.
To create a carat in the output
use \verb or the
verbatim environment.
\ , { , and }
The backslash and braces are used in
command definitions, for enclosing
command arguments, and for delimiting scopes of
declarations.
See also Input to LaTeX
Return to the LaTeX Table of Contents
Revised: Sheldon Green, 15 Jul 1995.