Why do the less than symbol () appear wrong as upside down exclamation (¡) or question mark (¿)?

up vote
219
down vote

favorite

When typing < or > in LaTeX and compiling with pdflatex, the less than and greater than symbols appear at upside down exclamation points. I'm not in math mode.

edited Aug 6 '13 at 8:17

lockstep

189k52584718

asked Aug 26 '10 at 19:18

biased_estimator

1,198284

using it in a regression results table in a paper.
– biased_estimator
Aug 28 '10 at 2:44

@ShreevatsaR: "This example holds true for all cases where n >= 3".
– SabreWolfy
Feb 2 '12 at 13:02

see also beramono and texttt : angle brackets show as inverted exclamation mark and inverted question mark symbols (upside-down signs, like in spanish) for a font-specific answer with bera mono
– barbara beeton
Feb 10 '16 at 17:08

Worth noting that you can also use modern OpenType or TrueType fonts, in either LuaLaTeX or XeLaTeX, with the fontspec package. In this case, you do not want to load the T1 encoding. The encodings will already be set up properly.
– Davislor
Oct 6 at 19:21

add a comment |

up vote
219
down vote

favorite

When typing < or > in LaTeX and compiling with pdflatex, the less than and greater than symbols appear at upside down exclamation points. I'm not in math mode.

edited Aug 6 '13 at 8:17

lockstep

189k52584718

asked Aug 26 '10 at 19:18

biased_estimator

1,198284

using it in a regression results table in a paper.
– biased_estimator
Aug 28 '10 at 2:44

@ShreevatsaR: "This example holds true for all cases where n >= 3".
– SabreWolfy
Feb 2 '12 at 13:02

see also beramono and texttt : angle brackets show as inverted exclamation mark and inverted question mark symbols (upside-down signs, like in spanish) for a font-specific answer with bera mono
– barbara beeton
Feb 10 '16 at 17:08

Worth noting that you can also use modern OpenType or TrueType fonts, in either LuaLaTeX or XeLaTeX, with the fontspec package. In this case, you do not want to load the T1 encoding. The encodings will already be set up properly.
– Davislor
Oct 6 at 19:21

add a comment |

up vote
219
down vote

favorite

When typing < or > in LaTeX and compiling with pdflatex, the less than and greater than symbols appear at upside down exclamation points. I'm not in math mode.

edited Aug 6 '13 at 8:17

lockstep

189k52584718

asked Aug 26 '10 at 19:18

biased_estimator

1,198284

When typing < or > in LaTeX and compiling with pdflatex, the less than and greater than symbols appear at upside down exclamation points. I'm not in math mode.

symbols punctuation font-encodings

edited Aug 6 '13 at 8:17

lockstep

189k52584718

asked Aug 26 '10 at 19:18

biased_estimator

1,198284

edited Aug 6 '13 at 8:17

lockstep

189k52584718

asked Aug 26 '10 at 19:18

biased_estimator

1,198284

edited Aug 6 '13 at 8:17

lockstep

189k52584718

edited Aug 6 '13 at 8:17

lockstep

189k52584718

edited Aug 6 '13 at 8:17

lockstep

189k52584718

asked Aug 26 '10 at 19:18

biased_estimator

1,198284

asked Aug 26 '10 at 19:18

biased_estimator

1,198284

asked Aug 26 '10 at 19:18

biased_estimator

1,198284

using it in a regression results table in a paper.
– biased_estimator
Aug 28 '10 at 2:44

@ShreevatsaR: "This example holds true for all cases where n >= 3".
– SabreWolfy
Feb 2 '12 at 13:02

see also beramono and texttt : angle brackets show as inverted exclamation mark and inverted question mark symbols (upside-down signs, like in spanish) for a font-specific answer with bera mono
– barbara beeton
Feb 10 '16 at 17:08

Worth noting that you can also use modern OpenType or TrueType fonts, in either LuaLaTeX or XeLaTeX, with the fontspec package. In this case, you do not want to load the T1 encoding. The encodings will already be set up properly.
– Davislor
Oct 6 at 19:21

add a comment |

using it in a regression results table in a paper.
– biased_estimator
Aug 28 '10 at 2:44

@ShreevatsaR: "This example holds true for all cases where n >= 3".
– SabreWolfy
Feb 2 '12 at 13:02

see also beramono and texttt : angle brackets show as inverted exclamation mark and inverted question mark symbols (upside-down signs, like in spanish) for a font-specific answer with bera mono
– barbara beeton
Feb 10 '16 at 17:08

Worth noting that you can also use modern OpenType or TrueType fonts, in either LuaLaTeX or XeLaTeX, with the fontspec package. In this case, you do not want to load the T1 encoding. The encodings will already be set up properly.
– Davislor
Oct 6 at 19:21

using it in a regression results table in a paper.
– biased_estimator
Aug 28 '10 at 2:44

@ShreevatsaR: "This example holds true for all cases where n >= 3".
– SabreWolfy
Feb 2 '12 at 13:02

see also beramono and texttt : angle brackets show as inverted exclamation mark and inverted question mark symbols (upside-down signs, like in spanish) for a font-specific answer with bera mono
– barbara beeton
Feb 10 '16 at 17:08

Worth noting that you can also use modern OpenType or TrueType fonts, in either LuaLaTeX or XeLaTeX, with the fontspec package. In this case, you do not want to load the T1 encoding. The encodings will already be set up properly.
– Davislor
Oct 6 at 19:21

add a comment |

4 Answers
4

active

oldest

votes

up vote
189
down vote

accepted

Geoffs tip with textless and textgreater will work well for you. However, you could type these symbols < and > directly in your editor and they would be correctly printed if you use the recommended font encoding, Cork resp. T1:

usepackage[T1]{fontenc}

Have a look at the T1 encoding table, search for the symbols < and >. Afterwards, open the OT1 encoding table, which is the default. At the two corresponding places you will find the upside down exclamation resp. quotation mark. That should explain it.

For further reasons, why you should use T1 encoding, have a look at this question: Why should I use usepackage[T1]{fontenc}?

You should use a font supporting T1. For instance use the very good Latin Modern font, derived from the standard fonts:

usepackage{lmodern}

Or install the cm-super package which provides the standard Computer Modern fonts with T1 support.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:35

Community♦

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:30

Stefan Kottwitz♦

174k63566754

2

Further reading: Latin Modern vs cm-super?
– doncherry
Jan 31 '13 at 6:46

will this screw up any other part of the document?
– Hao Sun
Jun 13 '16 at 20:52

1

@HaoSun It's an improvement. If something would change that you don't desire, it can be fixed. If you don't want any change, just don't change.
– Stefan Kottwitz♦
Jun 13 '16 at 22:24

add a comment |

up vote
86
down vote

Use textless and textgreater.

answered Aug 26 '10 at 19:24

Geoff

1,92121214

8

unless they are part of a math expression, in which case they should be between dollar signs or ( ... ) along with the rest of the math expression.
– barbara beeton
Aug 26 '10 at 19:51

add a comment |

up vote
17
down vote

What I usually do is just enter mathmode to type them, e.g. This object is $<$ that object.

answered Aug 27 '10 at 20:39

Avi Steiner

43929

17

That is generally considered poor style. You should just write out "This object is less than that object." Occasionally, you'll see "foo is <0." This looks bad.
– TH.
Aug 27 '10 at 23:32

10

That's definitely true. However, if you're using LaTeX to organize your thoughts (as i often do), 'good style' equates to 'will I understand what I wrote if I come back and look at it in a week'!
– Avi Steiner
Sep 3 '10 at 3:30

@TH.: I agree with you. My experiency tells me too that text and math code should not be mixed up. Good style would be either writing "The variable $foo$ is less than zero." (as you mentioned) or "The variable $foo$ satisfies the relation/condition $foo<0$.", which would probably suit your application. Good style means also to define variables at the first use.
– strpeter
Dec 7 '13 at 8:07

1

@strpeter While mentioning style, it is worth noting that variable $foo$ is not good style either: it refers to the product of $f$ , $o$ , and $o$ . You mean variable $mathit{foo}$.
– akim
Dec 8 '14 at 9:19

OK, I was not typing it correct in the sense of the variable as I focused on the operator. You're right - use your preferred version $mathit{foo}<0$ , $mathrm{foo}<0$ , $mathbf{foo}<0$ , or whatever variable. ;)
– strpeter
Dec 8 '14 at 10:40

add a comment |

up vote
15
down vote

May be using some other sane font encoding, something like usepackage[T1]{fontenc} or something. (Well, I don't think any of this legacy font encoding and input encoding is sane any way).

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:26

Khaled Hosny

21.4k172108

add a comment |

protected by percusse Mar 28 '16 at 17:08

Thank you for your interest in this question.
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4 Answers
4

active

oldest

votes

4 Answers
4

active

oldest

votes

up vote
189
down vote

accepted

usepackage[T1]{fontenc}

For further reasons, why you should use T1 encoding, have a look at this question: Why should I use usepackage[T1]{fontenc}?

You should use a font supporting T1. For instance use the very good Latin Modern font, derived from the standard fonts:

usepackage{lmodern}

Or install the cm-super package which provides the standard Computer Modern fonts with T1 support.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:35

Community♦

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:30

Stefan Kottwitz♦

174k63566754

2

Further reading: Latin Modern vs cm-super?
– doncherry
Jan 31 '13 at 6:46

will this screw up any other part of the document?
– Hao Sun
Jun 13 '16 at 20:52

1

@HaoSun It's an improvement. If something would change that you don't desire, it can be fixed. If you don't want any change, just don't change.
– Stefan Kottwitz♦
Jun 13 '16 at 22:24

add a comment |

up vote
189
down vote

accepted

usepackage[T1]{fontenc}

For further reasons, why you should use T1 encoding, have a look at this question: Why should I use usepackage[T1]{fontenc}?

You should use a font supporting T1. For instance use the very good Latin Modern font, derived from the standard fonts:

usepackage{lmodern}

Or install the cm-super package which provides the standard Computer Modern fonts with T1 support.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:35

Community♦

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:30

Stefan Kottwitz♦

174k63566754

2

Further reading: Latin Modern vs cm-super?
– doncherry
Jan 31 '13 at 6:46

will this screw up any other part of the document?
– Hao Sun
Jun 13 '16 at 20:52

1

@HaoSun It's an improvement. If something would change that you don't desire, it can be fixed. If you don't want any change, just don't change.
– Stefan Kottwitz♦
Jun 13 '16 at 22:24

add a comment |

up vote
189
down vote

accepted

usepackage[T1]{fontenc}

For further reasons, why you should use T1 encoding, have a look at this question: Why should I use usepackage[T1]{fontenc}?

You should use a font supporting T1. For instance use the very good Latin Modern font, derived from the standard fonts:

usepackage{lmodern}

Or install the cm-super package which provides the standard Computer Modern fonts with T1 support.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:35

Community♦

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:30

Stefan Kottwitz♦

174k63566754

usepackage[T1]{fontenc}

For further reasons, why you should use T1 encoding, have a look at this question: Why should I use usepackage[T1]{fontenc}?

You should use a font supporting T1. For instance use the very good Latin Modern font, derived from the standard fonts:

usepackage{lmodern}

Or install the cm-super package which provides the standard Computer Modern fonts with T1 support.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:35

Community♦

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:30

Stefan Kottwitz♦

174k63566754

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:35

Community♦

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:35

Community♦

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:35

Community♦

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:30

Stefan Kottwitz♦

174k63566754

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:30

Stefan Kottwitz♦

174k63566754

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:30

Stefan Kottwitz♦

174k63566754

2

Further reading: Latin Modern vs cm-super?
– doncherry
Jan 31 '13 at 6:46

will this screw up any other part of the document?
– Hao Sun
Jun 13 '16 at 20:52

1

@HaoSun It's an improvement. If something would change that you don't desire, it can be fixed. If you don't want any change, just don't change.
– Stefan Kottwitz♦
Jun 13 '16 at 22:24

add a comment |

2

Further reading: Latin Modern vs cm-super?
– doncherry
Jan 31 '13 at 6:46

will this screw up any other part of the document?
– Hao Sun
Jun 13 '16 at 20:52

1

@HaoSun It's an improvement. If something would change that you don't desire, it can be fixed. If you don't want any change, just don't change.
– Stefan Kottwitz♦
Jun 13 '16 at 22:24

Further reading: Latin Modern vs cm-super?
– doncherry
Jan 31 '13 at 6:46

will this screw up any other part of the document?
– Hao Sun
Jun 13 '16 at 20:52

@HaoSun It's an improvement. If something would change that you don't desire, it can be fixed. If you don't want any change, just don't change.
– Stefan Kottwitz♦
Jun 13 '16 at 22:24

add a comment |

up vote
86
down vote

Use textless and textgreater.

answered Aug 26 '10 at 19:24

Geoff

1,92121214

8

unless they are part of a math expression, in which case they should be between dollar signs or ( ... ) along with the rest of the math expression.
– barbara beeton
Aug 26 '10 at 19:51

add a comment |

up vote
86
down vote

Use textless and textgreater.

answered Aug 26 '10 at 19:24

Geoff

1,92121214

8

unless they are part of a math expression, in which case they should be between dollar signs or ( ... ) along with the rest of the math expression.
– barbara beeton
Aug 26 '10 at 19:51

add a comment |

up vote
86
down vote

Use textless and textgreater.

answered Aug 26 '10 at 19:24

Geoff

1,92121214

Use textless and textgreater.

answered Aug 26 '10 at 19:24

Geoff

1,92121214

answered Aug 26 '10 at 19:24

Geoff

1,92121214

answered Aug 26 '10 at 19:24

Geoff

1,92121214

answered Aug 26 '10 at 19:24

Geoff

1,92121214

8

unless they are part of a math expression, in which case they should be between dollar signs or ( ... ) along with the rest of the math expression.
– barbara beeton
Aug 26 '10 at 19:51

add a comment |

8

unless they are part of a math expression, in which case they should be between dollar signs or ( ... ) along with the rest of the math expression.
– barbara beeton
Aug 26 '10 at 19:51

unless they are part of a math expression, in which case they should be between dollar signs or ( ... ) along with the rest of the math expression.
– barbara beeton
Aug 26 '10 at 19:51

add a comment |

up vote
17
down vote

What I usually do is just enter mathmode to type them, e.g. This object is $<$ that object.

answered Aug 27 '10 at 20:39

Avi Steiner

43929

17

That is generally considered poor style. You should just write out "This object is less than that object." Occasionally, you'll see "foo is <0." This looks bad.
– TH.
Aug 27 '10 at 23:32

10

That's definitely true. However, if you're using LaTeX to organize your thoughts (as i often do), 'good style' equates to 'will I understand what I wrote if I come back and look at it in a week'!
– Avi Steiner
Sep 3 '10 at 3:30

@TH.: I agree with you. My experiency tells me too that text and math code should not be mixed up. Good style would be either writing "The variable $foo$ is less than zero." (as you mentioned) or "The variable $foo$ satisfies the relation/condition $foo<0$.", which would probably suit your application. Good style means also to define variables at the first use.
– strpeter
Dec 7 '13 at 8:07

1

@strpeter While mentioning style, it is worth noting that variable $foo$ is not good style either: it refers to the product of $f$ , $o$ , and $o$ . You mean variable $mathit{foo}$.
– akim
Dec 8 '14 at 9:19

OK, I was not typing it correct in the sense of the variable as I focused on the operator. You're right - use your preferred version $mathit{foo}<0$ , $mathrm{foo}<0$ , $mathbf{foo}<0$ , or whatever variable. ;)
– strpeter
Dec 8 '14 at 10:40

add a comment |

up vote
17
down vote

What I usually do is just enter mathmode to type them, e.g. This object is $<$ that object.

answered Aug 27 '10 at 20:39

Avi Steiner

43929

17

That is generally considered poor style. You should just write out "This object is less than that object." Occasionally, you'll see "foo is <0." This looks bad.
– TH.
Aug 27 '10 at 23:32

10

That's definitely true. However, if you're using LaTeX to organize your thoughts (as i often do), 'good style' equates to 'will I understand what I wrote if I come back and look at it in a week'!
– Avi Steiner
Sep 3 '10 at 3:30

@TH.: I agree with you. My experiency tells me too that text and math code should not be mixed up. Good style would be either writing "The variable $foo$ is less than zero." (as you mentioned) or "The variable $foo$ satisfies the relation/condition $foo<0$.", which would probably suit your application. Good style means also to define variables at the first use.
– strpeter
Dec 7 '13 at 8:07

1

@strpeter While mentioning style, it is worth noting that variable $foo$ is not good style either: it refers to the product of $f$ , $o$ , and $o$ . You mean variable $mathit{foo}$.
– akim
Dec 8 '14 at 9:19

OK, I was not typing it correct in the sense of the variable as I focused on the operator. You're right - use your preferred version $mathit{foo}<0$ , $mathrm{foo}<0$ , $mathbf{foo}<0$ , or whatever variable. ;)
– strpeter
Dec 8 '14 at 10:40

add a comment |

up vote
17
down vote

What I usually do is just enter mathmode to type them, e.g. This object is $<$ that object.

answered Aug 27 '10 at 20:39

Avi Steiner

43929

What I usually do is just enter mathmode to type them, e.g. This object is $<$ that object.

answered Aug 27 '10 at 20:39

Avi Steiner

43929

answered Aug 27 '10 at 20:39

Avi Steiner

43929

answered Aug 27 '10 at 20:39

Avi Steiner

43929

answered Aug 27 '10 at 20:39

Avi Steiner

43929

17

That is generally considered poor style. You should just write out "This object is less than that object." Occasionally, you'll see "foo is <0." This looks bad.
– TH.
Aug 27 '10 at 23:32

10

That's definitely true. However, if you're using LaTeX to organize your thoughts (as i often do), 'good style' equates to 'will I understand what I wrote if I come back and look at it in a week'!
– Avi Steiner
Sep 3 '10 at 3:30

@TH.: I agree with you. My experiency tells me too that text and math code should not be mixed up. Good style would be either writing "The variable $foo$ is less than zero." (as you mentioned) or "The variable $foo$ satisfies the relation/condition $foo<0$.", which would probably suit your application. Good style means also to define variables at the first use.
– strpeter
Dec 7 '13 at 8:07

1

@strpeter While mentioning style, it is worth noting that variable $foo$ is not good style either: it refers to the product of $f$ , $o$ , and $o$ . You mean variable $mathit{foo}$.
– akim
Dec 8 '14 at 9:19

OK, I was not typing it correct in the sense of the variable as I focused on the operator. You're right - use your preferred version $mathit{foo}<0$ , $mathrm{foo}<0$ , $mathbf{foo}<0$ , or whatever variable. ;)
– strpeter
Dec 8 '14 at 10:40

add a comment |

17

That is generally considered poor style. You should just write out "This object is less than that object." Occasionally, you'll see "foo is <0." This looks bad.
– TH.
Aug 27 '10 at 23:32

10

That's definitely true. However, if you're using LaTeX to organize your thoughts (as i often do), 'good style' equates to 'will I understand what I wrote if I come back and look at it in a week'!
– Avi Steiner
Sep 3 '10 at 3:30

@TH.: I agree with you. My experiency tells me too that text and math code should not be mixed up. Good style would be either writing "The variable $foo$ is less than zero." (as you mentioned) or "The variable $foo$ satisfies the relation/condition $foo<0$.", which would probably suit your application. Good style means also to define variables at the first use.
– strpeter
Dec 7 '13 at 8:07

1

@strpeter While mentioning style, it is worth noting that variable $foo$ is not good style either: it refers to the product of $f$ , $o$ , and $o$ . You mean variable $mathit{foo}$.
– akim
Dec 8 '14 at 9:19

OK, I was not typing it correct in the sense of the variable as I focused on the operator. You're right - use your preferred version $mathit{foo}<0$ , $mathrm{foo}<0$ , $mathbf{foo}<0$ , or whatever variable. ;)
– strpeter
Dec 8 '14 at 10:40

That is generally considered poor style. You should just write out "This object is less than that object." Occasionally, you'll see "foo is <0." This looks bad.
– TH.
Aug 27 '10 at 23:32

That's definitely true. However, if you're using LaTeX to organize your thoughts (as i often do), 'good style' equates to 'will I understand what I wrote if I come back and look at it in a week'!
– Avi Steiner
Sep 3 '10 at 3:30

@TH.: I agree with you. My experiency tells me too that text and math code should not be mixed up. Good style would be either writing "The variable $foo$ is less than zero." (as you mentioned) or "The variable $foo$ satisfies the relation/condition $foo<0$.", which would probably suit your application. Good style means also to define variables at the first use.
– strpeter
Dec 7 '13 at 8:07

@strpeter While mentioning style, it is worth noting that variable $foo$ is not good style either: it refers to the product of $f$ , $o$ , and $o$ . You mean variable $mathit{foo}$.
– akim
Dec 8 '14 at 9:19

OK, I was not typing it correct in the sense of the variable as I focused on the operator. You're right - use your preferred version $mathit{foo}<0$ , $mathrm{foo}<0$ , $mathbf{foo}<0$ , or whatever variable. ;)
– strpeter
Dec 8 '14 at 10:40

add a comment |

up vote
15
down vote

May be using some other sane font encoding, something like usepackage[T1]{fontenc} or something. (Well, I don't think any of this legacy font encoding and input encoding is sane any way).

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:26

Khaled Hosny

21.4k172108

add a comment |

up vote
15
down vote

May be using some other sane font encoding, something like usepackage[T1]{fontenc} or something. (Well, I don't think any of this legacy font encoding and input encoding is sane any way).

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:26

Khaled Hosny

21.4k172108

add a comment |

up vote
15
down vote

May be using some other sane font encoding, something like usepackage[T1]{fontenc} or something. (Well, I don't think any of this legacy font encoding and input encoding is sane any way).

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:26

Khaled Hosny

21.4k172108

May be using some other sane font encoding, something like usepackage[T1]{fontenc} or something. (Well, I don't think any of this legacy font encoding and input encoding is sane any way).

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:26

Khaled Hosny

21.4k172108

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:26

Khaled Hosny

21.4k172108

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:26

Khaled Hosny

21.4k172108

answered Aug 26 '10 at 20:26

Khaled Hosny

21.4k172108

add a comment |

protected by percusse Mar 28 '16 at 17:08

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