# [OS X TeX] math in running head

Ross Moore ross at ics.mq.edu.au
Sun Dec 13 00:15:36 EST 2009

On 13/12/2009, at 12:47 PM, Alain Schremmer wrote:

> \documentclass[11pt]{book} uses caps in the running head and
> prints, say, F(X) instead of f(x) although not in either the
> chapter toc's as generated by titletoc.

How are you specifying the contents of the running head?

Have you tried using   \MakeLowercase{$f(x)$}
or  $\MakeLowercase{f(x)}$  ?

If that doesn't work, then you can try setting the math
in a box and then using that box in the running head;

e.g. (in preamble)
\setbox\mathheadbox=\hbox{$f(x)$}

Then at the appropriate place use

or whatever package commands you might be using

Actually, you probably don't even need the box.
Just using a macro may be enough:

\DeclareRobustCommand{\effofex}{f(x)}

\markboth{..... $\effofex$ ...}{....}

>
> I understand that this is "the rule" but would not mind an (easy)
> way to print f(x) in the running head as everywhere else. Can the
> running head be all in lower case which would be fine?
>
> I have searched around, e.g. "math in running head", but to no
> avail. Seems like, "it's just not done".

Well, it used to be that people would say to never use math in titles.
It became "not done" because of the kind of problem that you are
currently encountering. Another such problem was that the math would
not resize correctly for a title --- but that sizing issue was fixed
as LaTeX got better (e.g., with LaTeX-2e).

This is not to say that you couldn't always do it anyway, if you
worked hard enough, just that it was not easy to get it right.
So publishers (even the AMS) would advise against it, and you
may find that some still do so.

But in TeX you really can do pretty much anything, using macros.

>
> Hopeful regards
> --schremmer

Hope this helps,

Ross

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Ross Moore                                       ross at maths.mq.edu.au
Mathematics Department                           office: E7A-419
Macquarie University                             tel: +61 (0)2 9850 8955
Sydney, Australia  2109                          fax: +61 (0)2 9850 8114
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