# [OS X TeX] Local Change in Math Font

Michael Sharpe msharpe at ucsd.edu
Tue Nov 8 20:07:45 EST 2011

On Nov 8, 2011, at 4:19 PM, Randy Scott wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I'd like to be able to type some text and math in the usual Computer Modern
> serif fonts, and then change to a sans-serif font for text and math, and
>
> My goal is to have some text, and then show a sample of some student's work
> (both written and mathematical), and then to resume the text, tec.
>
> I know how to handle the text font changes, but am struggling with the math
> part.
>
> Can anyone point me towards apackage or some instructions that detail how to
> accomplish this?
>

Switching between different math font collections is not something to do on the fly, but you may be able to fake it well enough to meet your needs using the macro \mathsf within a math environment. Eg, $a+b\int f(x)\,dx\;\;\mathsf{a+b\int f(x)\,dx}$ replaces math italic letters with sans serif letters but leaves symbols unaltered. This is not a good solution, as the sans serif lacks the information packed into a math font. A better solution would be to prepare the fragments with sans serif math as separate pdf files which you include as graphics, and that has its own set of problems.

Michael