Master/texmf-doc/doc/english/FAQ-en/html/FAQ-boldgreek.html


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<head>
<title>UK TeX FAQ -- question label boldgreek</title>
</head><body>
<h3>Setting bold Greek letters in LaTeX</h3>
<p>The issue here is complicated by the fact that <code>\</code><code>mathbf</code> (the
command for setting bold <em>text</em> in TeX maths) affects a select
few mathematical symbols (the uppercase Greek letters).  However
lower-case Greek letters behave differently from upper-case Greek
letters (due to Knuth&rsquo;s esoteric font encoding decisions).  However,
<code>\</code><code>mathbf</code> <em>can&rsquo;t</em> be used even for upper-case Greek letters in
the AMSLaTeX <i>amsmath</i> package, which
disables this font-switching and you must use one of the techniques
outlined below.
<p>The Plain TeX solution <em>does</em> work, in a limited way:
<blockquote>
<pre>
{\boldmath$\theta$}
</pre>
</blockquote><p>
but <code>\</code><code>boldmath</code> may not be used in maths mode, so this &lsquo;solution&rsquo;
requires arcana such as:
<blockquote>
<pre>
$... \mbox{\boldmath$\theta$} ...$
</pre>
</blockquote><p>
which then causes problems in superscripts, etc.
<p>These problems may be addressed by using a bold mathematics package.
<ul>
<li> The <i>bm</i> package, which is part of the LaTeX tools
  distribution, defines a command <code>\</code><code>bm</code> which may be used anywhere
  in maths mode.
<li> The <i>amsbsy</i> package (which is part of AMSLaTeX)
  defines a command <code>\</code><code>boldsymbol</code>, which (though slightly less
  comprehensive than <code>\</code><code>bm</code>) covers almost all common cases.
</ul>
<p>All these solutions cover all mathematical symbols, not merely Greek
letters.
<dl>
<dt><tt><i>bm.sty</i></tt><dd>Distributed as part of <a href="ftp://cam.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/required/tools.zip">macros/latex/required/tools</a> (<a href="ftp://cam.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/required/tools.tar.gz">gzipped tar</a>, <a href="http://www.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/macros/latex/required/tools/">browse</a>)
<dt><tt><i>amsbsy.sty</i></tt><dd>Distributed as part of AMSLaTeX <a href="ftp://cam.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/required/amslatex.zip">macros/latex/required/amslatex</a> (<a href="ftp://cam.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/required/amslatex.tar.gz">gzipped tar</a>, <a href="http://www.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/macros/latex/required/amslatex/">browse</a>)
<dt><tt><i>amsmath.sty</i></tt><dd>Distributed as part of AMSLaTeX
  <a href="ftp://cam.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/required/amslatex.zip">macros/latex/required/amslatex</a> (<a href="ftp://cam.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/required/amslatex.tar.gz">gzipped tar</a>, <a href="http://www.tex.ac.uk/tex-archive/macros/latex/required/amslatex/">browse</a>)
</dl>
<p><p>This question on the Web: <a href="http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=boldgreek">http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=boldgreek</a>
</body>