# [texhax] Creating new math operator symbol

Axel E. Retif axel.retif at mac.com
Wed Jan 23 09:09:18 CET 2008

On  22 Jan, 2008, at 13:07, Eldon Lytle wrote:

[...]
> I'm trying to promote Calligraphic 'L' to/ mathop/ status for use in a
> new linguistic notation that I'm developing for a book in progress and
> have attempted to use /DeclareMathSymbol{\lsig}{mathop}{cmsy}{"4C} for
> the purpose.

[...]

> PS: By the way, in an attempt to find font information, I've searched
> the TUG laTeX installation on my iMac for 'nfssfont.tex' without
> success. Is there an equivalent file by a different name that performs
> the same function? (TeXShop is the editor I'm using -- from the
> installation CD I recently purchased from TUG.)

As Reinhard Kotucha said, it should be there. Mine (on Mac OS X) is in

/usr/local/texlive/2007/texmf-dist/tex/latex/base/nfssfont.tex

Try, in Terminal.app,

kpsewhich nfssfont.tex

Also, MacTeX installer should have put a TeX directory inside /
Library (the system wide /Library, not your \$HOME ~/Library); open it
and you'll find a symlink to Documentation; open that and, inside the
symlink texmf-dist-doc, you'll see the documentation for fonts.

Take a look at

/usr/local/texlive/2007/texmf-doc/doc/english/mathmode/Mathmode.pdf,
pp. 43-44 and 75-76, to define your operator without linking it to a
specific font.

In your example the backslash in \mathop is missing. I would rather use

\newcommand{\lsig}{\mathop{\mathcal{L}}}

so you can use it with any font family.

There is a TeX on Mac OS X mailing list:

http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/

Best,

Axel