Error creating a newcommand which uses hspace












4















None of my newcommand declarations work for hspace, with or without arguments; I use the latest MathJax with the general libraries. Attempts so far:



newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}
newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{{#1}}}
newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{{#1}px}}
newcommand{hs1}{hspace{10px}}


I have a pageful of other newcommand declarations that work just fine, unsure what's failing here. Any remedy?










share|improve this question




















  • 5





    Welcome to TeX.SE! The command name has to be preceded by a backslash: newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}. Add a backslash and it will work. The and third versions add braces that shouldn't be there, so they won't work. The fourth version won't work because numbers can't be in command names, and the first optional argument to newcommand can't be empty.

    – Phelype Oleinik
    Jan 25 at 18:12













  • Note that mathjax is not LaTeX so you should probably not expect any newcommand to work.

    – daleif
    Jan 25 at 18:13






  • 2





    @daleif newcommand works in MathJax.

    – egreg
    Jan 25 at 18:24











  • @PhelypeOleinik Excellent, it works - thanks. Feel free to post your response as an answer if you'd like the answer credit.

    – OverLordGoldDragon
    Jan 25 at 18:34











  • @egreg out of the box with no extra configuration?

    – daleif
    Jan 25 at 19:16
















4















None of my newcommand declarations work for hspace, with or without arguments; I use the latest MathJax with the general libraries. Attempts so far:



newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}
newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{{#1}}}
newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{{#1}px}}
newcommand{hs1}{hspace{10px}}


I have a pageful of other newcommand declarations that work just fine, unsure what's failing here. Any remedy?










share|improve this question




















  • 5





    Welcome to TeX.SE! The command name has to be preceded by a backslash: newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}. Add a backslash and it will work. The and third versions add braces that shouldn't be there, so they won't work. The fourth version won't work because numbers can't be in command names, and the first optional argument to newcommand can't be empty.

    – Phelype Oleinik
    Jan 25 at 18:12













  • Note that mathjax is not LaTeX so you should probably not expect any newcommand to work.

    – daleif
    Jan 25 at 18:13






  • 2





    @daleif newcommand works in MathJax.

    – egreg
    Jan 25 at 18:24











  • @PhelypeOleinik Excellent, it works - thanks. Feel free to post your response as an answer if you'd like the answer credit.

    – OverLordGoldDragon
    Jan 25 at 18:34











  • @egreg out of the box with no extra configuration?

    – daleif
    Jan 25 at 19:16














4












4








4








None of my newcommand declarations work for hspace, with or without arguments; I use the latest MathJax with the general libraries. Attempts so far:



newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}
newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{{#1}}}
newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{{#1}px}}
newcommand{hs1}{hspace{10px}}


I have a pageful of other newcommand declarations that work just fine, unsure what's failing here. Any remedy?










share|improve this question
















None of my newcommand declarations work for hspace, with or without arguments; I use the latest MathJax with the general libraries. Attempts so far:



newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}
newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{{#1}}}
newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{{#1}px}}
newcommand{hs1}{hspace{10px}}


I have a pageful of other newcommand declarations that work just fine, unsure what's failing here. Any remedy?







spacing macros errors mathjax






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Jan 25 at 23:05









Phelype Oleinik

23.6k54586




23.6k54586










asked Jan 25 at 18:03









OverLordGoldDragonOverLordGoldDragon

233




233








  • 5





    Welcome to TeX.SE! The command name has to be preceded by a backslash: newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}. Add a backslash and it will work. The and third versions add braces that shouldn't be there, so they won't work. The fourth version won't work because numbers can't be in command names, and the first optional argument to newcommand can't be empty.

    – Phelype Oleinik
    Jan 25 at 18:12













  • Note that mathjax is not LaTeX so you should probably not expect any newcommand to work.

    – daleif
    Jan 25 at 18:13






  • 2





    @daleif newcommand works in MathJax.

    – egreg
    Jan 25 at 18:24











  • @PhelypeOleinik Excellent, it works - thanks. Feel free to post your response as an answer if you'd like the answer credit.

    – OverLordGoldDragon
    Jan 25 at 18:34











  • @egreg out of the box with no extra configuration?

    – daleif
    Jan 25 at 19:16














  • 5





    Welcome to TeX.SE! The command name has to be preceded by a backslash: newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}. Add a backslash and it will work. The and third versions add braces that shouldn't be there, so they won't work. The fourth version won't work because numbers can't be in command names, and the first optional argument to newcommand can't be empty.

    – Phelype Oleinik
    Jan 25 at 18:12













  • Note that mathjax is not LaTeX so you should probably not expect any newcommand to work.

    – daleif
    Jan 25 at 18:13






  • 2





    @daleif newcommand works in MathJax.

    – egreg
    Jan 25 at 18:24











  • @PhelypeOleinik Excellent, it works - thanks. Feel free to post your response as an answer if you'd like the answer credit.

    – OverLordGoldDragon
    Jan 25 at 18:34











  • @egreg out of the box with no extra configuration?

    – daleif
    Jan 25 at 19:16








5




5





Welcome to TeX.SE! The command name has to be preceded by a backslash: newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}. Add a backslash and it will work. The and third versions add braces that shouldn't be there, so they won't work. The fourth version won't work because numbers can't be in command names, and the first optional argument to newcommand can't be empty.

– Phelype Oleinik
Jan 25 at 18:12







Welcome to TeX.SE! The command name has to be preceded by a backslash: newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}. Add a backslash and it will work. The and third versions add braces that shouldn't be there, so they won't work. The fourth version won't work because numbers can't be in command names, and the first optional argument to newcommand can't be empty.

– Phelype Oleinik
Jan 25 at 18:12















Note that mathjax is not LaTeX so you should probably not expect any newcommand to work.

– daleif
Jan 25 at 18:13





Note that mathjax is not LaTeX so you should probably not expect any newcommand to work.

– daleif
Jan 25 at 18:13




2




2





@daleif newcommand works in MathJax.

– egreg
Jan 25 at 18:24





@daleif newcommand works in MathJax.

– egreg
Jan 25 at 18:24













@PhelypeOleinik Excellent, it works - thanks. Feel free to post your response as an answer if you'd like the answer credit.

– OverLordGoldDragon
Jan 25 at 18:34





@PhelypeOleinik Excellent, it works - thanks. Feel free to post your response as an answer if you'd like the answer credit.

– OverLordGoldDragon
Jan 25 at 18:34













@egreg out of the box with no extra configuration?

– daleif
Jan 25 at 19:16





@egreg out of the box with no extra configuration?

– daleif
Jan 25 at 19:16










1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes


















11














In usual conditions, all commands in TeX must be preceded by a backslash, to tell TeX that they are commands, so instead of



newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}


you need



newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}


which will work as you expect.



Side note: If you just want to create a copy of a command with another name, you can use let: leths=hspace. With the newcommand approach the hs command will use hspace, and with the let approach it will be a copy of hspace. One advantage of the latter is that hs*{argument} will work as you'd expect. With newcommand it won't.



The second version adds an extra pair of braces that shouldn't be there, so it won't work as well.



hspace{{1cm}} will expand to hskip{#1}relax, which isn't valid syntax and will throw you a Missing number error.



The third version is the same. The unit will only appear after the Missing number error, so it is of no use there. Besides, TeX doesn't know the unit px, so even if you remove the braces you'll still get a Illegal unit of measure.



The fourth contains, besides the illegal px unit, two problems. The first is that in usual circumstances numbers aren't allowed in command names, so you can't use hs1. The second is that the first optional argument of newcommand (the number of arguments) must not be empty (). An empty argument is very different from a missing argument! If you try to do that (after removing the number from the command name) you'll get another Missing number error because LaTeX was expecting a number there.






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    1 Answer
    1






    active

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    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    11














    In usual conditions, all commands in TeX must be preceded by a backslash, to tell TeX that they are commands, so instead of



    newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}


    you need



    newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}


    which will work as you expect.



    Side note: If you just want to create a copy of a command with another name, you can use let: leths=hspace. With the newcommand approach the hs command will use hspace, and with the let approach it will be a copy of hspace. One advantage of the latter is that hs*{argument} will work as you'd expect. With newcommand it won't.



    The second version adds an extra pair of braces that shouldn't be there, so it won't work as well.



    hspace{{1cm}} will expand to hskip{#1}relax, which isn't valid syntax and will throw you a Missing number error.



    The third version is the same. The unit will only appear after the Missing number error, so it is of no use there. Besides, TeX doesn't know the unit px, so even if you remove the braces you'll still get a Illegal unit of measure.



    The fourth contains, besides the illegal px unit, two problems. The first is that in usual circumstances numbers aren't allowed in command names, so you can't use hs1. The second is that the first optional argument of newcommand (the number of arguments) must not be empty (). An empty argument is very different from a missing argument! If you try to do that (after removing the number from the command name) you'll get another Missing number error because LaTeX was expecting a number there.






    share|improve this answer




























      11














      In usual conditions, all commands in TeX must be preceded by a backslash, to tell TeX that they are commands, so instead of



      newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}


      you need



      newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}


      which will work as you expect.



      Side note: If you just want to create a copy of a command with another name, you can use let: leths=hspace. With the newcommand approach the hs command will use hspace, and with the let approach it will be a copy of hspace. One advantage of the latter is that hs*{argument} will work as you'd expect. With newcommand it won't.



      The second version adds an extra pair of braces that shouldn't be there, so it won't work as well.



      hspace{{1cm}} will expand to hskip{#1}relax, which isn't valid syntax and will throw you a Missing number error.



      The third version is the same. The unit will only appear after the Missing number error, so it is of no use there. Besides, TeX doesn't know the unit px, so even if you remove the braces you'll still get a Illegal unit of measure.



      The fourth contains, besides the illegal px unit, two problems. The first is that in usual circumstances numbers aren't allowed in command names, so you can't use hs1. The second is that the first optional argument of newcommand (the number of arguments) must not be empty (). An empty argument is very different from a missing argument! If you try to do that (after removing the number from the command name) you'll get another Missing number error because LaTeX was expecting a number there.






      share|improve this answer


























        11












        11








        11







        In usual conditions, all commands in TeX must be preceded by a backslash, to tell TeX that they are commands, so instead of



        newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}


        you need



        newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}


        which will work as you expect.



        Side note: If you just want to create a copy of a command with another name, you can use let: leths=hspace. With the newcommand approach the hs command will use hspace, and with the let approach it will be a copy of hspace. One advantage of the latter is that hs*{argument} will work as you'd expect. With newcommand it won't.



        The second version adds an extra pair of braces that shouldn't be there, so it won't work as well.



        hspace{{1cm}} will expand to hskip{#1}relax, which isn't valid syntax and will throw you a Missing number error.



        The third version is the same. The unit will only appear after the Missing number error, so it is of no use there. Besides, TeX doesn't know the unit px, so even if you remove the braces you'll still get a Illegal unit of measure.



        The fourth contains, besides the illegal px unit, two problems. The first is that in usual circumstances numbers aren't allowed in command names, so you can't use hs1. The second is that the first optional argument of newcommand (the number of arguments) must not be empty (). An empty argument is very different from a missing argument! If you try to do that (after removing the number from the command name) you'll get another Missing number error because LaTeX was expecting a number there.






        share|improve this answer













        In usual conditions, all commands in TeX must be preceded by a backslash, to tell TeX that they are commands, so instead of



        newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}


        you need



        newcommand{hs}[1]{hspace{#1}}


        which will work as you expect.



        Side note: If you just want to create a copy of a command with another name, you can use let: leths=hspace. With the newcommand approach the hs command will use hspace, and with the let approach it will be a copy of hspace. One advantage of the latter is that hs*{argument} will work as you'd expect. With newcommand it won't.



        The second version adds an extra pair of braces that shouldn't be there, so it won't work as well.



        hspace{{1cm}} will expand to hskip{#1}relax, which isn't valid syntax and will throw you a Missing number error.



        The third version is the same. The unit will only appear after the Missing number error, so it is of no use there. Besides, TeX doesn't know the unit px, so even if you remove the braces you'll still get a Illegal unit of measure.



        The fourth contains, besides the illegal px unit, two problems. The first is that in usual circumstances numbers aren't allowed in command names, so you can't use hs1. The second is that the first optional argument of newcommand (the number of arguments) must not be empty (). An empty argument is very different from a missing argument! If you try to do that (after removing the number from the command name) you'll get another Missing number error because LaTeX was expecting a number there.







        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered Jan 25 at 18:49









        Phelype OleinikPhelype Oleinik

        23.6k54586




        23.6k54586






























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