[texhax] The \/ control sequence

[Reinhard Kotucha]

On 24 May 2010 Steve Peter wrote:

 > On May 24, 2010, at 9:55 PM, Reinhard Kotucha <reinhard.kotucha at web.de> wrote:
 > >> It could be used anywhere where slightly more space might be
 > >> desirable, but to be kosher one might prefer \, or some more
 > >> specific \hspace{...} in other situations.
 > > 
 > > I fear that it can't be used for anything else but italic correction.
 > > I assume that its horizontal width is determined from the TFM file
 > > (via a fontdimen parameter) of the font you are currently using.
 > > Thus, if you are currently using an upright font, \/ has no effect.
 > 
 > It's also useful when going from bold to roman in some cases, such
 > as {\bf f}', which usually looks better as {\bf f\/}' (in plain TeX
 > terms).

Interesting, I didn't expect this behavior but you are definitely
right:

\setbox0\hbox{{\bf f}X} \showthe\wd0
> 11.01389pt.
                                        
\setbox0\hbox{{\bf f\/}X} \showthe\wd0
> 12.10414pt.

Regards,
  Reinhard

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