TeX notation filter functions and symbols

TeX notation allows you to represent mathematical symbols using the TeX notation or MathJax filters in Totara.

Using TeX notation

Below are some of the basic functions you may wish to use when entering equations.

Notation	Function	Notes	Example
$$	Using $$ at the start and end of an equation will identify a TeX sequence that will appear centred on its own line.	You can add backslashes (\) to add spaces (see example).	$$ 4\ \times \ 4 \ = \ 16 $$
\[	With LaTeX you can use \[ to open and \] to close a sequence that will appear centred on its own line.	This is better at checking for errors than just using $$.	\[ 4\ \times \ 4 \ = \ 16 \]
\(	With LaTeX you can use $ to open and $ to close a sequence that will appear inline with text.	-	A simple equation could be, $ 4\ \times \ 4 \ = \ 16 $ for example.
^	Using a caret allows you to insert a superscript character.	-	\[ 6^2 \times \ 7^4 \ = \ 336 \]
_	An underscore allows you to insert a subscript character.	-	\[ 5x_3 \times \ 3x_2 \]
\sqrt{number}	You can insert square root notation using the sequence \sqrt{number}.	-	\[ \sqrt{36}\]
\frac{numerator}{denominator}	You can represent a fraction using \frac{numerator}{denominator}.	-	\[ \frac{5}{10} \times \frac{7}{9}\]
{	Curly brackets can also be used to nest other functions within an equation.	-	\[ \frac{4^{3}}{20} \]
\ldots	Ellipses can be entered using \ldots.	-	\[ x_1, x_2,\ldots \ x_5 \]

Symbols

Notation	Notation	Symbol
\amalg	\oplus
\ast	\oslash
\bigcirc	\otimes
\bigtriangledown	\pm
\bigtriangleup	\ominus
\circ	\vee
\leq	\equiv
\succ	\perp
\succeq	\mid	\|
\gg	\parallel
\supset	\supseteq
\neq	\notin
\vdash	\bullet
\cup	\times
\dagger	\triangleleft
\ddagger	\triangleright
\diamond	\odot
\div	\wr
\wedge	\sqcup
\geq	\prec
\sim	\preceq
\simeq	\ll
\asymp	\subset
\subseteq	\approx
\ni	\in
\dashv	\cdot

Arrows

Notation	Arrow	Notation	Arrow
\leftarrow		\leftrightarrow
\longleftarrow		\longleftrightarrow
\Leftarrow		\updownarrow
\Longleftarrow		\Updownarrow
\rightarrow		\Leftrightarrow
\longrightarrow		\Longleftrightarrow
\Rightarrow		\leftrightharpoons
\Longrightarrow		\Im
\uparrow		\nearrow
\Uparrow		\nwarrow
\downarrow		\swarrow
\Downarrow		\searrow

Constructs and delimiters

Notation	Delimiter/construct	Notation	Delimiter/construct
\{x		\widehat{ab}
\}		\$
\rangle		\overline{ab}
\langle		\underline{ab}
\angle		\therefore
\=		\ddots
\sqrt{ab}		\%
\sqrt[n]{ab}		\#
\frac{ab}{cd}		\vdots
\backslash		\emptyset

Greek letters

It is currently not possible to render the capital letters for Alpha, Beta, Zeta, Eta, Tau, Chi, Mu, Iota, Kappa, or Epsilon. However, these can be rendered using \mathrm{ }. For example, to render a capital Alpha you would enter \mathrm{A}, which would render: Therefore you can still render characters that look like the capital letters: .

Notation	Greek letter	Notation	Greek letter
\alpha		/omicron
\beta		\pi
\gamma		\Pi
\Gamma		\rho
\delta		\varrho
\Delta		\sigma
\epsilon		\Sigma
\zeta		\varsigma
\eta		\tau
\theta		\upsilon
\Theta		\Upsilon
\vartheta		\phi
\iota		\Phi
\kappa		\varphi
\lambda		\chi
\Lambda		\psi
\mu		\Psi
\xi		\omega
\Xi		\Omega

Font

Font	Notation	Example
Calligraphic	$$ \mathcal{ }$$	$$ \mathcal{Calligraphic: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ}$$ is presented as:
Blackboard (Castellar)	$$ \mathbb{ }$$	$$ \mathbb{Blackboard: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ}$$ is presented as:
Fraktur (Old English style)	$$ \mathfrak{ }$$	$$ \mathfrak{Fraktur: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ}$$ is presented as:
Italic	$$ \mathit{ } $$	$$ \mathit{Italic: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ} $$ is presented as:
Roman	$$ \mathrm{ } $$	$$ \mathrm{Roman: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ} $$ is presented as:
Bold-face	$$ \mathbf{ } $$	$$ \mathbf{Bold-faced: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ} $$ is presented as:

Join the Totara Community for more resources to help you get the most out of Totara.

© Copyright 2025 Totara Learning Solutions. All rights reserved. Some content originally obtained via GPLv3 license and continues to be available under GPLv3. All other content is the sole copyright of Totara Learning Solutions.