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Scissor LaTeX

Sans-serif fonts in Scissor LaTeX

Write \renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault} in the preamble, or start the body with \sffamily; the text is then set in Latin Modern Sans, or in TeX Gyre Heros, a Helvetica look-alike, when helvet or tgheros is loaded. sfmath, sansmath, cmbright and arev put formulas in sans serif too, and KOMA-Script classes set headings in sans serif.

What the packages do

LaTeX sets text in a serif font by default. Several packages and settings switch a document to sans serif:

  • \renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault} makes the sans-serif family the default for the whole text.
  • helvet and tgheros choose Helvetica or its free look-alike TeX Gyre Heros as the sans-serif family. On their own they change only \textsf; together with the line above, the whole text.
  • sfmath and sansmath set formulas in sans serif, to match sans-serif text.
  • cmbright and arev replace both the text and the math fonts with sans-serif designs.
  • The KOMA-Script classes scrartcl, scrreprt and scrbook set headings and the title in sans serif.

What works here

SettingIn Scissor LaTeXNotes
\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}WorksAll text in Latin Modern Sans. Also from a .sty file of the project.
\sffamily as the first thing in the bodyWorksThe same as the line above.
helvet, tgherosWorksThe sans-serif face is TeX Gyre Heros instead of Latin Modern Sans. The scaled option is ignored.
sfmathWorksLatin letters and digits in formulas in sans serif; Greek letters keep their usual shapes. \usepackage[helvet]{sfmath} also picks TeX Gyre Heros.
sansmath with \sansmathPartlyAll formulas of the document in sans serif, wherever \sansmath is written. The Problems tab still lists \sansmath as skipped. Without \sansmath, nothing changes.
cmbright, arevPartlyText and formulas in sans serif, set in Latin Modern Sans: the CM Bright and Arev designs themselves are not used.
scrartcl, scrreprt, scrbookWorksHeadings and the title in sans serif, the body in serif, as in KOMA-Script.
\setkomafont{disposition}{\rmfamily} or \normalfont, class option egregdoesnotlikesansseriftitlesWorksSerif headings in a KOMA-Script class.
\textsf{...}, {\sffamily ...} in the middle of the textLeft outThe words stay serif.
Conference and journal templatesLeft outThey keep their own fonts; sans-serif settings do not change them.

For all other font packages, see fontenc, inputenc, fontspec.

Examples

The whole document in sans serif, with TeX Gyre Heros for the text and sfmath for the formulas:

\familydefault with helvet and sfmath

LaTeXOpen in editor
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{helvet}
\usepackage{sfmath}
\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}
\begin{document}
\section{Measurements}
Erika Mustermann measured 44 samples. The mean is
$\bar{x} = \frac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^{n} x_i$, with an error of
$\sigma/\sqrt{n}$.
\end{document}
Rendered by Scissor LaTeX: \familydefault with helvet and sfmath

Without helvet, the sans-serif face is Latin Modern Sans. Here only the text is sans serif and the formula keeps the usual math font:

Latin Modern Sans for the text only

LaTeXOpen in editor
\documentclass{article}
\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}
\begin{document}
Hans Mustermann writes the report in Latin Modern Sans, while
$E = mc^2$ stays in the serif math font.
\end{document}

A KOMA-Script class sets the headings in sans serif and the body in serif:

KOMA-Script headings

LaTeXOpen in editor
\documentclass{scrartcl}
\begin{document}
\section{Introduction}
John Doe introduces the topic in serif text under a sans-serif
heading.
\end{document}
Rendered by Scissor LaTeX: KOMA-Script headings

Compatibility

  • From a TeX installation to here: documents in sans serif stay sans serif. cmbright and arev look different, since both are shown in Latin Modern Sans, and single words in \textsf are serif here.
  • From here to a TeX installation: documents compile there unchanged, and helvet gives real Helvetica (or Nimbus Sans) there.

The full manuals are on CTAN: helvet, tgheros, sfmath, sansmath, cmbright, arev and KOMA-Script. See also Text formatting and Other languages and fonts.

Questions and answers

How do I use Arial or Helvetica in LaTeX?

Load \usepackage{helvet} and write \renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}. Here the text is then set in TeX Gyre Heros, a free Helvetica look-alike; Arial itself is not available.

Why is my \textsf text still serif?

Sans serif works for the whole document, not for single words. Switch the whole text with \familydefault, or leave the words serif here; a TeX installation shows them in sans serif.

Every example on this page is typeset by Scissor LaTeX when the site is built. Last updated 2026-11-07.