ulem and soul in Scissor LaTeX
Partly. ulem's \uline, \sout and \xout and soul's \st work, and underlined text breaks across lines; \uuline gives a single line, \uwave and soul's \hl keep the text without the effect, and soul's \ul, \so and \caps are skipped with a note while the text stays.
What the packages do
LaTeX's own \underline does not break across lines. Both packages underline and strike through text that can break:
ulemgives\uline(underline),\uuline(double underline),\uwave(wavy underline),\sout(strike-through),\xout(crossed out with slashes) and more. Unless loaded withnormalem, it also makes\emphunderline instead of italicise.soulgives\ul(underline),\st(strike-through),\hl(highlight with a colour),\so(letter spacing) and\caps(spaced small capitals).
What works here
| Command | In Scissor LaTeX | Notes |
|---|---|---|
\uline{...} (ulem) | Works | Breaks across lines like normal text. |
\sout{...} (ulem) | Works | |
\xout{...} (ulem) | Partly | Struck through with a line instead of slashes. |
\uuline{...} (ulem) | Partly | A single underline. |
\uwave{...} (ulem) | Left out | The text is kept without the wave, and without a message. |
\dashuline, \dotuline (ulem) | Not supported | Skipped with a Problems note; the text stays, without a line. |
\emph with ulem loaded | Partly | Always italic here, as with the normalem option. \normalem in the body is skipped with a note. |
\st{...} (soul) | Works | Struck through. |
\hl{...} (soul) | Left out | The text is kept without a highlight. \sethlcolor is ignored in the preamble and skipped with a note in the body. |
\ul{...}, \so{...}, \caps{...} (soul) | Not supported | Skipped with a Problems note; the text stays, without the effect. |
\textul, \textst, \texthl (soul) | Not supported | Skipped with a note; the text stays. |
\underline{...} works without any package, and here it breaks across lines too.
Examples
Underline and strike-through with ulem, loaded with normalem so \emph stays italic in a TeX installation too:
\uline, \sout and \xout
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[normalem]{ulem}
\begin{document}
The price was \sout{\$48} \$44, and \uline{the offer ends on
Friday}. Erika Mustermann marked the old draft as \xout{rejected}
and wrote her \emph{own} version.
\end{document}
soul's strike-through works; the highlight keeps the text but shows no colour:
\st works, \hl keeps the text
John Doe deleted \st{the third paragraph} and marked
\hl{the key result} for Hans Mustermann.\ul from soul is skipped with a note. Use \uline from ulem or \underline, which work here and in every TeX installation:
\ul is skipped; \underline works
With soul: \ul{44 samples}. Without a package: \underline{44 samples}.Problems tab: Skipped 1 unknown command: \ul
Compatibility
- From a TeX installation to here: underlines and strike-throughs keep their meaning. Wavy and double lines become plain or single, highlights are not shown, and soul's
\ul,\soand\capslose their effect. - From here to a TeX installation: documents compile there unchanged. Without the
normalemoption, ulem underlines every\emphthere, so load it as\usepackage[normalem]{ulem}.
The full manuals are on CTAN: ctan.org/pkg/ulem and ctan.org/pkg/soul. See also Text formatting and xcolor.
Questions and answers
How do I strike through text in LaTeX?
Load \usepackage[normalem]{ulem} and write \sout{text}, or load soul and write \st{text}. Both work here.
How do I highlight text in Scissor LaTeX?
Not with a colour yet: soul's \hl and xcolor's \colorbox both keep the text without a coloured background. To make words stand out here, use \textbf or \uline; keep \hl if the document is also compiled in a TeX installation, where the highlight appears.
Every example on this page is typeset by Scissor LaTeX when the site is built. Last updated 2026-11-07.