Setting up a Sans Serif Document Including Math (in 2017, using pdftex)

Question

I try to set up an entire document using sans serif fonts including math. At the moment I would like to use pdftex.

I searched the relevant questions and answers -- this is what I found:

• [based on egreg] How to combine another sans-serif math font with helvet for text? (2014, August)
• [egreg] What's wrong with arev's subscript placement? (2015, September)
• [egreg again] The right way to get sans-serif math? (2016, October)
• [mico and others] How to typeset some text including math content in sans serif (2012, Januar)
• Typeset WHOLE document in sans-serif, Including Math Mode (2014, April)

kpfonts Package

This is an edit from 2017-06-09. I found kpfonts by accident and they seem to be promising.

\documentclass[preview]{standalone}

% https://www.ctan.org/pkg/kpfonts
% Complex package -- read the documentation!
\usepackage[sfmath]{kpfonts}
\usepackage{mathtools}
\renewcommand\familydefault{\sfdefault}

\begin{document}
Text
$\displaystyle
abc+\sum_{k=1}^{n}\int_{0}^{k}\sqrt{2}f(x)\,\text{d}x
$
Text
\end{document}

cmbright Package

\documentclass[preview]{standalone}

\usepackage{cmbright}
\SetSymbolFont{largesymbols}{normal}{OMX}{iwona}{m}{n}

\usepackage{mathtools}
\begin{document}
Text
$\displaystyle
abc+\sum_{k=1}^{n}\int_{0}^{k}\sqrt{2}f(x)\,\text{d}x
$
Text
\end{document}

arevtext and arevmath (or simply arev) Package

\documentclass[preview]{standalone}

\usepackage{arev}
% Suggested from Mico
\SetSymbolFont{largesymbols}{normal}{OMX}{iwona}{m}{n}

\usepackage{mathtools}
\begin{document}
Text
$\displaystyle
abc+\sum_{k=1}^{n}\int_{0}^{k}\sqrt{2}f(x)\,\text{d}x
$
Text
\end{document}

Without \SetSymbolFont{largesymbols}{normal}{OMX}{iwona}{m}{n}

With \SetSymbolFont{largesymbols}{normal}{OMX}{iwona}{m}{n}

sansmathfonts and helvet Package

\documentclass[preview]{standalone}

\usepackage{sansmathfonts}
\usepackage[scaled=0.95]{helvet}
\renewcommand{\rmdefault}{\sfdefault}

\usepackage{mathtools}
\begin{document}
Text
$\displaystyle
abc+\sum_{k=1}^{n}\int_{0}^{k}\sqrt{2}f(x)\,\text{d}x
$
Text
\end{document}

newtxsf Package

The following code is taken from the newtxsf documentation and adjusted to the code examples above.

\documentclass[preview]{standalone}

\usepackage[sfdefault,scaled=.85]{FiraSans}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage{textcomp}
\usepackage[varqu,varl]{zi4}% inconsolata typewriter
\usepackage{amsmath,amsthm}
\usepackage[cmintegrals]{newtxsf}

\usepackage{mathtools}
\begin{document}
Text
$\displaystyle
abc+\sum_{k=1}^{n}\int_{0}^{k}\sqrt{2}f(x)\,\text{d}x
$
Text
\end{document}

I have trouble running the code since I get an error in the file miktex-makemf.log. I already refreshed the FNDB (MiKTeX). The error is not part of the question though.

Maybe someone can add the output of the code for me.

2017-03-21 02:02:13,987+0100 FATAL miktex-makemf - The txsys source file could not be found.

After following the comment of Ulrike Fischer (running upmap on the command window of Windows), the error is gone!

sansmath and helvet Package

sansmath doesn't seem to be an active package (this is an assumption -- nothing more). I only found 2003-08-13, version 1.0 on CTAN.

\documentclass[preview]{standalone}

\usepackage{helvet}
\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}
\usepackage{sansmath} 
\sansmath 

\usepackage{mathtools}
\begin{document}
Text
$\displaystyle
abc+\sum_{k=1}^{n}\int_{0}^{k}\sqrt{2}f(x)\,\text{d}x
$
Text
\end{document}

More Packages That Seem Related

• stix (v1.1.2-latex from 2015/04/17)

Other Related Information

• http://mirrors.ctan.org/info/Free_Math_Font_Survey/en/survey.pdf (found in one of egreg's answers, see here; 2006, May).
• http://milde.users.sourceforge.net/Matheschriften/matheschriften.xhtml (2008, August; only in German, was mentioned in one of the comments of egreg's answers)

Actual Questions

1. What is the nowadays recommended way to set up a complete sans serif document? I aim for a solution that is considered state-of-the-art with a (if possible) complete set of symbols and font versions (Small Caps and do on).
2. What do font packages like sansmathfonts do? Do they "just" make already existing fonts (or single characters / symbols) available in a convenient package (so it's "luck" if everything fits together) or did the authors create new fonts?

Background -- Why Do I Want This

I one of the comments (Mico) I was asked to explain what I want do to with the sans serif fonts.

• I help a friend which just started to be a teacher.
• If we create documents that are used on any kind of projectors, then the serif fonts sometimes cause readability problems.
• With documents I mean, e. g. beamer presentations or standalone diagrams.
• I attached one of the standalone diagrams below. The pictures have the same resolution.
• So it's not for a book, article or paper.

---

Standard Solution with Serif Fonts (no font package loaded -- I assume Computer Modern then)

---

Sans Serif Version -- Using the avec Package Approach from Above and Recommended by Mico

Answer 1

If the document is going to take the form of a beamer presentation, I recommend you -- or the colleague you're helping to get started -- do two things:

• issue the instruction \usefonttheme{professionalfonts} in the preamble, and

• load the arev package, which loads the arevtext and arevmath packages.

In my experience, the arev text and math fonts are both a bit darker and more widely spaced than the corresponding CM Sans fonts. I consider both of these features to be significant pluses for the purpose of writing a beamer-based presentation. For beginners in the business of giving presentations, a perennial and near-fatal tempatation is to try to cram too much material into any given slide. A font that's slightly more generously spaced and therefore makes it more difficult to cram too much material into a slide is highly advantageous in this regard. :-)

Another thing I like about the arev math fonts -- however, this is clearly just a personal preference -- is that quite a few of the math-mode alphabetic glyphs actually look "italic" rather than just "slanted". This is quite apparent if one compares \textit{x} (purely slanted) with $x$ (more "italic", not just slanted). Other glyphs that have this distinctly "italic" look in math mode are a, f, i, l, u, v, and w. To repeat what I stated before, though: This is clearly just a personal preference; your preferences may very well be rather different.

A full MWE:

\documentclass{beamer}
\usefonttheme{professionalfonts}
\usepackage{arev}
\begin{document}
\begin{frame}
$\displaystyle abc + \sum_{k=1}^n \int_0^k \sqrt{2} f(x)\,\text{d}x$

\medskip\noindent
\begin{tabular}{@{}lll}
text-mode: & \emph{bcdeghjkmnopqrstyz} & \emph{afiluvwx} \\
math-mode: & $bcdeghjkmnopqrstyz$      & $afiluvwx$
\end{tabular}
\end{frame}
\end{document}

Answer 2

As stated in the comments: This is just for reference and not a real solution for the pdflatex-specific question. The following solution is xelatex-only, because it uses mathspec, which lets you use any system-wide installed font and adjust many aspects of the math font (including specific fonts for \mathbb, \mathcal, \mathfrak etc. and the selection according to character groups "Latin", "Greek", "Digits").

This is a very simple way to get a sans-only document, since you can use multiple fonts to cover the whole unicode area as needed (most sans fonts miss the calligraphic or fraktur characters). In the following example I use the "Linux Biolinum" font.

\documentclass{article}

\usepackage{mathspec}
\setallmainfonts{Linux Biolinum G}
\setallsansfonts{Linux Biolinum G}
\setallmonofonts{Linux Biolinum G}
\setmathsfont(Digits,Latin,Greek)[ItalicFont=Linux Biolinum G Italic,%
    BoldFont=Linux Biolinum G Bold]{Linux Biolinum G}%

\begin{document}

This is a test.

Text
\(\displaystyle
abc+\sum_{k=1}^{n}\int_{0}^{k}\sqrt{2} f(x)\,\mathrm{d}x
\)
Text\\

\(\alpha + \mathcal{X}\)

\end{document}