2

I'm trying to define new counter lnum and display the counter number in circle.

I found circled command from here tex.stackexchange but I have a problem.

Here's my test code:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\newcommand*{\circled}[1]{\tikz[baseline=(char.base)]{%
            \node[shape=circle,fill=blue!20,draw,inner sep=2pt] (char) {#1};}}
\newcounter{lnum}
\renewcommand{\thelnum}{\circled{\arabic{lnum}}}

\begin{document}

\thelnum % fine
\refstepcounter{lnum}\thelnum % error here

\end{document}

As you can see from the comment, without \refstepcounter, it works fine. However, with \refstepcounter, it doesn't work. Here's error message:

! Undefined control sequence.
\tikz@deactivatthings ->\def ;
                              {\tikz@nonactivesemicolon }\def :{\tikz@nonact...
l.11 \refstepcounter{lnum}
                          \thelnum
?

Why this doesn't work? And, how can I fix it?

slyx
  • 343
  • Do not \renewcommand{\thelnum}, it is self-recursive. – Symbol 1 Jun 21 '17 at 14:01
  • In \refstepcounter the \thelnum is expanded into a label definition. That is, it must be possible to write \edef\test{\thelnum} and that will not work as a Tikz node. – StefanH Jun 21 '17 at 14:49
  • @Symbol1 I would say you can redefine \thelnum as long as it is expandable inside TeX. For example \renewcommand\thelnum{LNUM: \arabic{lnum}} should work. I do not see how it is self-recursive. – StefanH Jun 21 '17 at 14:58
  • @StefanH: Sorry I am not precise, or even misleading --- Anyway: The fact that you have to REnewcommand \thelnum suggests that this command is already defined and can be used anywhere, anytime. Just because \arabic{lnum} works well does not mean that you are safe. In fact, \refstepcounter does invoke \thelnum and that is where everything goes wrong. – Symbol 1 Jun 21 '17 at 15:24
  • @Symbol1 That I agree with completely – StefanH Jun 21 '17 at 16:14

3 Answers3

2

Here's a ready-made solution from the package pifont

\begin{dingautolist}{"0AC}
   \item First
   \item Second
\end{dingautolist}

Using the starting value "0B6 you can get white digits on black circles. The digits range from 1 to 10, no higher number are available in the Zapf Dingbats font.

Sir Cornflakes
  • 3,582
1

\refstepcounter stores the expansion of \thelnum in \@currentlabel for references. So it is not a good idea if \thelnum does complicated things. Either never use \refstepcounter with your counter (use \stepcounter instead). Or define some other command that adds the circle:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\newcommand*{\circled}[1]{\tikz[baseline=(char.base)]{%
            \node[shape=circle,fill=blue!20,draw,inner sep=2pt] (char) {#1};}}
\newcounter{lnum}
\newcommand{\thecirclnum}{\circled{\arabic{lnum}}}

\begin{document}

\thecirclnum 

\refstepcounter{lnum}\label{test}

\thecirclnum, \ref{test}

\end{document}
Ulrike Fischer
  • 327,261
1

The problem is that the command \thelnum is expanded inside \refstepcounter{lnum}. It is essentally 

\edef\@currentlabel{\p@lnum\thelnum}

where \p@lnum is a prefix. If \thelnum is a Tikz node that will not be able to expand in this assignment. By testing the definition

\edef\test{\tikz \node[draw]{Test};}

one gets a similar error as in the question.

To get the printed numbers circled there can be another command writing it:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\newcommand*{\circled}[1]{\tikz[baseline=(char.base)]
  \node[shape=circle,fill=blue!20,draw,inner sep=2pt] (char) {#1};
}
\newcounter{lnum}
\newcommand{\mylnum}{\circled{\arabic{lnum}}}
\begin{document}
\mylnum % fine
\refstepcounter{lnum}
\mylnum % error here
\end{document}

Of course cross-references to the value will not be printed in circles, but that can be done by hand:

\refstepcounter{lnum}
\label{circ:test}
[...]
\circled{\ref{circ:test}}
StefanH
  • 13,823