Asterisk inside a variable

Question

I am trying to define a variable with an asterisk in its value but keep getting errors. I have tried \def, \let and \newcommand but neither worked. A minimal example:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{enumitem}
\def\cLists{leftmargin=*}
\setlist{\cLists}
\begin{document}
\begin{itemize}
\item a
\end{itemize}
\end{document}

Any help, please?

Why the close vote? I don't think this is a duplicate of Defining starred versions of commands — Alan Munn, Feb 21 '12 at 00:18
Use \expandafter\setlist\expandafter{\cLists} instead. I think this has to do with the definition of \setlist that can take optional arguments. — Werner, Feb 21 '12 at 00:23
@AlanMunn I was confused for a moment. I deleted the automatic coment, but I can't undo my vote. — lockstep, Feb 21 '12 at 00:23
@lockstep: Two days and your confusion will be lost. See Cancel asking to close? — Werner, Feb 21 '12 at 00:26
@Werner Rather to the fact that \setlist expects a list of options and doesn't perform expansion. — egreg, Feb 21 '12 at 00:27

score 10 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 21 '12 at 00:28

10

To appropriately use a control sequence \cLists as arguments to \setlist, use

\expandafter\setlist\expandafter{\cLists}

This expands \cLists first, before passing it to \setlist.

answered Feb 21 '12 at 00:28

Werner

603,163

Asterisk inside a variable

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