Fonts & Character Sets ⇒ How I can use Helvetica and other fonts

[Blue Ice]

Dear Friends,

Please bear with me as I am new to LaTeX and have a question regarding font packages and types.

I am using TeXnicCenter with MikTeX and wish to use the Helvetica font and possibly a few others for a report. However, I have only been able to use the three font families given in the drop down menu which are:

• Sans-Seriff
• Typewriter
• roman

Do I need to use the \usepackage command or is there a command that can be entered within the body of the document to change font type?

Many thanks.

[balfonsi]

Try

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\usepackage{helvet}

It redefines \sfdefault to uhv (i.e. URW helvetica) + a few (technical) other things. But you must be aware you won't have any maths typed with helvetica: changing fonts in maths is a much more complex problem than changing a text font.

Which other fonts do you want to use? Will you have to type maths formulae?

Regards,
B.A.

[localghost]

There is a whole bunch of fonts for use with LaTeX. For the use of postscript fonts, refer to psnfss (or psfnssx). I myself use a Palatino style with Courier and Helvetica.

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\usepackage{mathpazo}
\usepackage[scaled]{couriers,helvet}

The scaled option is needed, because without that especially the Helvetica font appears too big. But you can replace couriers by courier without any option like mathpazo. The mathpazo package also typesets nice math formulae. A good alternative for mathpazo is mathptmx, which realises a Times style. For general usage of fonts in math mode, take a look at mathdesign. If you like to use other types, try a search on CTAN.