# How to print symbols in matlab?

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bluexdestination on 29 Sep 2013
Commented: Stephen23 on 25 Aug 2021
Hi,
I was wondering if I can print symbols in the command window that is not within the ranges of
char(0:255)
For example, the integral symbol which has the unicode of U+0283,or HTML (decimal) 643.
If I can accomplish this, I was wondering how it can implemented.

Walter Roberson on 29 Sep 2013
Edited: Walter Roberson on 29 Sep 2013
>> char(643)
ans =
ʃ
The limit is decimal 65300 if I recall correctly (not 65335 as one would expect.) Note that UTF-8 or UTF-16 encoding is not used
##### 2 CommentsShowHide 1 older comment
Walter Roberson on 29 Sep 2013
You may need to change your font. Some people have also run into this if their system is configured to use a language other than English.

Steven Lord on 3 Apr 2019
Instead of trying to display the symbols in the Command Window, consider writing your code in the Live Editor. You can insert equations into a Live Script or Live Function either via an equation editor or via LaTeX.

Zoe Herrick on 3 Apr 2019
You can try something like this:
str = '$$\int_{0}^{2} x^2\sin(x) dx$$';
text(1.1,0.5,str,'Interpreter','latex')

Bart McCoy on 25 Aug 2021
Edited: Bart McCoy on 25 Aug 2021
Generating or Printing Unicode Characters in MATLAB:
I'm working with MATLAB 2021, but this has worked for about a year now for me.
In general, Unicode values for different symbols can be found on many sites and most publish the 4-digit HEX value. Looking at this link (Unicode Table for Greek Chars), the Unicode for Greek capital Delta (Δ) is U+0394 or 0x0394 hex.
To get the MATLAB char for Δ, just convert hex to decimal and run it through char, as shown below:
% Extract the Greek char for capital DELTA, Δ [either way works]
c = char( hex2dec('0394') ) % Use '0394' as a char string
c = char( hex2dec( sprintf('%04d', 394) ) ) % Use integer 394 and generate the 4-digit string
NOTE ON SAVING UNICODE CHARS IN .M FILES:
Before 2020 or so, you could paste these chars into a MATLAB script and save the .m file, but when close & reload the .m file, your chars appear as a square. That's because MATLAB didn't save scripts in UTF-8 format, (as I understand it).
In R2021a, MATLAB now saves .m files as UTF-8 by DEFAULT. I have personally verified that I can paste Unicode chars (e.g. all lower/uppercase Greek letters) into a script, save it, close file, reload, and they all appear fine. Someone in this thread indicated that R2020a was when UTF-8 became the default and it actually worked.
Run "ver" to see your MATLAB version or do a File ==> Save As, to see if the default file format for .m files is UTF-8 (required to save unicode chars)
Stephen23 on 25 Aug 2021
Note since version R2019b you can enter hex values directly, so no need to use HEX2DEC:
c = char(0x394)
c = 'Δ'

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