Help On LaTeX Counters

# Hypertext Help with LaTeX
Counters

Everything LaTeX numbers for you has a counter associated with it. The name of the counter is the same as the name of the environment or command that produces the number, except with no `\.` Below is a list of some of the counters used in LaTeX's standard document styles to control numbering.

     part            paragraph       figure          enumi
     chapter         subparagraph    table           enumii
     section         page            footnote        enumiii
     subsection      equation        mpfootnote      enumiv
     subsubsection

## Manipulating the way counters are printed

Counters are printed in LaTeX by using a command generated as "`\the`" suffixed with the name of the counter. Thus, equation numbers are printed by the `\theequation` command, and section numbers by the `\thesection` command. If you want to change the way such numbers are printed, for example, change from arabic to Roman numerals, you need to redefine the appropriate command, using the `\renewcommand` command.

As an example, to number equations in an appendix as `A-1`, `A-2`, ... , use

      \renewcommand{\theequation}{A-\arabic{equation}}

The second argument implies that the text produced by the renewed `\theequation` command will be "A-" followed by the output from the `\arabic{equation}` command, which is the value of the equation counter, printed as an arabic number.

In List Environments the format for the item labels is given by commands like `\labelitemi` and `\labelitemii` (for the first two levels of the Itemize Environment), and like `\labelenumi` (for the Enumerate Environment), and these may also be redefined.

There is an example of manipulating such counters in the discussion of the List Environment. See also the discussions in the Itemize Environment and in the Enumerate Environment.

You can force a change in the number produced by any of the counters. For example, if you wanted to produce a single page numbered 13, you could use

      \setcounter{page}{13}

A variety of commands for manipulating counters this way are given below.

## Related topics

- Commands that manupulate counters
  - \addtocounter
  - \newcounter
  - \setcounter
  - \usecounter
  - \value
  - \renewcommand
- Commands that print the value of a counter in various formats
  - \arabic
  - \alph \Alph
  - \roman \Roman
  - \fnsymbol
- For some examples of usage in list environments, see
  - List Enviroment
  - Itemize Environment
  - Enumerate Environment

See also Sectioning
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