LaTeX error: Unicode character … not set up for use with LaTeX
pdfLaTeX reads your file as UTF-8 but only knows how to print characters that its fonts and encodings cover. Symbols pasted from a word processor or a web page, such as ≤, →, ✓, or CJK text, have no glyph mapping, so the compile stops.
! Package inputenc Error: Unicode character ≤ (U+2264) not set up for use with LaTeX.
Try it: this example has the error
Press Fix it in the error box, and it compiles to a PDF. What pdfTeX printed for it:
! Package inputenc Error: Unicode character ^^e2^^89^^a4 (U+2264)
(inputenc) not set up for use with LaTeX.
See the inputenc package documentation for explanation.
Type H <return> for immediate help.
...
l.3 Inequality: a ^^e2^^89^^a4
b and a ^^e2^^86^^92 b.Ready. Press Compile (or Ctrl/Cmd + Enter).
Common causes
- Math symbols pasted as characters (
≤ ≥ → × −) instead of written as commands. - Typographic characters from Word or Google Docs: non-breaking spaces, special dashes, or zero-width spaces you cannot see.
- Emoji, or Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text, which need XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX with a suitable font (or the CJK package).
How to fix it
- Replace math symbols with commands:
\leq,\geq,\to,\times,-. TeXpad offers the replacement in one click. - For invisible characters, delete and retype the space around the reported position.
- The LaTeX symbols cheat sheet lists the command for each common symbol.