New Symbol in Math

In the Electronics literature a symbol like û (symbol for the maximum value of a voltage) is often used. How can I insert this symbol in a formula using Math?
In the manual there is something written about ‘Adding a new symbol’ but I do not quite understand this.
Thanks in advance.

Do you want to add a hat to any letter, or only the specific letter U: Û?

Well, in fact I also want to do that with the letter v, V and i I because they are frequently used in electronics literature.

Well, there is a Unicode character for Û, but not for V. You can use a combining character: V̂, but I think you’d be much better off just using an inline equation that can actually support the correct notation.

I’m not exactly sure what symbol you’re looking for, so I’ll use the û for now. I’m also using LO 3.4.4, so hopefully these instructions will work with your version of LO:

In a new LO Writer document, select Insert → Object → Formula. Type in your formula (mine looks like this):

a + <where the symbol will go>

To add the û, select Tools → Catalog. This (confusingly) brings up a window named ‘Symbols’. In that window, select the ‘Special’ symbol set, and click the ‘Edit’ button. There’s a whole lot going on in this window, perhaps too much, but it is possible to navigate it.

Under the ‘Font’ label, choose ‘Bitstream Charter’ (or another font that contains the glyph you need), and then scroll up and down in the character selection area until you find the Lowercase u-umlaut character (û). Click on it to select.

To add the character, click the ‘Add’ button. Make sure not to click either of the ‘Delete’ or ‘Modify’ buttons, or you might change/remove some of the existing symbols, and we don’t want that to happen!

Back in the ‘Symbols’ window, you can select the û character, and then click the ‘Insert’ button to insert the symbol into your formula:

a + û

Thanks! I will try this.

There is a Unicode character for Û, but not for V. You can use a combining character: V̂, but I think you’d be much better off just using an inline equation that can actually support the correct notation:

In Writer, click Insert → Object → Formula, then in the box that opens in the bottom, type widehat {V} or hat V:

image description

Hi endolith, That is a great suggestion! It works fine, also with other characters! Thanks!

@qubit1: ‘Bitstream Charter’ - where is this font integrated? I cannot find it in my XP installation.

Bitstream Charter is an open-source font that I thought was provided in LibreOffice. If Bitstream Charter isn’t available on your system, other fonts like Arial, Times New Roman, etc… will probably have the u-umlaut character in them.

@qubit1: Thanks for information. I must have lost this font then when cleaning up my fonts after installing LibO. The information that other fonts have the same character helps; I was afraid that there are very special character in this font.