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OverscriptBox

OverscriptBox[x, y]
is the low-level box representation for in notebook expressions.
  • In a notebook, an OverscriptBox can be created using Ctrl+7 or Ctrl+&. Ctrl+Space moves out of the overscript position.
  • The following special interpretations are made:
OverscriptBox[x,"_"]OverBar[x]
OverscriptBox[x,"RightVector"]OverVector[x]
OverscriptBox[x,"~"]OverTilde[x]
OverscriptBox[x,"^"]OverHat[x]
OverscriptBox[x,"."]OverDot[x]
  • For these special cases special input forms such as x\&_ can be used.
  • The baseline of OverscriptBox[x, y] is taken to be the baseline of x.
  • OverscriptBox[x, y] is usually output with y in a smaller font than x.
  • With the option setting LimitsPositioning->True, y is placed in an overscript position when the whole OverscriptBox is displayed large, and in a superscript position when it is displayed smaller.
EXAMPLESCLOSE ALL
Basic Examples   (3)
Display a letter with an overscript:
An OverscriptBox form is typically interpreted as an Overscript expression:
The standard formatting for Overscript uses OverscriptBox:
The formatted result looks like this:
Display a letter with an overscript:
In[1]:=
Click for copyable input
Out[1]//DisplayForm=
 
An OverscriptBox form is typically interpreted as an Overscript expression:
In[1]:=
Click for copyable input
Out[1]=
In[2]:=
Click for copyable input
Out[2]//FullForm=
 
The standard formatting for Overscript uses OverscriptBox:
In[1]:=
Click for copyable input
Out[1]//FullForm=
The formatted result looks like this:
In[2]:=
Click for copyable input
Out[2]=
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