Cross Out Text (Strikethrough) in LaTeX — The soul package, ulem package, and cancel package
Method 1: by the \st command of the soul package
In LaTeX, we can use the \st command of the soul package1 to cross out text:
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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{lipsum}
\usepackage{soul}
\newcommand{\mylipsum}{\lipsum[1][1-2]}
\begin{document}
\mylipsum
\st{text to be deleted}
\mylipsum
\st{text to be deleted}
\mylipsum
\end{document}
and meanwhile we can use the \setstcolor command to set the color of the strikethrough2:
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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{lipsum}
\usepackage{soul,xcolor}
\newcommand{\mylipsum}{\lipsum[1][1-2]}
\begin{document}
\mylipsum
\st{text to be deleted}
\mylipsum
\setstcolor{red}
\st{text to be deleted}
\mylipsum
\st{text to be deleted}
\setstcolor{black}
\mylipsum
\st{text to be deleted}
\mylipsum
\end{document}
Besides, the \st command can be used to cross out inline equations:
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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{lipsum,amsmath}
\usepackage{soul,xcolor}
\newcommand{\mylipsum}{\lipsum[1][1-2]}
\begin{document}
\mylipsum
\st{text to be deleted, $a^2+b^2=c^2$}
\mylipsum
\setstcolor{red}
\st{text to be deleted, $a^2+b^2=c^2$}
\mylipsum
\st{text to be deleted, $a^2+b^2=c^2$}
\setstcolor{black}
\mylipsum
\st{text to be deleted, $a^2+b^2=c^2$}
\mylipsum
\end{document}
but it cannot be used inside of the math modes, including inline math mode and display math mode, for example, the syntax like:
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$a^2+\st{b^2=c^2}$
or
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\begin{equation*}
a^2+\st{b^2=c^2}
\end{equation*}
will induce errors.
Method 2: by the ulem package
The ulem package is originally for underlining3, but the reference2 provides a way to realize strikethrough by it:
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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{xcolor,lipsum}
\usepackage[normalem]{ulem}
\newcommand{\mylipsum}{\lipsum[1][1-2]}
\newcommand\redsout{\bgroup\markoverwith{\textcolor{red}{\rule[0.7ex]{2pt}{0.7pt}}}\ULon}
\begin{document}
\mylipsum
\redsout{text to be deleted, $a^2+b^2=c^2$}
\mylipsum
$a^2+\redsout{b^2=c^2}$
\mylipsum
\begin{equation}
a^2+\redsout{b^2=c^2}\\
\end{equation}
\end{document}
where the code
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\newcommand\redsout{\bgroup\markoverwith{\textcolor{red}{\rule[0.7ex]{2pt}{0.7pt}}}\ULon}
is to define a new underline style to realize the effect of strikethrough. More details about this syntax can be found in the documentation of ulem package 4.
At this time, we can see this defined command \redsout can be used in both inline math mode and display math mode. A very flexible way.
Method 3: by the cancel package5
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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{lipsum}
\usepackage{cancel}
\newcommand{\mylipsum}{\lipsum[1][1-2]}
\begin{document}
% The `\cancel` command
\mylipsum
\cancel{text to be deleted, $a^2+b^2=c^2$}
\mylipsum
$a^2+\cancel{b^2=c^2}$
\mylipsum
\vspace{3em}
\begin{equation}
a^2+\cancel{b^2=c^2}\\
\end{equation}
% The `\bcancel` command
\mylipsum
\bcancel{text to be deleted, $a^2+b^2=c^2$}
\mylipsum
$a^2+\bcancel{b^2=c^2}$
\mylipsum
\begin{equation}
a^2+\bcancel{b^2=c^2}\\
\end{equation}
\vspace{3em}
% The `\xcancel` command
\mylipsum
\xcancel{text to be deleted, $a^2+b^2=c^2$}
\mylipsum
$a^2+\xcancel{b^2=c^2}$
\mylipsum
\begin{equation}
a^2+\xcancel{b^2=c^2}\\
\end{equation}
% The `\cancelto` command
\begin{equation}
\cancelto{3^2}{a^2}+\cancelto{4^2}{b^2}=\cancelto{5^2}{c^2}\\
\end{equation}
\end{document}
where6:
Also, we can use the following code in the preamble to specify the color of cancel mark:
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\usepackage{xcolor}
\renewcommand\CancelColor{\color{red}}
References