\ { } ~ ^ _ # $ % &
To typeset one of these, use
\back \{ \} \~{} \^{} \_ \# \$ \% \&
(Note that \back is different from the \backslash command of
LaTeX. \backslash can only be used in math mode, while \back can be used in any mode
and is typeset in a typewriter
font.)
Sometimes it is useful to turn off the special meaning of some of
these ten characters. For instance, when writing documentation about
programs in C, it might be useful to be able to write
some_variable instead of always having to type
some\_variable. This can be achieved with the
\NotSpecial command.
In principle, all other characters simply typeset themselves. This has to be taken with a grain of salt, though. LaTeX still obeys ligatures, which turns ffi into `ffi', and some characters, like >, do not resemble themselves in some fonts . The only characters for which this is critical are <, >, and |. Better use them in a typewriter-font. Note that ?` and !` are ligatures in any font and are displayed and printed as ¿ and ¡.
Like LaTeX, the Hyperlatex converter understands that an empty line
indicates a new paragraph. You can achieve the same effect using the
command \par.