Question: Is it possible to automatically "add" `\left` and `\right` commands in front of all brackets? The source code should be left intact, but LaTeX should interpret every pair of brackets as if they were preceded by such commands. This is because adding `\left` and `\right` commands is time consuming and makes source code longer and less readable. I considered defining new commands such as `\lb` and `\rb` for `\left(` and `\right)`, but it doesn't seem very elegant to me: what if I also want to add square brackets for example?

Any ideas? Thanks.

Answer: 
Adding `\left` and `\right` to all delimiters is difficult and likely not to yield the desired result in many places. 

The [`nath`](http://www.ctan.org/pkg/nath) package aims at making `\left` and `\right` obsolete. From the readme:

> 
> delimiters adapt their size to the material enclosed, rendering `\left` and `\right` almost obsolete.
> 
> 
>
I use the following newcommands:

```
\newcommand{\of}[1]{\left(#1\right)}
\newcommand{\off}[1]{\left[#1\right]}
\newcommand{\offf}[1]{\left\{#1\right\}}

```

Hence, in the text, `f\of{x}` will appear as `f(x)`, `M\ast\offf{g\off{x}+h\off{x}}` will appear as `M*{g[x]+h[x]}`, etc. with the `\left` and `\right` commands automatically built-in.