# W3cubDocs

/LaTeX

### \parindent & \parskip

Synopsis:

```\setlength{\parindent}{horizontal len}
\setlength{\parskip}{vertical len}
```

Both are rubber lengths (see Lengths). They affect the indentation of ordinary paragraphs, not paragraphs inside minipages (see minipage), and the vertical space between paragraphs, respectively.

For example, if this is put in the preamble:

```\setlength{\parindent}{0em}
\setlength{\parskip}{1ex}
```

The document will have paragraphs that are not indented, but instead are vertically separated by about the height of a lowercase ‘x’.

In standard LaTeX documents, the default value for `\parindent` in one-column documents is `15pt` when the default text size is `10pt`, `17pt` for `11pt`, and `1.5em` for `12pt`. In two-column documents it is `1em`. (These values are set before LaTeX calls `\normalfont` so `em` is derived from the default font, Computer Modern. If you use a different font then to set `\parindent` in units matching that font, do `\AtBeginDocument{\setlength{\parindent}{1em}}`.)

The default value for `\parskip` in LaTeX’s standard document styles is `0pt plus1pt`.