5

In list environments like itemize and enumerate, the default spacing always put some extra indent at the beginning of each line without a label (i.e., bullets or numbers) such that the text starts at the exact same place where the text in a line with label starts. For example, in the following figure, "iscing elit" is aligned with "Lorem ipsum", not with "tincidunt" in the paragraph following the list.

enter image description here

How can I remove this extra indent, so that, for example, "iscing elit" is aligned with "tincidunt", or whatever default the outside environment specifies for a line that does not start a paragraph? I don't not have a strong preference for how the first lines of additional paragraphs inside a list item (e.g., "Donec quam" at the beginning of the second paragraph inside item (i)) should behave in terms of alignment, as long as it makes aesthetic sense. For example, I am fine with "Donec quam" being aligned with "Nullam".

At the same time, I also want to be able to use the enumerate or the enumitem package so I can change the label format (roman numbers, etc.) The code for the MWE is here:

\documentclass[letterpaper]{scrartcl}

\usepackage{enumerate}
\usepackage[paperwidth=5in]{geometry}

\begin{document}

\begin{enumerate}[(i)]
    \item Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.

    Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. 
    \item Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, 
    arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo.
\end{enumerate}

Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus. 
Vivamus elementum semper nisi.

Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus.

\end{document}
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2 Answers 2

Reset to default
4

For what you ask, simply use the wide option. Here are two variants:

\documentclass[letterpaper]{scrartcl}

\usepackage[shortlabels]{enumitem}
\usepackage[showframe, paperwidth=5in]{geometry}

\begin{document}

\begin{enumerate}[(i), wide, parsep =0pt]
    \item Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.

    Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem.
    \item Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget,
    arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo.
\end{enumerate}

Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus.
Vivamus elementum semper nisi.

Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus.

\begin{enumerate}[(i), wide, listparindent=0pt, parsep =0pt]
    \item Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.

    Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem.
    \item Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget,
    arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo.
\end{enumerate}

Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus.
Vivamus elementum semper nisi.

Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus.

\end{document}

enter image description here

Improve this answer
6

There are many parameters associated with list making environments, as described in Section C.5.3 of the LaTeX User Guide and Reference Manual (pp. 166-168). The enumitem package gives a convenient way to access them directly for your list, by way of optional argument.

The parameters relevant here are \leftmargin which is the overall alignment of the items, and \itemindent, which is the indentation (not counting the label) of the 1st line of the \item.

The indent of "Donec quam" type paragraphs are set with the additional parameter (not shown below) listparindent=\parindent, for example.

\documentclass[letterpaper]{scrartcl}

\usepackage{enumitem}
\usepackage[paperwidth=5in]{geometry}

\begin{document}

\begin{enumerate}[label=(\roman*),leftmargin=0pt,itemindent=30pt]
    \item Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.

    Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. 
    \item Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, 
    arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo.
\end{enumerate}

Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus. 
Vivamus elementum semper nisi.

Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus.

\end{document}

enter image description here

Improve this answer
2
  • Thank you! Is it possible to set these parameters for the whole document at once? Is 30pt the default or recommended value for itemindent? Is the user guide you mentioned this book by Leslie Lamport?
    – tvk
    Sep 29, 2016 at 18:01
  • 1
    @FangJing Page 9 of the enumitem documentation (mirror.hmc.edu/ctan/macros/latex/contrib/enumitem/enumitem.pdf) shows \setlist[enumerate]{...} to set global definitions. I just grabbed 30pt out of the air...user preference, though you want it wide enough to handle your widest label width, which can vary greatly using roman numerals. Yes, the LaTeX User guide is by Leslie Lamport.
    – Steven B. Segletes
    Sep 29, 2016 at 18:07

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