Lengths

A length is a measure of distance. Many LaTeX commands take a length as an argument. A length of one inch is specified by typing 1in or, to specify the same length using metric units, by typing 2.54cm.

Units

LaTeX knows about the following common units. And the following less common units Lengths may also be negative, for example, -1.5em.
Note that the number 0 by itself is not a length; it must be specified as 0in or 0pt, for example.

Length commands

A length may also be specified by a length command. An example is \parindent whose value specifies the current width of the indentation which begins paragraphs. Multiples of such length commands may be specified, for example by writing 2.5\parindent or -0.1\parindent.

Some length commands are

All length commands are robust and should not be preceded by a \protect command.

Setting values for length commands

The following LaTeX commands define and manipulate the value of length commands

Commands that add space


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Revised by Sheldon Green, agxsg@giss.nasa.gov, 23 Jun 1995.