# Soft-wrapping with hanging indent **URL:** \ **Category:** Emacs\ **Tags:** emacs\ **Created:** [January 12, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/soft-wrapping-with-hanging-indent/1877 "2026-01-12T21:49:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@bos](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/bos)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/soft-wrapping-with-hanging-indent/1877/1 "2026-01-12T21:49:13Z")
Hi all, I am new to emacs and configuring it for LaTeX. In VSCode I can set a “hanging” indent when I soft wrap: `This is an example sentence which flows past my` ` editor margin and ends here.` How can I achieve the same behavior in emacs? I would like it purely with soft-wrapping. I enabled `visual-line-mode `and `adaptive-wrap-prefix-mode` and eval’d `(setq adaptive-wrap-extra-indent 4)` but my result looks like: `This is an example sentence which flows past my` `editor margin and ends here.` Any insights how to config this correctly? ---
**Author:** ![dgr](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/dgr/32/394_2.png) [@dgr](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/dgr)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 1:11pm UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/soft-wrapping-with-hanging-indent/1877/2 "2026-01-13T13:11:56Z")
What do you get if you try: ```lisp (global-visual-line-mode 1) (with-eval-after-load 'adaptive-wrap (setq adaptive-wrap-extra-indent 4) (add-hook 'visual-line-mode-hook #'adaptive-wrap-prefix-mode)) ``` ---
**Author:** ![ashraz](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/ashraz/32/509_2.png) [@ashraz](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/ashraz)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 1:29pm UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/soft-wrapping-with-hanging-indent/1877/3 "2026-01-13T13:29:27Z")
If you use Emacs 30 (or higher), then you can use `visual-line-mode` together with `visual-wrap-prefix-mode`, no need for any external package: ```lisp (defun enable-line-prefix-wrap (&optional indent) "Enable `visual-line-mode' and `visual-wrap-prefix-mode' in the current buffer. The optional setting INDENT is the amount of indentation." (interactive "P") (visual-line-mode 1) (setq-local visual-wrap-extra-indent (or indent 4)) (visual-wrap-prefix-mode 1)) ``` Use via `M-x enable-line-prefix-wrap RET`. Or add it to a hook. # Demonstration This demonstration uses `emacs -Q`. Beside the aforementioned function, only the follwing Emacs Lisp code has been executed: ```lisp (setq frame-title-format “Demonstration”) (column-numbers-mode) ; see the cursor position in both screenshots ``` ## Before ![Before](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/systemcrafters/original/2X/a/a23aab4b4334f044282825ec81d0ce81da478c6e.png) ## After ![After](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/systemcrafters/original/2X/b/bf8ee253f7150f4da87a3f29c14fadb501a29d5d.png) ---
**Author:** ![bos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@bos](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/bos)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 3:22pm UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/soft-wrapping-with-hanging-indent/1877/4 "2026-01-13T15:22:39Z")
Thank you! This seems to be what I’m after. I would additionally like to add `visual-fill-column-mode` ([joostkremers/visual-fill-column: Emacs mode for wrapping visual-line-mode buffers at fill-column. - Codeberg.org](https://codeberg.org/joostkremers/visual-fill-column)) but I am confused a little with the instructions: > `visual-fill-column-mode` wraps long lines at `fill-column` without adding newlines to the buffer. Its primary (though not exclusive) purpose is to soft-wrap text in buffers that use `visual-line-mode`. The most straightforward way to achieve this is to add the function `visual-fill-column-for-vline` to `visual-line-mode-hook`: > > ```auto > (add-hook 'visual-line-mode-hook #'visual-fill-column-for-vline) > > ``` > > This function ensures that `visual-fill-column-mode` is enabled and disabled in conjunction with `visual-line-mode`. Note that you should _not_ add `visual-fill-column-mode` to `visual-line-mode-hook`, because then `visual-fill-column-mode` is not disabled when you disable `visual-line-mode`. This also means that if you use `use-package`, you should not use the `:hook` keyword, because it will add `-hook` to the name of the function. Instead, put the `add-hook` invocation under `:config`. I wasn’t sure how or where I should add this `add-hook` This Is what I’ve attempted so far, but `visual-fill-column-mode` isn’t called when i load a tex file: ```auto (use-package visual-fill-column :ensure t :defer t :config ((add-hook 'visual-line-mode-hook #'visual-fill-column-for-vline) (setq visual-fill-column-width 120)) ) (defun enable-line-prefix-wrap (&optional indent) "Enable visual-line-mode' and visual-wrap-prefix-mode’ in the current buffer. The optional setting INDENT is the amount of indentation." (interactive “P”) (visual-line-mode 1) (setq-local visual-wrap-extra-indent (or indent 4)) (visual-wrap-prefix-mode 1)) (use-package tex :ensure auctex :mode (“\.tex\'” . LaTeX-mode) :hook ((LaTeX-mode . visual-line-mode)) (LaTeX-mode . enable-line-prefix-wrap)) ``` ---
**Author:** ![ashraz](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/ashraz/32/509_2.png) [@ashraz](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/ashraz)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/soft-wrapping-with-hanging-indent/1877/5 "2026-01-14T19:26:14Z")
You’re mixing a bit of syntax there. Given that you _always_ want to run `visual-fill-column` when you run `visual-line-mode`, I’d recommend to use the following `use-package`: ```lisp (use-package visual-fill-column :ensure t :hook (visual-line-mode . visual-fill-column-for-vline) :config (setopt visual-fill-column-width 120)) ``` Note that there is no `:defer` necessary if you use `:hook`.\[1\] **But:** `:hook` should only be used if the function that is called is defined by the package.\[2\] So, next up, let’s customize `visual-wrap-prefix-mode`: ```lisp (use-package visual-wrap :ensure nil :config (setopt visual-wrap-extra-indent 4)) ``` And last but not least, let’s customize `tex`: ```lisp (use-package tex :ensure auctex :mode (“\.tex\'” . LaTeX-mode) :config (add-hook 'LaTeX-mode-hook #'visual-line-mode) (add-hook 'LaTeX-mode-hook #'visual-wrap-prefix-mode)) ``` Here, we have to use `add-hook`, because the called function is _not_ provided by `auctex`. Now, if you always want to use `visual-wrap-prefix-mode` whenever you use `visual-line-mode`, then it gets a bit easier: ```lisp ;; visual-fill-column's package definition stays as-is (use-package visual-wrap :ensure nil :hook (visual-line-mode . visual-wrap-prefix-mode) ; always use wrap-prefix :config (setopt visual-wrap-extra-indent 4)) (use-package tex :ensure auctex :mode (“\.tex\'” . LaTeX-mode) :config (add-hook 'LaTeX-mode-hook #'visual-line-mode)) ; second hook removed ``` * * * Now, with all that said, I think that this is not quite correct. While `visual-line-mode` can work together with `visual-wrap-prefix-mode`, you can use the latter without the former and then get hints in the fringes about the continuation, which you may prefer. However, the authors of `visual-fill-column` have bound `visual-fill-column-for-vline` to `visual-line-mode`’s variable value, so you would have to do that yourself\[3\]. * * * 1. That’s also the reason why I don’t like the maintainers comment about `:hook`: _“This also means that if you use use-package, you should not use the :hook keyword, because it will add -hook to the name of the function. Instead, put the add-hook invocation under :config.”_ That is not necessary and will instead work against use-package’s autoloading features. 2. Again, use-package does some magic and defers loading your package if you specify :hook. It does so by providing autoloads; setting them on unrelated functions would be bad, hmkay? 3. see `visual-fill-column-for-vline`’s definition