Feature request: add option for indented paragraphs in hanging footnotes

[ras52]

If you request hanging footnotes with \usepackage[hang]{footmisc}, multi-paragraph footnotes are separate by vertical space rather than indented. I'm perfectly happy this being the default – and it would need to remain so for compatibility anyway – but it would be nice if we could request indented paragraphs instead, perhaps with an option called [parindent] (or [hangparindent] if it implies [hang]).

In case it helps, here is the code I have in my .sty file to achieve this:

\edef\hangfootparskip{\the\parskip}
\edef\hangfootparindent{\the\parindent}
\addtolength\footnotesep{\partopsep}

I make no claim that this is a good way of doing it – it took me quite a long time to find a way that worked at all. More obvious strategies like \setlength\hangfootparskip{\parskip} and \renewcommand\hangfootparskip{\parskip} don't work (the former for the straightforward reason that \hangfootparskip is not a length; the latter for less obvious reasons to do with when \parskip is evaluated). That, to me, increases the argument for making this functionality a standard part of the package.

[FrankMittelbach]

Thanks for the suggestion, I don't think I will implement such an option. The footmisc documentation on "hang" clearly documents how to make such a change (at least I think it does). Over time footmisc (or something equivalent) will move to the kernel instead of remaining a package, si I don't think I want to add additional options that do not really provide much flexibility, e.g., whatever values I would put there, there will be cases where where others are wanted and then you are back to altering these definitions.

[ras52]

The footmisc documentation on "hang" clearly documents how to make such a change (at least I think it does).

Can you tell me where? I can't see anything. So far as I can see, the only relevant documentation is in §1.11, and that doesn't say anything about how to set these parameters to the document default. Setting them to a specific value (e.g. 1em) is trivial – it's setting it to the default without knowing what that is that's not.

[FrankMittelbach]

No, it doesn't say how to set it to the document default, it only says how to set it to a new value. The document default is actually rather strange (imho) for historical reasons and you aren't setting it to that either with your code. In footnotes it is hardwired 1em in most classes but not in all (in the footnote font, so it isn't \parindent and it doesn't depend on the \parindent you set yourself (or the class sets)).

If you think it is helpful I can add to Robin's documentation explaining the use of \edef and the\parindent in that case, but it will not give you the default you get if you do not use the hang option (and an additional option couldn't set it to that either, because different classes could do different things here and footmisc wouldn't know about that).