indenting and wrapping

[Jeff Hartnell]

Hi,
I have a couple of problems with emacs version 21.3.1 that came with 
SuSE linux 9.2.

1.) C++ mode related

The "basic offset" refered to in FAQ 5.19 is currently set to 4 
white-spaces. I want to set it to 2 white-spaces. I tried
(setq standard-indent 2)
but it has no effect.

Also, another problem, when I write a comment it wont indent on the TAB 
command unless it is at least one white-space away from the margin.

e.g.

if (bla)
 //this will indent on tab
//this one wont until I insert a space in front of it



2.) Latex mode related
I can't change the "M-q" command that wraps all the text to a certain 
width. I tried:

M-x customize-option RET fill-column RET 72

but it doesn't work for latex files (it works fine if I have file.txt say)


I have a feeling that both my problems are related to being in c++ or 
latex mode? Is this right? How do I get round it?

Many thanks,
Jeff.