Questions tagged [tab-characters]
Question about how to handle white spaces tab characters with vim, insert them, remove them, convert them to space characters, etc...
62
questions
0
votes
2answers
36 views
How to convert spaces on a line to tabs?
I know there's a way because it happened by accident. I was frenetically moving in a short region of text and at some point, with some wrong keystroke, the leading spaces on the line became a tab (and ...
0
votes
0answers
38 views
How to make tabs in vim work like they do in windows notepad
In notepad, whenever you hit tab, it will take up all the space up until the next "column".
| | | | | # lets say these are the columns
sdf f # Pressing "...
1
vote
1answer
56 views
Stop vim from deleting expanded tab as a block of spaces
I am on CentOS 8.1 and using vim 8.0.1763. When I open a python file, e.g. vim tmp.py, I type tab and it inserts 4 spaces (see .vimrc below). When I type delete, it deletes all 4 spaces. I want it ...
0
votes
1answer
15 views
Why can't save file without tab key?
Configuration in my .vimrc:
set tabstop=4
set expandtab
set softtabstop=4
set shiftwidth=4
I have edit a file which contain tab,saved and reopen to have a look at it with set list,the tab key saved,...
1
vote
2answers
85 views
Shouldn't `softtabstop` be set, when using option 2 in `:h tabstop` to configure Vim to use spaces for `<Tab>`s?
I want to configure Vim to use spaces for <Tab>s everywhere. Therefore, I've had a look at :h tabstop to figure out how to perform the configuration.
Looking at the help text, option 2. seems ...
0
votes
1answer
49 views
Neovim keeps reverting shiftwidth size after `after/ftplugin`
I like to code with 4 spaces as a tab.
I added this to after/ftplugin/sass.vim:
echom "before sass file settings"
set shiftwidth=4 " <---- Problem setting, keeps changing back to 2 ...
0
votes
1answer
2k views
Fixing tab and space inconsistency
I used < in visual model to do a shift+tab reverse for a code inside loop after I removed the try/except phrase. Now, I get an error:
$ python clean_captions.py
File "clean_captions.py"...
0
votes
1answer
15 views
vim plugin changes rust files to use a ts of 4 rather than 2
Let's say I have a simple file,
echo -n "\tTABBED ONCE" > foo.rs
And then I have in my .vimrc the following,
set ts=2
call plug#begin('~/.vim/plugged')
call plug#end()
How come I open that file ...
0
votes
0answers
26 views
How to prevent Smart-Tabs plugin from overriding youcompleteme tab completion
I've been looking for a solution to "tabs for indentation, spaces for alignment" and found that the Smart-tabs plugin does exactly what I want.
However, when this plugin is active, it breaks the tab ...
0
votes
0answers
24 views
Printed <tab> on pressing the tab key
It's not easy to articulate the question, as I touched something I don't understand. I am using a vim extension of VS-CODE.
I pressed something, that turned my next pressed key, into a literal, ...
0
votes
1answer
179 views
Tabs and only tabs for any file type
I would like vim to only ever insert a space character when I touch the space bar. Instead vim decides that sometimes tabs should be 4 spaces. How do I force vim to always and forever use tabs ...
2
votes
1answer
91 views
escape, ctrl-w through citrix lite in browser
I need to be able to run vi on a machine that I access through Citrix lite in the browser. However I've come across a number of problems because of conflicts around esc and ctrl+w.
Specifically, ...
1
vote
2answers
395 views
Pressing Enter removes indentation
If I have a file a.js like this:
let a1 = [
];
and I press Enter at the end of the first line, a Tab is inserted. I do not want this, so I added a setting:
filetype indent off
but then if I have ...
0
votes
1answer
127 views
How to check if the character under the cursor is a tab?
I am using the code getline(".")[col(".")-1] to get the character under the cursor. How can I check if the character under the cursor is a tab ?
2
votes
1answer
149 views
Why can't I use a literal Tab as the {commands} for :normal?
I'd like to write the following code:
function Normal(command)
execute "normal!" a:command
endfunction
call Normal("\<C-O>")
call Normal("\<C-I>")
The first call to Normal succeeds, ...
1
vote
1answer
252 views
tabs after pastetoggle instead of spaces
Using following .vimrc
" Just to see tab/spaces/endline clearly:
set encoding=utf-8
set list
set listchars=tab:▸\ ,eol:¬
nnoremap <F5> :set list!<cr>
" Tab to spaces settings
set tabstop=...
2
votes
1answer
206 views
How to view tabs as conventional whitespace, not as control character ^I (caret I) in VIm?
I've somehow managed to have all tabs show up as the control character ^I in VIm, specifically gvim 8.1.1 on Windows 10.
All I have related to tabs in vimrc is this:
set tabstop=2
I do also have ...
0
votes
1answer
97 views
Expandtab converts spaces to newline character?
When I enabled expandtab in vim by putting these in .vimrc:
set tw=4
set expandtab
Vim comverted every space typed by me to a newline character.
Like with the above settings whenever I type a new ...
1
vote
1answer
439 views
How to show 2 spaces as tabs in listchar?
I like to see my indentation level with listchars=tab:\|\
But one project uses two spaces instead. Is there any way to show indentation level lines then?
This question seems to the opposite of Show ...
2
votes
1answer
34 views
On the length of tabs after an initial character
Length of tabs after initial char
Start gvim with the --clean option, to get a clean slate, and then do:
:set noet ts=5 sts=3 sw=2
Then enter the following
1234567890
and on the next line, press ...
1
vote
0answers
149 views
The tab adds 8 spaces even though `set tabstop?` returns 4
For some reasons when I'm editing my ~/.config/nvim/init.vim, it adds 8 spaces even though I set set tabstop=4 on the file. Actually, :verbose set tabstop returns 4, so it should be 4 spaces.
I ...
1
vote
1answer
133 views
Tab multiple lines [duplicate]
I have my tab set to 4 spaces with :set tabstop=4.
Now I want to highlight multiple lines and tab them, or indent all them 4 spaces. If I highlight the lines and do >, it seems to indent them more ...
0
votes
1answer
377 views
How to change the size of the indent that's created using “>” (forward arrow)?
If I want to change the tab size, I can do that with set tabstop=<number>. I have that in my .vimrc to make it 4 instead of 8.
However, when I indent/deindent text by highlighting it then using ...
1
vote
0answers
410 views
Set tab width according to file [duplicate]
I have the following in my .vimrc:
set expandtab "Use soft tabs (spaces)
set shiftwidth=2 "Set tab width = 2
set softtabstop=2 "Set tab width = 2
set autoindent "Set indent of previous line
Now if I ...
1
vote
1answer
563 views
Auto-indent with spaces, but insert TAB when I press the TAB key
I like to indent my shell scripts with two spaces instead of a TAB. So, I set setlocal shiftwidth=2 in ~/.vim/after/ftplugin/sh.vim. It works, but I noticed that when the indentation level gets ...
-1
votes
1answer
1k views
how to make vim indentation file type specific? [duplicate]
I usually work on js files and php files. My js files require 2 spaces tab, whereas my php requires 4. How can I make vim dynamically change that depending on the file type I'm working on?
0
votes
1answer
253 views
Search for 2 but not for 3 tab characters
I want to search in Vi for two tabs but not for three or more tabs. I tried several things like this:
/\t\t\(\t\)@!
But nothing works. Any idea?
0
votes
2answers
2k views
Getting Shift-Tab to work in VIM Insert mode
I've been trying to get Shift+Tab or <S-Tab> to work in VIM and for the life of me I can't figure it out.
I read this document, but the remap solution only works for normal mode (because if I ...
6
votes
1answer
71 views
Why are tabs adjacent to concealed tabs displayed wider than a single tabstop?
I just wrote the following code in an answer to another question:
syntax match HideTwoIndents /\v^\t(\t)?/ conceal
set conceallevel=2
This works great if 'list' is set and if 'listchars' does not ...
1
vote
1answer
303 views
Tab size fixed to 8 in spite of polyglot.
I am using Vim 8. Since I installed vim-polyglot to handle syntax highlighting and indentation of different languages without going crazy, whatever file I open has a tab size of 8 automatically. I ...
1
vote
0answers
103 views
Files with tabs are length 8 even with set tabstop=4 in vimrc [duplicate]
I have most of the usual tab commands in ~/.vimrc:
set tabstop=4 set softtabstop=4 set shiftwidth=4 set expandtab
set breakindent set autoindent set smartindent.
There are no problems when I open a ...
40
votes
1answer
76k views
Setting TAB to 2 spaces
I've looked through various answers which imply that setting the following in .vimrc would be appropriate to force tab insertions to become spaces.
filetype plugin indent on
" On pressing tab, ...
5
votes
1answer
3k views
Expand <TAB> into 2 spaces when and only when editing HTML
My current configuration makes vim automatically expand TAB to 4 spaces for me:
" Define tab as 4 spaces
" Taken from http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1878974/redefine-tab-as-4-spaces
set tabstop=4 ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
Have backspace delete whole tabs
Under regular conditions, the tab key will insert a tab character and backspacing that tab deletes the whole tab character.
I have set up expandtab and softtabstop=4 so that when I hit tab it will ...
1
vote
0answers
762 views
expandtab / noexpandtab toggles by itself in Neovim
I have this issue where noexpandtab turns itself on after a while. Tried to describe it here and in the Github Issue because I am not 100% sure this is a legit bug.
For a long time, I have ...
0
votes
1answer
1k views
<Tab> in insert mode brings up completion
Today when I open my computer and enter vi, strange things happened: backspace not working(solved), and Tab brings up keyword completion in insert mode, which is what I'm worrying about. Before, I can ...
-1
votes
2answers
2k views
bypassing TAB auto-complete
Sometimes I need to press TAB, but instead of getting actual the tab key, a suggestion pops up and TAB cycles through the suggestions.
How can I insert TAB without invoking the auto-completion ?
The ...
2
votes
2answers
974 views
Show leading whitespaces, but not including tabs
I am a tabs kind of guy, I do not like when my code contains leading whitespaces instead of leading tabs. I often exchange codes with colleagues and I first have to convert the leading whitespaces to ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
Shift left or right (with `noet`) without converting existing spaces to tabs
Foreword
I'm using the "indent with tabs, align with spaces" ideology for indentation. This means that each line in a file can be prefixed with an arbitrary amount of tabs and spaces (as opposed to "...
1
vote
2answers
269 views
How can I highlight misuse of tabs and spaces according to current configuration?
I'm looking for a way that will highlight lines (or part of lines) that don't adhere to current tabs settings.
Say for instance, I have the following configuration in my .vimrc
tabstop=8
...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
softtabstop == tabstop VS softtabstop=0
Are this:
set noexpandtab
set shiftwidth=4
set tabstop=4
set softtabstop=0
..and this:
set noexpandtab
set shiftwidth=4
set tabstop=4
set softtabstop=4
..exactly the same? I thought that if ...
1
vote
1answer
42 views
Make pipe behave like `col('.')`
So when I go to the first character in a line, the first character in that line is a tab character, and I execute echo col('.'), I will get 1.
However when I type 2| I won't go to the next character, ...
2
votes
2answers
984 views
Transforming a long table into multiple columns
Suppose I have the following table:
E 12.02
T 9.10
A 8.12
O 7.68
I 7.31
N 6.95
S 6.28
R 6.02
H 5.92
D 4.32
L 3.98
U 2.88
C 2.71
M 2.61
F 2.30
Y 2.11
W 2.09
G 2.03
...
8
votes
2answers
6k views
Vim doesn't use the correct indentation in Python files
I have encountered something that I have never seen before in Vim. While I was tentatively modifying some of the source code for software I've been planning to work on, I noticed vim was displaying ...
4
votes
4answers
2k views
Delete indenting spaces one at a time
I want to be able to delete indenting spaces one at a time.
If I set shiftwidth to 4, it deletes 4 spaces at a time if vim counts them as indentation. Setting shiftwidth to 1 fixes the problem, but ...
5
votes
1answer
643 views
vimrc tab behavior when noexpandtab and softtabstop is less than tabstop
Questions
In the following example:
Why in the first line, a \t is inserted but only 4-col blank is displayed? Shouldn't it be 8 according to tabstop?
Why the two <TAB> hits in the first line ...
1
vote
1answer
88 views
How to write literal for Tab key to use for motion?
I've the following dummy file created via:
echo -e "a a\tb b\tc c" > file
Is there any literal for space which I can use for motion argument?
For example this works (which removes the 1st a a ...
4
votes
1answer
459 views
How can I set expandtab but only for git commit messages?
Most of the time I'd like noexpandtab on because our corporate formatting uses tabs instead of spaces, so in my .vimrc I have this:
" Set tab width stuff
set tabstop=4 softtabstop=0 noexpandtab ...
3
votes
3answers
651 views
Avoid spaces getting converted to tabs automatically during shift(>>)
I use 2 spaces as indentation. So I set shiftwidth using :set sw=2.
However when I do the shift operator(>>) on a line twice, the indentation converts the 4 spaces automatically to a tab. So to ...
18
votes
3answers
1k views
Tabs for indentation, spaces for alignment
I am trying to make vim auto indent with tabs, and align with whitespaces, but actually, vim indent with tabs and fill the alignment with tabs + white spaces.
Vim does it :
(each block is a tab)
{
&...
