vi/comp.editors/tab2space

From etxmesa@eos.ericsson.se (Michael Salmon)
Subject: Re: Q: Tab size in shell
Reply-To: etxmesa@eos.ericsson.se (Michael Salmon)
Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1992 08:53:11 GMT

In article <1992Jun5.065506.27336@nuscc.nus.sg>, ccechk@nuscc.nus.sg (Heng Kek) writes:
|> How does one set the tab size for programs like 'cat', 'more'
|> etc?  I edited a table using 'vi' whose tabstop setting is 2
|> (i.e. tabstop=2).  When I 'more' the file containing the table,
|> the format is screwed up because the tabs expand to 8 spaces or
|> something.  
|> 
|> I've gone thru the man pages for 'stty' and tried some stuff but
|> met with no success.  Anyone know how to hack this?  I'm on
|> ULTRIX 4.2 with vt100 term.
|> 
|> Kek

try piping your file through expand.

-- 

Michael Salmon

#include	<standard.disclaimer>
#include	<witty.saying>
#include	<fancy.pseudo.graphics>

Ericsson Telecom AB
Stockholm


From hansm@wsinti06.info.win.tue.nl (Hans Mulder)
Subject: Re: Vi question (Tab -> space)
Date: 27 May 1993 19:38:33 +0200

In <9305261905.AA23624@corte-madera.geoquest.slb.com> joshi@corte-madera.geoquest.slb.com (Mahesh Govind Joshi) writes:

>Problem:-

>Since each person has his tab_stop key set to his/her preference,
>the file looks unproperly formatted when seen by a person with
>a different tab stop setting.

Solution:

Teach them to leave poor tab_stop alone (i.e. at the value of 8) and to
use shift_width to set indent amount.

Use expand and unexpand to repair existing files.

:map <tab> to control-T if they insist on hitting <tab> to indent.

>It would be most preferable if the tab key was mapped to the space_bar
>key.

>all my guessess/tries with map failed.

You probably didn't type enough control-V's.  The line should look like:

:map! ^V	 ^V 

To produce this, type

:
m
a		This bit is obvious.
p
!
<space>		
control-V	This one tells vi-mode to pass the next one to ex-mode.
control-V	This one tells ex-mode that the next character is the one
			to be map!ped.
<tab>		The character to be map!ped
<space>
control-V	Same.
control-V	Similar.
<space>		What it is map!ped to.

If you've done this and try to do again, you'll find that the <tab> gets
replaced by a <space> (that's what :map! is for) and you have to type
a third control-V in the first bunch to tell vi-mode not to do that.

HansM


From rhodesia@wixer.bga.com (Felix S. Gallo)
Subject: Re: Vi question (Tab -> space)
Date: Fri, 28 May 1993 15:33:21 GMT

jafo@miranda.accum.com (Sean Reifschneider) writes:
>
>I set my editor to tabstops=3, shiftwidth=3, and use a tab to indent to the
>next stop for the code.  The only time I see problems is when somone edits
>code with their tab stops set to 8, and uses spaces to indent.  INDENTING
>IS WHAT TABS ARE THERE FOR.

and the shift key is supposed to shift the hammer tray up so the bottom
half of the hammers strike the paper, etc., etc.

However, back to reality, tabs are nearly utterly useless.  I have
3 printers I sometimes have to print to, and 2 of them don't allow you
to define tabstops (!).  I've also got a fine terminal which doesn't
like redefinition of tabstops, even though the software thinks it's
gone and done it.  I imagine that a lot of people wouldn't mind never
dealing with the headache of tabs ever again.

><shrug>  Why don't you just set ts=100, and take off everyones tab keys?
>I know somone who does that.

much easier is

:map! ^V^V^I ^V^V ^V^V 
     ^      ^    ^    ^
     |      |    |    |
      \_____|____|____/
             |
spaces-------/

and, of course, the ^ means 'control-'

>Sean
>-- 
>"Love is a lot like war...  Easy to start but hard to finish."
>Sean Reifschneider, Supreme hack
>jafo@accum.com


-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Felix Sebastian Gallo                              rhodesia@wixer.cactus.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------


From hansm@wsinti06.info.win.tue.nl (Hans Mulder)
Subject: Re: Vi question (Tab -> space)
Date: 1 Jun 1993 21:06:52 +0200

In <1993May28.153321.5305@wixer.bga.com> rhodesia@wixer.bga.com (Felix S. Gallo) writes:

>jafo@miranda.accum.com (Sean Reifschneider) writes:
>>
>>I set my editor to tabstops=3, shiftwidth=3, and use a tab to indent to the
>>next stop for the code.  The only time I see problems is when somone edits
>>code with their tab stops set to 8, and uses spaces to indent.  INDENTING
>>IS WHAT TABS ARE THERE FOR.

>and the shift key is supposed to shift the hammer tray up so the bottom
>half of the hammers strike the paper, etc., etc.

No, no, no.  The hammers are supposed to strike the ink ribbon.  :-)

>><shrug>  Why don't you just set ts=100, and take off everyones tab keys?

>much easier is

>:map! ^V^V^I ^V^V ^V^V 
>     ^      ^    ^    ^
>     |      |    |    |
>      \_____|____|____/
>             |
>spaces-------/

>and, of course, the ^ means 'control-'

This doesn't completely solve the TAB problem: the autoindent option
and the < and > operators _generate_ TABs.  To stop vi from doing that,
you'd have to :set ts=100.

Nitpick: the third ^V^V is redundant: only the fFrom nh@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (nicholas.hounsome)
Subject: Re: want spaces not tab chars in vi
Date: 7 May 92 07:23:07 GMT

>From article <1992May7.025815.529@tamsun.tamu.edu>, by dlb5404@tamsun.tamu.edu (Daryl Biberdorf):
> When I use vi on a Sun 4 under SunOs (er, Solaris, whatever) 4.x with
> autoindent ON, the editor seems to use tabs to get the cursor under
> the first character of the previous line.  Well, this is fine if I'm
> the only one who edits the file, but my Emacs-using partner is going
> nuts because code that I've edited looks positively screwy on her
> display.
> 
> Is there any way to make vi use spaces instead of tab characters when
> it is using autoindent?  I can't find it in the manual.
> 
> Daryl
> 
> -- 
> Daryl Biberdorf  N5GJM    dlb5404@rigel.tamu.edu  or  dlb5404@tamsun.tamu.edu
>      Seen on a bumper sticker: "My kid beat up your honor student."

Don't give in to her!!

If everyone sticks to the normal convention of all terminals that I know of,
i.e. tab stops every eight spaces th