TextEdit: Plain Text tab properties

rynne

Registered
Is there any way to alter the tab width for a Plain Text document in TextEdit (version 1.3)? TextEdit seems to interpret tabs as eight fixed-width characters by default, and I’d like to decrease that to three characters. I’d think that would be very simple, but I haven’t found how to do it. I do not want to convert the file into Rich Text and set tab lengths with the ruler.

I’m using TextEdit to make quick modifications to some preexisting Fortran code, and it’d be very helpful for the tabbing to be the same size as originally used in the code. I already have an advanced editor for more extensive coding; it’s just a matter of convenience to use TextEdit for small alterations.

Thanks for your help.
 
Is there any way to alter the tab width for a Plain Text document in TextEdit (version 1.3)? TextEdit seems to interpret tabs as eight fixed-width characters by default, and I’d like to decrease that to three characters. I’d think that would be very simple, but I haven’t found how to do it. I do not want to convert the file into Rich Text and set tab lengths with the ruler.

I’m using TextEdit to make quick modifications to some preexisting Fortran code, and it’d be very helpful for the tabbing to be the same size as originally used in the code. I already have an advanced editor for more extensive coding; it’s just a matter of convenience to use TextEdit for small alterations.

Thanks for your help.

I see a ruler on top of the page (v1.4). The ruler allows me to change the tabs. I am not sure they are there in v1.3 though, have no v1.3 available.


Good luck, Kees
 
Thanks, the ruler is available in 1.3 as well, but I know that’s not what I need. The ruler isn’t available in the Plain Text format that I have to use. Also, the ruler sets tab lengths in terms of physical lengths (e.g., .5 inches, regardless of how many characters are skipped) for Rich Text. I’d like to change the tab length in terms of fixed-width characters (e.g., four characters, regardless of how many paper inches those characters occupy) in Plain Text.
 
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