Occasionally, I use Notepad to edit some form of code/html, which means I need to tab a lot. The default indent size when hitting tab is eight spaces when ideally I'd like it be four.
Is there any way to change this setting?
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7Just in case someone's wondering "why stop at every 8th column?" This is the standard for text mode which DOS and Unix/Linux are consistent with as well. Since Windows Notepad was provided for Windows users to edit plain ASCII text files, most of which would have been created in a pre-Windows text mode editor that likely implements tabs in the same manner (because plain ASCII text file users would expect this behaviour), it was important to preserve the tab stops consistently to ensure accurate editing.– Randolf RichardsonJun 18, 2011 at 5:31
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3I'm suprised no genius ever has reverse engineered Notepad to hack in this much wanted change...– Gras DoubleMar 6, 2015 at 16:13
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1@GrasDouble, it doesn't need to be genius to create a notepad clone, neither it worth to reverse engineer it.– milevyoFeb 15, 2019 at 18:21
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4 Answers
Not with Window's Notepad, but the default tab for Notepad++ (free) is 4 characters. And it does A LOT more.
the way i use the windows internal notepad (short notes, quick edit things,...) is with AutoHotKey. i replaced the tab-key with a little loop to send spaces instead like this:
#NoTrayIcon
return
#IfWinActive ahk_exe notepad.exe
tab::
loop 2
send % A_Space
return
#If
that loop 2 means, its sends 2 spaces. it can be a part of an existing script, like i do or as a single script in autostart.
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1this always send 2 spaces which doesn't work like a tab, which stops at fixed intervals– phuclvMar 19, 2022 at 4:39
Windows Notepad is VERY old. It existed before Windows. Here's a little known "undocumented function":
- Create a new text file using Notepad.
- Type .LOG as the first four characters. (They must be uppercase).
- Save and close the document.
- Reopen it.
I create a document named MEMO.TXT wherever I work (I'm a free-lance consultant), and use the document for quick notes -- during phone calls, meetings, as reminders, etc.
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4How does this answer the question, which is "Is it possible to change the default tab-size in Notepad?" Dec 9, 2022 at 18:13
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2As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please edit to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.– Community BotDec 9, 2022 at 18:35
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1This does not provide an answer to the question. Once you have sufficient reputation you will be able to comment on any post; instead, provide answers that don't require clarification from the asker. - From Review Dec 9, 2022 at 18:36
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This doesn't answer the question but I didn't know this so +1. • This is akin to the concept of a "modeline" (such as found in Vim) which is what I was looking for when coming here. It allows you, by writing a magic line in a file, to have file-specific settings, for example to set the tab width to 20 to write simple TXT tables. Quite useful. But neither Notepad nor Notepad2 appear to have the "modeline" feature - except for the special
.LOGcase you pointed to. • And by the way, Notepad2 has the.LOGfeature, too.– LumiJul 23, 2023 at 15:12
Windows notepad doesn't allow to modify the tab length. This is one of the motivations cause I have replaced it with notepad++ that does a lot more and allows the user to set the tab length as well: go to the menu Configuration > preferences > tabulations. In this mask there is the option to set it freely. How to replace ms win notepad with notepad++: Download n++ from the developer web site and when you install it the install wizard at a certain point shows an option to replace the built in windows notepad: check it and continue the setup procedures. Done. From now on you can enjoy the power of one of the best free text editors.
