Set 4 Space Indent in Emacs in Text Mode

Question

I ve been unsuccessful in getting Emacs to switch from 8 space tabs to 4 space tabs when pressing the TAB in buffers with the major mode text-mode  I ve added the following to my  emacs    setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil   setq-default tab-width 4       And I have tried  setq indent-tabs-mode nil   setq tab-width 4    No matter how I change my  emacs file  or my buffer s local variables  the TAB button always does the same thing    If there is no text above  indent 8 spaces If there is text on the previous line  indent to the beginning of the second word   As much as I love Emacs this is getting annoying  Is there a way to make Emacs to at least indent 4 space when there s not text in the previous line

User · Answer

Try this    add-hook  text-mode-hook    function     lambda          setq tab-width 4        define-key text-mode-map   C-i   self-insert-command             That will make TAB always insert a literal TAB character with tab stops every 4 characters  but only in Text mode    If that s not what you re asking for  please describe the behavior you d like to see

User · Answer

This is the only solution that keeps a tab from ever getting inserted for me  without a sequence or conversion of tabs to spaces  Both of those seemed adequate  but wasteful    setq-default     indent-tabs-mode nil     tab-width 4     tab-stop-list  quote  4 8       Note that quote needs two numbers to work  but not more     Also  in most major modes  Python for instance   indentation is automatic in Emacs  If you need to indent outside of the auto indent  use   M-i

User · Answer

Do not confuse variable tab-width with variable tab-stop-list  The former is used for the display of literal TAB characters  The latter controls what characters are inserted when you press the TAB character in certain modes   -- GNU Emacs Manual  customize-variable  quote tab-stop-list    or add tab-stop-list entry to custom-set-variables in  emacs file   custom-set-variables      custom-set-variables was added by Custom       If you edit it by hand  you could mess it up  so be careful       Your init file should contain only one such instance       If there is more than one  they won t work right     tab-stop-list  quote  4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 100 104 108 112 116 120      Another way to edit the tab behavior is with with M-x edit-tab-stops  See the GNU Emacs Manual on Tab Stops for more information on edit-tab-stops

User · Answer

This problem isn t caused by missing tab stops  it s that emacs has a  new   tab method called indent-relative that seems designed to line up tabular data  The TAB key is mapped to the method indent-for-tab-command  which calls whatever method the variable indent-line-function is set to  which is indent-relative method for text mode  I havn t figured out a good way to override the indent-line-function variable  text mode hook isn t working  so maybe it is getting reset after the mode-hooks run   but one simple way to get rid of this behavior is to just chuck the intent-for-tab-command method by setting TAB to the simpler tab-to-tab-stop method    define-key text-mode-map  kbd  TAB    tab-to-tab-stop

User · Answer

Add this to your  emacs file   This will set the width that a tab is displayed to 2 characters  change the number 2 to whatever you want    setq default-tab-width 2    To make sure that emacs is actually using tabs instead of spaces    global-set-key  kbd  TAB    self-insert-command    As an aside  the default for emacs when backspacing over a tab is to convert it to spaces and then delete a space   This can be annoying   If you want it to just delete the tab  you can do this    setq c-backspace-function  backward-delete-char    Enjoy

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Add this to your  emacs file   This will set the width that a tab is displayed to 2 characters  change the number 2 to whatever you want    setq default-tab-width 2    To make sure that emacs is actually using tabs instead of spaces    global-set-key  kbd  TAB    self-insert-command    As an aside  the default for emacs when backspacing over a tab is to convert it to spaces and then delete a space   This can be annoying   If you want it to just delete the tab  you can do this    setq c-backspace-function  backward-delete-char    Enjoy

User · Answer

Short answer   The key point is to tell emacs to insert whatever you want when indenting  this is done by changing the indent-line-function  It is easier to change it to insert a tab and then change tabs into 4 spaces than change it to insert 4 spaces  The following configuration will solve your problem    setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil   setq-default tab-width 4   setq indent-line-function  insert-tab    Explanation   From Indentation Controlled by Major Mode   emacs manual      An important function of each major   mode is to customize the  key to   indent properly for the language being   edited                  The indent-line-function variable is   the function to be used by   and   various commands  like when calling   indent-region  to indent the current   line  The command   indent-according-to-mode does no more   than call this function                  The default value is indent-relative   for many modes    From indent-relative   emacs manual      Indent-relative Space out to under next   indent point in previous nonblank line                  If the previous nonblank line has no   indent points beyond the column point   starts at   tab-to-tab-stop  is done   instead    Just change the value of indent-line-function to the insert-tab function and configure tab insertion as 4 spaces

User · Answer

Try this    add-hook  text-mode-hook    function     lambda          setq tab-width 4        define-key text-mode-map   C-i   self-insert-command             That will make TAB always insert a literal TAB character with tab stops every 4 characters  but only in Text mode    If that s not what you re asking for  please describe the behavior you d like to see

User · Answer

Customizations can shadow  setq tab width 4  so either use setq-default or let Customize know what you re doing  I also had issues similar to the OP and fixed it with this alone  did not need to adjust tab-stop-list or any insert functions    custom-set-variables    tab-width 4  t       Found it useful to add this immediately after  a tip from emacsWiki     defvaralias  c-basic-offset  tab-width   defvaralias  cperl-indent-level  tab-width

User · Answer

Just changing the style with c-set-style was enough for me

User · Answer

Have you tried   setq  tab-width  4

User · Answer

By the way  for C-mode  I add  setq-default c-basic-offset 4  to  emacs  See http   www emacswiki org emacs IndentingC for details

User · Answer

setq tab-width 4   setq tab-stop-list   4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80    setq indent-tabs-mode nil

User · Answer

From my init file  different because I wanted spaces instead of tabs      add-hook  sql-mode-hook            lambda                  progn                 setq-default tab-width 4                  setq indent-tabs-mode nil                  setq indent-line-function  tab-to-tab-stop                   modify-syntax-entry     w           now     is not considered a word-delimiter                 modify-syntax-entry  -  w           now  -  is not considered a word-delimiter

User · Answer

Do not confuse variable tab-width with variable tab-stop-list  The former is used for the display of literal TAB characters  The latter controls what characters are inserted when you press the TAB character in certain modes   -- GNU Emacs Manual  customize-variable  quote tab-stop-list    or add tab-stop-list entry to custom-set-variables in  emacs file   custom-set-variables      custom-set-variables was added by Custom       If you edit it by hand  you could mess it up  so be careful       Your init file should contain only one such instance       If there is more than one  they won t work right     tab-stop-list  quote  4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 100 104 108 112 116 120      Another way to edit the tab behavior is with with M-x edit-tab-stops  See the GNU Emacs Manual on Tab Stops for more information on edit-tab-stops

User · Answer

Modified this answer without any hook    setq-default   indent-tabs-mode t   tab-stop-list  number-sequence 4 200 4    tab-width 4   indent-line-function  insert-tab

User · Answer

Short answer   The key point is to tell emacs to insert whatever you want when indenting  this is done by changing the indent-line-function  It is easier to change it to insert a tab and then change tabs into 4 spaces than change it to insert 4 spaces  The following configuration will solve your problem    setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil   setq-default tab-width 4   setq indent-line-function  insert-tab    Explanation   From Indentation Controlled by Major Mode   emacs manual      An important function of each major   mode is to customize the  key to   indent properly for the language being   edited                  The indent-line-function variable is   the function to be used by   and   various commands  like when calling   indent-region  to indent the current   line  The command   indent-according-to-mode does no more   than call this function                  The default value is indent-relative   for many modes    From indent-relative   emacs manual      Indent-relative Space out to under next   indent point in previous nonblank line                  If the previous nonblank line has no   indent points beyond the column point   starts at   tab-to-tab-stop  is done   instead    Just change the value of indent-line-function to the insert-tab function and configure tab insertion as 4 spaces

User · Answer

Update  Since Emacs 24 4      tab-stop-list is now implicitly extended to infinity   Its default value is changed to nil which means a tab stop every tab-width columns    which means that there s no longer any need to be setting tab-stop-list in the way shown below  as you can keep it set to nil   Original answer follows       It always pains me slightly seeing things like  setq tab-stop-list 4 8 12                   when the number-sequence function is sitting there waiting to be used    setq tab-stop-list  number-sequence 4 200 4     or   defun my-generate-tab-stops   amp optional width max     Return a sequence suitable for  tab-stop-list       let    max-column  or max 200             tab-width  or width tab-width             count    max-column tab-width         number-sequence tab-width    tab-width count  tab-width      setq tab-width 4   setq tab-stop-list  my-generate-tab-stops

User · Answer

setq-default tab-width 4   setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil

User · Answer

Have you tried   setq  tab-width  4

User · Answer

Have you tried   setq  tab-width  4

User · Answer

Update  Since Emacs 24 4      tab-stop-list is now implicitly extended to infinity   Its default value is changed to nil which means a tab stop every tab-width columns    which means that there s no longer any need to be setting tab-stop-list in the way shown below  as you can keep it set to nil   Original answer follows       It always pains me slightly seeing things like  setq tab-stop-list 4 8 12                   when the number-sequence function is sitting there waiting to be used    setq tab-stop-list  number-sequence 4 200 4     or   defun my-generate-tab-stops   amp optional width max     Return a sequence suitable for  tab-stop-list       let    max-column  or max 200             tab-width  or width tab-width             count    max-column tab-width         number-sequence tab-width    tab-width count  tab-width      setq tab-width 4   setq tab-stop-list  my-generate-tab-stops

User · Answer

setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil   setq-default tab-width 4   setq indent-line-function  insert-tab   setq c-default-style  linux     setq c-basic-offset 4    c-set-offset  comment-intro 0    this works for C   code and the comment inside too

User · Answer

This is the only solution that keeps a tab from ever getting inserted for me  without a sequence or conversion of tabs to spaces  Both of those seemed adequate  but wasteful    setq-default     indent-tabs-mode nil     tab-width 4     tab-stop-list  quote  4 8       Note that quote needs two numbers to work  but not more     Also  in most major modes  Python for instance   indentation is automatic in Emacs  If you need to indent outside of the auto indent  use   M-i

User · Answer

Do not confuse variable tab-width with variable tab-stop-list  The former is used for the display of literal TAB characters  The latter controls what characters are inserted when you press the TAB character in certain modes   -- GNU Emacs Manual  customize-variable  quote tab-stop-list    or add tab-stop-list entry to custom-set-variables in  emacs file   custom-set-variables      custom-set-variables was added by Custom       If you edit it by hand  you could mess it up  so be careful       Your init file should contain only one such instance       If there is more than one  they won t work right     tab-stop-list  quote  4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 100 104 108 112 116 120      Another way to edit the tab behavior is with with M-x edit-tab-stops  See the GNU Emacs Manual on Tab Stops for more information on edit-tab-stops

User · Answer

Try this    add-hook  text-mode-hook    function     lambda          setq tab-width 4        define-key text-mode-map   C-i   self-insert-command             That will make TAB always insert a literal TAB character with tab stops every 4 characters  but only in Text mode    If that s not what you re asking for  please describe the behavior you d like to see

User · Answer

defun my-custom-settings-fn       setq indent-tabs-mode t     setq tab-stop-list  number-sequence 2 200 2      setq tab-width 2     setq indent-line-function  insert-tab     add-hook  text-mode-hook  my-custom-settings-fn

User · Answer

Just changing the style with c-set-style was enough for me

User · Answer

Try this    add-hook  text-mode-hook    function     lambda          setq tab-width 4        define-key text-mode-map   C-i   self-insert-command             That will make TAB always insert a literal TAB character with tab stops every 4 characters  but only in Text mode    If that s not what you re asking for  please describe the behavior you d like to see

User · Answer

Modified this answer without any hook    setq-default   indent-tabs-mode t   tab-stop-list  number-sequence 4 200 4    tab-width 4   indent-line-function  insert-tab

User · Answer

setq-default tab-width 4   setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil

User · Answer

setq tab-width 4   setq tab-stop-list   4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80    setq indent-tabs-mode nil

User · Answer

You may find it easier to set up your tabs as follows   M-x customize-group   At the Customize group  prompt enter indent   You ll see a screen where you can set all you indenting options and set them for the current session or save them for all future sessions   If you do it this way you ll want to set up a customisations file

User · Answer

You may find it easier to set up your tabs as follows   M-x customize-group   At the Customize group  prompt enter indent   You ll see a screen where you can set all you indenting options and set them for the current session or save them for all future sessions   If you do it this way you ll want to set up a customisations file

User · Answer

The best answers did not work for until I wrote this in the  emacs file    global-set-key  kbd  TAB    self-insert-command

User · Answer

setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil   setq-default tab-width 4   setq indent-line-function  insert-tab   setq c-default-style  linux     setq c-basic-offset 4    c-set-offset  comment-intro 0    this works for C   code and the comment inside too

User · Answer

You can add these lines of code to your  emacs file  It adds a hook for text mode to use insert-tab instead of indent-relative    custom-set-variables    indent-line-function  insert-tab     indent-tabs-mode t     tab-width 4    add-hook  text-mode-hook        lambda    setq indent-line-function  insert-tab      I hope it helps

User · Answer

The best answers did not work for until I wrote this in the  emacs file    global-set-key  kbd  TAB    self-insert-command

User · Answer

From my init file  different because I wanted spaces instead of tabs      add-hook  sql-mode-hook            lambda                  progn                 setq-default tab-width 4                  setq indent-tabs-mode nil                  setq indent-line-function  tab-to-tab-stop                   modify-syntax-entry     w           now     is not considered a word-delimiter                 modify-syntax-entry  -  w           now  -  is not considered a word-delimiter

User · Answer

defun my-custom-settings-fn       setq indent-tabs-mode t     setq tab-stop-list  number-sequence 2 200 2      setq tab-width 2     setq indent-line-function  insert-tab     add-hook  text-mode-hook  my-custom-settings-fn

User · Answer

setq tab-width 4   setq tab-stop-list   4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80    setq indent-tabs-mode nil

User · Answer

You may find it easier to set up your tabs as follows   M-x customize-group   At the Customize group  prompt enter indent   You ll see a screen where you can set all you indenting options and set them for the current session or save them for all future sessions   If you do it this way you ll want to set up a customisations file

User · Answer

setq tab-width 4   setq tab-stop-list   4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80    setq indent-tabs-mode nil

User · Answer

Do not confuse variable tab-width with variable tab-stop-list  The former is used for the display of literal TAB characters  The latter controls what characters are inserted when you press the TAB character in certain modes   -- GNU Emacs Manual  customize-variable  quote tab-stop-list    or add tab-stop-list entry to custom-set-variables in  emacs file   custom-set-variables      custom-set-variables was added by Custom       If you edit it by hand  you could mess it up  so be careful       Your init file should contain only one such instance       If there is more than one  they won t work right     tab-stop-list  quote  4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 100 104 108 112 116 120      Another way to edit the tab behavior is with with M-x edit-tab-stops  See the GNU Emacs Manual on Tab Stops for more information on edit-tab-stops

User · Answer

Have you tried   setq  tab-width  4

User · Answer

You can add these lines of code to your  emacs file  It adds a hook for text mode to use insert-tab instead of indent-relative    custom-set-variables    indent-line-function  insert-tab     indent-tabs-mode t     tab-width 4    add-hook  text-mode-hook        lambda    setq indent-line-function  insert-tab      I hope it helps

User · Answer

You may find it easier to set up your tabs as follows   M-x customize-group   At the Customize group  prompt enter indent   You ll see a screen where you can set all you indenting options and set them for the current session or save them for all future sessions   If you do it this way you ll want to set up a customisations file

User · Answer

Customizations can shadow  setq tab width 4  so either use setq-default or let Customize know what you re doing  I also had issues similar to the OP and fixed it with this alone  did not need to adjust tab-stop-list or any insert functions    custom-set-variables    tab-width 4  t       Found it useful to add this immediately after  a tip from emacsWiki     defvaralias  c-basic-offset  tab-width   defvaralias  cperl-indent-level  tab-width

User · Answer

By the way  for C-mode  I add  setq-default c-basic-offset 4  to  emacs  See http   www emacswiki org emacs IndentingC for details

User · Answer

This problem isn t caused by missing tab stops  it s that emacs has a  new   tab method called indent-relative that seems designed to line up tabular data  The TAB key is mapped to the method indent-for-tab-command  which calls whatever method the variable indent-line-function is set to  which is indent-relative method for text mode  I havn t figured out a good way to override the indent-line-function variable  text mode hook isn t working  so maybe it is getting reset after the mode-hooks run   but one simple way to get rid of this behavior is to just chuck the intent-for-tab-command method by setting TAB to the simpler tab-to-tab-stop method    define-key text-mode-map  kbd  TAB    tab-to-tab-stop

[emacs] Set 4 Space Indent in Emacs in Text Mode

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