Indent & unindent problem while replace tab with spaces

饒彥章

When I use default tab for indent/unindent functions, it seems like the shortcuts ‘tab’ and ‘shift + tab’ works perfectly.

But when I try to use different tab settings (use 4 spaces replace 1 tab), the shortcut ‘tab’ still works well, but the ‘shift + tab’ is not working.

When I try to input ‘shift + tab’, only the input icon go back 4 spaces, and the 4 space characters still exist.

Is there any fix about this problem?

Claudia Frank

@饒彥章

afaik this only happens if at least one char is in front of the “tab/spaces”.
So, if you have (the dot represents the space)

foo....bar

the cursor is in front of bar and you press shift+tab, only the cursor
jumps back but the spaces do not get deleted.
But if you have only

....bar

then the spaces do get deleted.

If this is the case on your side as well, then this isn’t a bug or problem
as it is how SCI_BACKTAB, the underlying message used, works.

Cheers
Claudia

饒彥章

Hi Claudia,

Thanks for reply, it is just the case on my side!
So here’s another question, how can I change the setting if I need the “shift+tab” function works when there is at least one char in front of the “tab/spaces”?
Is it possible for Notepad++?

Claudia Frank

@饒彥章

there is no setting to change the behavior of SCI_BACKTAB you need to change the code.
Whether there is another solution depends on what exactly you try to achieve.

Cheers
Claudia