Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!ima!necntc!gordon!kelvin
From: kelvin@gordon.UUCP (Kelvin Lam)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Summary to "<tab> to space under vi" -- from original poster
Keywords: vi, <tab>, summary, the guy who asked the question
Message-ID: <465@gordon.UUCP>
Date: 28 Jan 88 15:26:07 GMT
Organization: Access Technology, S. Natick, MA
Lines: 27

Hi there!  I'm the person who asked the "<tab> to space under vi" question.
Thank you to all who responsed to my question.

Based on what I get from the mail and reading other's posting:

    There is no direct way to do it in vi, but there are work arounds.

Work arounds:
	1.  Using external filters within 'vi'.  Suppose you have a filter
	    called 'detab' then you can type:
		:%!detab<cr>
	    You can use either (BSD) /usr/ucb/unexpand or (SYS5) 'pr -t -i80'

	2.  Do a global replacement of <tab>.

	3.  Re-map <tab> key to insert n-<space>.
	    Note for method 2 and 3:
		This isn't what I want and it won't get the desired result
		because not all <tab>'s can be replace by 8 spaces.
		Alignment problem, you know.

	4.  Use ^T and ^D instead of <tab> or re-map <tab> to ^T.
	    Note for method 4:
		It only works on leading spaces/tab/indentation.

Kelvin Lam
(...!necntc!gordon!kelvin)