Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!amdahl!pacbell!ptsfa!dmt
From: dmt@ptsfa.PacBell.COM (Dave Turner)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: tabs converted to spaces?
Keywords: tr
Message-ID: <4425@ptsfa.PacBell.COM>
Date: 20 Jul 88 17:55:07 GMT
References: <3940001@hpgrla.HP.COM> <187@alobar.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: dmt@ptsfa.PacBell.COM (Dave Turner)
Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA
Lines: 20

In article <3940001@hpgrla.HP.COM> douglasg@hpgrla.HP.COM (@Douglas Genetten) writes:
>Is there a filter which converts tabs to n-spaces throughout
>a file?

You might try newform and/or sed.

newform will convert tabs into the correct number of spaces so that the
output will appear to have been printed on a printer with tab stops.
If your input file assumes that tabs are to appear to have been set every
eight spaces try:

	newform -i-8 -o-0 < inputfile

If you want each tab to be converted into a fixed number of spaces use sed:

	sed -n -e "s/	/ /p" < inputfile

If you want each tab converted into exactly one space tr will also work.

-- 
Dave Turner	415/542-1299	{att,bellcore,sun,ames,pyramid}!pacbell!dmt