@c This is part of the Emacs manual.@c Copyright (C) 1985, 86, 87, 93, 94, 95, 1997, 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.@node Indentation, Text, Major Modes, Top@chapter Indentation@cindex indentation@cindex columns (indentation) This chapter describes the Emacs commands that add, remove, oradjust indentation.@table @kbd@item @key{TAB}Indent the current line ``appropriately'' in a mode-dependent fashion.@item @kbd{C-j}Perform @key{RET} followed by @key{TAB} (@code{newline-and-indent}).@item M-^Merge the previous and the current line (@code{delete-indentation}).This would cancel the effect of a preceding @kbd{C-j}.@item C-M-oSplit the current line at point; text on the line after point becomes anew line indented to the same column where point is located(@code{split-line}).@item M-mMove (forward or back) to the first nonblank character on the currentline (@code{back-to-indentation}).@item C-M-\Indent lines in the region to the same column (@code{indent-region}).@item C-x @key{TAB}Shift lines in the region rigidly right or left (@code{indent-rigidly}).@item M-iIndent from point to the next prespecified tab stop column(@code{tab-to-tab-stop}).@item M-x indent-relativeIndent from point to under an indentation point in the previous line.@end table Emacs supports four general categories of operations that could allbe called `indentation':@enumerate@itemInsert a tab character. You can type @kbd{C-q @key{TAB}} to do this.A tab character is displayed as a stretch of whitespace which extendsto the next display tab stop position, and the default width of a tabstop is eight. @xref{Display Custom}, for more details.@itemInsert whitespace up to the next tab stop. You can set tab stops atyour choice of column positions, then type @kbd{M-i} to advance to thenext tab stop. The default tab stop settings have a tab stop everyeight columns, which means by default @kbd{M-i} inserts a tabcharacter. To set the tab stops, use @kbd{M-x edit-tab-stops}.@itemAlign a line with the previous line. More precisely, the command@kbd{M-x indent-relative} indents the current line under the beginningof some word in the previous line. In Fundamental mode and in Textmode, @key{TAB} runs the command @code{indent-relative}.@itemThe most sophisticated method is @dfn{syntax-driven indentation}.Most programming languages have an indentation convention. For Lispcode, lines are indented according to their nesting in parentheses. Ccode uses the same general idea, but many details are different.@kindex TABType @key{TAB} to do syntax-driven indentation, in a mode thatsupports it. It realigns the current line according with the syntaxof the preceding lines. No matter where in the line you are when youtype @key{TAB}, it aligns the line as a whole.@end enumerate Normally, most of the above methods insert an optimal mix of tabs andspaces to align to the desired column. @xref{Just Spaces}, for how todisable use of tabs. However, @kbd{C-q @key{TAB}} always inserts atab, even when tabs are disabled for the indentation commands.@menu* Indentation Commands:: Various commands and techniques for indentation.* Tab Stops:: You can set arbitrary "tab stops" and then indent to the next tab stop when you want to.* Just Spaces:: You can request indentation using just spaces.@end menu@node Indentation Commands, Tab Stops, Indentation, Indentation@section Indentation Commands and Techniques@kindex M-m@findex back-to-indentation To move over the indentation on a line, do @kbd{M-m}(@code{back-to-indentation}). This command, given anywhere on a line,positions point at the first nonblank character on the line, if any,or else at the end of the line. To insert an indented line before the current line, do @kbd{C-a C-o@key{TAB}}. To make an indented line after the current line, use@kbd{C-e C-j}. If you just want to insert a tab character in the buffer, you can type@kbd{C-q @key{TAB}}.@kindex C-M-o@findex split-line @kbd{C-M-o} (@code{split-line}) moves the text from point to the end ofthe line vertically down, so that the current line becomes two lines.@kbd{C-M-o} first moves point forward over any spaces and tabs. Then itinserts after point a newline and enough indentation to reach the samecolumn point is on. Point remains before the inserted newline; in thisregard, @kbd{C-M-o} resembles @kbd{C-o}.@kindex M-^@findex delete-indentation To join two lines cleanly, use the @kbd{M-^}(@code{delete-indentation}) command. It deletes the indentation at thefront of the current line, and the line boundary as well, replacing themwith a single space. As a special case (useful for Lisp code) thesingle space is omitted if the characters to be joined are consecutiveopen parentheses or closing parentheses, or if the junction followsanother newline. To delete just the indentation of a line, go to thebeginning of the line and use @kbd{M-\}(@code{delete-horizontal-space}), which deletes all spaces and tabsaround the cursor. If you have a fill prefix, @kbd{M-^} deletes the fill prefix if itappears after the newline that is deleted. @xref{Fill Prefix}.@kindex C-M-\@kindex C-x TAB@findex indent-region@findex indent-rigidly There are also commands for changing the indentation of several linesat once. They apply to all the lines that begin in the region.@kbd{C-M-\} (@code{indent-region}) indents each line in the ``usual''way, as if you had typed @key{TAB} at the beginning of the line. Anumeric argument specifies the column to indent to, and each line isshifted left or right so that its first nonblank character appears inthat column. @kbd{C-x @key{TAB}} (@code{indent-rigidly}) moves all ofthe lines in the region right by its argument (left, for negativearguments). The whole group of lines moves rigidly sideways, which ishow the command gets its name.@refill@cindex remove indentation If you want to remove all indentation from all of the line in theregion, invoke @kbd{C-x @key{TAB}} with a large negative argument,such as -1000.@findex indent-relative @kbd{M-x indent-relative} indents at point based on the previous line(actually, the last nonempty line). It inserts whitespace at point, movingpoint, until it is underneath the next indentation point in the previous line.An indentation point is the end of a sequence of whitespace or the end ofthe line. If point is farther right than any indentation point in theprevious line, @code{indent-relative} runs @code{tab-to-tab-stop}@ifinfo(@pxref{Tab Stops}),@end ifinfo@iftex(see next section),@end iftexunless it is called with a numeric argument, in which case it doesnothing. @xref{Format Indentation}, for another way of specifying theindentation for part of your text.@node Tab Stops, Just Spaces, Indentation Commands, Indentation@section Tab Stops@cindex tab stops@cindex using tab stops in making tables@cindex tables, indentation for@kindex M-i@findex tab-to-tab-stop For typing in tables, you can use @kbd{M-i} (@code{tab-to-tab-stop}).This command inserts indentation before point, enough to reach thenext tab stop column.@findex edit-tab-stops@findex edit-tab-stops-note-changes@kindex C-c C-c @r{(Edit Tab Stops)}@vindex tab-stop-list You can specify the tab stops used by @kbd{M-i}. They are stored in avariable called @code{tab-stop-list}, as a list of column-numbers inincreasing order. The convenient way to set the tab stops is with @kbd{M-xedit-tab-stops}, which creates and selects a buffer containing adescription of the tab stop settings. You can edit this buffer tospecify different tab stops, and then type @kbd{C-c C-c} to make thosenew tab stops take effect. The buffer uses Overwrite mode(@pxref{Minor Modes}). @code{edit-tab-stops} records which buffer wascurrent when you invoked it, and stores the tab stops back in thatbuffer; normally all buffers share the same tab stops and changingthem in one buffer affects all, but if you happen to make@code{tab-stop-list} local in one buffer then @code{edit-tab-stops} inthat buffer will edit the local settings. Here is what the text representing the tab stops looks like for ordinarytab stops every eight columns.@example : : : : : :0 1 2 3 40123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678To install changes, type C-c C-c@end example The first line contains a colon at each tab stop. The remaining linesare present just to help you see where the colons are and know what to do. Note that the tab stops that control @code{tab-to-tab-stop} have nothingto do with displaying tab characters in the buffer. @xref{Display Custom},for more information on that.@node Just Spaces,, Tab Stops, Indentation@section Tabs vs. Spaces@vindex indent-tabs-mode Emacs normally uses both tabs and spaces to indent lines. If youprefer, all indentation can be made from spaces only. To requestthis, set @code{indent-tabs-mode} to @code{nil}. This is a per-buffervariable, so altering the variable affects only the current buffer,but there is a default value which you can change as well.@xref{Locals}. A tab is not always displayed in the same way. By default, tabs areeight columns wide, but some people like to customize their tools touse a different tab width. So by using spaces only, you can make surethat your file looks the same regardless of the tab width setting.@findex tabify@findex untabify There are also commands to convert tabs to spaces or vice versa, alwayspreserving the columns of all nonblank text. @kbd{M-x tabify} scans theregion for sequences of spaces, and converts sequences of at least twospaces to tabs if that can be done without changing indentation. @kbd{M-xuntabify} changes all tabs in the region to appropriate numbers of spaces.@ignore arch-tag: acc07de7-ae11-4ee8-a159-cb59c473f0fb@end ignore