Replace tabs with spaces in vim

Question

I would like to convert tab to spaces in gVim. I added the following line to my _vimrc:

set tabstop=2

It works to stop at two

Answer 1

Try

set expandtab

for soft tabs.

To fix pre-existing tabs:

:%s/\t/  /g

I used two spaces since you already set your tabstop to 2 spaces.

Answer 2

first search for tabs in your file : /^I :set expandtab :retab

will work.

Answer 3

This got it working for me:

:set tabstop=2 shiftwidth=2 expandtab | retab

Answer 4

IIRC, something like:

set tabstop=2 shiftwidth=2 expandtab

should do the trick. If you already have tabs, then follow it up with a nice global RE to replace them with double spaces.

Answer 5

Once you've got expandtab on as per the other answers, the extremely convenient way to convert existing files according to your new settings is:

:retab

It will work on the current buffer.