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I'm having trouble changing the tab size in Joe.

I have copied joerc to $HOME and have edited the -tab line to -tab 4 but this hasn't changed the option in Joe. Also the number 4 is green instead of blue when I edit joerc so I think its reading it wrong.

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4 Answers 4

Reset to default
12

The real solution is:

  1. Create a file $HOME/.joerc (NOT .joe as at least the Debian joerc suggests!)
  2. FIRST LINE must be :include /etc/joe/joerc
  3. Then, a line containing just a * and a newline character
  4. Then, -tab 4 and -istep 4, each on a single line.
  5. Add a blank line at the end.

You may also add further options with other masks.

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5 Comments

This is the real answer.
+1. As of October 2016 with Joe v4.1 and 4.2 tab position only seems to be honored if the :include /etc/joe/joerc line is moved to the end of the $HOME/.joerc file. The joe user manual says to copy /etc/joe/joerc to your home directory and modify it but I think the :include method listed here is more manageable.
Why do I lose context highlighting when I do it this way?
I'm so lost. So what's the 2020 answer?
@dylanh724 wrote "I'm so lost. So what's the 2020 answer?". Another answer has just been added, maybe it's useful for you.
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I've wasted about 20 mins trying to set tab size too. Here is the solution:

I. Open:

/etc/joe/joerc

II. Find row containing -tab nnn and change it to:

-tab 4

(I assume that you want to change tab size to 4. If you want different value, please replace all the 4s with your value)

III. Find -istep nnn and change it to:

-istep 4

IV. Save & exit

This will set tab size 4 for files WITHOUT extension. If you want to change tab size for files with common extensions like *.java:

I. open /etc/joe/ftyperc

II. Find your extension, for example *.java. Initially it looks like:

 JAVA *.java -autoindent -syntax java -smarthome -smartbacks -purify -cpara >#!;*/%

III. You have to comment (insert tab before it) -autoindent and add -istep 4 bellow -cpara. It should look like:

 JAVA *.java -autoindent -syntax java -smarthome -smartbacks -purify -cpara >#!;*/% -istep 4
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In case anyone else runs into this, I am running an ancient version of joe on AIX and after some painful trial and error it turned out that -smartbacks was the problem for me. I commented that line out and tabs work, put it back and they go back to 2. Probably fixed in a later version, but hopefully this helps someone else with the same problem.

 JAVA *.java -spaces -tab 4 -istep 4 -indentc 32 -autoindent -syntax java -smarthome -smartbacks -purify
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Each time the tab key is pressed (using joe 4.6) it inserts 4 spaces after having followed those steps:

  • Execute sudo joe /etc/joe/joerc

  • Find the row containing -tab nnn Tab width, change it to -tab 4 Tab width and make sure that there is no whitespace at its left side.

  • A few lines down, find the row containing -spaces TAB inserts spaces instead of tabs and make sure that there is no whitespace at its left side.

  • Save and exit

This works here for files without extension, for .cpp files, for .java files, for .c files, for .txt files, etc.

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