pycharm convert tabs to spaces automatically

Question

I am using pycharm IDE for python development it works perfectly fine for django code so suspected that converting tabs to spaces is default behaviour, however in python IDE is giving errors everywhere because it can't convert tabs to spaces automatically is there a way to achieve this.

score 140 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 05 '12 at 11:58

140

Change the code style to use spaces instead of tabs:

spaces

Then select a folder you want to convert in the Project View and use Code | Reformat Code.

answered Aug 05 '12 at 11:58

CrazyCoder

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this was my default setting however it seems like there was some bug in the IDE which was not working so what I did is Edit>Convert Indent>Spaces – Vaibhav Mishra Aug 05 '12 at 13:05
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Python should have 4-space indentation. – R891 Jul 06 '15 at 19:19
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This answer doesn't work for me. Not sure why it's accepted, seeing as it doesn't work for OP either. Follow up question: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/47102828/is-it-possible-in-pycharm-to-map-a-tab-to-produce-4-spaces-if-so-how – Stefan Monov Jan 21 '18 at 11:50
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In my case I had to disable Editor Config under Editor -> Code Style -> Enable Editor Config Support, because I unknowingly had a `~/.editorconfig` file overriding PyCharm's settings. – Elliott Beach Jan 21 '18 at 14:03
This sets the default. It does NOT alter tabs or spaces in an existing file. See the answer below from @LowKianSeong for a solution that addresses the question. – Zim Jul 30 '18 at 20:45
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You can force it to use spaces even for existing files by unchecking "Detect and use existing file indents for editing" under the general "Code Style". After that, typing tab on an existing file will immediately insert spaces rather than tabs. – David Kinghorn Oct 29 '19 at 16:46
I had to check and uncheck the checkbox to make it work. – Pierre Thibault Mar 20 '20 at 16:33

score 89 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 15 '16 at 12:32

89

This only converts the tabs without changing anything else:

Edit -> Convert Indents -> To Spaces

answered Jun 15 '16 at 12:32

runDOSrun

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Hey, this should be the accepted. It works locally. E.g. useful for Makefile that need to have tab as indentation – swdev Aug 22 '18 at 09:48

score 63 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 10 '13 at 10:24

63

For selections, you can also convert the selection using the "To spaces" function. I usually just use it via the ctrl-shift-A then find "To Spaces" from there.

answered Dec 10 '13 at 10:24

Muhammad Lukman Low

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doesn't seem to work for multiple files at once. doing it for each file individually is kind of a hassle... – stefanbschneider Mar 12 '18 at 09:45
you sir, are a life savor – Amin Etesamian Sep 25 '19 at 16:23

score 31 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 06 '19 at 01:49

PyCharm 2019.1

If you want to change the general settings:

Open preferences, in macOS ⌘; or in Windows/Linux Ctrl + Alt + S.

Go to Editor -> Code Style -> Python, and if you want to follow PEP-8, choose Tab size: 4, Indent: 4, and Continuation indent: 8 as shown below:

Apply the changes, and click on OK.

If you want to apply the changes just to the current file

Option 1: You can choose in the navigation bar: Edit -> Convert Indent -> To Spaces. (see image below)

Option 2: You can execute "To Spaces" action by running the Find Action shortcut: ⌘⇧A on macOS or ctrl⇧A on Windows/Linux. Then type "To Spaces", and run the action as shown in the image below.

Ravi · Answer 5 · 2019-03-22T07:46:00.190

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ctrl + shift + A => open pop window to select options, select to spaces to convert all tabs as space, or to tab to convert all spaces as tab.

edited Mar 22 '19 at 07:46

answered May 08 '17 at 07:06

Ravi

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This only works for indents, not general formatting – Bono Sep 07 '21 at 14:45

score 7 · Answer 6 · answered Jan 17 '19 at 11:03

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ctr+alt+shift+L -> reformat whole file :)

answered Jan 17 '19 at 11:03

Aurel Curea

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to tabs didn't work to convert an existing block of code. This is the only solution that worked for me. Thanks! – Jed Aug 15 '19 at 06:45

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Sep 16 '19 at 05:46

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For me it was having a file called ~/.editorconfig that was overriding my tab settings. I removed that (surely that will bite me again someday) but it fixed my pycharm issue

answered Sep 16 '19 at 05:46

Ken Myers

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score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Feb 05 '21 at 15:33

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Just ot note: Pycharm's to spaces function only works on indent tabs at the beginning of a line, not interstitial tabs within a line of text. for example, when you are trying to format columns in monospaced text.

answered Feb 05 '21 at 15:33

Logan Bender

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pycharm convert tabs to spaces automatically

8 Answers8

PyCharm 2019.1

If you want to change the general settings:

If you want to apply the changes just to the current file

Linked

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