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In the past two weeks, any fixed width text file I bring into TextPad, becomes tab delimited. Nothing changed on the file side as I can bring it into WordPad and the fixed width formatting is fine. I cannot find a setting that may have changed. Any ideas?

Thank you!
Donna

Positive there are no embeded tabs? When it opens in TP, does the filename show an asterisk next to it indicating that it has changed? If not, I suspect the tab spacing/indent size has changed in TP.

It might be useful to see what the contents of the file are. I'd suggest either opening it in binary format within TP (this is read only so you'll know TP isn't silently altering the data) or point a hex editor at the file. 09/x09 is a tab, 32/x20 is a space

I suppose you can also click View, Visible Spaces. Spaces have periods in the center and middle, tabs look vaguely like > but crumpled.

There is not an asterisk next to the file name. I checked the view visible spaces as well. I should have mentioned in my previous post that this is the same format that has remain unchanged for at least 4 1/2 years.

I will try your suggestions - thank you for your help.

I am puzzled and horrified by what you have said--puzzled because I do not fully understand it and horrified because a fixed-width font is of the utmost importance to my particular work.

What do you mean you lost "formatting"?! A text editor has no formatting, as does a word processor.

What font are you using?!

Try Lucida Console, Regular, Size 9 or 12 (depending upon your screen's resolution). Use "View -> Document Properties -> Font" on an open file first, so that you can affect only one file for this test.

What is the result?!

On the subject of tabulation, I have always used 4 for "Default tab spacing," used 4 for "Indent size," checked "Convert new tabs to spaces," and checked "Convert existing tabs to spaces when saving files" and have never had a problem. (Granted, I'm using 4.7.3.)

Please let me know whether you can solve this, and what your solution is.

HerNameWasTextPad wrote:I am puzzled and horrified by what you have said--puzzled because I do not fully understand it and horrified because a fixed-width font is of the utmost importance to my particular work.

What do you mean you lost "formatting"?! A text editor has no formatting, as does a word processor.

What font are you using?!

Try Lucida Console, Regular, Size 9 or 12 (depending upon your screen's resolution). Use "View -> Document Properties -> Font" on an open file first, so that you can affect only one file for this test.

What is the result?!

On the subject of tabulation, I have always used 4 for "Default tab spacing," used 4 for "Indent size," checked "Convert new tabs to spaces," and checked "Convert existing tabs to spaces when saving files" and have never had a problem. (Granted, I'm using 4.7.3.)

Please let me know whether you can solve this, and what your solution is.

I have not yet solved this problem. When I say lost formatting, I am not speaking of the font, I am referring to the fixed width format of the the file. The data is no longer in it's assigned positions. No matter what I do - whether it is open a file from the menu bar, clicking on it in the explorer, sending it to TextPad, or cutting and pasting. It removes all of the assigned positions and the data is skewed all over the place with tabs.