the default size is 8. i found it's too big.

how can i change the tab size in vi? is it a good idea to change it at all?

thks

In vi at the ":" prompt type:

for a tab size of 4

Thxs Neo

how to setup for all vi. I mean every time i go into vi, the tab size is 4.
do i want too much?

no problem, just use the your resource file...


Some useful set options for your ~/.exrc file:

:set all Display all Set options
:set autoindent Indent following lines to the indentation of previous line.
:set ts=4 set tab stop to 4 char
:set ignorecase Ignore case during pattern matching.
:set list Show special characters in the file.
:set number Display line numbers.
:set shiftwidth=n Width for shifting operators << and >>
:set showmode Display when in Insert, Append, or Replace mode.
:set wrapmargin=n Set right margin 80-n for autowrapping lines (inserting newlines). 0 turns it off.

Neo,

Where can I find the .exrc file? It doesnt exist in the $HOME directory or the root (/)

You should create it in your $HOME and vi should read it on startup...

After creating the .exrc file in my $HOME dir...

I managed to get vi to read the .exrc file by using the :'source .exrc' command.

But is there a way you can get vi to read it automatically?