The unexpand command is used to convert spaces in a file to tabs. This command is useful when working with text files that contain a lot of whitespace and you want to convert that whitespace to tabs.
Overview
The unexpand command takes the following syntax:
unexpand [OPTION]... [FILE]...
The unexpand command can be used in the following ways:
Convert a single file
To convert a single file, run the following command:
unexpand file.txt
This will convert all spaces in the file.txt file to tabs.
Convert multiple files
To convert multiple files, run the following command:
unexpand file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt
This will convert all spaces in file1.txt, file2.txt, and file3.txt to tabs.
Convert spaces to a specific tab size
By default, unexpand converts spaces to tabs using a tab size of 8. You can specify a different tab size by using the -t option. For example, to convert spaces to tabs using a tab size of 4, run the following command:
unexpand -t 4 file.txt
Options
The following options are available for the unexpand command:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-a, --all |
Convert all whitespace to tabs, not just leading whitespace. |
-t, --tabs=N |
Set tab stops every N columns. Default is 8. |
-t N |
Set tab stops every N columns. Default is 8. |
-i, --initial |
Convert only leading whitespace to tabs. This is the default behavior. |
-V, --version |
Display version information and exit. |
-h, --help |
Display help information and exit. |
Troubleshooting tips
- If you are having trouble converting spaces to tabs, make sure that you are using the correct syntax for the
unexpandcommand. - If you are still having trouble, try specifying a different tab size using the
-toption.
Notes
- The
unexpandcommand can be used in conjunction with other commands, such assed, to perform complex text transformations.