Path: csiph.com!news.nrbbs.org!border-4.nntp.ord.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!local-4.nntp.ord.giganews.com!Xl.tags.giganews.com!local-1.nntp.ord.giganews.com!news.giganews.com.POSTED!not-for-mail NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:46:54 +0000 From: steve g Newsgroups: comp.editors Subject: Re: Are TABs a topic? ( was Re: =?utf-8?Q?=E2=80=9CA?= dispute over the TAB key highlights a mismatch [...]) References: <10tg96h$1g1mp$1@dont-email.me> <10tismt$2cmtr$1@dont-email.me> <10vnae7$35ho0$1@dont-email.me> <10vooj9$3uus7$9@dont-email.me> <87fqyaefl9.fsf@gmail.com> <11ak51e$4o6m$2@dont-email.me> Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:46:51 -0400 Message-ID: <877bjdwsck.fsf@gmail.com> User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Cancel-Lock: sha1:yEAqHM/yWFMnHrt9nIy3LOGfbLY= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Lines: 54 X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com X-Trace: sv3-Y1U7Dfn38cYsE4BJ36PRsaEsm/3Njt3r4x9wJfALnZolMX/lNTKazPO59E7m1Qav0RlFXPkk9Ghei+8!tbI8xPzC7aw4/AbN43VOEmfx5zkFL5DoAaNDgmIDuRIzJ/0= X-Complaints-To: abuse@giganews.com X-DMCA-Notifications: http://www.giganews.com/info/dmca.html X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.3.40 Xref: csiph.com comp.editors:106996 Janis Papanagnou writes: > On 2026-10-13 00:09, steve g wrote: >> [...] I want my backtab to work like the drawing on the key >> Tab >> <----- >> -----> >> Why doesn't anyone use the backtab? [...] > The point with the editor I use is, frankly, that I don't know what > a back-tab would be supposed to do; I indent with Tab and clear TABs > backwards with Backspace. For all navigation I use in Vi and Vim the > "semantic positioning" on the various entities and units in a text. > (So I don't see how the back-tab would help here.) I have it set to shift tab. The tab button should switch you to the next field/tab stop. The backtab is supposed to switch you to a prior tab stop. I was led to believe when using a terminal and Programming cobol .... I had a math teacher that would lose his gord it you put a period in an equation, "NO FORTRAN, NO FORTRAN!", he would say. His thesis hung in the balance because in fortran you need to end the program with a period. Boy oh boy he started to explain that stupidity ends with a period by grabbing a new piece of chalk ... :) > It might make more sense with GUI oriented editors? - But also in the > more primitive GUI-editors and word-processors I typically move by at > least the few semantic entities supported; e.g. Ctrl-RightArrow (to > move by words). Not really; most editors insert spaces until you reach next tab stop. > Oh, if that is the criterion then I can enter F1..F4 and F9..F12, but > won't enter F5..F8 (which are gray). ;-) That was the idea ... well we are far past that point. Now they have buttons for volume, zoom; none of witch are greay keys; they need the function (fn) button. another > That might also explain why some text sources, e.g. some HTML pages, > contain of just a single long line; the Enter key is also gray. :-) you are correct. It is like HTML, TeX, emacs, etc. With html you should use

. breaking lines is a convenience for the user using the display. > Janis hello!