3.2.6.8 The Tab Spacing Setting

The Tab spacing setting is a good example of a setting that applies to only the current file and to any new files opened after that point. Like the language setting, it applies only to the current file. That is, changing the tab spacing for one file does not automatically change it for all the other files that are already open. Like the language setting, a files tab setting is stored with the MRU list, so if you re-open a file from the MRU list, the old setting comes back.

Unlike the Language setting, however, the new value you apply to the tab value becomes the default for any file opened or created after that point (apart from those in the MRU list). So if you change the tab setting to, say, 3, the setting for the current file changes, but not that of any other open file. Any new file that you create or load from that point, however, will be created with a default tab spacing of 3.