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Set the width of a tab character with CSS
Use the tab-size property in CSS to set the width of a tab character. This property determines how many spaces a tab character should take up when displaying text content inside <pre> elements or other elements with preserved whitespace.
Syntax
selector {
tab-size: value;
}
Possible Values
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
number |
Specifies the number of spaces for a tab character (default is 8) |
length |
Specifies the tab width in units like px, em, rem |
Example
The following example sets the tab character width to 12 spaces −
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
.normal-tab {
tab-size: 8; /* Default tab size */
background-color: #f0f0f0;
padding: 10px;
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.custom-tab {
tab-size: 12; /* Custom tab size */
background-color: #e0f2ff;
padding: 10px;
}
pre {
border: 1px solid #ccc;
font-family: 'Courier New', monospace;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h3>Default Tab Size (8 spaces)</h3>
<pre class="normal-tab">Name: John Doe
Age: 30
City: New York</pre>
<h3>Custom Tab Size (12 spaces)</h3>
<pre class="custom-tab">Name: John Doe
Age: 30
City: New York</pre>
</body>
</html>
Two text blocks are displayed. The first shows tab characters with default 8-space width, and the second shows the same content with wider 12-space tabs, making the alignment more spread out.
Conclusion
The tab-size property controls the visual width of tab characters in preformatted text. It's particularly useful for code formatting and maintaining consistent indentation in text displays.
Updated on: 2026-03-15T13:20:52+05:30
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