How can I get Eclipse to insert tabs instead of sp

Question

Is there any way to persuade Eclipse to use tabs instead of spaces for indenting its built-in Java content assist proposals (such as when creating an empty method which overrides a method in the parent class)?

The only setting I could find that looked relevant is in Windows/Preferences/General/Editors/Text Editors/Insert spaces for tabs, and this setting is unchecked.

(EDIT: Several posters have pointed out Java / Code Style / Formatter / Indentation / Tab policy, which is set to "Tabs only")

At the moment I have to remember to select them and re-format with <Ctrl>+<Shift>+<F>.

Answer 1

Have a look in the preferences at Java / Code Style / Formatter
Create your own profile and set "Indentation" / "Tab policy" to "Tabs only"

Answer 2

I made sure that Edit>Smart Insert Mode was NOT checked, and that seemed to help me when configuration the indentation and formatting settings did not work. Running Eclipse 3.7.0.

Answer 3

Yet another solution that "worked for me" even if the other solutions didn't work (Version: 3.8.1):

Preferences > Java > Code Style > Formatter > Edit > Indentation > Use spaces to indent wrapped lines - Set unchecked

This is essentially the "smart tabs" option. It works for the formatter, but it incorrectly sets code generation into using spaces only. Annoyingly, the solution breaks the formatter.

Answer 4

I also had this problem. The issue turned out to be some configuration that was buried somewhere in my workspace. I created a new workspace and reimported my project and my tabs were not converted to spaces any more.

Answer 5

Preferences > Java > Code Style > Formatter > Edit > Indentation > Use tabs only for leading indentation checkbox

Answer 6

I found the solution, thanks to Simon Nickerson's comment above, which is what the original poster was referring to in his edit. After having found the setting, I see what they are talking about. However, the way to it was given a few steps from the beginning of the path, so it fails to give a clear answer to people who are new to Eclipse or have been away from it for a few years, like me. so I'll give the full path here:

1. Go to Project->Properties.
2. In the resulting box, go to "Java Code Style"->Formatter.
3. Click the "Configure Workspace Settings" link in the upper right of the box.
4. Click the Edit button next to the name.
5. Change "Tab policy:" drop down box to "Spaces only" because tabs are evil and inevitably result in poorly formatted code. >:-( This is also where you can actually affect the indentation size and tab size in your files.
6. You will need to change the "Profile name" at the top of the box to save your changes.
7. Thankfully, once you hit "OK", Eclipse will use your profile for your current project, so you're done after this step.

Now, what's really broken is the fact that these settings override the more up-front interface for changing similar-sounding settings in "Windows/Preferences/General/Editors/Text Editors/Insert spaces for tabs". To someone relatively new to the editor, this would seem like the place to set the default tabs = spaces setting. After finding the real answer, it's clear that this is just for general text editing, and language-specific settings need to be set up in the profiles for the languages at hand. This should be made a bit clearer for noobs, though. ;-)