Editing Python code in Vim.

Python is relied on indentation, and if you edit python code in Vim, you may found it will mess up your indentation. Here is a simple way to fix it.

Open your file in Vim you will see something like this:

def upload(request):
    c = {}
    c.update(csrf(request))
    print c

and enter Vim command

:set list

to see all white spaces. If you see something like this:

def upload(request):$
^Ic = {}$
^Ic.update(csrf(request))$
    print c$

You know you have inconsistent indentation. “^I” means tab, but “print c” statement is indented by space.

How to fix this? Easy.

1. Edit your .vimrc file to have following:

   set smartindent
   set expandtab
   set shiftwidth=4
   set tabstop=4
   set softtabstop=4
   set smarttab

2. For the files having indentation issue, run Vim command to fix them:

   :retab

3. Now check the file again using “:set list”, and you will see all tabs are gone. They are places by spaces.