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S
speeedracer
Participant
August 17, 2017
Answered

dreamweaver tabbing/indentation issues

  • August 17, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 1498 views

Hey everyone,

Recently, a coworker's Dreamweaver has begun adding bizzare amounts of tabbing on every line of code in every html file she works in, and it's driving us all crazy, because every time we open a file after she's saved them, they're incredibly difficult to read and work in, and trying to fix them wastes a lot of time.

So, here's an screenshot of one of our webpages:

And this is what it looks like whenever she re-saves the file:

She doesn't have to even do anything to the page, she just has to save it. This happens whether she doesn't do anything to the code, and saves it as a new html document, and also if she simply adds a single space somewhere in the code, and saves the file as itself. I've worked in Dreamweaver since it was owned by Macromedia, and I've never seen this happen before.

One interesting thing about this, is that her Dreamweaver only ever adds all this extra spacing within the <Article> tag. Nothing gets added in the metadata up top, or within the <head>, or any of the javascript at the top or bottom of the pages. It's weird.

Anyone have any ideas as to what's going on? We both are working on the same computer systems, Mac G6's running OSX 10.11.4, and we're both using CC Dreamweaver 2017.5.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Jon Fritz

Could be a code error, like a missing end tag, confusing DW into wanting things tabbed oddly. Run the validator under File > Validate > Current Document W3C or at http://validator.w3.org/nu to get a listing.

I've never seen this personally, but when DW starts doing odd things on its own, that's what I check first.

It may also be worthwhile clearing their program cache file and/or restoring preferences. Those two things will tend to clear odd "just started doing it" behaviors in DW...

Deleting a corrupted cache file

(renaming the entire personal config folder from the above is another step that may work if clearing the cache file doesn't)

Unusual behavior in Dreamweaver? Try restoring preferences.

2 replies

S
speeedracerAuthor
Participant
August 17, 2017

OP here again.

I should have mentioned this also, but forgot: The code only looks messed up after she saves it for everyone else in the office. When she reopens the messed up file, it looks fine still on her computer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Jon Fritz
Community Expert
Jon FritzCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 17, 2017

If it's not a corruption in the cache or prefs...

Hmm, I wonder if your screen size/word-wrap settings are causing it to look as if the code is indented oddly when it's not?

Moving from a wider Code View to a narrower one could make it appear as if the code has gone bananas due to the Word-Wrap setting in the Common Toolbar. Basically, instead of a scroll bar appearing when a line of code is too long for the window, DW will shove it onto the next line and blow the rest of the indentation to follow out of whack.

Looking at her code on your machine, what happens if you widen the Code View pane?


Does the code "snap" into a more correct alignment when you hit a certain width?

Just spitballing some ideas.

S
speeedracerAuthor
Participant
August 17, 2017

We've tried testing it to see if it was a Word Wrap discrepancy, but it wasn't. We all have the same sized dual monitors and we all work only in Code View, so I don't think it's a viewport issue. She's kind of busy today trying to get some projects done, so we haven't had a chance to try clearing her cache or anything yet. I'm hoping that will resolve it. If not, the only thing i could think of is getting I.T. up here to reinstall DW.

Jon Fritz
Community Expert
Jon FritzCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
August 17, 2017

Could be a code error, like a missing end tag, confusing DW into wanting things tabbed oddly. Run the validator under File > Validate > Current Document W3C or at http://validator.w3.org/nu to get a listing.

I've never seen this personally, but when DW starts doing odd things on its own, that's what I check first.

It may also be worthwhile clearing their program cache file and/or restoring preferences. Those two things will tend to clear odd "just started doing it" behaviors in DW...

Deleting a corrupted cache file

(renaming the entire personal config folder from the above is another step that may work if clearing the cache file doesn't)

Unusual behavior in Dreamweaver? Try restoring preferences.

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