Convert Tabs

Atomic tab converter: replace every tab character (\t) with one selected character — choose from: space, ., ,, +, -, _, #, |, &. Use this to convert TSV rows, fix mixed indentation, or prepare compact delimiters.

The tool replaces every tab with a single character you choose and does not trim surrounding spaces. Common replacements include tab to pipe (|), tab to underscore (_), tab to plus (+), tab to period (.), tab to hyphen (-), hash (#), ampersand (&), comma (,) and tab to space.

How it works

• Supported replacements: space, ., ,, +, -, _, #, |, &.
• Atomic behavior: each tab becomes exactly one instance of the chosen character — this is an atomic tab replacement (convert tabs without trimming). Consecutive tabs are replaced independently, so \t\t\t becomes three replacement characters in sequence (consecutive tabs → repeated delimiter).
• The tool does not collapse or trim spaces; leading/trailing spaces remain. For trimming, run Trim first.

How to use

1. Paste text into the editor.
2. Choose Edit → Convert Tabs and pick the replacement character.
3. Copy the transformed text. To reverse or change separators later, use Find and Replace.

Use cases & examples

TSV → CSV (tabs → comma) — tsv to csv converter online

Before:

id\tname\tcity
1\tAlice\tNew York
2\tBob\tSan Francisco

After (tabs → ,):

id,name,city
1,Alice,New York
2,Bob,San Francisco

Fix mixed indentation (tabs → space) — tabs to spaces python / tabs to spaces YAML

Before:

\tfunction test() {
\t\tconsole.log("hi");
\t}

After (tabs → space):

 function test() {
  console.log("hi");
 }

Replacing tabs with spaces is character-for-character and will not break YAML or Python indentation when you convert a tab to a space character.

Table formatting (tabs → |) — tab to pipe / replace tab with |

Before:

Name\tScore\tGrade
Alice\t92\tA
Bob\t85\tB

After (tabs → |):

Name|Score|Grade
Alice|92|A
Bob|85|B

Other replacements (examples): tab to underscore (tab to _), tab to plus (tab to +), tab to dot (tab to period), tab to hyphen (tab to -), tab to hash (tab to #), tab to ampersand (tab to &).

Chaining atomic operations

You can combine multiple atomic tools for cleaner results. Examples:

• Run Trim (remove surrounding chars) before converting tabs when items include extra whitespace.
• Use Remove Empty Lines to drop blank rows after conversion.
• After converting tabs to commas, use New Line to Comma or Find and Replace to adjust separators or assemble single-line lists.
• For CSV workflows, follow conversion with CSV → JSON or JSON → CSV as needed.

Tips & edge cases

• Consecutive tabs each become the replacement character — you may get repeated delimiters. Use Remove Empty Lines or Find and Replace to clean extras.
• Converting tabs to punctuation (comma, dot, pipe, etc.) can change meaning inside fields — check data that contains those characters.
• Replacing tabs with spaces is safe for indentation-sensitive formats (YAML, Python) because the tool substitutes characters one-for-one.
• This tool does not trim or collapse whitespace. If you need to remove or normalize spaces, run Remove Spaces or Trim.
• Very large inputs may be limited by the browser/editor; for bulk data use scripts or process in batches.

Related tools

• Trim
• Remove Spaces
• New Line to Comma
• Find and Replace
• CSV to JSON Converter

FAQ

Q: What characters can I convert tabs into?

A: Choose one of: space, ., ,, +, -, _, #, |, &.

Q: How are multiple tabs handled?

A: Each tab is replaced independently. Three consecutive tabs become three replacement characters in sequence (consecutive tabs → repeated delimiter).

Q: Will converting tabs to spaces break YAML or Python?

A: Converting a tab to a space is a character-for-character substitution and will not inherently break indentation-sensitive formats. Converting tabs to other characters (commas, pipes, etc.) may change semantics.

Paste your text and run Convert Tabs. Chain Trim, Remove Empty Lines or Find & Replace when you need additional cleanup or CSV-ready output.