expand tab is not working on vim

Question

I set the expandtab option to on, but still I don't get spaces when I click tab, but I get actual tab.

This is how I set it:

set expandtab

set shiftwidth=4

set softtabstop=4

First I thought as this question says that a plugin is override it, but I executed:

:verbose set expandtab?

and indeed I get that last set is the line in my vimrc

how can I solve it?

Answer 1

There are two places you can set it: 1. $HOME/.vimrc 2. inline inside the file

.vimrc #1 This is the settings I'm using:

"indent settings
set shiftwidth=4
set softtabstop=4
set expandtab
set nocompatible  " <= vim, not vi

And it works for me, also make sure you're using vim not vi (?) ..

Inline #2

inline settings for vi supported only when using set modeline Meaning in your $HOME/.vimrc paste: set modeline and re-edit your file.