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Ubuntu 16.04
Bash 4.4.0
sdiff (GNU diffutils) 3.3
When I use the command sdiff in shell formatting is perfect
sdiff -w 185 fileone filetwo
When I use the command sdiff and send the results to a file, formatting disappears
sdiff -w 185 fileone filetwo > filethree
How can I preserve formatting when I send sdiff output to a file?
As explained by @cas, to preserve the formatting while sending sdiff output to a file, include -t
sdiff -t -w 185 fileone filetwo > filethree
To control the tabstops, include --tabsize along with the number of spaces
sdiff -t --tabsize 2 -w 185 fileone filetwo > filethree
sdiff -w 185 fileone filetwo -o outputworks?sdiff's-toption to expand tabs to spaces. Alternatively, tell your viewer/editor to set tab stops to 8 spaces - e.g. in vi:set ts=8or with less, useless -x8.sdiff -t -w 185 fileone filetwo > filethree. When a windows webadmin opened the file, it went back to being unformatted. I added an extra commandexpand -t 2 filethree | sponge filethreeand now the file is perfectly formatted. Hats off to you mate.-tshould have worked for any viewer, it does exactly whatexpanddoes. If you want tabstops every 2 spaces, you can use-t --tabsize 2with sdiff, no need for expand and sponge.