indentering

Indentering is the act of applying indentation to lines of text or code by adding spaces or tabs at the beginning of lines. It can be performed manually by writers and programmers or automatically by text editors and formatter tools. While the term indentering is uncommon, its function is widely understood as indentation or whitespace control in document formatting and source code.

In typography and typesetting, indentation marks the start of a new paragraph or an internally quoted block. Many modern styles indent the first line of a paragraph, while others rely on vertical spacing between paragraphs and minimal or no indentation. In manuscripts, hanging indents are used for bibliographic entries and references, reflecting a different indentation pattern.

In programming, indentation has two roles. In languages with significant whitespace, such as Python, indentation defines block structure and scope; incorrect indentation can cause syntax errors. In languages that use braces or keywords to delimit blocks, indentation remains a readability aid and is often enforced by style guides, linters, and formatters rather than by the syntax itself.

Tools known as code formatters and integrated development environments provide auto-indentation features to enforce consistency, including the chosen indentation depth and whether to use spaces or tabs. Indentering depth (often two to four spaces per level) and alignment rules vary by language and organization.

Challenges include mixed use of tab and space characters, differing tab widths, and accessibility concerns for screen readers. Consistent indentering improves readability, reduces cognitive load, and supports automated parsing across tools and platforms. See also indentation, whitespace, code style, formatter.