Question

Is there any way to make vim handle tab pressing by the next two ways?

1. Insert usual tab for indent.
2. Insert spaces for alignment.

Result of usage should looks as follows (---> it’s tabs, _ it’s spaces)

foo() {
--->int_a_____=_2;
--->int_count_=_12;
}

Answer 1

There is the Smart Tabs plugin. I don’t use it, but it looks like it does what you want.

Edit: Actually, I have written my own implementation of this, because I wanted some additional features (like still use Tabs after a comment prefix), and needed it to integrate with my own variant of the SuperTab plugin, which also overrides the key. I’ve just uploaded my IndentTab plugin, so that you have a choice.