# Code areas use different font with different spacing

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/code-areas-use-different-font-with-different-spacing/29715
**Category:** Feature
**Created:** [June 6, 2015, 7:25am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/code-areas-use-different-font-with-different-spacing/29715 "2015-06-06T07:25:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![swisspol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/swisspol/32/115586_2.png) [@swisspol](https://meta.discourse.org/u/swisspol)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 7:25am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/code-areas-use-different-font-with-different-spacing/29715/1 "2015-06-06T07:25:49Z")

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Pretty funny actually - compare carefully the input and output 😉

 ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/7/1/71bec9ad0d0661700e5b8e7a6bd4f74b8354f5d1.png) 

Looks like some of the prefix whitespace is expanded on lines #2 and later.

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### Author: ![sam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/sam/32/102149_2.png) [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 7:42am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/code-areas-use-different-font-with-different-spacing/29715/2 "2015-06-06T07:42:20Z")

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What does babelmark say: [John MacFarlane - babelmark 2](http://johnmacfarlane.net/babelmark2/)

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### Author: ![swisspol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/swisspol/32/115586_2.png) [@swisspol](https://meta.discourse.org/u/swisspol)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 7:55am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/code-areas-use-different-font-with-different-spacing/29715/3 "2015-06-06T07:55:17Z")

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Here’s the test I’m using

```
----A----x----B----x----x----HEAD
               \
                x----x----C

```

And here are the [test results](http://johnmacfarlane.net/babelmark2/?normalize=1&text=Assuming+we+have+this%3A%0A%0A++++----A----x----B----x----x----HEAD%0A+++++++++++++++++++%5C%0A++++++++++++++++++++x----x----C%0A).

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### Author: ![swisspol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/swisspol/32/115586_2.png) [@swisspol](https://meta.discourse.org/u/swisspol)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 8:00am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/code-areas-use-different-font-with-different-spacing/29715/4 "2015-06-06T08:00:23Z")

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Just realize the test I pasted above doesn’t render right when viewed in the topic, the source is actually:

![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/6/7/67e2dd3c31e15b8b110b75e7b86f02bd690dc064.png)

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### Author: ![sam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/sam/32/102149_2.png) [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 8:03am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/code-areas-use-different-font-with-different-spacing/29715/5 "2015-06-06T08:03:32Z")

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Markdown seems pretty unanimous about how to treat that 🙂 and we are doing the right thing.

If you want a monospace font in your editor go for that, by adding a site customization.

I am torn, my personal pref is for monospace markdown textareas, but there is a strong argument monospace makes this “more computery” and “less friendly”. Ultimately this is a decision that is up to @codinghorror. Even cooking Stack Exchange uses monospace (but on the other hand they do not display stuff side by side).

```
----A----x----B----x----x----HEAD
               \
                x----x----C

```

 ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/8/2/824b3ad16486b8bbcb9cba898ff4435e0ad58b5b.png)

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### Author: ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/codinghorror/32/110067_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/code-areas-use-different-font-with-different-spacing/29715/6 "2015-06-06T19:24:36Z")

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This topic is now closed. New replies are no longer allowed.

We are not interested in changing the font of the editor to monospace