# Post formatting using for tab indentations
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109
**Category:** Support
**Tags:** markdown
**Created:** [January 9, 2026, 8:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109 "2026-01-09T20:03:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@hipp0](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hipp0)
#### Post date: [January 9, 2026, 8:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/1 "2026-01-09T20:03:59Z")
I had tab indentations for my paragraphs using 8 ` `
They were working until I added a center align image using this code:
Which messed up the formatting of the post. Tabs, paragraph/image alignment, and a quick underline with CTRL+U similar to Microsoft Word would really make writing quick articles much less of a pain.
I am looking for other writing tools that I can import into Discourse. Because writing clear long article style post is just not really doable.
---
### Author:  [@Canapin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Canapin)
#### Post date: [January 9, 2026, 11:25pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/2 "2026-01-09T23:25:09Z")
> [@hipp0](#):
>
> Tabs, paragraph/image alignment, and a quick underline with CTRL+U similar to Microsoft Word would really make writing quick articles
Understood, but Discourse is not meant to write articles. It’s a forum, not a blog 🤔
In some Discourse forums, articles are published on a dedicated WordPress blog which uses [WP Discourse – WordPress plugin | WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-discourse).
That said, have you had a look at [Formatting toolbar](https://meta.discourse.org/t/formatting-toolbar/40649) and [Composer Button Bonanza](https://meta.discourse.org/t/composer-button-bonanza/352525)?
---
### Author:  [@hipp0](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hipp0)
#### Post date: [January 9, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/3 "2026-01-09T23:58:55Z")
Understandable.
Wordpress sucks if you’ve never used it, I have it setup for my blog right now and its just the most janky app.
Discourse could reach a wider audience with a few tweaks for writing articles. Since most nice blog writing platforms cost a lot of money per month.
Writing on [X.com](http://X.com) = $30 per month.
Tumblr limits articles to around 40,000 characters.
Blogger is outdated and lacks features (I can’t even copy markdown articles I’ve written into there).
To write good articles on Discourse is literally just a tab indentation + aligning text/images.
I also don’t want to direct people away from my forum. I want to keep them inside the forum reading.
Going to Wordpress is not ideal for my needs.
I am in the process of modifying Discourse so I can use it as a blogging tool.
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### Author:  [@Lilly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Lilly)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2026, 12:34am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/4 "2026-01-10T00:34:01Z")
> [@hipp0](#):
>
> I had tab indentations for my paragraphs using 8
>
> They were working until I added a center align image using this code:
>
> 
>
> Which messed up the formatting of the post.
This works for me. Also, why would you want to indent? virtually nobody has done indenting since online documents and text blocks became a thing. Text blocking looks better and is the contemporary standard for online publishing. Indenting even looks weird and there is a reason it isn’t easy to do in markdown formatting.
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### Author:  [@hipp0](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hipp0)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/5 "2026-01-10T00:45:31Z")
That code works until you add other code into the post then it breaks everything. If you want to recreate it, add ` ` 8 times for paragraph indents then add that code above. It changes the formatting on everything.
Book/manuscript formatting is definitely better than this web format style, especially for reading long articles. Blocks are helpful when a point comes for them.
My work around with Tumblr was to use blocks and many photos to break up the paragraphs. Since reading a lot of text with no indents is really not enjoyable.
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### Author:  [@Lilly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Lilly)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2026, 12:54am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/6 "2026-01-10T00:54:46Z")
> [@hipp0](#):
>
> That code works until you add other code into the post then it breaks everything. If you want to recreate it, add ` ` 8 times for paragraph indents then add that code above. It changes the formatting on everything.
that isn’t what your OP said.
> [@hipp0](#):
>
> They were working until I added a center align image using this code:
please make your posts clearer if you want help.
I would recommend reading some of the #Documentation topics. if you want to learn how to use markdown, html and other allowable formatting, this is a start:
> [@Formatting posts using markdown, BBCode, and HTML](https://meta.discourse.org/t/formatting-posts-using-markdown-bbcode-and-html/239348):
>
> bookmark This reference guide details all the formatting options available in Discourse posts, including markdown, BBCode, and HTML. It specifies what is supported and provides resources where you can see examples. person_raising_hand Required user level: All users Understanding supported formatting in posts While plain text is sufficient for most replies, Discourse allows users to enhance the formatting of their posts by using markdown, BBCode, and HTML. This guide explains what types …
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### Author:  [@hipp0](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hipp0)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/7 "2026-01-10T01:08:16Z")
All I added to my post
` `
to create the indentation for the paragraphs.
Then I added the code:
Which then messed up the formatting of the entire post.
```
It basically turned all the paragraph indents into 4 spaces
```
---
### Author:  [@Lilly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Lilly)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/8 "2026-01-10T01:14:31Z")
I’ll give you some quick CSS formatting tips you can use for blog-style posts.
you’re doing indentation wrong. the proper way to do it with CSS is like this (indentation standard is `2em`):
in `common.scss`
```scss
[data-theme-indent="indent"] {
text-indent: 2em;
}
```
in your post:
```scss
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diam voluptua. At vero eos et accusam
```
Also, if you want to do some other formatting with images and alignment:
in `common.scss`:
```scss
[data-theme-image="left"] {
float: left;
img {
margin: 0 1em 0 0;
border-radius: 6px;
}
}
[data-theme-image="right"] {
float: right;
img {
margin: 0em 0em 0em 1em;
border-radius: 6px;
}
}
```
in your post:
```scss
```
result using all of the above:
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### Author:  [@Lilly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Lilly)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2026, 1:58am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/9 "2026-01-10T01:58:00Z")
Here’s something I just whipped up. This adds buttons to the composer toolbar, including indenting.
[https://github.com/Lillinator/images-and-text-alignment](https://github.com/Lillinator/images-and-text-alignment)
note: the indent function can apply to multiple blocks with a single click of the button. so you can type multiple paragraphs and then select all of them and indent all at once. \[1\]
* * *
1. btw, this component is meant to be demonstrative for how to make custom toolbar changes for css formatting - if you’re going to use this component, please fork it because i will likely not maintain it and archive it at a later date.
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### Author:  [@hipp0](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hipp0)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/10 "2026-01-10T19:25:46Z")
Thanks for this it works well.
The Indent I think is off by one space:
top line is using your indent and bottom is ` `
Any chance to add an Underline to this component? Pretty much solves everything I need so I am thankful for this.
---
### Author:  [@Lilly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Lilly)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2026, 10:13pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/11 "2026-01-10T22:13:47Z")
as the footnote says, please fork it and do your own dev on it. i have no actual use for it and only made it to show you how to do these sort of customizations yourself.
---
### Author:  [@Lilly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Lilly)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2026, 5:20am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/12 "2026-01-12T05:20:09Z")
i forgot about this theme component - it might have some of what you are looking for in composer toolbar mods and markdown formatting:
> [@Composer Button Bonanza](https://meta.discourse.org/t/composer-button-bonanza/352525):
>
> warning The richtext (single-pane, WYSIWYG) editor is incomplete and does not yet properly support this theme component. information_sourceSummary Composer Button Bonanza allows a site admin to define and add new markup buttons to the Composer toolbar, and provides a bonanza of new buttons in its default configuration.hammer_and_wrenchRepository [centertap/DiscourseComposerButtonBonanza - Codeberg.org](https://codeberg.org/centertap/DiscourseComposerButtonBonanza.git)eyesReadme [README.md](https://codeberg.org/centertap/DiscourseComposerButtonBonanza/src/branch/main/README.md)spiral_notepadRelease Notes [RELEASE-NOTE…](https://codeberg.org/centertap/DiscourseComposerButtonBonanza/src/branch/main/RELEASE-NOTES.md)
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### Author:  [@hipp0](https://meta.discourse.org/u/hipp0)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2026, 6:18am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/13 "2026-01-12T06:18:02Z")
Thanks for this.
You wouldn’t happen to know why I can’t change my Trust Level 4 @name anymore. I changed it to OFFICER, now I can’t find that word anywhere in the Site\_Text. Its completely missing. Maybe it was always that name, but I think I changed it from Leader.
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### Author:  [@NateDhaliwal](https://meta.discourse.org/u/NateDhaliwal)
#### Post date: [January 12, 2026, 7:28am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/14 "2026-01-12T07:28:36Z")
I think that’s the group title. I think it’s either the trust\_level\_4 automatic group’s title or the Leader badge’s. Check both, I can’t seem to remember which one it is.
(But this is off-topic)
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### Author:  [@system](https://meta.discourse.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [February 11, 2026, 7:29am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-formatting-using-nbsp-for-tab-indentations/393109/15 "2026-02-11T07:29:15Z")
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