Re-indenting Code in Xcode

KD Knowledge Diet
2 min readDec 4, 2024

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Maintaining consistent code formatting is essential for readability and maintainability in any software development project. Xcode, the integrated development environment for macOS and iOS app development, offers convenient shortcuts to re-indent selected code quickly and efficiently. In this guide, we’ll explore how to re-indent selected code and the entire file in Xcode using keyboard shortcuts.

Re-indenting Selected Code:

When you need to correct the indentation of a specific section of code that you’ve selected, follow these steps:

1. Select the code block that requires re-indentation.

2. Once the code is selected, press `Ctrl + I` (Control key + the letter “I”).

Xcode will automatically adjust the indentation to match the surrounding code and ensure consistent formatting within the selected block.

Re-indenting the Entire File:

If you want to re-indent the entire file to ensure consistent formatting throughout, you can use the following steps:

1. Open the file in Xcode that you want to re-indent.

2. Select the entire file’s content by pressing `Command + A` (Command key + the letter “A”).

3. With the entire file selected, press `Ctrl + I` (Control key + the letter “I”).

Xcode will re-indent the entire file, applying consistent formatting to all code within the file.

Conclusion:

Maintaining proper code formatting is crucial for code readability and collaboration in software development projects. Xcode simplifies the process of re-indenting code by providing keyboard shortcuts for both selected code blocks and entire files. By using `Ctrl + I` to re-indent, you can quickly correct code indentation errors and ensure that your codebase adheres to your preferred coding style guidelines.

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KD Knowledge Diet
KD Knowledge Diet

Written by KD Knowledge Diet

Software Engineer, Mobile Developer living in Seoul. I hate people using difficult words. Why not using simple words? Keep It Simple Stupid!

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