reveal hidden characters in a file

When parsing a file programmatically, the program will read all the characters including hidden characters such as tabs, new lines and carriage returns but these characters are usually invisible in a file editor by default. Sometimes these invisible characters will cause problems when you are parsing a file with unexpected hidden characters.

In vim or vi editors you can show the hidden characters by this command:
[code language=”text”]
:set list
[/code]

To hide them again:
[code language=”text”]
:/set nolist
[/code]