Why is tab unaffected by font whereas space is affected?

[Costello, Roger L.]

Hi Folks,

Suppose I use a text editor and type this string:

a b

I set the font of that string to Calibri. I see a certain spacing between a and b. Then, I change the font to Courier. I see the spacing between a and b is significantly wider. The width of a space character in Courier is larger than the width of a space character in Calibri.

Next, I place a tab character before the string: 

	a b

I set the font of the tab character to Calibri. I note the position of the string. Then, I set the font of the tab character to Courier. The string is at the same position. Why is that? Why is the space character affected by font whereas the tab character is not?

/Roger