macOS Applescript: how can I align tab columns?

[gunpowda]

Hi,

I'm trying to write some song information from iTunes to a text file. I currently have:

set combination to var_artist & tab & var_name & tab & var_album & return

This produces something like:

Bob Dylan   Idiot Wind        Blood on the Tracks
Bob Dylan   Shelter From The Storm    Blood On The Tracks
Bob Dylan   Subterranean Homesick Blues       Bringing It All Back Home

[MacRumors won't let me post tabs, it seems, so I've tried to illustrate the point with spaces.]



I'd like it to align in columns, so it's easier to read, like this:

Bob Dylan   Idiot Wind                        Blood on the Tracks
Bob Dylan   Shelter From The Storm            Blood On The Tracks
Bob Dylan   Subterranean Homesick Blues       Bringing It All Back Home

Am I looking for something other than the tab character? How can I get this to work?

 

[Mekanik561]

I believe tab alignment is handled by the app viewing the text file. A tab is just a character. It's up to TextEdit, Word, or whatever to change and display the tab value.

Or you may be able to fake it by counting the characters of the column and adding extra tabs, but there are a lot of gotchas involved. Better to apply formatting/styling in the viewing app.

 

[WildPalms]

Write to a csv file.