How can a column be set to display multiple spaces and tabs white space in a cell

Question

My Excel spreadsheet has a column with data that has tabs and spaces in it (screenshot below). However, because Excel does not show the tabs and spaces, the data lacks visual organisation. However, Excel appears to switch to a "preview mode" for the cell when I double-click on it and does show the tabs and spaces (screenshot below).

Is there a method to instruct Excel to automatically show the data with tabs and spaces (without requiring a double-click on a cell)?

Default view:

View if I double-click on this same cell (tabs and spaces are displayed by Excel, like I need by default):

Answer 1

By entering your "code" in Word and then pasting it over, I was able to roughly duplicate your problem. The indentation no longer exists even if the cell is formatted as "Text." Since the data you are copying across is not plain text, I am not aware of a technique to stop Excel from doing this.

You have two alternatives here: write the code in something like the free Visual Studio Code, or - and this would be my favorite option - swap out your tabs for spaces as someone else mentioned in a remark.

Here's a visual comparison: