(move-to-column-force): New function.

(operate-on-rectangle): If coerce-tabs is non-nil, call
move-to-column-force instead of move-to-column.
(insert-rectangle): Call move-to-column-force instead of
move-to-column.
(open-rectangle-line): If begextra is not zero, call
move-to-column-force.

1 files changed, 24 insertions, 3 deletions

diff --git a/lisp/rect.el b/lisp/rect.el
index 4636abe1315..9ba8edf2499 100644
--- a/lisp/rect.el
+++ b/lisp/rect.el
@@ -29,6 +29,21 @@
 
 ;;; Code:
 
+;;;###autoload
+(defun move-to-column-force (column)
+  "Move point to column COLUMN rigidly in the current line.
+If COLUMN is within a multi-column character, replace it by
+spaces and tab."
+  (let ((col (move-to-column column t)))
+    (if (> col column)
+        (let (pos)
+          (delete-char -1)
+          (insert-char ?  (- column (current-column)))
+          (setq pos (point))
+          (indent-to col)
+          (goto-char pos)))
+    column))
+
 ;; extract-rectangle-line stores lines into this list
 ;; to accumulate them for extract-rectangle and delete-extract-rectangle.
 (defvar operate-on-rectangle-lines)
@@ -60,10 +75,14 @@ Point is at the end of the segment of this line within the rectangle."
      (goto-char startlinepos)
      (while (< (point) endlinepos)
        (let (startpos begextra endextra)
-         (move-to-column startcol coerce-tabs)
+         (if coerce-tabs
+             (move-to-column-force startcol)
+           (move-to-column startcol))
          (setq begextra (- (current-column) startcol))
          (setq startpos (point))
-         (move-to-column endcol coerce-tabs)
+         (if coerce-tabs
+             (move-to-column-force endcol)
+           (move-to-column endcol))
          ;; If we overshot, move back one character
          ;; so that endextra will be positive.
          (if (and (not coerce-tabs) (> (current-column) endcol))
@@ -176,7 +195,7 @@ and point is at the lower right corner."
           (progn
            (forward-line 1)
            (or (bolp) (insert ?\n))
-           (move-to-column insertcolumn t)))
+           (move-to-column-force insertcolumn)))
       (setq first nil)
       (insert (car lines))
       (setq lines (cdr lines)))))
@@ -197,6 +216,8 @@ but instead winds up to the right of the rectangle."
     (goto-char startpos)
     ;; Column where rectangle begins.
     (let ((begcol (- (current-column) begextra)))
+      (if (> begextra 0)
+          (move-to-column-force begcol))
       (skip-chars-forward " \t")
       ;; Width of whitespace to be deleted and recreated.
       (setq whitewidth (- (current-column) begcol)))