You can also use the expand utility to specify the number of spaces between a tab. See below for an illustration.
Original file with tabs
# cat -v -t esoftfile
esoft^Iesoft^Iesoft^Iesoft
esoft^Iesoft^Iesoft^Iesoft
esoft^Iesoft^Iesoft^Iesoft
esoft^Iesoft^Iesoft^Iesoft
esoft^Iesoft^Iesoft^Iesoft
Convert tab to 20 spaces
# expand -20 esoftfile | cat -t -v
esoft esoft esoft esoft
esoft esoft esoft esoft
esoft esoft esoft esoft
esoft esoft esoft esoft
esoft esoft esoft esoft
Convert tab to 10 spaces
# expand -10 esoftfile | cat -v -t
esoft esoft esoft esoft
esoft esoft esoft esoft
esoft esoft esoft esoft
esoft esoft esoft esoft
esoft esoft esoft esoft
Convert tab to 2 spaces
# expand -2 esoftfile | cat -v -t
esoft esoft esoft esoft
esoft esoft esoft esoft
esoft esoft esoft esoft
esoft esoft esoft esoft
esoft esoft esoft esoft