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I'm using the tab size setting 4 for java sources. On startup, when the previous working set of documents is restored into the editor pane, the tab size is 8 on the active editor page. All other pages have tab size 4. I have to close/reopen the document first displayed as active in order to return to tab size 4. This behavior is non-deterministic. If I quit Netbeans right after reopening the document and restart it then the document will be displayed using the correct tab size. However, if I restart the computer and start netbeans, the wrong tab size will be used most of the time.
This sounds like settings related problem. Thanks for the report.
After installing Netbeans 6.1 this issue does not occur anymore.