C++ setw problem. The output is not align and its is shifted a few space why is that?

Question

The code I'm using:

cout<<setw(70)<<left<<"\n\n1. Monthly salary";
cout<<": RM";
cin>> monthsal;

cout<<"2. Any KWSP deduction?\n";
cout<<setw(70)<<left<<"   Type 'Y' for Yes and 'N' for No";
cout<<": ";
cin>>kwsp;

Desired output:

1. Monthly salary                          : RM3200
2. Any KWSP deduction?
  Type 'Y' for Yes and 'N' for No          : Y

(Aligned on the colons.)

My code's output:

1. Monthly salary                        : RM3200
2. Any KWSP deduction?
  Type 'Y' for Yes and 'N' for No          : Y

How do I get my output to align correctly?

Answer 1

You can try this code

cout<<setw(70)<<left<<"\n1. Monthly salary";
cout<<": RM";
cin>> monthsal;
cout<<"2. Any KWSP deduction?";
cout<<setw(70)<<left<<"\n   Type 'Y' for Yes and 'N' for No";
cout<<": ";
cin>>kwsp;

Answer 2

Consider: cout << setw(5) << left << "\n\nOK;" << "Hi"; cout << setw(5) << left << "\n\nOK;" << "Hi"; , "\n\nOK!" actually already consumed all 5 spaces that was set from setw(5) , because despite '\n' are not printed like a single width character, they still consumes one space. So this will actually print like:

OK!Hi    <-- notice no spaces between `OK!` and `Hi`

Now back to your case, if you have actually counted the character in the same line as "1. Monthly salary" , you will notice the first block is actually less than 70 character for the same reason.

To fix it, you will want to print the "\n\n" before your setw :

cout << "\n\n";
cout << setw(70) << left << "1. Monthly salary";
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For similar reason, '\t' could also mess up your formatting, because the tab symbol is also considered a single character.