I have a table which has a few VARCHAR columns whose first character is a tab. If I run pg_dump on this table, it outputs data like this: 43158 \t555-1212 3 where the two embedded white spaces are actually tabs. If I use psql to execute SQL to dump parts of the table, like this: psql -qtA -f '\t' -U xyzzy xyzzy -c 'select ... >/tmp/xxx I get this: 43158 310-319-1333, x1070 3 where that initial embeded white space represents two tabs. When I use psql to restore this data, it thinks the 2nd column is empty and complains that the third column is the wrong type. pg_dump apparently is smart enough to print embedded tabs as escaped chars, but not psql. Is there a fix for this? I thought of reverting to standard output, without the -t option, and analyzing the first two lines to tell exactly how many spaces are assigned to each column, but that gives me the shudders. -- ... _._. ._ ._. . _._. ._. ___ .__ ._. . .__. ._ .. ._. Felix Finch: scarecrow repairman & rocket surgeon / felix@xxxxxxxxxxx GPG = E987 4493 C860 246C 3B1E 6477 7838 76E9 182E 8151 ITAR license #4933 I've found a solution to Fermat's Last Theorem but I see I've run out of room o