diff --git a/doc/notes.txt b/doc/notes.txt
index fe32a49..eef43be 100644
--- a/doc/notes.txt
+++ b/doc/notes.txt
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ Contents ~
   13. The |g:notes_indexscript| option
   14. The |g:notes_tagsindex| option
   15. The |g:notes_markdown_program| option
+  16. The |g:notes_shoftwidth| option
  4. Commands                                                   |notes-commands|
   1. The |:Note| command
   2. The |:NoteFromSelectedText| command
@@ -330,6 +331,13 @@ name of this program is assumed to be simply 'markdown'. If you want to use a
 different program for Markdown to HTML conversion, set this option to the name
 of the program.
 
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+The |g:notes_shoftwidth| option
+
+This option lets you choose the indent for lists within nodes. The shiftwidth
+and the tabstop will be set to this value, By degault the value is set to 3.
+
+
 ===============================================================================
                                                                *notes-commands*
 Commands ~
diff --git a/ftplugin/notes.vim b/ftplugin/notes.vim
index 238ccc5..2f8abb6 100644
--- a/ftplugin/notes.vim
+++ b/ftplugin/notes.vim
@@ -5,8 +5,10 @@
 
 if exists('b:did_ftplugin')
   finish
-else
-  let b:did_ftplugin = 1
+endif
+
+if !exists('g:notes_tabwidth')
+  let g:notes_tabwidth = 8
 endif
 
 " Add dash to keyword characters so it can be used in tags. {{{1
@@ -18,7 +20,7 @@ setlocal autoindent
 let b:undo_ftplugin = 'set autoindent<'
 
 " Set &tabstop and &shiftwidth options for bulleted lists. {{{1
-setlocal tabstop=3 shiftwidth=3 expandtab
+execute "setlocal tabstop=".g:notes_tabwidth." shiftwidth=".g:notes_tabwidth." expandtab"
 let b:undo_ftplugin .= ' | set tabstop< shiftwidth< expandtab<'
 
 " Automatic formatting for bulleted lists. {{{1