Hello,
Whenever you type tab, It will focus some other component. That's the existing functionality. If you want space
you should override the existing functionality of the component. add keyAdapter to your text area and capture tab key event and do whatever you want.
regarding wrapping of text, just have lookat
java API
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/api/ setLineWrap(true) method helps you to wrap the text.
Cheers,