diff --git a/book/src/configuration.md b/book/src/configuration.md
index 5eb94c4e942b..cc760a66424e 100644
--- a/book/src/configuration.md
+++ b/book/src/configuration.md
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ hidden = false
 | `shell` | Shell to use when running external commands. | Unix: `["sh", "-c"]`<br/>Windows: `["cmd", "/C"]` |
 | `line-number` | Line number display: `absolute` simply shows each line's number, while `relative` shows the distance from the current line. When unfocused or in insert mode, `relative` will still show absolute line numbers. | `absolute` |
 | `cursorline` | Highlight all lines with a cursor. | `false` |
-| `gutters` | Gutters to display: Available are `diagnostics` and `line-numbers` and `spacer`, note that `diagnostics` also includes other features like breakpoints, 1-width padding will be inserted if gutters is non-empty | `["diagnostics", "line-numbers"]` |
+| `gutters` | Gutters to display: Available are `diagnostics` and `line-numbers` and `spacer`, note that `diagnostics` also includes other features like breakpoints. | `["diagnostics", "line-numbers", "spacer"]` |
 | `auto-completion` | Enable automatic pop up of auto-completion. | `true` |
 | `auto-format` | Enable automatic formatting on save. | `true` |
 | `idle-timeout` | Time in milliseconds since last keypress before idle timers trigger. Used for autocompletion, set to 0 for instant. | `400` |
diff --git a/helix-view/src/editor.rs b/helix-view/src/editor.rs
index 501c3069ad19..6b5616b7f370 100644
--- a/helix-view/src/editor.rs
+++ b/helix-view/src/editor.rs
@@ -481,7 +481,11 @@ impl Default for Config {
             },
             line_number: LineNumber::Absolute,
             cursorline: false,
-            gutters: vec![GutterType::Diagnostics, GutterType::LineNumbers],
+            gutters: vec![
+                GutterType::Diagnostics,
+                GutterType::LineNumbers,
+                GutterType::Spacer,
+            ],
             middle_click_paste: true,
             auto_pairs: AutoPairConfig::default(),
             auto_completion: true,
diff --git a/helix-view/src/view.rs b/helix-view/src/view.rs
index 3df533dfc6d9..06c2976874cf 100644
--- a/helix-view/src/view.rs
+++ b/helix-view/src/view.rs
@@ -118,9 +118,6 @@ impl View {
                 width as usize,
             ));
         }
-        if !gutter_types.is_empty() {
-            gutter_offset += 1;
-        }
         Self {
             id: ViewId::default(),
             doc,
@@ -340,16 +337,20 @@ impl View {
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
     use helix_core::Rope;
-    const OFFSET: u16 = 7; // 1 diagnostic + 5 linenr + 1 gutter
-    const OFFSET_WITHOUT_LINE_NUMBERS: u16 = 2; // 1 diagnostic + 1 gutter
-                                                // const OFFSET: u16 = GUTTERS.iter().map(|(_, width)| *width as u16).sum();
+    const OFFSET: u16 = 7; // 1 diagnostic + 5 linenr + 1 spacer
+    const OFFSET_WITHOUT_LINE_NUMBERS: u16 = 1; // 1 diagnostic
+
     use crate::editor::GutterType;
 
     #[test]
     fn test_text_pos_at_screen_coords() {
         let mut view = View::new(
             DocumentId::default(),
-            vec![GutterType::Diagnostics, GutterType::LineNumbers],
+            vec![
+                GutterType::Diagnostics,
+                GutterType::LineNumbers,
+                GutterType::Spacer,
+            ],
         );
         view.area = Rect::new(40, 40, 40, 40);
         let rope = Rope::from_str("abc\n\tdef");
@@ -422,7 +423,11 @@ mod tests {
     fn test_text_pos_at_screen_coords_cjk() {
         let mut view = View::new(
             DocumentId::default(),
-            vec![GutterType::Diagnostics, GutterType::LineNumbers],
+            vec![
+                GutterType::Diagnostics,
+                GutterType::LineNumbers,
+                GutterType::Spacer,
+            ],
         );
         view.area = Rect::new(40, 40, 40, 40);
         let rope = Rope::from_str("Hi! こんにちは皆さん");
@@ -462,7 +467,11 @@ mod tests {
     fn test_text_pos_at_screen_coords_graphemes() {
         let mut view = View::new(
             DocumentId::default(),
-            vec![GutterType::Diagnostics, GutterType::LineNumbers],
+            vec![
+                GutterType::Diagnostics,
+                GutterType::LineNumbers,
+                GutterType::Spacer,
+            ],
         );
         view.area = Rect::new(40, 40, 40, 40);
         let rope = Rope::from_str("Hèl̀l̀ò world!");