Re: shell-mode - make it stop!!!

[Tyler Smith <tyler.smith@mail.mcgill.ca>]

On 2007-06-05, Tom Horsley <tom.horsley@att.net> wrote:
> The NEWS file says this about shell-mode
>
>  ** Changes in Shell Mode
>
>  *** Shell output normally scrolls so that the input line is at the
>  bottom of the window -- thus showing the maximum possible text.  (This
>  is similar to the way sequential output to a terminal works.)
>
> Unfortunately it doesn't say how the devil to make this insanely
> annoying behavior stop :-). Any way to disable it? (One of the reasons
> I liked emacs shell mode was because it didn't act this way - if
> I wanted an ordinary terminal, I'd use one of them :-).

You might check out the emacs manual for more detailed instructions
than are generally provided with NEWS files. This is from Emacs 21:

29.15.6 Shell Mode Options
--------------------------

<snip>

   If `comint-scroll-show-maximum-output' is non-`nil', then scrolling
due to the arrival of output tries to place the last line of text at
the bottom line of the window, so as to show as much useful text as
possible.  (This mimics the scrolling behavior of many terminals.)  The
default is `nil'.

<snip>

So it looks like the default has changed. Something along the lines of 

(setq comint-scroll-show-maximum-output nil)

in your .emacs should fix the behaviour, but check the manual of your
Emacs to be sure.

HTH,

Tyler