Web Browser-like "Back" (and Forward?)

[rjbill]

UPDATE: I just found Go Back and Forward in Navigation History buttons on the Toolbar.
This is what I was talking about.

I didn't think this functionality exists. I couldn't find it.

It would be nice if there was a "Browser BACK Button" (and FORWARD Button?)
that would place the CURSOR in preceding locations after it has been moved.
And then FORWARD, as well, if it's not too much trouble.
(actual buttons [<] and [>] like at the top-left of most Web Browsers)

It might be too much work. But, if not, and you think it would be a nice feature,
I think it would be handy. I've often wished I could do that.
(rather than trying to remember where I was, and then 'manually' getting back there,
which is often a pain)

The 'problem' is, what granularity do you want to support?

Do you want to keep track of EVERY cursor location change?
That seems like a bit much. Although it is only line and column. (a LIST)
A List that you could just traverse backward and forward, so that part
would probably be pretty easy, the "logging" and the moving the cursor
based on BACK and FORWARD.

And what MOVEMENTS do you want to track?

Probably not visible character keypress inserts.

But Up, Down, Left, Right, Page Up, Page Down, Home, End, Top of Buffer, Bottom of Buffer,
Mouse Clicks, and Find (Replace?). And ??

Since Screen Scrolls don't actually change the CURSOR location, unless you CLICK somewhere,
I suppose they can be ignored. (to get 'back', you can just press a cursor key and it basically
puts you back where the CURSOR was before you SCROLLED)

Maybe only tag a "location change" when the LINE # changes?

How big would the Location Logging LIST be?

AND, if you have traversed the Location List Backward (and/or Forward), and you then
start doing your editing again, or move the cursor, what do you do then?
Truncate the List at the current location "forward" and start tagging locations from there?
It would be kind of unfortunate to lose all of that information that you might want to
access by going FORWARD again. (to get back to where you were before you started
going backward)

For example, you are at a 'START Location' (for this example), and you "Go Back"
several locations to where you were before you got 'here', and then do a FIND,
and then do some editing and moving the cursor around....
What does the Location List look like now?

It would be nice to be able to go FORWARD again until you got back to the
'START Location' mentioned above. ("Push-Inserting" into the list rather than truncating?)

If you can figure it out, it could get a little tricky, but maybe you can see
how it could or should be done for optimal usage.

If you decide to do it.

Hope I was clear enough in my description.