32 Chat Bottom Anchor. 32 of 95.
32/SCROLL BEHAVIOR/32 of 95
Chat Bottom Anchor
Stay pinned to the latest — unless you're reading history.
The problem
A chat that always jumps to the newest message yanks you away whenever you scroll up to read older ones.
The solution
New messages auto-scroll only if you're already at the bottom.
Experiment
Play with the values
40px
How it works
- A new message arrives at the end of the transcript.
- The scroll position is checked to see whether the reader is already at the bottom.
- If they are, the view scrolls down to keep the latest message in sight.
- If they are reading history, the scroll position is held.
- A new-message pill offers a way back to the bottom without yanking the viewport.
Seen in
Messaging apps
Reading old messages isn't interrupted when new ones arrive.
Live chat
Support threads stay put while you review earlier context.
Comment streams
New comments notify without hijacking your scroll.
Log viewers
Tailing logs pauses when you scroll up to inspect a line.