Enterprise Guide option to auto-scroll to bottom of log instead of top after code finishes running

[JRoman]

It would be convenient to have an option in EG to have the log automatically scrolled to the bottom instead of the top after a program finishes running.

I'm usually most interested in seeing the bottom of the log rather than the top (e.g., to see the record count in the last table created, or the error message if an ABORT CANCEL was hit, etc.).

Following are screenshots showing the default behavior and the desired behavior.

The default behavior

The desired behavior

(Note:  This was originally posted as a question on the community forum at https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Enterprise-Guide/Auto-scroll-to-bottom-of-log-in-SAS-Enterprise-G...)

Thanks,

Jake

[Kurt_Bremser]

Supported, but always keep in mind that the last ERROR or WARNING message in a log is the least important. Debugging has to start with the first problem, as that usually fixes most (if not all) other problems.

[BillSawyer]

Hi JRoman,

Ctrl+End gets you there easily enough, and Ctrl+Home gets you back.

For this reason, and others, I don't see R&D adding a new option for this case.

Regards,

Bill

[JRoman]

Hi @BillSawyer,

Thanks for taking a look.

I agree Ctrl+End does work, but only when the Log pane has the focus.  When stepping through code for testing/debugging, I'm usually selecting pieces of code in the Program Editor, hitting F3 to run them, and then actively watching the results spool into the log.  In that scenario, the Program Editor still has the focus after the code finishes running, so pressing Ctrl+End just goes to the end of the Program Editor rather than the Log.  The necessary sequence of keystrokes ends up being F6 -> Ctrl+End -> Shift+F6.  (I added an AutoHotkey script here to make Ctrl+Q a hotkey for that sequence of keystrokes.)

For some more background on the reason for this request:

While the code is still running, the log does auto-scroll downward as new text is written to the log.  It is only after the final piece of code has finished running that the log automatically jumps back up to the top.  So the user can watch the intermediate steps as they are written to the log, but then there is only a split second to see the result of the final step before the log is auto-scrolled back to the top.  Since the log was getting auto-scrolled downward while the code was running, it would be nice to have the option to just leave it there at the bottom after the final step has finished.

However, I fully acknowledge that this is a very minor "quality-of-life" feature request...

Thanks,

Jake

[BillSawyer]

@JRoman ,

For the case you describe, you might find it useful to use:

Tools > Options > Results > Results General > "Default tab to display"  set to "Log"   (EG 8.x).

This way the Log is the active window after running your code.

In either case, I like seeing options added that help enhance the productivity of already very productive power users and programmers.

Bill

[PhilC]

Instead of an option perhaps a "(End of log)" link in the Error pane in the description column of the list of error warnings and notes?  Placed in order under all of the entries if they exist or not