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The source editor has a "Go to Declaration" menuitem, which can move your current location within the source file. That's great. Similarly, some types support their own Goto operation (for example EJBs with an EJB Module have a "Go To Referenced EJB" action); hopefully there will be many more such navigation aids added to Netbeans in the future. But these navigation features all suffer from a common problem: Once the user gets to the new location, they often want to then come back to where they were, but there is no "Back" functionality in Netbeans. Such functionality, if it existed, would function very much like the Back (and Forward) buttons in a web browser (browser tracks you as you navigate). One possible way to implement this in Netbeans, would be to require that any Netbeans action that moves the user to a new location (another example would be clicking on a different tab in the source editor window) would need to first register the current location with TopManager (or whoever); topmanager could then maintain an ordered list of locations, and it would consult that list when the user presses the Back (or Forward) button. The "Back" functionality would be particularly useful for navigation within the Source Editor window.
There is possibility to go back via so called jump list, which is driven via Alt-K, Alt-L shortcuts.
Alt-Shift-k and Alt-Shift-l appear to provide the functionality I was asking for (moving between edit sessions in multiple files is main need). But this is important functionality, and it seems too hidden to only provide it via an Alt-Shift key. Also, it seems unnatural to do most navigation with the mouse, but this has to be done by typing an Alt-Shift. Recomment: add a Previous and Next button to the button bar (just like in web browser) and map those buttons to this functionality.
After trying it today, I see that Alt-Shift-K and L do not give you the right behavior to move back and forth between multiple source files being edited. Reason: they want to position you at the place where you last *changed* code in each file -- but that's not good. They should position you back to where you were when you were last working in that file (even if you didn't change code at that line). For example, I'm editing source code files S1 and S2. I make a change to line 10 in S1 and then I scroll through that file down to line 100, and then I click on S2 and do some work in that file. Now I hit Alt-Shift-K, and that positions me back in S1, but it puts me on line 10, rather than line 100; I want it to put me back at my last position in that file, which is line 100, not to where I last changed code. Please tell me if I should enter a separate issuezilla enhancement request about this quick in the Alt-Shift-K/L behavior.
see also issue 25990, which has to do with difficulty moving between tabs in the source editor when many files are opened.
Also see tangentially related issue 16799 which deals with navigation in general (although GoBack would be great too!).
Changing subcomponent to navigation.
*** Issue 5550 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
*** Issue 54234 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Gabo is not responisble for this issue any more. Rudo please take a look at it. Thanks
I have found that [alt] + arrow left or arrow right does exactly what I need However, I would much prefer it if we had the option to add buttons to represent this behaviour in a browser like backwards and forwards way. The functionality is there, we just want the menu buttons so we can do it via mouse
There are buttons in the editor toolbar for exactly this.