When asking/answering a question on SE sites; Is there a way to fix the page in place so that you only see the displayed output as you type?

Question

I am a touch typist and would like to know if there exists a way to type a question\answer with all the necessary formatting without the page automatically scrolling back up to where you input the code?

For example I mostly use Mathematics SE and would like to just see the rendered output and not the textbox for which I am entering the MathJax code.

There must be a way to dis-engage this annoying auto-scroll feature so that I can only see the rendered output as I type.

This is the simplest way I can think to word this question; if it is unclear to anyone what I'm asking then please let me know and I will elaborate.

Answer 1

This doesn't have anything to do with Stack Exchange pages, it's a browser thing and mostly a very good thing.

You can see that the page isn't doing it by:

1. Disable all javascript on your browser.
2. (Re)load an appropriate Stack Exchange page (or any long page with a <textarea>).
3. Focus the textarea for keyboard input but use the mouse to scroll it out of view.
4. Start typing.
5. The browser will then scroll the textarea into view. (Not verified on IE.)
6. The page can't be doing it, since all javascript is shut off.

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Possible workaround:
You can write a userscript or browser extension that applies position: fixed; to the WMD textarea and shrinks it to a smaller fixed box on the screen.

That way, when you type, it will not change the scroll-position of the rest of the page/screen.

With a little extra work, the script could also check for inserted/changed "preview" elements, and attempt to keep them sensibly scrolled in view.

Answer 2

Here is another solution that has been brought to my attention recently: Use Stackedit and this allows you to see the rendered output and the text input simultaneously. Furthermore, you can minimize the text input box to such an extent that it barely is visible at all.