Summary
The current Windows ChatGPT Desktop app no longer preserves the exact scroll position of each conversation.
When I switch from a long conversation to another conversation and later return, the original conversation opens at the top instead of restoring the viewport where I stopped reading.
Environment
- Windows 25H2
- OS build 26200.9168
- ChatGPT Desktop package: OpenAI.Codex 26.814.5167.0
- Feedback ID:
01a015a7-d0c8-7ba1-8507-a922a518d095
Steps to reproduce
- Open a long conversation.
- Scroll partway through it.
- Switch to another conversation.
- Return to the original conversation.
Expected behaviour
The original conversation should reopen at the exact viewport and scroll position where the user left it.
Actual behaviour
The conversation opens at the top. The user must manually search for the previous reading position every time they return.
Why this appears to be a regression
The official ChatGPT and Codex changelog for Codex app 26.406, released April 9, 2026, lists this bug fix:
“Preserved thread scroll position per conversation and unread state across windows.”
Official source: the official ChatGPT and Codex changelog, Codex app 26.406, released April 9, 2026.
Because this behaviour was explicitly implemented in version 26.406 but is not working in version 26.814.5167.0, the current behaviour appears to be a regression.
The changelog specifically refers to Codex threads. In my experience, the position loss also affects conversation switching more broadly within the unified ChatGPT Desktop app, including long-running ChatGPT, Project, and Codex conversations.
Concrete workflow example
I asked ChatGPT to generate a list containing 257 items.
While reading it, I reached item #123:
“Calculate the mathematically optimal time to replace versus repair your car, computer, phone, appliances, or other expensive possessions.”
I opened another conversation to explore that item. When I returned to the original list, the app placed me at the top instead of item #123. I had to scroll approximately four pages to recover my position.
I later repeated the workflow with another item and had to scroll approximately six pages after returning.
The repeated workflow is:
Read → find something interesting → open another conversation → investigate it → return → lose position → scroll back → continue reading → repeat.
Impact
I use ChatGPT for approximately 16 hours per day. My conversations frequently contain long research discussions, 100–200+ item lists, detailed analyses, and plans with 15–20+ steps.
I estimate that repeatedly recovering lost positions costs me approximately one to two hours per day.
This is not merely a visual preference. It is a workflow-continuity problem for users who treat ChatGPT as a primary working environment.
Requested bug fix
Please restore reliable per-conversation viewport and scroll-position preservation in the current Windows Desktop app.
Can anyone else reproduce this regression in a recent Windows or macOS Desktop build? If so, please share the operating system and exact app version.
Optional settings improvement
After restoring the intended behaviour, please consider adding a global conversation-opening setting with these choices:
- Open where I left off
- Open at the top
- Open at the bottom
- Open at the start of the latest answer
“Open where I left off” should be the default.
An individual conversation should be able to override the global setting. An optional Project-level override could later use this hierarchy:
Global default → Project override → Individual conversation override
