emacs split window doesn't avoid other pane content

Question

I'll get terminology wrong here, so be gentle with that (only).

cd ~/src/
./emacs *
C-x 2

So I've got two windows here, one above the other, and a bunch of files in my buffer list (more than 2). When I C-x k to kill the buffer that I'm in, of course its window then shows another buffer from my open list.

From 1997 to 2014, or so, Emacs has worked hard to avoid the buffer I also have open in another pane (which is usually awesome). Recently though, when I use C-x k Emacs just loads whatever the next-most-recently-used buffer was into the selected window .. and that's usually the buffer I already have open in the other pane. So then it looks like:

--top-bordery-border--
file #1 stuff
-UUU:%--F1- [mode] ---
file #1 stuff
-UUU:%--F1- [mode] ---

... which can be called Silly, most times.

Has anyone who can understand my bad description, who's seen that behaviour, know how to get the older behaviour back?

Answer 1

I had the same issue with the newer Emacsen. I finally found a solution that seems to work. There is a configuration setting called switch-to-visible-buffer which default to t. Set it to nil via M-x customize-variable or with a (set switch-visible-buffer nil) in your $HOME/.emacs file.

Here's the help for switch-to-visible-buffer:

switch-to-visible-buffer is a variable defined in ‘window.el’.
Its value is nil
Original value was t

Documentation:
If non-nil, allow switching to an already visible buffer.
If this variable is non-nil, ‘switch-to-prev-buffer’ and
‘switch-to-next-buffer’ may switch to an already visible buffer.
If this variable is nil, ‘switch-to-prev-buffer’ and
‘switch-to-next-buffer’ always try to avoid switching to a buffer
that is already visible in another window on the same frame.

You can customize this variable.

This variable was introduced, or its default value was changed, in
version 24.1 of Emacs.