diff --git a/context/code/tui.md b/context/code/tui.md
index e595cdc3..a3589e3e 100644
--- a/context/code/tui.md
+++ b/context/code/tui.md
@@ -434,12 +434,12 @@ first correcting key: one Backspace and the user was fixing text they could no
 longer see the complaint about. The same happened to any refusal that leaves
 the user in a minibuffer.
 
-**The rule: a key that leaves the user in the same text-entry mode, and says
-nothing of its own, puts the stale message back.** `press` remembers the mode
-and the message, clears the message as before, dispatches the key, and then
-restores the message only if all three of these hold:
-- the mode before the key had a minibuffer;
-- the mode after the key is the same mode;
+**The rule: a key that leaves the user in the same editor, and says nothing of
+its own, puts the stale message back.** `press` remembers the editor session and
+the message, clears the message as before, dispatches the key, and then restores
+the message only if all three of these hold:
+- a text-entry mode was open before the key;
+- the same editor session is open after it (below);
 - the key wrote no message of its own.
 
 So:
@@ -462,10 +462,48 @@ So:
   same text would be indistinguishable from a key that wrote none. Clearing
   first and restoring only an empty slot has no such ambiguity.
 
-The mode test is equality of the whole `AppMode`. An edit that stayed in "a"
-minibuffer but a different one does not count as staying. No shipped key does
-that, but it would be leaving one prompt for another, and the message belonged
-to the first.
+### What "the same editor" means (improvise-sx7h)
+
+The first version of this rule compared modes: an equal `AppMode` before and
+after the key meant the same editor. That is false for the two cell editors.
+`Editing` and `RecordsEditing` commit with `CommitAndAdvance`, which drops to
+Normal, writes the cell, moves the cursor and re-opens the editor through
+`EnterEditAtCursor`, which sets an **equal** `AppMode`. So after an `Enter` or
+`Tab` that committed and moved on, the mode looked unchanged, and the stale
+message was restored beside a different cell's editor. It came back again on
+every later commit until `Esc`. The reviewer's repro was `R`, `o`, `5`, `Tab`,
+`7`: "Added new record row" survived the `Tab`, and so did `o`'s refusal
+"That record row is already here…" after the `Tab` that filled the row in.
+`FormulaEdit` could not show it, because its successful commit leaves the mode
+and writes a message of its own.
+
+An editor session is one *opening* of a minibuffer. The TUI loop cannot see
+openings, so `EditorSession` compares what an opening sets:
+- **the whole `AppMode`**, not only its variant: an `ItemAdd` for `Month` is
+  not the `ItemAdd` for `Region` it replaced;
+- **the cursor cell**, which is a cell editor's target, so a commit that
+  advances is a new editor. The prompt modes do not move the cursor while the
+  user types, so for them this is inert;
+- **the editor's seed** (`opened_editor.seed`). `EnterEditAtCursor` re-seeds
+  from the cell. So a commit that re-opens on the **same** cell, such as `Tab`
+  in the last column, is a new editor too, because the seed is now the
+  committed text.
+
+What it cannot see: a commit that re-opens on the same cell with the same seed.
+That means the user committed the text the cell already held, which writes
+nothing. Restoring a message across a commit that changed nothing is harmless.
+
+**Rejected: an editor generation counter.** It would be exact, but an editor is
+opened by more than one effect (`EnterEditAtCursor`, and `ChangeMode` from
+`enter-mode`). A counter bumped in each is a hand-kept list of the places a mode
+is written, which is the shape gotcha 24 retired. The three fields are set by
+the opening itself, so they need no list.
+
+**Not included: the active view.** The cursor is per view, so in principle the
+view belongs with the cell. But no key a minibuffer binds can switch the view
+and stay in the minibuffer: a `:` line that switches view settles back to
+Normal. So nothing could test the field, and an untestable field is a claim no
+test can check.
 
 **The browser is not covered by this.** There, `status_msg` is a toast that
 hides after `TOAST_MS` (six seconds), and the minibuffer element draws only the
diff --git a/context/test-evidence/tui.md b/context/test-evidence/tui.md
index b8b5b422..016a651c 100644
--- a/context/test-evidence/tui.md
+++ b/context/test-evidence/tui.md
@@ -969,3 +969,37 @@ Rivals, each injected into `press` and restored:
 - **Restore whatever the mode after the key** fails step 4, because the error
   outlives `Esc`. It does not fail step 3, because a successful commit writes
   its own message. That is why step 4 exists.
+
+### a_message_does_not_follow_the_editor_onto_the_next_cell
+
+improvise-sx7h, a regression #257 introduced against #233. Equal modes stood for
+"the same editor", but `Editing`/`RecordsEditing` commit by re-opening an equal
+mode on the next cell. The test drives `press` through four scenarios:
+1. **Records.** `R`, then `o` ("Added new record row", in `RecordsEditing`),
+   then `5`. The message stands while typing in the same editor. Then `Tab`: the
+   editor re-opens on the next cell, and the message must be gone.
+2. **Records.** `R`, `o`, `Esc`, then `o` again, which is refused with "That
+   record row is already here…". Then `5`, with the refusal still drawn. Then
+   `Tab`, which fills the row in, and the refusal must be gone.
+3. **A plain grid.** `i` on `(0, 0)`, with a note set while editing. Then `7`,
+   with the note kept. Then `Enter`: the editor re-opens a row down, and the
+   note must be gone.
+4. **The last column.** `i`, a note, `7`, `Tab`. The cursor cannot advance, so
+   the editor re-opens on the **same** cell, and the note must be gone.
+
+Scenarios 1 and 2 are the reviewer's repro.
+
+Rivals, each injected into `EditorSession::of` and restored:
+- **mode only**, which is #257's rule as pushed at 2b1c5bf7, fails at
+  scenario 1;
+- **no cursor cell** fails at scenario 1, because the new record's cells both
+  seed `""`, so the seed alone cannot tell them apart;
+- **no seed** fails at scenario 4, the only place the cell does not change.
+
+### an_editor_on_another_category_is_another_editor
+
+improvise-sx7h's pinning test, asked for by the review. The mode is compared
+whole, not by variant. Two `ItemAdd` sessions for different categories must be
+different editors, and the same category must be the same. No key reaches that
+transition, so it is asserted on `EditorSession::of` directly. The rival that
+compares `std::mem::discriminant` fails it, and passes every other test.
diff --git a/src/draw.rs b/src/draw.rs
index 05409e93..05708b4a 100644
--- a/src/draw.rs
+++ b/src/draw.rs
@@ -100,19 +100,43 @@ pub fn run_tui(
 }
 
 /// One keypress in the TUI. A message lasts until the next key (improvise-cq3d),
-/// except while a minibuffer stays open under it (su4u). `context/code/tui.md`.
+/// except while one editor stays open under it (su4u, sx7h). `context/code/tui.md`.
 fn press(app: &mut App, key: key::KeyEvent) -> Result<()> {
-    let mode = app.view_state.mode.clone();
+    let before = EditorSession::of(app);
     let stale = app.view_state.status_msg.clone();
     app.apply_effects(vec![Box::new(crate::ui::effect::SetStatus(String::new()))]);
     app.handle_key(key)?;
-    let still_editing = mode.minibuffer().is_some() && app.view_state.mode == mode;
+    let still_editing = before.is_some() && before == EditorSession::of(app);
     if still_editing && app.view_state.status_msg.is_empty() && !stale.is_empty() {
         app.apply_effects(vec![Box::new(crate::ui::effect::SetStatus(stale))]);
     }
     Ok(())
 }
 
+/// What one opening of a minibuffer sets, which is all the TUI loop can see of
+/// it: equal before and after a key means the same editor (improvise-sx7h).
+#[derive(Debug, PartialEq)]
+struct EditorSession {
+    mode: AppMode,
+    cell: (usize, usize),
+    seed: Option<String>,
+}
+
+impl EditorSession {
+    fn of(app: &App) -> Option<Self> {
+        app.view_state.mode.minibuffer()?;
+        Some(Self {
+            mode: app.view_state.mode.clone(),
+            cell: app.cursor().selected,
+            seed: app
+                .view_state
+                .opened_editor
+                .as_ref()
+                .map(|o| o.seed.clone()),
+        })
+    }
+}
+
 // ── Key event conversion (TUI boundary) ──────────────────────────────────────
 
 // The only place crossterm's key types and `command::key` may both appear.
@@ -580,7 +604,7 @@ fn draw_welcome(f: &mut Frame, area: Rect) {
 
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod bottom_bar_tests {
-    use super::{draw_bottom_bar, minibuffer_line, press};
+    use super::{EditorSession, draw_bottom_bar, minibuffer_line, press};
     use crate::command::key::{KeyCode, KeyEvent, KeyModifiers};
     use crate::ui::app::{App, AppMode};
     use crate::workbook::Workbook;
@@ -698,6 +722,133 @@ mod bottom_bar_tests {
         );
     }
 
+    /// Region{North, South}, two measures, one cell: the reviewer's records fixture
+    /// for improvise-sx7h, plus a second row for the plain grid's Enter.
+    fn one_record() -> App {
+        use crate::model::cell::{CellKey, CellValue};
+        let mut wb = Workbook::new("T");
+        wb.add_category("Region").unwrap();
+        wb.add_item("Region", "North").unwrap();
+        wb.add_item("Region", "South").unwrap();
+        wb.add_item("_Measure", "Cost").unwrap();
+        wb.add_item("_Measure", "Revenue").unwrap();
+        wb.model.set_cell(
+            CellKey::new(vec![
+                ("Region".into(), "North".into()),
+                ("_Measure".into(), "Revenue".into()),
+            ]),
+            CellValue::Number(1.0),
+        );
+        App::new(wb, None)
+    }
+
+    /// A commit that re-opens the editor on another cell starts another editor, so
+    /// a message from the last one must not follow it (improvise-sx7h). Evidence file.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_message_does_not_follow_the_editor_onto_the_next_cell() {
+        let key = |code| KeyEvent::new(code, KeyModifiers::NONE);
+        let ch = |app: &mut App, c: char| press(app, key(KeyCode::Char(c))).unwrap();
+
+        // Records: `o` says it added a row and opens an editor on it.
+        let mut app = one_record();
+        ch(&mut app, 'R');
+        ch(&mut app, 'o');
+        let added = app.view_state.status_msg.clone();
+        assert!(!added.is_empty(), "o must say what it did");
+        assert!(matches!(
+            app.view_state.mode,
+            AppMode::RecordsEditing { .. }
+        ));
+        ch(&mut app, '5');
+        assert!(
+            bottom_row(&app, 240).contains(&added),
+            "typing in the same editor keeps the message"
+        );
+        let cell = app.cursor().selected;
+        press(&mut app, key(KeyCode::Tab)).unwrap();
+        assert!(matches!(
+            app.view_state.mode,
+            AppMode::RecordsEditing { .. }
+        ));
+        assert_ne!(app.cursor().selected, cell, "Tab moved the editor");
+        let row = bottom_row(&app, 240);
+        assert!(
+            !row.contains(&added),
+            "the message followed the editor to the next cell: {row:?}"
+        );
+
+        // Records: a second `o` on the blank row is refused, and filling it in ends it.
+        let mut app = one_record();
+        ch(&mut app, 'R');
+        ch(&mut app, 'o');
+        press(&mut app, key(KeyCode::Esc)).unwrap();
+        ch(&mut app, 'o');
+        let refusal = app.view_state.status_msg.clone();
+        assert!(refusal.contains("already here"), "{refusal:?}");
+        ch(&mut app, '5');
+        assert!(bottom_row(&app, 240).contains("already here"));
+        press(&mut app, key(KeyCode::Tab)).unwrap();
+        let row = bottom_row(&app, 240);
+        assert!(
+            !row.contains("already here"),
+            "the refusal outlived the Tab that answered it: {row:?}"
+        );
+
+        // A plain grid: Enter commits and re-opens the editor one row down.
+        let mut app = one_record();
+        app.cursor_mut().selected = (0, 0);
+        ch(&mut app, 'i');
+        assert!(matches!(app.view_state.mode, AppMode::Editing { .. }));
+        app.view_state.status_msg = "a note about this cell".into();
+        ch(&mut app, '7');
+        assert!(bottom_row(&app, 240).contains("a note about this cell"));
+        let cell = app.cursor().selected;
+        press(&mut app, key(KeyCode::Enter)).unwrap();
+        assert!(matches!(app.view_state.mode, AppMode::Editing { .. }));
+        assert_ne!(app.cursor().selected, cell, "Enter moved the editor");
+        let row = bottom_row(&app, 240);
+        assert!(
+            !row.contains("a note about this cell"),
+            "the note followed the editor down a row: {row:?}"
+        );
+
+        // The last column: Tab commits and re-opens the editor on the SAME cell, so
+        // only the new seed says it is another editor.
+        let mut app = one_record();
+        let last = app.layout.col_count() - 1;
+        app.cursor_mut().selected = (0, last);
+        ch(&mut app, 'i');
+        app.view_state.status_msg = "a note about this cell".into();
+        ch(&mut app, '7');
+        press(&mut app, key(KeyCode::Tab)).unwrap();
+        assert!(matches!(app.view_state.mode, AppMode::Editing { .. }));
+        assert_eq!(app.cursor().selected, (0, last), "Tab could not advance");
+        let row = bottom_row(&app, 240);
+        assert!(
+            !row.contains("a note about this cell"),
+            "the note outlived the commit on the same cell: {row:?}"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Equal modes are the test, not equal variants: an editor adding to another
+    /// category is another editor (improvise-sx7h). Evidence file.
+    #[test]
+    fn an_editor_on_another_category_is_another_editor() {
+        let mut app = App::new(Workbook::new("T"), None);
+        let item_add = |category: &str| AppMode::item_add(category.into());
+        app.view_state.mode = item_add("Region");
+        let region = EditorSession::of(&app);
+        assert!(region.is_some(), "ItemAdd is a text-entry mode");
+        app.view_state.mode = item_add("Month");
+        assert_ne!(region, EditorSession::of(&app));
+        app.view_state.mode = item_add("Region");
+        assert_eq!(
+            region,
+            EditorSession::of(&app),
+            "and the same one is the same"
+        );
+    }
+
     /// The wizard overlay draws correct per-step hints; the status bar stacked a
     /// second static table under it (improvise-rr8n) — `context/test-evidence/tui.md`.
     #[test]