Forcing the cursor to remain in the same column (GNU Emacs FAQ)

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5.32 How do I make Emacs behave like this: when I go up or down, the cursor should stay in the same column even if the line is too short?

Use M-x picture-mode.

See also the variable track-eol and the command set-goal-column bound to C-x C-n (see Moving Point in The GNU Emacs Manual).