designcraft/ROADMAP.md

DesignCraft roadmap

DesignCraft aims at full Adobe InDesign parity — and to be better: faster, open (documented JSON format + IDML), scriptable by agents (MCP), and available on the web.

Status (2026-10-01)

Working today

• Document model: facing/non-facing spreads, parent pages with page-number markers, sections, layers, frames (text / graphic / unassigned), threaded stories, paragraph/character/object styles with based-on, swatches (process/spot/tints/gradients), corner options, text wrap, drop shadow, opacity/blend.
• Text engine: Knuth–Plass paragraph composer and single-line composer, dictionary hyphenation (public-domain Moby list + our own trained Liang patterns), justification with word/letter/glyph-scaling ranges, keep options (keep with next, keep lines together, widows/orphans), balance ragged lines, optical margin alignment, hyphenation zone/limit, columns, threading across frames and spreads, tabs, bullets/numbering, rules, shading, baseline grid, first-baseline options, vertical justification, wrap exclusions, overset detection, caret/hit testing.
• Rendering: vello_cpu (SIMD, multithreaded) — pages, items, images with mip levels, gradients, composed text.
• UI (egui): application bar + menus, Control panel (object and text modes), Tools panel with flyouts, document tabs, rulers, pasteboard, guides (margins, columns, bleed, baseline grid), frame edges, selection handles, text ports and threads, Properties / Pages / Layers dock, Swatches, Styles, Character, Paragraph, Stroke, Text Wrap panels, New Document and Preferences dialogs, Quick Apply (⌘Return), 4 brightness themes.
• Pen tool, Direct Selection anchor/handle editing, rotate from corners, Rotate/Scale/Shear tools, Eyedropper, snapping & smart guides, Align/Distribute, Find/Change (text + GREP), Story Editor, Paragraph Style Options, Effects panel, hidden characters, native macOS menu bar, measured InDesign 2026 look (Medium Dark): Properties sections per selection state, 21 pt spinner fields with arithmetic, Contextual Task Bar, inverse (black) text selection, Pages panel with drag-and-drop reorder / parent apply, Layers panel with per-object rows.
• Tools: Selection (click, marquee, move, Alt-duplicate, resize handles), Direct Selection, Type (draw frame, click caret, select, type), Rectangle/Ellipse/Polygon (+ frame variants), Line, Hand, Zoom.
• PDF export (krilla): real selectable text with embedded font subsets, DeviceCMYK/RGB + spot Separations, bleed boxes, crop/bleed marks + page info, pages or spreads, PDF/A-2b (PDF/X-4 output intent pending) — file.exportPdf, File › Export PDF…, designcraft-cli run --export out.pdf.
• IDML interchange (designcraft-idml): export and import of swatches, styles, fonts, preferences, parent spreads, spreads/pages, frames, groups, images (embedded or linked), formatted threaded stories — opens in InDesign 2026 and round-trips InDesign-exported files (file.exportIdml, file.openIdml, File → Export IDML…, CLI --in x.idml / --export x.idml).
• Tables (M8): tables anchored in stories (header/footer/body rows, merged cells, per-edge strokes, fills + alternating fills, insets, vertical justification, at-least/exact row heights); composed into the text column (columns scale to fit, rows break across columns/frames with repeating headers/footers, overset); rendered, exported to PDF (real text) and IDML (export + import); Table menu, Table panel, Create Table dialog, caret/typing/Tab navigation and cell selection in cells; table.* commands.
• Hyperlinks (text or frames → URL / e-mail / page) and bookmarks, exported as PDF link annotations and outline.
• EPUB 3 (reflowable) export: stories in reading order, CSS from paragraph/character styles, images, navigation (file.exportEpub, CLI --export x.epub).
• Data Merge (CSV or JSON rows, <<Field>> placeholders), spell checking (public-domain Moby list + document dictionary, suggestions), Step and Repeat (count or grid), snippets, object styles, Numbering & Section Options.
• Footnotes: Type › Insert Footnote (caret moves into the note), Document Footnote Options (numbering style incl. symbols, start/restart per page/spread/section, prefix/suffix, reference position/character style, paragraph style, separator, spacing, first baseline, rule above); notes composed at the bottom of the referencing column with the body text making room; edited in place on the canvas; rendered, exported to PDF (real text) and IDML (InDesign's structure, verified opening in InDesign 2026) and imported from IDML; footnote.* commands.
• Cross-references and text anchors: Insert Cross-Reference (paragraph by style, or text anchor), 11 formats with InDesign's building blocks (full/partial paragraph, paragraph text/number, page number, anchor name, chapter, file name) plus user formats; resolved live at composition — never out of date, no Update step; unresolved destinations show ??; PDF link annotations to the destination page; IDML export/import as InDesign cross-reference sources, hyperlinks, text destinations and formats (verified in InDesign 2026); xref.* / anchor.* commands.
• Index: page references (topic from the selection or up to 4 levels, sort keys; current page, to end of story, next n paragraphs, suppressed, See / See also), Generate / Update Index (section headings, nested or run-in, page ranges merged, Index Title / Section Head / Level 1–4 styles); IDML export/import as InDesign topics, page references and topic cross-references (verified in InDesign 2026); index.* commands.
• Text clipboard keeps formatting (character/paragraph formats, footnotes, cross-references, index markers, tables) and falls back to plain text when the system clipboard changed; Paste without Formatting (⇧⌘V); Change Case (UPPERCASE, lowercase, Title Case, Sentence case — formatting kept); Type › Insert Special Character / White Space / Break Character submenus.
• Anchored objects: items flow in the text inline (on the baseline, with Y offset; lines grow to fit) or above the line (left/center/right, space before/after); paste copied items into text to anchor them; Anchored Object Options and Release (back onto the page where shown); rendered, exported to PDF and to/from IDML (InDesign anchored object settings; verified in InDesign 2026); copy/paste and threading carry them; anchored.* commands.
• Ruler guides: drag out of the rulers (page guides, or spread guides on the pasteboard), drag to move, drop on a ruler to delete; Layout › Create Guides (rows/columns with gutters, fit to margins or page); Delete All Guides on Spread; guide.* commands.
• Links panel: every placed graphic with status (OK / Modified / Missing / Embedded, checked against the file on disk), page and effective PPI (low resolution flagged); Relink…, Go To, Update, Embed; links.* commands.
• Missing fonts: highlighted pink on screen (never in output), listed by Preflight; Type › Find/Replace Font (fonts in the document, missing first; replace in text, cells, footnotes and styles); font.list / font.replace.
• Damage-region repaint: after an edit the canvas re-renders only the frames whose composed text (or the items that) changed and patches its texture — pixel-identical to a full render; typing in a frame repaints in under a millisecond instead of a full-viewport render (22 ms measured on the sample).
• Crash recovery: unsaved documents are written to the recovery folder every 30 s and reopened (unsaved, remembering their files) after a crash; File › Revert and Save a Copy…; file.recovery.*, file.revert, file.saveACopy.
• Edit › Paste Into (copied objects become a frame's content, clipped by it; rendered, PDF and IDML both ways — verified in InDesign 2026); Polygon Settings (sides, star inset; double-click the Polygon tool).
• Color panel (fill/stroke proxy, CMYK/RGB/Lab sliders with channel ramps, tint slider for swatches, spectrum ramp, Add to Swatches) and Color Picker (double-click the proxy); mixed colours are unnamed (not listed in Swatches until added); object.color, swatch.addToSwatches, swatch.addUnnamed.
• Place text files: Word (.docx: styles by name with their attributes, bold/italic/underline/size/font, footnotes, tables, tabs, breaks), RTF and plain text, into the insertion point, the selected frame or a new frame; autoflow adds pages and threaded frames until the text fits; Remove Styles option (designcraft-textimport).
• Gradient Feather (⇧G tool, object.gradientFeather): objects fade along a linear or radial opacity gradient, on screen and as a soft mask in PDF.
• Script Label (object.label, object.findByLabel), alt text (object.altText), Isolate Blending / Knockout Group (object.transparencyGroup; on screen, PDF isolates), Table ▸ Sort (table.sortRows, numeric-aware, header/footer fixed).
• File ▸ Export Text (file.exportText): a story as Text Only or RTF (fonts, styles, alignment, indents, tables as tab-separated rows); Export EPUB now asks for a path in the UI.
• Tagged PDF (file.exportPdf {tagged}, on by default from the UI): structure tree with stories as paragraphs in reading order, figures carrying their alt text, parent-page items and printer's marks as artifacts.
• Global Light (object.globalLight, globalLight on drop/inner shadows; Use Global Light in the Effects panel) and Generate Static Caption (object.caption: template over name, path, alt text, label, effective ppi, dimensions, format; any side, offset, style).
• Control panel scale X/Y, rotation and shear fields (transform.info, absolute transform.set {scaleX, scaleY, rotation, shear} about the reference point) and Preferences › Transformations are Totals for nested objects and placed graphics.
• Variable fonts: each named instance is a style (Font menu, shaping with feature variations, metrics, outlines) and embeds at its axis settings in PDF; free axis sliders still to come.
• Object ▸ Select (first/next above, next/last below, container, content, previous/next in group), full Object ▸ Convert Shape (object.convertShape), Table ▸ Split Cell Horizontally/Vertically.
• Attributes panel (object.attributes: Overprint Fill/Stroke/Gap, Nonprinting), with Overprint Gap in Overprint Preview and IDML.
• Page Numbering View (Preferences: section or absolute): page labels everywhere follow it; Go to Page takes section names, numbers or +n.
• Preferences › Advanced Type (document advancedType: superscript/subscript size and position; IDML TextPreference); subscripts now drop 33.3% like InDesign.
• Preferences › Composition › Highlight: keep violations, H&J violations (three shades), custom tracking/kerning, substituted fonts.
• File ▸ Export HTML (file.exportHtml): one self-contained page in reading order, styles as CSS, images inline, alt text from Object Export Options (also in EPUB).
• Swatches panel colour groups (swatch.newColorGroup, moveToGroup, ungroupColorGroup, renameColorGroup; folders and a row context menu; IDML ColorGroup).
• Object ▸ Generate QR Code (object.qrCode: web link, text, SMS, email, business card; vector modules as a compound path, into a frame or re-encoded in place).
• Conditional text (condition.new/options/delete/apply/list, Conditional Text panel): hidden conditions drop their text from layout and exports, indicators underline on screen, IDML Condition/AppliedConditions.
• Endnotes (endnote.insert/edit/delete/list/options, Type ▸ Insert Endnote): references number through the document, the endnote frame on a new last page lists them under a heading; IDML keeps the listed text only.
• Editorial notes (note.new/edit/delete/convertToText/list, Notes panel): anchored in text, flagged on screen, never printed or exported.
• File ▸ Print Booklet (file.printBooklet): saddle-stitch or 2-up consecutive printer spreads as PDF, padded with blanks, with a gap between pages.
• Edit ▸ Transparency Blend Space (edit.transparencyBlendSpace; RGB for web/mobile documents; IDML TransparencyPreference) — exported PDFs give pages with transparency a DeviceCMYK or DeviceRGB page group, so viewers and RIPs blend in that space. On screen, spreads with transparency in a CMYK blend space are shown through the working CMYK profile (their colours keep to its gamut, as when composited in CMYK).
• High Contrast interface theme (fifth Interface Color Theme: black chrome, white text, yellow selection).
• Place Excel workbooks (.xlsx): the first worksheet's used range becomes a table (shared/inline strings, numbers, booleans).
• Object Library (library.new/open/add/place/remove/list/json/close, Library panel): .dclib files of snippets that keep stories, styles, swatches and images.
• Ink Manager (ink.list, ink.options; Swatches panel menu): All Spots to Process, per-ink conversion and ink aliases in PDF output; IDML ConvertToProcess/AliasInkName.
• Appearance of Black complete: Printing/Exporting rich black for RGB output (PNG), Overprint [Black] Swatch at 100% (document, IDML OverprintBlack).
• Hyperlinks and Bookmarks panels (Window ▸ Interactive): new from the selection, edit (hyperlink.edit), go to source (hyperlink.goToSource), rename bookmarks (bookmark.rename), go to page, delete.
• Nested line styles (nestedLineStyles paragraph attribute, Paragraph Style Options › Drop Caps and Nested Styles, IDML AllNestedLineStyles): the first lines restyle until the line breaks settle.
• User dictionary hyphenation exceptions (hyphenation.addException/removeException/list, Edit ▸ Spelling ▸ User Dictionary): ex~am~ple breaks only at ~, a plain word never hyphenates.
• Frame Fitting Options (object.fittingOptions, Object ▸ Fitting ▸ Frame Fitting Options…): Auto-Fit refits on resize, fitting, Align From reference point, crop amounts; IDML FrameFittingOption.
• Paragraph borders (per-side weights, colour, tint, offsets) and shading offsets, drawn per column part of split paragraphs (also when overset); Paragraph panel controls; IDML ParagraphBorder*/ParagraphShading*Offset.
• Font menu: search, favourites (stars, Show Favorites Only; favoriteFonts preference) and each family previewed in its own face.
• Application preferences (engine Prefs) now persist across launches (desktop: prefs.json beside ui.json).
• View ▸ Fit Selection in Window (⌥⌘=) and Find/Change ▸ Object (find.objects, find.changeObjects: by fill, stroke, weight, opacity, kind, layer, label).
• Custom workspaces (window.newWorkspace/deleteWorkspace/resetWorkspace; workspace switcher shows the current one): bars and panel arrangement saved by name.
• Word/RTF Import Options (File ▸ Place with Import Options…, place.styles, file.place {styleMap, styleConflicts}): map imported styles onto the document's, use existing / redefine / auto-rename on conflicts, or remove formatting.
• Custom anchored objects (anchored.insert/options {position: custom}): placed relative to the anchor, frame, column, page margins or page edge with reference points and offsets, no space in the text, keep within column; IDML Anchored position.
• Variable font axes: Character panel sliders; any axis values (fontStyle: "Bold {wght:650}") make that instance for layout, screen and PDF.
• Image Import Options › Crop to for placed PDFs (file.place {pdfCrop: crop|trim|bleed|art|media}, Place PDF dialog): the frame shows that page box.
• Stroke styles: striped (thick-thin… and custom bands), wavy and straight-hash strokes now draw on screen and in PDF; named custom stripe/dash/dot styles (strokeStyle.new/delete/list, Stroke panel Type list; IDML Striped/Dashed/DottedStrokeStyle).
• Object ▸ Primary Text Frame (object.primaryTextFrame): any text frame's story can become (or stop being) the primary story Smart Text Reflow follows.
• Place a page of an IDML or DesignCraft document (file.place {layoutPage}): its objects, stories, styles and swatches as one group (INDD files are not readable).
• Articles panel (article.new/add/remove/options/delete/list): reading order and content of EPUB and HTML exports.
• Object ▸ Clipping Path (object.clippingPath {type: alpha|edges, threshold, tolerance}): traces the placed image and makes the outline the frame.
• Gridify: arrow keys while dragging a frame or shape tool add columns/rows (frame.grid), one undo step.
• Gap tool (U, gap.move): drag the space between objects (or an object and the page edge) and both sides resize.
• XML basics (xml.newTag/deleteTag/tag/mapStyle/structure, file.exportXml, file.importXml; Tags panel with structure; View ▸ Show Tagged Frames): tagged frames export in reading order, mapped paragraph styles become elements, imported elements flow into frames with matching tags. Inline text tagging (xml.tagText, an xmlTag character attribute, exported as nested elements) and tag markers (View ▸ Structure ▸ Show Tag Markers) too. DTDs (xml.loadDtd, xml.validate, xml.deleteDtd; Tags panel): loading one adds its elements as tags and names the root; validation checks content models (sequences, choices, ?*+, mixed content, EMPTY/ANY, parameter entities) and required attributes, and lists each problem with its element path.
• Adjust Layout / Layout Adjustment (adjustLayout on Document Setup and Margins and Columns): objects follow each page's margin box to its new size and position.
• Content Collector and Placer tools (B; conveyor.collect/place/list/clear): copies of objects (with stories, styles, images) ride a conveyor between pages and documents; Alt-click keeps them on it.
• Linked stories (Edit ▸ Place and Link, story.placeAndLink/links/updateLink/unlink): child stories copy a parent, show out of date in the Links panel and update.
• Edit ▸ Menus (window.hideMenuItem): hide menu items; menus with hidden items end in Show All Menu Items.
• View ▸ Separations Preview (view.separations): one process plate as ink density, or areas over an ink limit in red (a GCR preview of the rendered view; spot plates and the flattener preview aren't there).
• Separations Preview plates now come from each object's own colour (CMYK as authored; RGB and images through the colour settings, images via a cached 17³ table), so pure black shows only on the black plate.
• Language (Character panel ▸ Language, type.char {language}): text in other languages isn't hyphenated or spell-checked with the English dictionaries, and typographer's quotes follow the language (German „…“, French and Russian «…», Swiss, Spanish, Dutch, Nordic, CJK 「…」). Hyphenation dictionaries for other languages aren't bundled yet.
• Books (book.new/open/add/remove/list/styleSource/paginate/syncStyles/exportPdf, Book panel): .dcbook files, continuous page numbering, style sync from a style source, one merged PDF.
• Track Changes (changes.track/list/acceptAll/rejectAll, Type ▸ Track Changes): typing is marked added (highlighted on screen), deletions are kept but hidden from layout and exports until accepted or rejected. Per-change accept/reject and authors aren't there yet.
• Track Changes: per-change Accept / Reject (changes.accept, changes.reject) and a Track Changes panel listing every change.
• Move table rows and columns (table.moveRow, table.moveColumn, Table panel buttons; with whole rows or columns selected, drag them with the Type tool — table.dropCells).
• Object States (states.create/show/rename/release/list, Object States panel): multi-state objects show one state on screen and in PDF.
• Buttons (button.set/clear/list, Buttons and Forms panel): go to page / next / previous / first / last / URL as PDF link annotations. Form fields too (form.set/clear/list: text fields, check boxes, combo and list boxes, signature fields; required, multiline, defaults) exported as AcroForm widgets through an incremental update (not in PDF/X).
• Power Zoom (Hand tool: press and hold still for half a second, or Alt-press): zoom out to the spread, aim the red view rectangle, release to zoom back in there.
• Graphic cells (table.placeGraphic, table.textCell, Table › Convert Cell Type, Table panel): images in table cells, fitted or filled, clipped to the cell on screen and in PDF.
• Live Distribute (Space while dragging a selection handle; transform.resize {distribute}): objects keep their size and spread with the bounds.
• Liquid Layout (liquid.pageRule/object, guide.liquid, layout.createAlternate, Liquid Layout panel): scale / re-center / guide-based / object-based page rules applied on page resize and Document Setup; dashed liquid guides; alternate layouts as resized page copies in a named section. Text in an alternate layout stays linked to the original stories (Links panel shows them out of date; story.updateLink).
• Split Window / New Window (window.split, window.newWindow, Window ▸ Arrange): two side-by-side views of the document with their own zoom, scroll and render cache. New Window puts the second view in its own OS window (an egui viewport; a floating window on the web).
• Transparency flattener (file.exportPdf {flatten: high|medium|low|ppi}, Edit ▸ Transparency Flattener Presets): each object involving transparency becomes an opaque image of its area over what's beneath it, so everything else stays vector (spreads with transparent parent items are rasterised whole).
• Video and sound (place .mp4/.mov/.webm/.mp3/.wav…, media.options/get, Media panel): media frames show a poster or placeholder on screen, in print and in PDF, and export as HTML5 <video>/<audio> in EPUB. Interactive PDF export (file.exportPdf {media: true}, File ▸ Export PDF (Interactive)) embeds each file and plays it in a Screen annotation through a rendition action (controls, loop, play on page load). No in-app playback.
• Right-to-left text (World-Ready basics): right-to-left runs are shaped right to left, lines are reordered by the Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm (matched against the reference implementation), Paragraph Direction (type.para {direction}, Paragraph panel, IDML ParagraphDirection, EPUB dir). Digits (digits: Default, Arabic, Hindi, Farsi, Native by language; Character panel for right-to-left text; IDML DigitsType) draw 0–9 in another script. Kashidas (kashidas paragraph attribute, on by default): justified Arabic lines stretch at one join per word (after seen/sad when possible, never inside lam–alef) with a drawn tatweel before word spaces widen. Carets follow the drawing: the caret before a right-to-left glyph sits at its right edge, arrow keys move as drawn (by words in the line's direction), clicks find the nearest drawn caret position and selections highlight the selected glyphs. Binding: Right to Left (Document Setup, layout.documentSetup {binding}, IDML PageBinding) makes page 1 a left page and lays spreads out right to left.
• Interface language (Edit ▸ Interface Language, app.language): German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Arabic menu titles, common menu items and panel names (our own translations). Common dialog, panel and tooltip labels are also localized, with English fallback for untranslated strings. The Type menu's Story Direction, Horizontal/Vertical, Tate-Chu-Yoko, Ruby… and Kenten are translated too. Arabic labels use Unicode bidi run ordering and contextual shaping; welcome and new-document form layouts follow RTL direction independently of document binding. CJK and Arabic glyphs come from craft-fonts when built with CRAFT_FONTS_DIR (all releases): BIZ UDPGothic and Noto Sans CJK SC for the UI (Chinese forms first in the Chinese interface), Noto Sans Arabic, and Mincho for Japanese documents (the web build embeds BIZ UDPGothic only); otherwise from system fonts.
• Page transitions (page.transition/transitions, Page Transitions panel): twelve transition types with speed and direction per spread, written into exported PDFs as /Trans entries through an incremental update.
• PDF/X-4 export (file.exportPdf {standard: "x4"}): an output intent with our own Generic CMYK ICC profile (lut16 tables generated from the parametric press model), GTS_PDFXVersion in Info and XMP, and built-in PDF/X-4 checks reported as warnings. qpdf finds no errors in the result.
• EPS place: placed at its (high-resolution) bounding box and shown, printed and exported through its TIFF preview, or a placeholder when it has none. PostScript itself isn't interpreted.
• Preferences: Dictionary (user dictionary; spelling.setWords/words), Spelling (Dynamic Spelling: red squiggles on the canvas, also Edit ▸ Spelling), Autocorrect (word list, applied as you type), Notes, Track Changes, Story Editor Display and File Handling (recovery interval) sections.
• Colour management exposed: Edit ▸ Color Settings (color.settings: RGB/CMYK working spaces, intent, black-point compensation; color.loadProfile for ICC files; color.convert through the working spaces, with gamut checks) and View ▸ Proof Setup / Proof Colors (press, sRGB, legacy Mac RGB, colour-blindness simulations, simulate paper) on the canvas.
• Keyboard: Tab / Shift+Tab hide and show all panels / all but Tools (window.hidePanels, window.hidePanelsExceptTools); Cmd+F6 / Cmd+Shift+F6 cycle documents; panel fields are reached with Tab and Escape returns to the layout.
• Smart guides and snapping (View ▸ Snap to Guides / Snap to Document Grid / Smart Guides, view.snapPreferences and Preferences ▸ Guides & Pasteboard): moving, drawing, resizing, rotating and pen/anchor drags snap in order to the document and baseline grids, ruler guides, margins and columns, other objects' edges and centres (parent-page items too, by visible stroked bounds), equal spacing, matching dimensions and matching rotation, with guides, gap marks and measurements drawn on the canvas. Shift and Cmd constrain the gesture.
• View ▸ Rotate Spread (view.rotateSpread, layout.rotateSpreadView): the spread in view turns in quarter turns on screen (stored with the document; output is unaffected). The canvas maps each spread through its own transform, so tools, snapping, resize handles, guides, overlays and rendering all follow the turned spread.
• Vertical type (Vertical Type Tool, Type ▸ Story Direction, object.textFrameOptions {vertical}, IDML StoryOrientation): lines run top to bottom and follow each other right to left; CJK characters stay upright and other text turns, on screen and in PDF; CJK line breaking with basic kinsoku (also in horizontal text). Punctuation and brackets take their vertical forms (OpenType vert/vrt2) in vertical frames. Tate-chu-yoko (Type ▸ Tate-Chu-Yoko, type.tateChuYoko, IDML Tatechuyoko) sets a run such as "12" side by side within one em of the line. Ruby (Type ▸ Ruby…, type.ruby, IDML RubyString; group ruby spread 1-2-1 or centred) and kenten emphasis dots (type.kenten, IDML KentenKind) are set over their text — to its right in vertical frames — without changing line breaks. Vertical metrics (vmtx), warichu and ruby options (per-character ruby, positions, overhang) aren't there yet.
• Math expressions (Type ▸ Insert Math Expression…, math.insert, math.svg): a LaTeX subset (fractions, scripts, roots, big operators with limits, Greek, relations and operators with math spacing, \left…\right, \text) typeset by our own engine into SVG, placed inline at the cursor or as a frame; the LaTeX is kept as alt text and can be edited.
• Object Layer Options for placed PDFs (object.pdfLayers, object.layerOptions, Object ▸ Object Layer Options…): the file's optional-content layers listed and shown or hidden per frame on screen; in exported PDFs such graphics go out as 300 ppi images of their visible layers.
• Effects: Inner Glow (edge or centre), Bevel and Emboss (inner bevel lit from the light angle), Satin (object.innerGlow, object.bevel, object.satin); PDF export now keeps soft effects: objects with shadows, glows, feathers, bevels or satin go out as 300 ppi transparent images of their appearance (threaded text frames excepted).
• Directional Feather (object.directionalFeather {widths: [top, left, bottom, right]}): each side fades over its own width.
• View ▸ Flattener Preview (view.flattenerPreview): objects involving transparency highlighted in red; knockout groups export as images (PDF output has no knockout groups).
• Live captions (object.caption {live: true}, Object ▸ Captions ▸ Generate Live Caption): the caption text is re-filled from the source object's metadata after every edit (same undo step).
• Style Export Tagging (style.exportTag, Paragraph Style Options ▸ Export Tagging): paragraph and character styles choose their HTML element and class in EPUB/HTML.
• Tagged Text: export (file.exportText {format: "tagged"}) and place (detected by its header; ASCII, UTF-8 or UTF-16) with paragraph and character styles, font, typeface and size, and <0x…> characters.
• Tagged PDF: one structure element per paragraph (H1–H6 and BlockQuote from Export Tagging, else P) in reading order, frame fills, strokes, rules and tables as artifacts, figures with alt text.
• EPUB: cover image from the first page (file.exportEpub {cover}), and Fixed Layout export (file.exportFixedEpub, File ▸ Export EPUB (Fixed Layout)…): pre-paginated pages as 144 ppi images with their text kept for search and read-aloud.
• Interactive PDF options (file.exportPdf {fullScreen, bookmarksPanel, pageLayout, view, advanceSeconds}, File ▸ Export PDF (Interactive)…): page mode, layout, opening view and page timing in the catalog and pages.
• Object Export Options (object.exportOptions): tagged-PDF artifact, EPUB/HTML rasterize (the object as an image), alignment and page break before, alt text.
• Scripts panel (Window ▸ Utilities ▸ Scripts, script.run): saved command scripts (with $N.path references to earlier results) run as one undo step; edit, add, load and delete them in the panel. Scripts use DesignCraft's command language, not ExtendScript.
• Drag and drop text editing: drag selected text to move it (Alt copies) with its formatting (text.release).
• Image Import Options: place any page of a multi-page PDF (file.place {pdfPage}; the app asks which page), shown on screen and embedded as that page in PDF export.
• Define Lists: named numbered lists that continue across stories in page order (list.define, paragraph listName / startAt), round-tripped through IDML; null in type.para / type.char now removes an override.
• View › Overprint Preview (⌥⇧⌘Y): overprinting fills, strokes and 100% [Black] text mix with what's beneath on screen.
• Type on a Path (⇧T tool, type.onPath): a story along any line, curve or shape on screen and in PDF; Type on a Path Options (start, flip, baseline/ascender/descender/centre) and Delete Type from Path. Round-trips through IDML as TextPath; on-path caret drawing is still to come.
• Preferences › Appearance of Black: 100% K on screen accurately (dark grey) or as rich black (window.richBlack); the printing/export side is still to come.
• Spreads of up to 10 pages: Add to Previous Spread and Allow Spread to Shuffle (Pages panel; layout.pages.toSpread, layout.spreadShuffle); inserted pages go around kept spreads.
• Page tool (⇧P) and layout.pageSize: pages of their own size (or a preset); the spine stays put and objects keep their place on their page.
• File › Print (⌘P): printer, copies, page range, spreads, marks, bleed; printed as PDF through the system spooler (file.print, file.printers, dryRun for agents). Shortcuts now act like choosing the menu item (dialogs open), and UI commands win shortcut ties (⌘N opens New Document).
• Nested styles (through/up to N sentences, words, characters, letters, digits, tabs, breaks, spaces or given characters) and GREP styles (regex → character style), edited in Paragraph Style Options and composed under local formatting; ui.dialog.open for agents. Nested line styles are still to come; nested and GREP styles round-trip through IDML.
• Table and cell styles (round-trip through IDML): cell styles (fill, insets, vertical justification, strokes, paragraph style) and table styles (region cell styles, border, alternating rows, spacing); apply from the Table panel, edits re-apply to every user; style.cell.*, style.table.*.
• Style groups: paragraph and character styles shown in group folders, Move to Group (new, existing, none); style.group renames every use (styles, stories, table cells, footnotes, object styles).
• Scrubby zoom: drag the Zoom tool left or right to zoom continuously around the press point.
• Guides belong to the active layer: hidden with it (or with its Show Guides off) and locked with it.
• Pencil tool (N): freehand strokes simplified to smooth paths (Alt closes); Smooth and Erase tools re-fit or remove the stretch you drag along (path.smooth, path.erase).
• Edit › Keyboard Shortcuts: every command, click and press the new keys, conflicts shown, per-command and global reset; window.setShortcut.
• Primary Text Frame (New Document) and Smart Text Reflow: pages are added while the primary story oversets and empty ones at the end removed, in the same undo step (Preferences › Type).
• Glyphs panel: every character of any font (rendered by our renderer), search by character or U+code, click to insert, recently used.
• UI scaling (Preferences › Interface, 50–200%; window.uiScale); the window title steps aside when the bar is crowded.
• Underline / Strikethrough Options: weight, offset, colour and tint (Character panel; screen, PDF and IDML).
• Relink to Folder and Relink File Extension (links.relinkFolder; missing links found by name).
• File › Package (⌥⇧⌘P): the document relinked to a Links folder, the placed files, an IDML copy, an optional PDF and a report (fonts, links, preflight, instructions); Copy Links To (links.copyTo).
• Load Swatches / Save Swatches for Exchange (.ase: CMYK, RGB, Lab, Gray; spot or process) from the Swatches panel menu; swatch.load / swatch.save.
• Pathfinder (Object › Pathfinder and a Pathfinder panel): Add, Subtract, Intersect, Exclude Overlap, Minus Back; curves stay curves (flo_curves); object.pathfinder.
• Make / Release Compound Path (⌘8; nested paths become holes), Create Outlines (⇧⌘O; one path per text colour), Scissors tool (C) with path.split.
• Transform Again / Individually / Sequence Again (⌥⌘3; a moved copy repeats like Step and Repeat), Clear Transformations; Layers: Merge, Delete Unused, Hide/Lock Others, Show/Unlock All; Break Link to Style (paragraph and character).
• Floating panels: tear a panel off the dock (its float button, or drag its header away) into a movable, resizable window; Dock puts it back; positions persist; window.floatPanel / window.dockPanel.
• Place SVG (vector in PDF export via krilla-svg, resvg on screen, text in the bundled fonts), Photoshop (.psd composite), BMP, and Illustrator files saved with PDF compatibility (.ai). New designcraft-images crate (L2) for sniffing, sizes and decoding. EPS is still missing.
• View › Display Performance: Fast (grey boxes, no effects, ⌥⇧⌘Z), Typical (72 ppi proxies, ⌥⌘Z), High Quality (⌥⌘H, our default — the renderer is fast enough).
• OpenType menu (Character panel): discretionary ligatures, fractions, ordinal, swash, titling, contextual alternates, slashed zero, the four figure styles and stylistic sets 1–20; type.openType; mapped to IDML's OTF attributes.
• Add Anchor Point (=), Delete Anchor Point (-) and Convert Direction Point (⇧C) tools (click toggles smooth/corner, drag pulls out handles), with path.addAnchor, path.deleteAnchor, path.convertAnchor.
• Gradients: the Gradient Swatch tool (G) drags a gradient's start and end across objects (Shift: 45°); the Gradient panel sets type, angle, reverse and edits stops on a ramp (drag, add, drag off to remove, location, colour). Edited gradients are unnamed swatches; object.gradient; the vector round-trips through IDML.
• Document Setup (⌥⌘P): intent, number of pages, start page # (an even start begins with a left page), facing pages, size presets and orientation, bleed and slug per edge; layout.documentSetup {} reports the setup.
• Stroke panel: cap, join, miter limit, alignment, type, Start/End arrowheads (12 kinds, drawn on screen and in PDF; the path is shortened under pointed heads) and gap colour under dashes and dots.
• Preferences (⌘K: General, Type, Units & Increments, Grids, Guides & Pasteboard, Display Performance) backed by prefs.set (application) and document.preferences (units, increments, grids — undoable, saved with the document); scaling applies to content and scales stroke weights (Include Stroke Weight), and X/Y/W/H measure the stroke's outer edge (Dimensions Include Stroke Weight). Quick Apply (⌘Return) finds paragraph, character and object styles as well as commands.
• Parent item overrides: Cmd+Shift-click a parent item on a page (or Override All Parent Page Items, ⌥⇧⌘L) makes an editable local copy that hides the parent's; Remove All Local Overrides and Detach All Objects from Parent in the Pages panel menu.
• Place PDF: placed PDF pages are sized by their crop box, drawn on screen through hayro (with mip levels) and embedded in exported PDFs as vector form XObjects (krilla), <PDF> in IDML.
• Menus expose the engine's features (TOC, numbering & sections, text variables, hyperlinks, cross-references, footnotes, step and repeat, spelling, fitting/content, effects, Data Merge, Preflight, EPUB); any menu command with parameters gets a dialog generated from its parameter documentation.
• Table of contents (generate/update, dot leaders) and text variables (running headers, last page number, chapter number, file name, dates, custom) resolved per page.
• Soft effects: blurred drop shadow, inner shadow, outer glow, basic feather.
• ~200 commands, all reachable through the JSON control channel; headless CLI rendering to PNG.
• MCP server (designcraft-cli mcp [--connect PORT], docs/mcp.md): headless engine or the running app; commands, batch, document/story inspection, page renders as images, window screenshots, pointer/keyboard/dialog input.
• Web build (apps/designcraft-web, trunk): the same UI on WebGPU with a WebGL2 fallback; open/place via the browser file picker or drag-and-drop, save/export as downloads.

Next (in order): books · New Window / split view · Ink Manager and Separations Preview · XML structure, tags and export · buttons and forms · PDF/X-4 output intent (needs krilla support) · EPS place.

How far from full parity (estimate, 2026-10-04)

Breadth: ~99% weighted (P0 core 99%, P1 100%, P2 97%) over the 275 features of the InDesign catalogue, scored row by row in docs/parity.md (cargo xtask parity recomputes it). Many features scored done still lack some of InDesign's options or dialog details, so overall parity including depth is about 83%.

Remaining work: about 170 wall-clock hours of a single Claude Opus 5.5 agent (±30%), or roughly 60–85 hours with four agents in parallel on separate crates:

Work	Estimate
Open P0 (2: PDF/X-4 validation against a certified checker, PostScript interpretation for EPS)	8 h
Open P1 (none partial)	0 h
Open P2 (4 partial: localization breadth, INDD pages (not readable clean-room), in-app media playback, vertical metrics and warichu)	14 h
Depth and pixel fidelity of every dialog, panel and menu against InDesign 2026	90 h
Performance (incremental composition, GPU raster) and interchange hardening (IDML/PDF corpus)	55 h

Basis: since the first estimate this effort landed about 45 arcs (from parent overrides, Preferences, Stroke panel, gradients and Pathfinder to table/cell styles, nested/GREP styles and Print) in roughly 14 hours on a heavily loaded machine — about 1–2 hours per catalogue row.

Agents: CLI and MCP

Every command is reachable from designcraft-cli (run, script with $N.path result references, app for the running window, describe, commands), from MCP (designcraft-cli mcp, tools including execute and batch with the same references), and from the app's JSON control channel. See docs/agents.md.

Milestones

#	Milestone	State
M0	Skeleton + vertical slice	✅
M1	Selection, transform, layers, pages, MCP	in progress
M2	Type I (Type tool, threading, Character/Paragraph, composer)	in progress
M3	Styles (nested/GREP, bullets, keeps, span columns)	started
M4	Color & effects	started
M5	Graphics & links	started
M6	Files & export (native, IDML, PDF, PNG/JPEG)	in progress (IDML ✅, PDF export)
M7	Long documents (sections, TOC, index, footnotes, books)	in progress (sections, TOC, text variables/running heads, hyperlinks, bookmarks, footnotes, cross-references, index)
M8	Tables	✅ core (table/cell styles, rotation, diagonal lines pending)
M9	Performance (MT composition, tiles)	in progress (glyph path cache, culling, parallel compose 6.7× faster, perf harness)
M10	Find/Change, spelling, Preflight	in progress (Find/Change ✅, spelling ✅, Preflight)
M11	Layout power features (liquid/alternate layouts, data merge)	started (data merge, step & repeat, snippets)
M12	Interactive & digital (EPUB, HTML, interactive PDF)	started (EPUB, PDF links/bookmarks)
M13	Automation (scripts, batch)
M14	1.0 polish & packaging