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pdfcraft/docs/ui-parity.md
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Marco Arnulfo e125a2d659 fix(edit): move existing text by its frame, and selections with the arrow keys (#1600)
* fix(edit): move existing text by its frame, and selections with the arrow keys (fixes #1520)

* docs(parity): arrow-key nudging and the paragraph frame are no longer gaps (#1520)
2026-10-13 00:12:07 -04:00

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UI and interaction parity

Last reviewed: 2026-10-10 · Last updated: 2026-10-11 · Change: minor (column select #740, multi-object move #844, Shift-⌘-G #810 fixed) · Target: Adobe Acrobat Pro (Acrobat DC, continuous track 26.002.21931, macOS)

How PdfCraft's tools, panels, shortcuts and feel compare with Acrobat Pro's current interface (the 2023+ "new Acrobat": All tools pane on the left, quick-action toolbar, Home view). Behaviour is observed clean-room (plan/acrobat/02-ui-ux.md, local-only; AGENTS.md §2); nothing from Adobe's interface is copied. Gaps ranked in gaps.md.

UI/UX fidelity ≈ 55% ready (estimated), 30–60 h additional to the features total.

Measured

  • 184 registered commands (crates/engine/src/commands.rs), every one in the menus, the command palette and the automation command_run tool; menus are generated from the registry (view.menus-from-registry).
  • 141 automation tools (crates/automation/src/tools.rs), so every UI action can be checked headlessly.
  • View area of the checklist: 62.5% breadth (52 shipped, 11 partial of 92).

No dump of Acrobat's menu tree has been diffed against the registry yet (gap 24).

Shell and navigation

Element Acrobat PdfCraft Status
Home view (recent files, recommended tools) yes yes shipped
All tools pane, tool sets yes yes, with milestone badges shipped
Quick-action toolbar, customisable yes fixed partial (view.customize-quick-tools planned)
Command search "Search tools" command palette (⌘K), matches translated and English labels shipped
Document tabs yes yes, with unsaved marker shipped
Multiple windows, drag a tab out yes no planned
Split window, spreadsheet split yes no planned
Read mode, full screen yes yes shipped; presentation options planned
Light, dark, system theme yes yes shipped
Side panels: thumbnails, bookmarks, attachments, layers, comments, fields, signatures yes yes; panels keep their width (#704) shipped
Destinations, articles, model tree, Tags, Order, Content panels yes no planned
Message bars (restricted, signed, PDF/A, forms) yes restricted and signed; no PDF/A view mode partial

Tools, handles and precision

Behaviour Acrobat PdfCraft Status / evidence
Zoom: wheel, pinch, keys, marquee, fit page/width/height/visible yes yes shipped
Fixed zoom percentages match Acrobat's physical size yes differ (#739, documented in #736) gap
Dynamic zoom, loupe, pan-and-zoom window yes no planned
Hand tool, middle-button pan, autoscroll yes hand tool; Linux autoscroll partial
Text selection, column select yes, Alt-drag columns reading-order selection; Alt/Option-drag or Edit ▸ Column select (#740) shipped
Select and move several objects at once yes on one page: Shift/Ctrl/⌘-click and marquee, one undo step (#844); not across pages, no group resize partial
Object handles: corners keep proportion, edges free yes yes for added images and signatures shipped
Arrange, align and distribute page objects yes fields only partial
Rulers, grids, snap to grid, guides yes no planned
Cursor coordinates, line weights yes no planned
Measuring snap to paths, endpoints, midpoints, intersections yes yes shipped
Nudge selected objects with arrow keys (Shift for larger steps) yes yes in Edit text: a point, Shift ten points, for selected objects, images and an open paragraph's box (#1520) shipped
Single-key tool accelerators (H, V, Z, …) yes, opt-in no planned
Context menus on pages, thumbnails, comments, fields yes thumbnails, comments, fields partial
Comment pop-ups as movable windows, connector lines yes inline in the panel planned
Disabled commands explain why no yes ahead

Shortcuts and modifiers

Item Acrobat PdfCraft Status
Platform shortcuts for registered commands yes yes; ⌘ on macOS, Ctrl elsewhere (#695) shipped; find bar still shows ⌘ on Windows (#746)
Keyboard shortcuts reference yes yes shipped
Full keyboard operation of the app yes no planned (a11y.keyboard-only, P0)
Shift-⌘-G finds previous yes yes (#810 fixed) shipped

Dialogs and preferences

Item Acrobat PdfCraft Status
Print dialog with preview yes yes shipped
Document Properties (description, security, fonts, initial view, custom, advanced) yes all but Custom and XMP partial
Field Properties (General, Appearance, Position, Options, Actions, Format, Validate, Calculate, Signed) yes all but Signed partial
Comment properties and properties bar yes yes shipped
Preferences ≈ 20 pages Interface language, Documents and view, Identity, Fill & Sign, JavaScript partial (gap 19)

Revision history

Date Change Summary
2026-10-11 minor Column select shipped (#740, PR #765); several objects move together on one page (#844, PR #907); Shift-⌘-G goes back (#810, PR #835)
2026-10-10 major Created from the command registry, automation tools, the View area of the checklist and open UI issues