Fix #593: anchors and handle ends are easier to grab than the segments through them

An anchor was picked within the selection tolerance (3 px), the same reach
as its segments: a press a little off the anchor's 5 px square took the
curve instead.

- `ToolContext::point_tol`: anchors and direction handle ends are picked
  within the selection tolerance, but at least 2 px past the drawn point
  (4.5 px at the default Size 3, more with a larger Size). Anchors are
  tested before segments, so where both are within reach the anchor wins.
- Direct Selection (presses, Highlight anchors on mouse over, blend spine
  points and handles), the Anchor Point, Delete Anchor Point and Scissors
  tools, and the Pen (its Alt conversions; its close/continue reach stays
  5 px unless the points are drawn larger) use it. Segments, objects and
  frame edges keep the selection tolerance.
- Of the topmost path with anchors in reach, the nearest anchor is picked.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <[email protected]>

ROADMAP.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ VectorCraft is a clean-room, open-source, pure-Rust reimplementation of the Adob
 
 This file tracks **how far we are and what's left**. Time estimates are wall-clock hours of continuous Claude Opus 5.5 agent work (including builds and the CI gate), given both for **one agent** and for **4–6 parallel agents** on disjoint crates. They are counted from the remaining work (see [Parity estimate](#parity-estimate)), calibrated against measured throughput, and updated as work lands.
 
-_Last updated: 2026-10-09 (after placed documents (File › Place of a `.vectorcraft` file, linked), M4.14–M4.98, M8.1–M8.20, M14.4–M14.7, the MCP prompts, resource templates, completions and logging, the 2026-10-07 issue fixes, the Layers panel rework and the 2026-10-08 community contributions: Pen and shape-tool modifiers, path editing, Layers, Artboards, Swatches/Brushes and dialogs, Japanese composition and PDF text, Hebrew/Arabic type, interface languages (Spanish among them), the font menu, saved selections, MCP and EPS, the missing-font export warning (#319), open paths in the Shape Builder (#374), PDF/`.ai` import keeping strokes live and hidden and nested layers (#372), per-corner Live Corners (#381), SVG type opening at the size it draws at (#396), the Wayland clipboard with copied-file paste (#398), ruler guides that can be selected, moved and deleted (#414), two batches of Preferences options that were stored but unused (#394), skeleton reads with `document.find` for large documents over MCP (#416) and anchors dragged with Direct Selection snapping to points, segments and smart guides, clipped SVG layers opening as clipping layers (#420), PDF/`.ai` layers read on pages of tens of millions of operators (#419), Document Color Mode putting RGB greys on the black plate on request and converting pattern tiles (#421) and movable dialogs with Offset Path's Joins dropdown (#423) and numeric fields scrubbed by dragging their label (#400), stroke weight presets in the stroke unit (#426), the Appearance panel's Opacity popup (#430), type on a path brackets, flip and Type on a Path Options that keep the type in place (#429), Layers rows dragged with a ghost and dropped on the trash or New Layer (#435), tool flyouts opening on a right or corner press (#436), tool flyouts torn off into floating toolbars (#437), the Shape Builder's erase mode deleting edges too (#439), installed fonts registered outside the font folders and fonts installed while the app runs listed in the font menus (#443), alike circular corners on rectangles that aren't square (#442), tool cursors as OS cursors so the pointer no longer trails over the canvas (#444), artboards copied and pasted with their art (#446), guides dragged out of the rulers snapping to the art's side midpoints and the artboards, artboard guides (#451), the toolbar's double arrow and Window › Toolbars › Double Column switching between one and two columns in any window height (#455), the Smart Guides display options and Snapping Tolerance (#394), Font Size and Leading combo boxes with preset lists in the Character and Properties panels and the Control bar (#458), screenshots pasted from the clipboard on macOS, Windows and the web (#457), the Properties panel's Fill and Stroke matching the Control bar's, Illustrator's Window menu panel keys (Shift+F7 for Align…) and Alt-wheel zoom whatever the wheel preference (Discord feedback), the point/area type widget (Discord feedback), groups in legacy Illustrator .ai files (Discord feedback), a rotating desktop log file (#465), image controls in the Control bar and Properties panel: Image Trace with its presets, Mask, Crop Image, Embed/Unembed, and an Image Trace object's preset, Expand and Release (Discord feedback), the Pen working as the Anchor Point tool with Alt held over a selected path's handles and anchors, and anchor buttons that convert, connect and cut paths at the selected anchors (Discord feedback), Japanese hanging punctuation (burasagari, #463), Escape leaving Presentation Mode with no screen mode saved across restarts, documents dropped on the desktop app opening as tabs of their own and a note that an `.ai` file's art off its artboards isn't in the part read (#472), Add/Delete Anchor Point tool icons drawn from the Pen tool's (#479), EPS import running more of PostScript Level 3 (patterns, Type 3 fonts, mesh shadings, masked images, VM and resource probes), and a preview that stands in saying why (Discord feedback, #466, #469, #474), chords with modifiers recorded in Edit › Keyboard Shortcuts (#487), Type Object Selection by Path Only (#394), Anti-aliased Artwork (#394), Show Pixel Grid (#394), pen and touch taps pressed and lifted within one frame clicking where they tapped and the Linux/Wayland pen-tablet workaround (#491), bounding-box resizes landing on the other objects' anchors and centres with labels, and the Rotate, Scale, Shear and Reflect tools snapping their drags (#482), Shift-drag marquees that toggle the objects or anchors they reach and a Lasso whose Alt subtraction keeps the rest of the selection (#483), the mouse wheel stepping the focused numeric field, the dialogs' and preferences' drag values made such fields (#485), Show The Home Screen When No Documents Are Open (#394), Numbers Without Units Are Points (#394), Auto-Collapse Iconic Panels (#394), the Contextual Task Bar moved by its handle and its More Options menu pinning and resetting its position, a designed macOS DMG windoLine truncated
+_Last updated: 2026-10-09 (after placed documents (File › Place of a `.vectorcraft` file, linked), M4.14–M4.98, M8.1–M8.20, M14.4–M14.7, the MCP prompts, resource templates, completions and logging, the 2026-10-07 issue fixes, the Layers panel rework and the 2026-10-08 community contributions: Pen and shape-tool modifiers, path editing, Layers, Artboards, Swatches/Brushes and dialogs, Japanese composition and PDF text, Hebrew/Arabic type, interface languages (Spanish among them), the font menu, saved selections, MCP and EPS, the missing-font export warning (#319), open paths in the Shape Builder (#374), PDF/`.ai` import keeping strokes live and hidden and nested layers (#372), per-corner Live Corners (#381), SVG type opening at the size it draws at (#396), the Wayland clipboard with copied-file paste (#398), ruler guides that can be selected, moved and deleted (#414), two batches of Preferences options that were stored but unused (#394), skeleton reads with `document.find` for large documents over MCP (#416) and anchors dragged with Direct Selection snapping to points, segments and smart guides, clipped SVG layers opening as clipping layers (#420), PDF/`.ai` layers read on pages of tens of millions of operators (#419), Document Color Mode putting RGB greys on the black plate on request and converting pattern tiles (#421) and movable dialogs with Offset Path's Joins dropdown (#423) and numeric fields scrubbed by dragging their label (#400), stroke weight presets in the stroke unit (#426), the Appearance panel's Opacity popup (#430), type on a path brackets, flip and Type on a Path Options that keep the type in place (#429), Layers rows dragged with a ghost and dropped on the trash or New Layer (#435), tool flyouts opening on a right or corner press (#436), tool flyouts torn off into floating toolbars (#437), the Shape Builder's erase mode deleting edges too (#439), installed fonts registered outside the font folders and fonts installed while the app runs listed in the font menus (#443), alike circular corners on rectangles that aren't square (#442), tool cursors as OS cursors so the pointer no longer trails over the canvas (#444), artboards copied and pasted with their art (#446), guides dragged out of the rulers snapping to the art's side midpoints and the artboards, artboard guides (#451), the toolbar's double arrow and Window › Toolbars › Double Column switching between one and two columns in any window height (#455), the Smart Guides display options and Snapping Tolerance (#394), Font Size and Leading combo boxes with preset lists in the Character and Properties panels and the Control bar (#458), screenshots pasted from the clipboard on macOS, Windows and the web (#457), the Properties panel's Fill and Stroke matching the Control bar's, Illustrator's Window menu panel keys (Shift+F7 for Align…) and Alt-wheel zoom whatever the wheel preference (Discord feedback), the point/area type widget (Discord feedback), groups in legacy Illustrator .ai files (Discord feedback), a rotating desktop log file (#465), image controls in the Control bar and Properties panel: Image Trace with its presets, Mask, Crop Image, Embed/Unembed, and an Image Trace object's preset, Expand and Release (Discord feedback), the Pen working as the Anchor Point tool with Alt held over a selected path's handles and anchors, and anchor buttons that convert, connect and cut paths at the selected anchors (Discord feedback), Japanese hanging punctuation (burasagari, #463), Escape leaving Presentation Mode with no screen mode saved across restarts, documents dropped on the desktop app opening as tabs of their own and a note that an `.ai` file's art off its artboards isn't in the part read (#472), Add/Delete Anchor Point tool icons drawn from the Pen tool's (#479), EPS import running more of PostScript Level 3 (patterns, Type 3 fonts, mesh shadings, masked images, VM and resource probes), and a preview that stands in saying why (Discord feedback, #466, #469, #474), chords with modifiers recorded in Edit › Keyboard Shortcuts (#487), Type Object Selection by Path Only (#394), Anti-aliased Artwork (#394), Show Pixel Grid (#394), pen and touch taps pressed and lifted within one frame clicking where they tapped and the Linux/Wayland pen-tablet workaround (#491), bounding-box resizes landing on the other objects' anchors and centres with labels, and the Rotate, Scale, Shear and Reflect tools snapping their drags (#482), Shift-drag marquees that toggle the objects or anchors they reach and a Lasso whose Alt subtraction keeps the rest of the selection (#483), the mouse wheel stepping the focused numeric field, the dialogs' and preferences' drag values made such fields (#485), Show The Home Screen When No Documents Are Open (#394), Numbers Without Units Are Points (#394), Auto-Collapse Iconic Panels (#394), the Contextual Task Bar moved by its handle and its More Options menu pinning and resetting its position, a designed macOS DMG windoLine truncated
 
 ## Where we are
 

crates/engine/src/tooling.rs

@@ -205,6 +205,7 @@ impl Session {
             slices_locked: self.menu.slices_locked,
             auto_add_delete: !self.prefs.disable_auto_add_delete,
             selection_tolerance: self.prefs.selection_tolerance,
+            anchor_size: self.prefs.anchor_size,
             path_only: self.prefs.object_selection_by_path_only,
             type_path_only: self.prefs.type_selection_by_path_only,
             double_click_isolate: self.prefs.double_click_to_isolate,

crates/tools/src/direct.rs

@@ -201,15 +201,21 @@ fn anchor_owners(cx: &ToolContext, f: fn(&Node) -> bool) -> Vec<NodeId> {
     v
 }
 
-/// Anchor of any visible path or area type frame under `p`, topmost first: (id, si, ai, where it is).
+/// The anchor within `tol` of `p` nearest to it, of the topmost visible path or area type frame
+/// that has one: (id, si, ai, where it is).
 fn hit_anchor(cx: &ToolContext, p: Point, tol: f64) -> Option<(NodeId, usize, usize, Point)> {
     let owners = anchor_owners(cx, |n| matches!(n.kind, NodeKind::Path { .. }) || is_area_type(n));
     owners.into_iter().find_map(|id| {
         let pd = cx.doc.node(id).and_then(editable_path)?;
-        pd.anchors().find(|(_, _, a)| a.p.distance(p) <= tol).map(|(si, ai, a)| (id, si, ai, a.p))
+        nearest_anchor(&pd, p, tol).map(|(si, ai, a)| (id, si, ai, a))
     })
 }
 
+/// The anchor of `pd` within `tol` of `p` nearest to it: (subpath, anchor, where it is).
+fn nearest_anchor(pd: &PathData, p: Point, tol: f64) -> Option<(usize, usize, Point)> {
+    pd.anchors().map(|(si, ai, a)| (si, ai, a.p)).filter(|(.., a)| a.distance(p) <= tol).min_by(|x, y| x.2.distance(p).total_cmp(&y.2.distance(p)))
+}
+
 /// An edge of an area type frame under `p`, topmost first: (text, the edge's two anchors).
 fn hit_frame_edge(cx: &ToolContext, p: Point, tol: f64) -> Option<(NodeId, Vec<AnchorRef>)> {
     anchor_owners(cx, is_area_type).into_iter().find_map(|id| {
@@ -290,7 +296,8 @@ impl Tool for DirectSelectionTool {
             return out;
         }
         let p = ev.pos;
-        let tol = cx.pick_tol();
+        // Anchors and handle ends are picked from a little further than segments and objects.
+        let (tol, point) = (cx.pick_tol(), cx.point_tol());
         match (ev.kind, self.state.clone()) {
             (PointerKind::Down, _) if self.group => {
                 if let Some(out) = self.guide.press(cx, ev) {
@@ -332,7 +339,7 @@ impl Tool for DirectSelectionTool {
                     return vec![];
                 }
                 if let Some(sel) = self.spine.filter(|(id, _)| cx.selection.contains(*id))
-                    && let Some(out) = hit_spine_handle(cx, sel, p, tol)
+                    && let Some(out) = hit_spine_handle(cx, sel, p, point)
                 {
                     self.state = State::SpineHandle { id: sel.0, anchor: sel.1, out };
                     return vec![Action::Begin("Reshape Spine".into())];
@@ -343,17 +350,17 @@ impl Tool for DirectSelectionTool {
                     return self.mesh.press(g);
                 }
                 self.mesh.unfocus();
-                if let Some((id, si, ai, out)) = hit_handle(cx, p, tol) {
+                if let Some((id, si, ai, out)) = hit_handle(cx, p, point) {
                     self.state = State::Handle { id, si, ai, out };
                     self.handle_snap = HandleSnap::default();
                     return vec![Action::Begin("Reshape".into())];
                 }
-                if let Some((id, anchor, from)) = hit_spine_point(cx, p, tol) {
+                if let Some((id, anchor, from)) = hit_spine_point(cx, p, point) {
                     self.spine = Some((id, anchor));
                     self.state = State::SpinePoint { id, anchor, from, start: p, began: false };
                     return if cx.selection.contains(id) { vec![] } else { vec![Action::Exec("select.set".into(), json!({"ids": [id.0]}))] };
                 }
-                if let Some((id, si, ai, grab)) = hit_anchor(cx, p, tol) {
+                if let Some((id, si, ai, grab)) = hit_anchor(cx, p, point) {
                     if cx.doc.node(id).is_some_and(is_area_type) {
                         return self.press_type_area(cx, id, vec![(si, ai)], p, ev.mods.shift);
                     }
@@ -608,14 +615,14 @@ impl Tool for DirectSelectionTool {
     }
 }
 
-/// The anchor within the selection tolerance of `p`, of a selected path or the path under `p`:
-/// what Highlight anchors on mouse over marks (a press there picks it).
+/// The anchor within a press's reach of `p` ([`ToolContext::point_tol`]), of a selected path or the
+/// path under `p`: what Highlight anchors on mouse over marks (a press there picks it).
 fn hovered_anchor(cx: &ToolContext, p: Point) -> Option<(NodeId, Point)> {
     let under = hit_test(cx.doc, p, cx.hit_options()).map(|h| h.leaf);
-    let tol = cx.pick_tol();
+    let tol = cx.point_tol();
     cx.selection.objects.iter().copied().chain(under).find_map(|id| {
         let path = cx.doc.node(id).and_then(editable_path)?;
-        path.anchors().find(|(_, _, a)| a.p.distance(p) <= tol).map(|(_, _, a)| (id, a.p))
+        nearest_anchor(&path, p, tol).map(|(.., a)| (id, a))
     })
 }
 
@@ -685,6 +692,29 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(down(&mut t, 100.0), vec![Action::Exec("select.anchors".into(), json!({"id": id.0, "anchors": [[0, 0]], "mode": "set"}))]);
     }
 
+    /// An anchor is picked from 2 px past its drawn square even where its segment is nearer, and
+    /// further with a larger anchor Size or Tolerance (#593); away from it the segment is.
+    #[test]
+    fn anchors_are_picked_before_the_segments_through_them() {
+        let (d, id) = doc_with_rect();
+        let (s, p) = (Selection::default(), paint());
+        let corner = vec![Action::Exec("select.anchors".into(), json!({"id": id.0, "anchors": [[0, 0]], "mode": "set"}))];
+        let press = |cx: &ToolContext, x: f64, y: f64| DirectSelectionTool::new(false).pointer(cx, &PointerEvent::new(PointerKind::Down, x, y));
+        let c = cx(&d, &s, &p);
+        // 4.3 px from the corner, 0.5 px from the top edge.
+        assert_eq!(press(&c, 104.2, 100.5), corner);
+        assert_ne!(press(&c, 110.0, 100.5), corner, "the segment, away from the anchor");
+        assert_ne!(press(&c, 105.0, 100.5), corner, "past the default reach (4.5 px)");
+        let large = ToolContext { anchor_size: 7, ..cx(&d, &s, &p) };
+        assert_eq!(press(&large, 106.0, 100.5), corner, "Size 7 draws them 9 px wide");
+        let loose = ToolContext { selection_tolerance: 8.0, ..cx(&d, &s, &p) };
+        assert_eq!(press(&loose, 107.5, 100.5), corner);
+        // On screen: at 200% the reach is half as far in the document.
+        let zoomed = ToolContext { zoom: 2.0, ..cx(&d, &s, &p) };
+        assert_eq!(press(&zoomed, 102.1, 100.2), corner);
+        assert_ne!(press(&zoomed, 102.6, 100.2), corner);
+    }
+
     /// A blend of two 20 pt squares centred on (110, 310) and (210, 310), selected.
     fn blend_doc() -> (vectorcraft_doc::Document, NodeId, NodeId) {
         let (mut d, _) = doc_with_rect();

crates/tools/src/draw2/anchor.rs

@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ impl AnchorTool {
     }
 
     fn delete(cx: &ToolContext, p: Point) -> Vec<Action> {
-        hit_anchor(cx, p, cx.pick_tol()).map(remove_anchor).into_iter().collect()
+        hit_anchor(cx, p, cx.point_tol()).map(remove_anchor).into_iter().collect()
     }
 }
 
@@ -61,7 +61,8 @@ impl Tool for AnchorTool {
     }
     fn pointer(&mut self, cx: &ToolContext, ev: &PointerEvent) -> Vec<Action> {
         let p = ev.pos;
-        let tol = cx.pick_tol();
+        // Anchors and handle ends are picked from a little further than segments.
+        let (tol, point) = (cx.pick_tol(), cx.point_tol());
         match (self.id, ev.kind) {
             ("addAnchor", PointerKind::Down) => {
                 if ev.mods.alt {
@@ -78,7 +79,7 @@ impl Tool for AnchorTool {
                 }
             }
             ("scissors", PointerKind::Down) => {
-                if let Some((id, si, ai)) = hit_anchor(cx, p, tol) {
+                if let Some((id, si, ai)) = hit_anchor(cx, p, point) {
                     return vec![Action::Exec("path.split".into(), json!({"id": id.0, "subpath": si, "anchor": ai}))];
                 }
                 match hit_segment(cx, p, tol) {
@@ -87,10 +88,10 @@ impl Tool for AnchorTool {
                 }
             }
             ("anchorPoint", PointerKind::Down) => {
-                if let Some((id, si, ai, out)) = hit_handle(cx, p, tol) {
+                if let Some((id, si, ai, out)) = hit_handle(cx, p, point) {
                     self.state = State::Handle { id, si, ai, out, began: false };
                     self.snap = HandleSnap::default();
-                } else if let Some((id, si, ai)) = hit_anchor(cx, p, tol) {
+                } else if let Some((id, si, ai)) = hit_anchor(cx, p, point) {
                     self.state = State::Convert { id, si, ai, start: p, began: false };
                 } else if let Some((id, si, seg, t)) = hit_segment(cx, p, tol) {
                     self.state = State::Reshape { id, si, seg, t, start: p, began: false };

crates/tools/src/lib.rs

@@ -274,6 +274,8 @@ pub struct ToolContext<'a> {
     /// Selection & Anchor Display → Tolerance: how near (screen pixels) a click must be to a path
     /// or an anchor to pick it.
     pub selection_tolerance: f64,
+    /// Selection & Anchor Display → Size (1–7, default 3): how big anchors and handles are drawn.
+    pub anchor_size: u32,
     /// Selection & Anchor Display → Object Selection by Path Only: a click inside a filled path
     /// doesn't pick it, only one on its path does.
     pub path_only: bool,
@@ -362,6 +364,14 @@ impl ToolContext<'_> {
     pub fn pick_tol(&self) -> f64 {
         self.tol(self.selection_tolerance)
     }
+    /// How near (document units) a press picks an anchor or a direction handle's end: the
+    /// selection tolerance, but at least 2 px past the drawn point, so a point is easy to catch
+    /// and wins over the segments through it, which are tested after it (#593).
+    pub fn point_tol(&self) -> f64 {
+        // Anchors are drawn 5 px wide at the default Size 3, a pixel more or less per step.
+        let half = (5.0 + f64::from(self.anchor_size.clamp(1, 7)) - 3.0) / 2.0;
+        self.tol(self.selection_tolerance.max(half + 2.0))
+    }
     pub fn hit_options(&self) -> vectorcraft_doc::hit::HitOptions {
         vectorcraft_doc::hit::HitOptions {
             tol: self.pick_tol(),
@@ -666,6 +676,7 @@ pub(crate) mod testutil {
             slices_locked: false,
             auto_add_delete: true,
             selection_tolerance: 3.0,
+            anchor_size: 3,
             path_only: false,
             type_path_only: false,
             double_click_isolate: true,

crates/tools/src/pen.rs

@@ -91,11 +91,11 @@ fn last_anchor(cx: &ToolContext, id: NodeId) -> Option<(usize, usize)> {
 /// Alt held over a handle end, an anchor or a segment of a selected path: the Anchor Point tool's
 /// gesture, within its tolerance.
 fn alt_converts(cx: &ToolContext, p: Point, m: Mods) -> bool {
-    let tol = cx.pick_tol();
+    let point = cx.point_tol();
     m.alt
-        && (hit_handle(cx, p, tol).is_some()
-            || crate::draw2::anchor_in(cx, editable_paths(cx), p, tol).is_some()
-            || crate::draw2::segment_in(cx, editable_paths(cx), p, tol).is_some())
+        && (hit_handle(cx, p, point).is_some()
+            || crate::draw2::anchor_in(cx, editable_paths(cx), p, point).is_some()
+            || crate::draw2::segment_in(cx, editable_paths(cx), p, cx.pick_tol()).is_some())
 }
 
 /// The selected paths the pen edits (not guides, nor locked or hidden ones).
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ impl Tool for PenTool {
         self.drag.is_some() || self.handle.is_some() || self.convert.is_some()
     }
     fn pointer(&mut self, cx: &ToolContext, ev: &PointerEvent) -> Vec<Action> {
-        let tol = cx.tol(5.0);
+        let tol = cx.tol(5.0).max(cx.point_tol());
         // The path a press began is the selected one by the next event.
         if self.drawing && self.path.is_none() {
             self.path = active_path(cx).map(|a| a.0);
@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ impl Tool for PenTool {
         o
     }
     fn cursor(&self, cx: &ToolContext, p: Point, m: Mods) -> Cursor {
-        let tol = cx.tol(5.0);
+        let tol = cx.tol(5.0).max(cx.point_tol());
         if let Some((id, first, last, _)) = self.active(cx) {
             let one = last_anchor(cx, id).is_some_and(|(_, ai)| ai == 0);
             if p.distance(first) <= tol && !one {