vectorcraft/docs/type-parity.md

Type parity

Last reviewed: 2026-10-10 · Last updated: 2026-10-13 · Change: minor (Linux font folders from fontconfig, #1529; commands and MCP add_text report area type that does not fit its frame, #1471; Tabs panel stop drags, #1458; Fit Headline in a frame one line tall, #1444; frames and paths beyond a billion points hold no text, #1451; scores unchanged; missing glyphs are looked for again after a font rescan, #1376; scores unchanged; Full-name font matching (#1258); Windows font-service QA pending; scores unchanged; Middle Eastern digit types: Character panel menu › Digits, {digits}; the font menu's script filter lists Thai fonts; Thai, Lao, Khmer and Myanmar lines break between words; the caret steps over whole clusters such as Thai consonants with their marks; Thai typed in a font without Thai falls back to a font made for Thai; earlier: Proportional Metrics in vertical type, vpal, #966) · Target: Adobe Illustrator 2026 (30.x)

Type is Illustrator's largest single area by use (weight 13 of 105 across "Type core" and "Type advanced" in target-app-parity.md). This checklist lists the features one by one. Status is from the code and tests (crates/text, crates/engine/src/cmd/type*.rs, textstyles.rs, crates/tools/src/text.rs) against Illustrator's public documentation; estimated unless noted.

Summary

Part	%	Remaining (h)
Type core (point, area, path type, Character/Paragraph, styles, threading, OpenType, fonts)	80%	14–19
Type advanced (CJK composition, Middle Eastern, spelling, Touch Type, Retype, variable fonts)	50%	20–28

Checklist

Feature	Status	Notes
Point, area and type-on-a-path type; vertical variants	done / partial	vertical point, area and path type have initial support
Area Type Options (rows, columns, inset, first baseline, Auto Size, Shrink Text to Fit)	done	the commands that make or restyle type say when it does not fit its frame; MCP add_text takes Auto Size and Shrink Text to Fit (#1471)
Threaded text, Fit Headline, Text Wrap	done	Fit Headline sees wrapping in a frame one line tall (#1444)
Type on a Path effects and options; brackets	done	#429
Character and Paragraph panels, styles with overrides	done	mixed-value display for differing paragraphs missing
Character size and horizontal scale after object/group scaling	done	#1034: fields and setters compensate the stored affine; point size follows the transformed em-height axis, not the glyph ink bounds. Range edits, keyboard increments, leading and baseline shift use document points; rotation, reflection and shear remain editable.
Preserve font sizes while scaling a group	missing	Separate enhancement; scaling still scales text with the other artwork.
OpenType panel, Glyphs panel, alternates	done	Highlight Alternate Glyphs preference unused (#394)
Font menu: samples, live preview, filters, favourites; font matching by any name; Find Font	done	#339; script filter: Japanese, Latin, Thai; the font scan on Linux also reads the folders fontconfig's configuration lists, such as TeX fonts under /usr/share/texmf/fonts (#1548, fixes #1529; not verified on Linux)
Missing glyphs set in an installed font made for their script (Thai, Lao, Khmer, Myanmar first; then any font that has them)	done	Thai: Leelawadee UI, Tahoma, Thonburi, Sukhumvit Set, Noto Sans Thai, TLWG
Full font-name matching (OpenType name ID 4)	done	#1258: loaded/cataloged faces and Missing Fonts searches; localized names and variable default faces; Windows font-service QA pending
Variable fonts	partial	named instances as styles; axis sliders missing
Colour fonts (OpenType SVG / COLR)	partial
Every-line and Single-line composers	done	tuned by eye, never compared side by side
Hyphenation… and Justification… options	missing
Optical Margin Alignment	missing	menu stub
Tab stops and leaders; Tabs panel	partial	Tabs panel and stops with leaders in the model (text.tabs.set); a stop drags from where the press landed (#1458); leader drawing not verified against the docs
Hidden characters (Show Hidden Characters)	done	type.hiddenCharacters
Spell check (Check Spelling, Auto Spell Check, custom dictionary)	missing	menu stubs; needs an openly licensed dictionary
Smart Punctuation, Change Case, Find & Replace	done
Caret: the arrows and Delete step over whole clusters (Thai consonant with its marks, combining accents, emoji); Backspace removes one character	done
Touch Type tool	missing	listed in the toolbar, not implemented
Retype (identify fonts in outlines/images)	missing	Illustrator's uses a cloud model
Snap to Glyph	missing	menu stub
Thai, Lao, Khmer, Myanmar: shaping (marks, reordering), lines broken between words, word-by-word caret and double-click	done	words found by ICU4X's line segmenter: dictionaries on the desktop, LSTM models on the web
Middle Eastern: bidirectional layout, Paragraph Direction	done
Middle Eastern: digit types (Character panel menu › Digits: Default, Arabic, Hindi, Farsi)	done	text.setFormat / text.setRangeStyle {digits}; the text keeps the typed digits, the glyphs and SVG export follow the style
Middle Eastern: Character Direction, kashidas, Middle Eastern composers, split caret	missing
CJK: input methods (marked text, candidate window)	done
CJK: kinsoku (Hard, Soft, None), Line-end Punctuation Half Width, tate-chu-yoko (auto)	done / partial	custom kinsoku sets, the Mojikumi Settings dialog and the other mojikumi sets missing
CJK: Proportional Metrics (palt in horizontal type, vpal in vertical type)	done	#966
CJK: ruby, manual tate-chu-yoko	missing	#633
Inline symbols in text	beyond Illustrator	not scored

Revision history

Date	Change	Summary
2026-10-13	minor	The font scan on Linux also reads the folders fontconfig's configuration lists, such as TeX fonts under /usr/share/texmf/fonts (#1548, fixes #1529; not verified on Linux); scores and hours unchanged
2026-10-13	minor	The commands that make or restyle type, and MCP add_text, report area type that does not fit its frame, and add_text takes Auto Size and Shrink Text to Fit (#1500, fixes #1471); a tab stop in the Tabs panel drags from where the press landed, a stop just added included (#1487, fixes #1458); scores and hours unchanged
2026-10-13	minor	Fit Headline no longer pushes the tracking to its ceiling and loses glyphs when the frame holds one line (#1445, fixes #1444); text frames, wrap shapes and type paths with coordinates beyond a billion points hold no text, and layout limits its search for room, instead of hanging (#1451); scores and hours unchanged
2026-10-12	minor	A character no installed font had is looked for again after the fonts are rescanned, so installing a font fixes it without a restart (#1376, from #992); scores and hours unchanged
2026-10-12	minor	Full-name font matching and Missing Fonts searches (#1258): synthetic static/variable font regressions; Windows font-service QA pending; scores and hours unchanged
2026-10-11	minor	Middle Eastern: digit types done (Character panel menu › Digits: Default, Arabic, Hindi, Farsi; text.setFormat / text.setRangeStyle {digits}); Character Direction, kashidas, composers and the split caret still missing; scores unchanged at this rounding
2026-10-11	minor	Thai, Lao, Khmer and Myanmar words for the caret (Ctrl/Alt+arrows) and double-click; combining marks count as part of a word; score unchanged (estimated)
2026-10-11	minor	Font menu: a Thai script filter beside Japanese and Latin; score unchanged (estimated)
2026-10-11	minor	Thai, Lao, Khmer and Myanmar text breaks its lines between words (ICU4X line segmenter) instead of only at spaces; score unchanged (estimated)
2026-10-11	minor	The Type tool's arrows and Delete move by grapheme cluster, never between a Thai consonant and its vowel or tone marks; score unchanged (estimated)
2026-10-11	minor	Thai (Lao, Khmer, Myanmar) missing from the font in use falls back to an installed font made for the script instead of whichever face covering it loaded first; score unchanged (estimated)
2026-10-11	minor	Proportional Metrics done: palt in horizontal type, vpal in vertical type (#966, #1082); ruby and manual tate-chu-yoko still missing
2026-10-10	minor	#1034: transformed character controls and regression coverage; preserving group font sizes remains a separate enhancement. Scores/hours unchanged at this rounding.
2026-10-10	major	First checklist, split out of the parity table's Type core and Type advanced rows