wordcraft/docs/gaps.md

Where WordCraft falls short of Word

Last reviewed: 2026-10-10 · Last updated: 2026-10-11 · Change: trivial (Word XML Document and Word 2003 XML landed, #548; previously trivial: #24 narrowed: Customize Keyboard and Customize Ribbon landed; previously trivial: formatting revisions landed, #41; previously trivial: Draw Table and Eraser landed, #303; previously minor: beta distance restated: ~15 points, ~150–230 h; previously: first version; every known shortfall from the 2026-10-10 re-measure, ranked) · Target: Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365) for Mac 16.113.4

Printing update: 2026-10-12 · direct desktop printing through craft-print; details below.

The work list. One entry per shortfall, ranked by how much it stops a Word user from switching (B = blocks beta). Each says what's missing, the evidence, who it hurts, an Opus 5.5 agent wall-clock estimate, and which parity document tracks it. Agents: pick from the top, check open PRs first (gh pr list), and update this file and the parity doc when a gap closes.

Ranked

#	Gap	B	Evidence	Impact	Hours	Doc
1	DOCX never tested on real-world files. No corpus of files from Word, Google Docs, LibreOffice and Pages has been opened, rendered and round-tripped and compared with Word page by page	B	No corpus in the repo; crates/docx/tests are synthetic fixtures (including omitted/empty paragraph-default preservation); "DOCX fidelity corpus: not started" since 2026-10-06	Everyone: the files people receive are the files that break	30–50	file-format-parity.md
2	Ink and drawing canvases are dropped on open and lost on save, silently; OLE objects show only their picture	B	No ink or drawing-canvas (wpc) handling in crates/docx; group shapes (wpg) read and written (#267). Charts and SmartArt are drawn (#292) and, with OLE objects, written back with all their parts on save (#319)	Documents with diagrams drawn in Word or pen notes lose content without warning	4–8 to preserve ink and drawing canvases; 45–70 to render and edit charts and SmartArt (#13)	file-format-parity.md
3	Crashes and freezes in the field: startup crash on Intel UHD Graphics (#170) (lag on GPUs without a DirectX 12 driver fixed, #316), freezes (#77, #59 Thai fonts, #31 font selector), no writes without admin on Windows 11 (#218), broken shape tool (#142), images can't be moved (#82)	B	62 open issues, ~15 of them crashes, hangs or data-path failures	Anyone hit loses work or trust; the never-crash standard covers panics, not hangs or GPU driver faults	20–30	target-app-parity.md (Stability)
4	Pagination differs from Word: Aptos has no metric-matched substitute; legacy compatibility options ignored; no page-by-page comparison harness	B	layout-parity.md; typing-parity.md Known gaps	Page counts and line breaks differ, which matters for forms, legal and academic work	30–50 + owner (font)	layout-parity.md
5	Content controls landed (#381): w:sdt kept, shown and edited (Developer tab, Design Mode, Properties). Move tracking landed (#400): w:moveFrom/w:moveTo with their named ranges round-trip, a tracked cut and paste of a paragraph or sentence records a move, either end accepts/rejects both, green double strike/underline markup and "Moved from/to" balloons; still missing: drag-and-drop moves (no text drag yet) and move options in Track Changes Options. Formatting revisions landed (#41): w:rPrChange/w:pPrChange/w:tblPrChange/w:trPrChange/w:tcPrChange/w:sectPrChange/w:numberingChange round-trip, are recorded while tracking, accepted/rejected and shown in balloons; still missing: tracked style-definition changes and table/section changes made in WordCraft	B	Issues #41, #400; source grep	Legal and editorial review workflows; templates with form controls	5–8	file-format-parity.md
6	Print dialog depth: desktop printer choice, copies, collation, duplex and grayscale submit through craft-print; File › Print retains preview, page ranges and odd/even (#641); driver tray/options and pages per sheet remain; web prints through the browser (#209)	B	ui.print → apps/wordcraft/src/print.rs; issue #15	Everyone who prints	5–8	hardware-parity.md
7	Dialog depth: 54 modal dialogs vs Word's ~100	B	Dialog enum in crates/ui-egui/src/dialogs.rs	Power users reach for dialogs the ribbon alone doesn't cover	11–19	ui-parity.md
8	Proofing is English only; no language per run, no dictionaries for other languages		crates/proof has one dictionary; Word ships 120 proofing tools; issues #25, #40, #100	Every non-English writer	25–45	localization-parity.md
9	Password-protected files can't be opened or saved		#55; docbin detects and refuses RC4/XOR	Corporate and legal users	6–10	file-format-parity.md
10	Objects: no group (#267 open), text in a freely rotated text box (free rotation and flips landed, #332; text direction, alignment and linked text boxes landed, #369; contour wrap and wrap side landed, #354), shape effects, WordArt 3-D effects and connector routing around shapes (WordArt effects and warps and glued connectors landed, #416), dragging members inside a Drawing Canvas (the canvas landed, #344)		parity-checklist.md (Shape Format 6/6, Layout › Group)	Newsletters, flyers, reports with diagrams	20–30	target-app-parity.md
11	Interface languages: 8 of the 12 key languages missing (hi, ar, fr, id, de, ko, vi, pt-PT); no mirrored RTL interface; ~5% of strings still English in the six translated catalogs		localization-parity.md	Most of the world's writers	50–80	localization-parity.md
12	Draw tab / ink: pens, pencil, highlighter, eraser, Select and Hide Ink landed (#307); Lasso Select, Add Pen, Ink to Shape and Ink Replay landed (#395); missing: Ink to Math, arrows in Ink to Shape, pressure, Word's own ink (w14:contentPart/InkML)		parity-checklist.md (Draw 9/11)	Pen and tablet users	4–8	hardware-parity.md
13	Charts and SmartArt editing (editing charts and SmartArt from Word, more chart types and formatting)		insert.chart and Chart Design basics landed (#409): WordCraft's own charts are editable; charts from Word stay read-only (no embedded-workbook editing), no combo/3D/radar/stock charts, axis or series formatting; Insert › SmartArt landed (#497) for graphics WordCraft makes	Reports and business documents	35–55	target-app-parity.md
14	.doc can't be written; metafile pictures and Word 6/95 files refused		crates/docbin is read-only	Users exchanging files with old Word or legacy systems	25–40	file-format-parity.md
15	References depth: sources not saved in DOCX (#169 open); no EndNote/Mendeley desktop integration		Sources live only in the session (#169 open)	Students and researchers	6–10	target-app-parity.md
16	Right-to-left completeness: kashida, RTL in HTML/ODT/RTF; eight older RTL bug reports to re-verify after #207 (#215, #211, #199, #66, #63, #48, #19). RTL tables and sections landed (#362)		layout-parity.md	Arabic, Persian, Hebrew writers	7–11	layout-parity.md
17	East Asian typography: Asian Typography options (Phonetic Guide landed, #288; Enclose Characters landed, #297; document grid landed, #391; vertical text landed, #491)		Catalog misses para.asianTypography	Chinese, Japanese and Korean documents	11–19	layout-parity.md
18	Screen-reader access to the document canvas: exposed, not yet tried with real screen readers		The canvas describes paragraphs, headings, lists, tables, links, pictures and the caret to AccessKit (#488), tested headlessly; no NVDA, VoiceOver or Orca run yet	Blind and low-vision users; public-sector procurement	3–6	ui-parity.md
19	RTF and ODT depth: notes, comments, revisions, sections, RTL		~1,500 lines each in crates/formats	Users exchanging with LibreOffice or older tools	18–27	file-format-parity.md
20	Performance on large real-world documents unmeasured (500+ pages, many pictures)		Only the 188-page sample benchmark	Thesis and book authors	10–20	layout-parity.md
21	Mail merge data sources: no Outlook/Contacts, Access or database sources, no email merge; CSV, typed lists (#247) and Excel/OpenDocument spreadsheets (#334) only		Select Recipients reads .csv/.tsv, .xlsx/.xlsm and .ods	Office administrators	4–8	target-app-parity.md
22	Ecosystem: no VBA execution (macros preserved only), no Office add-ins, no cloud storage, no real-time co-authoring		.docm keeps macros (#172)	Enterprise users with macro templates; teams	40–80 + owner decisions	target-app-parity.md
23	PDF Reflow (open a PDF as an editable document, Word for Windows)			Users who edit PDFs they receive	30–50	file-format-parity.md
24	Default shortcuts: ~135 of Word's ~250 (#330, #339, #343; Customize Keyboard #368, Customize Ribbon and the Quick Access Toolbar #379 landed)		ui-parity.md	Power users	4–7	ui-parity.md
25	In-app AI assistant (Copilot-style draft, rewrite, summarize)		Chat PR #178 open	Users expecting Copilot	15–30 + owner (provider)	target-app-parity.md
26	Minor formats: MHT, Works/WordPerfect, saving Word 2003 XML		Word XML Document (Flat OPC) opens and saves, Word 2003 XML opens (#548)	Rare	15–28	file-format-parity.md
27	View windows: Side by Side, Synchronous Scrolling, Arrange All, Switch Windows		parity-checklist.md (View 25/29)	Comparing documents	3–5	ui-parity.md
28	Dictate		tools.dictate missing	Dictation users	8–15 + owner (speech model)	hardware-parity.md
29	Equations: ink equations		#191 notes; long display equations wrap at operators (#326)	Maths-heavy documents	2–3	layout-parity.md

Beta needs #1–#7 (~150–230 h with the stability and layout work they imply): they are the blocking gaps, and closing them lifts file formats, layout, stability and UI enough to take the full number from ~60% to ~75%. Everything else is depth on the way to full parity.

By kind

The same gaps grouped the way the parity documents are, for agents working in one area.

• Feature gaps: #2 (preserve), #5, #10, #12, #13, #15, #17, #21, #25, #27, #28, #29; Clipboard pane, Manage Styles, Group (open PRs exist for the first three — review and merge before re-implementing). Paste Special, Advanced Find, Column Selection, Style Inspector, custom table styles, and Draw Table and Eraser (#303) landed on 2026-10-10.
• UI/UX gaps: #7, #18, #24; crop handles on the canvas (rotation handle landed, #332); table column drag on the ruler (#49, #217); context menus for objects and tables; Linux title bar theming (#78).
• File-format gaps: #1, #2, #5, #9, #14, #19, #23, #26; embedded fonts; glossary/building blocks.
• Hardware gaps: #6, #12, #28; scanner/Continuity Camera insert; KDE soft text (#140).
• Localization gaps: #8, #11, #16, #17; native-speaker review of every catalog (human).
• Stability and performance gaps: #3, #20.

Revision history

Date	Change	Summary
2026-10-11	trivial	Word XML Document (Flat OPC) and Word 2003 XML opening landed (#548); gap #26 narrowed to 15–28 h
2026-10-12	minor	Desktop File > Print now discovers printers and submits PDF jobs through pinned craft-print with printer choice, copies, collation, duplex and grayscale; the upstream preview, ranges, parity and Print Markup remain available, along with browser printing and PDF export. Remaining print parity includes driver-specific tray/options and pages-per-sheet UI; physical printer fidelity needs hardware validation.
2026-10-11	trivial	#13 narrowed: Insert › SmartArt with eight layouts, Text Pane and SmartArt Design landed (#497); 25–40 h left for charts
2026-10-11	trivial	File › Options panes landed (#485); removed from the dialog-depth list
2026-10-11	trivial	#18: the document canvas describes its text, structure and caret to screen readers through AccessKit (#488); real screen-reader testing remains
2026-10-11	trivial	Compare / Combine Documents and AutoCorrect Options dialogs and the Restrict Editing pane landed (#412); removed from the dialog-depth list; duplicate #7 rows merged
2026-10-11	trivial	#10: WordArt text effects and Transform warps, connectors glued to shapes (#416)
2026-10-11	trivial	#5 narrowed: content controls kept, shown and edited (#381); move tracking remains
2026-10-11	trivial	Insert › Chart landed (#409); gap #13 narrowed to editing Word's charts, more types and SmartArt, 35–55 h
2026-10-11	trivial	Line Numbers, Hyphenation, Language, Envelopes and Labels dialogs landed (#407); gap #7 at 30 dialogs, 16–24 h; duplicated #7 rows merged
2026-10-11	trivial	Caption, Index, Mark Index Entry, Custom Table of Contents, Source Manager and Create/Edit Source dialogs landed (#402); removed from the dialog-depth list
2026-10-11	trivial	Document grid landed (#391); removed from the East Asian gap
2026-10-11	trivial	Move tracking landed (#400); gap #5 narrowed to content controls, 5–8 h
2026-10-11	trivial	#4: note options per section (below text, end of section, restart each section/page) and the Footnote and Endnote dialog (#385)
2026-10-11	trivial	#10: Shape Format › Text: text direction, align text and linked text boxes (#369)
2026-10-11	trivial	#16: right-to-left tables (w:bidiVisual) and sections (w:bidi) laid out mirrored, with table.rtl and layout.sectionRtl (#362)
2026-10-11	trivial	#4: columns balance before a continuous section break (#350)
2026-10-11	trivial	#21: Excel (.xlsx/.xlsm) and OpenDocument (.ods) spreadsheets as recipient lists (#334); hours 6–10 → 4–8
2026-10-11	trivial	Insert › Icons landed (#309); removed from the objects gap
2026-10-11	trivial	#24 narrowed: Customize Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar customization landed (#379); the default shortcuts remain
2026-10-11	trivial	#24 narrowed: Customize Keyboard landed (#368); Customize Ribbon and the Quick Access Toolbar remain
2026-10-11	trivial	#24: Word's field keys (Alt+F9, Shift+F9, Ctrl+Shift+F9, Ctrl+F11, Ctrl+Shift+F11, F11, Shift+F11) (#339)
2026-10-10	trivial	#24: 125 of ~250 keyboard shortcuts after #330
2026-10-11	trivial	Collapsed duplicate rows left by parallel merges
2026-10-11	trivial	All 12 bibliography styles landed (#383); removed from References depth
2026-10-11	trivial	Formatting revisions landed (#41); gap #5 narrowed to move tracking and content controls, 8–12 h
2026-10-11	trivial	Omitted w:pPrDefault stays omitted across saves; explicit empty/default properties and later spacing edits remain writable. Synthetic preservation checks only; readiness estimates unchanged
2026-10-11	trivial	#12 narrowed: Lasso Select, Add Pen, Ink to Shape and Ink Replay landed (#395)
2026-10-10	trivial	Draw Table and Eraser landed (#303); removed from the feature-gap list
2026-10-10	trivial	Tabs and Borders and Shading dialogs landed (#320); removed from the dialog-depth list
2026-10-10	trivial	Columns, Symbol and Field dialogs landed (#321); removed from the dialog-depth list
2026-10-10	trivial	#2 narrowed: charts and SmartArt drawn (#292), and with OLE objects kept on save (#319); group shapes landed (#267); ink and drawing canvases remain
2026-10-10	trivial	#4: a document's own footnote separators and continuation notice are drawn and kept on save (#352)
2026-10-10	trivial	#4: long footnotes continue onto the next page (#352)
2026-10-10	trivial	Define New Multilevel List and Track Changes Options dialogs landed (#328); removed from the dialog-depth list
2026-10-11	trivial	Enclose Characters landed (#297); removed from the East Asian typography gap
2026-10-11	trivial	Phonetic Guide (ruby) landed (#288): gap 17 narrowed
2026-10-10	trivial	#10: wrap side (both sides, left, right, largest) for Square, Tight and Through objects (#354)
2026-10-10	trivial	#10: Tight and Through wrapping follow the object's outline (#354)
2026-10-10	trivial	#10: free rotation and flips for pictures, shapes and text boxes, with a rotation handle (#332); text boxes rotate their frame; their text stays upright
2026-10-10	trivial	#10: Drawing Canvas landed (#344); in-canvas dragging of members remains
2026-10-10	trivial	#29: long display equations wrap across lines (#326)
2026-10-10	trivial	#3: Windows lag on GPUs without a DirectX 12 driver fixed with an OpenGL fallback (#316)
2026-10-10	trivial	#6: desktop File › Print opens the system PDF viewer (#286)
2026-10-10	trivial	Table Properties dialog landed (#44); removed from the dialog-depth list
2026-10-10	trivial	Merged main: landed features removed from the feature-gap list
2026-10-10	minor	Beta note restated: full number back to the additive ~60% (method aligned with the standard, no new evidence)
2026-10-11	trivial	#491: vertical sections landed; vertical text removed from the East Asian gap
2026-10-10	major	First version, from the full re-measure: 29 ranked gaps with evidence, impact and hours
2026-10-10	trivial	#307: Draw tab pens, eraser and Hide Ink landed; ink gap narrowed