ui-parity.md

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