gridcraft/docs/gaps.md

Gaps

Last reviewed: 2026-10-11 · Last updated: 2026-10-20 · Change: minor (the Japanese catalog covers the dialogs, messages and menus) · Target: Microsoft Excel (Microsoft 365)

Every known shortfall against Excel, one entry each, ranked by user impact (what blocks someone using GridCraft for real work first). This is the work list: pick from the top, check the open PRs first (50 open on 2026-10-10; several already address entries here), and update the entry when you land work. Estimates are Opus 5.5 agent-hours. Area detail lives in the linked parity docs; the summary is in target-app-parity.md.

Kinds: F feature · U UI/UX · FF file format · H hardware · L localization · P performance · S stability.

Beta blockers

No alpha blockers: every core workflow passes the alpha gate.

1. XLSX output not proven in Excel or on real files (FF)

• Missing: a run over a real-world XLSX corpus, and confirmation that Excel opens what we save with no repair prompt (PivotTables, charts, CF, validation, dynamic arrays, tables).
• Evidence: round-trip tests cover our own files only (crates/xlsx/src/tests/); PivotTable round-trip noted as "unverified in real Excel" since 10-07; #64 (dynamic-array flag) shows the class of bug.
• Impact: the main format; a repair prompt or silent loss destroys trust.
• Estimate: 15–25 h, plus owner time in Excel. file-format-parity.md

2. Large workbooks don't open; recalc is single-threaded (P, H)

• Missing: streaming read for ~100 MB XLSX; multi-threaded recalc; 100k-dependent edit under 100 ms (was ~0.4 s); whole-sheet operations bounded.
• Evidence: #175; no threading in crates/calc; PR #152 (whole-sheet Fill/Remove Duplicates out of memory), PR #151 (current region past 10,000 rows).
• Impact: finance and data users routinely have big workbooks.
• Estimate: 25–40 h. target-app-parity.md, hardware-parity.md

3. Some unmodelled XLSX content is dropped on save (FF)

• Missing: slicers and their caches, timelines, the data model, query tables attached to tables, unmodelled extLst entries, chart details. Pass-through (#330) keeps custom XML, external links, connections, sheet query tables, printer settings, form and ActiveX controls, OLE objects and sheet backgrounds; never checked in Excel (repair prompts unknown).
• Evidence: crates/xlsx/src/passthrough.rs (what is kept, and why the rest isn't).
• Impact: open-edit-save still simplifies workbooks with slicers, timelines or Power Pivot.
• Estimate: 6–10 h. file-format-parity.md

4. Charts lose options on round trip; shallow chart model (F, FF)

• Missing: axis scaling, label options, error bars, per-point formatting.
• Evidence: Chart holds only title, legend position, two flags and axis titles (crates/model/src/features.rs); PRs #158, #161 open; charts can't be resized (#190). Smooth lines (#62), Switch Row/Column (#116) and trendlines (read, written, drawn) landed. Multi-level category axes (year beside month) are read, drawn and written back. (crates/model/src/features.rs); all 2-D kinds survive XLSX round trip (#158, #161); charts can't be resized (#190). Smooth lines (#62), Switch Row/Column (#116) and trendlines (read, written, drawn) landed.
• Impact: charts are in most business workbooks.
• Estimate: 25–35 h for beta (40–60 h full). chart-parity.md

5. Text in non-Latin scripts doesn't render or export (L)

• Missing: CJK font fallback, complex shaping (Arabic, Devanagari, Thai), bidi, non-Latin PDF.
• Evidence: system-font fallback for CJK, Thai and Hebrew landed in #38 (closed #32); #142 (Chinese text) awaits confirmation; #54 (symbols as boxes on Fedora); no shaping for Arabic or Devanagari; PDF writer uses 14 standard fonts only.
• Impact: blocks most of the world's users even with an English UI.
• Estimate: 12–20 h. localization-parity.md

6. Calculation correctness bugs (F)

• Missing: nothing known. The four this entry tracked have landed: 15-significant-digit equality (#57, so =0.1+0.2=0.3 is TRUE and MATCH and COUNTIF agree), spill updates after structural edits and cleared blockers (#133, #139; PRs #148, #157), 3-D span deletion (#140), and qualified names after a sheet rename (#134). Iterative calculation for circular references landed too (no Options dialog yet, which is §13's).
• Impact: wrong numbers are worse than missing features, so this entry is kept until the oracle suite of §15 can say the category is clear rather than only these five reports being so.
• Estimate: — function-parity.md

7. Legacy .xls only partly read; encrypted workbooks can't be saved with a password (FF)

• Evidence: #121: Excel 97-2003 (BIFF8) .xls files now open (values, formulas, number formats, merges, sizes, names); fonts, fills, borders, charts, pictures, comments, conditional formats, validation and BIFF5 files are not read, and .xls is never written. Password-encrypted .xlsx workbooks (Agile and Standard encryption) open with their password since #11, but are saved without it: GridCraft can't write an encrypted file yet. Encrypted .xls (FILEPASS) and RC4-encrypted files are still refused with a message.
• Impact: common in finance, government and anything older than 2007; encrypted files are routine in business.
• Estimate: 14–21 h (.xls styles and objects 10–15, encryption 4–6). file-format-parity.md

8. PivotTables: no slicers, calculated items, PivotCharts; unverified in Excel (F)

• Evidence: parity-checklist.md missing insert.slicer, insert.timeline, insert.pivotChart, table.insertSlicer; calculated items and GETPIVOTDATA missing (calculated fields and values on rows done).
• Impact: pivots are the analyst's main tool.
• Estimate: 20–30 h for beta (25–40 h full).

9. Keyboard-first users: key tips, shortcuts, context menus (U)

• Next/previous sheet navigation now skips Hidden and VeryHidden worksheets without activating a hidden sheet at the workbook boundary. Other keyboard gaps below remain.
• Evidence: #33, #49 (key tips: initial Home-tab support landed in #43 on 10-10, the rest of the ribbon not yet), #110, #28 (selection), 59 command shortcuts vs Excel's 200+.
• Estimate: 12–20 h. ui-parity.md

10. Crashes and freezes reported from the field (S)

• Evidence: #120 (Intel UHD crash on Windows), #117 (error on close, macOS), #166 (freeze opening from Finder; PRs #164, #167), #76 (flashing on Windows 11), #130 (caught panic in table styles).
• Estimate: 8–12 h plus an autosave/recovery soak.

After beta

11. No localization at all (L)

• Catalog: ribbon-only in five languages (#31, #104, #82; ~12% of strings each), and 943 strings (~43%) in Japanese (10-17) and Brazilian Portuguese, including the dialog labels, messages, File view and menus. The remaining dialogs, menus and messages are English; en-US function names and separators (#45); German in PR #163. Estimate: 100–165 h including #5. localization-parity.md

12. Get & Transform, external data, data model (F)

• No Power Query editor, connections, refresh, From Web/database/folder sources, relationships or data model (data.fromWeb, data.relationships missing). Estimate: 60–100 h.

13. Analysis tools: Solver, Analysis ToolPak, Forecast Sheet (F)

• data.solver, data.analysisToolPak missing. Forecast Sheet (data.forecastSheet) and the FORECAST.ETS family are in, including Forecast Start (hindcast, #785). Estimate: 15–25 h.
• Solver (data.solver, #327) has Simplex LP with integer/binary branch and bound, a local nonlinear method (augmented Lagrangian, not GRG), the Evolutionary method, and Answer and Limits reports. Report refusal leaves the solution, saved model and history unchanged; a successful solve and its reports share one Undo step (#1050). AllDifferent constraints, the Solver Options dialog, the Sensitivity and Population reports and Load/Save Model remain. The Analysis ToolPak (data.analysisToolPak) has 13 of 19 tools. Forecast Sheet (data.forecastSheet) and the FORECAST.ETS family are in; the sheet has no Forecast Start (hindcast) option yet. Estimate: 12–20 h.

14. Page Layout view and print polish (U, F)

• Page Layout view landed (#329): paper view with rulers and in-place header/footer editing. Margins are dragged on the rulers (#792). Remaining: pictures in headers/footers, Different First Page / Odd & Even pages. Desktop now submits directly through craft-print with printer choice, copies, duplex and grayscale; browser printing stays available. Print ranges and driver tray/options UI remain. Estimate: 5–10 h.

15. Remaining functions and an oracle suite (F)

• 18 missing, 9 stubs; no Excel-computed oracle corpus; #137, #138. Estimate: 16–26 h.
• 20 missing, 9 stubs; no Excel-computed oracle corpus; #137, #138. Estimate: 17–29 h.
• 21 missing, 9 stubs; no Excel-computed oracle corpus; #137, #138. Estimate: 18–30 h.
• 18 missing, 9 stubs; no Excel-computed oracle corpus; #137, #138. Estimate: 18–30 h. function-parity.md

16. Collaboration and review (F)

• No co-authoring, Show Changes, comment navigation, notes ↔ comments conversion; cloud storage requested (#86). Estimate: 35–55 h (co-authoring scope needs the owner).

17. Insert objects (F)

• Ink strokes now survive XLSX save/reopen as editable polylines. Inserted icons still lose their identity/artwork on save (#551); native Office InkML import is not implemented.
• SmartArt, WordArt, equations, signature line, objects, 3-D models, screenshot; 8 shape kinds vs ~170; pictures in cells (#61, PR #105). Estimate: 25–40 h.

18. Accessibility (U)

• AccessKit on, but no accessible grid/ribbon tree, no high contrast, no checker. Estimate: 12–18 h. ui-parity.md

19. XLSB/ODS beyond values; minor formats (FF)

• XLSB and ODS import values only, no write; no .prn, .dif, .slk, XML Spreadsheet 2003; CSV writes raw instead of displayed values; templates saved with the workbook content type. Estimate: 15–23 h.

20. Multiple windows; pen pressure (H)

• One window (#162, PR #171); no pressure or tilt in ink. Estimate: 10–14 h. hardware-parity.md

21. Automation and add-ins (F)

• VBA out of scope (dropped on open, #6); no Office Scripts compatibility; no plugin or custom function API. Estimate: 25–40 h plus an owner decision.

22. AI features (F)

• No in-app assistant, natural-language formulas or Analyze Data; agent control via MCP is already strong. Estimate: 30–50 h; model choice needs the owner.

23. Mobile (platform)

• No iOS, iPadOS or Android layout. Estimate: 30–60 h.

24. Fonts and look (U)

• Font weights beyond regular/bold (#168), system font list (#4), Calibri metrics (#29), macOS chrome (#169, #170), Linux title bar (#54), icon consistency across apps (#173). Estimate: 7–12 h.

Revision history

Date	Change	Summary
2026-10-20	minor	§11: the Japanese catalog covers the dialogs, messages and menus — 943 keys (~43%), matching the pt-BR coverage; a test keeps the two catalogs in step
2026-10-17	minor	§6: the five reports it tracked are closed and their PRs merged (#57, #133, #139, #140, #134; PRs #148, #155, #156, #157); the entry stays open for §15's oracle suite
2026-10-15	minor	§13: Solver prepares reports before committing the solution, model and report sheets together; report refusal preserves the workbook and Undo/Redo (#1050)
2026-10-13	trivial	§4: multi-level category axes landed
2026-10-12	minor	§9: next/previous sheet commands retain the current visible sheet and selection when there is no visible destination
2026-10-12	minor	rows auto-fit oversized fonts on open and whole-row/column formatting (#833)
2026-10-12	minor	Page Layout view: dragging margins on the rulers (#792) removed from the §14 remainder
2026-10-12	minor	§13: Forecast Sheet Forecast Start (hindcast) landed (#785)
2026-10-12	minor	§17: ink geometry survives XLSX saves; the icon portion of #551 remains
2026-10-12	minor	§8: values on rows (Σ Values in Rows, dataOnRows) laid out, moved and round-tripped
2026-10-12	minor	Desktop File > Print now discovers printers and submits PDF jobs through pinned craft-print with printer choice, copies, duplex and grayscale; browser printing and PDF export remain available. Remaining print parity includes page ranges and driver-specific tray/options UI; physical printer fidelity needs hardware validation.
2026-10-11	minor	§6: iterative calculation for circular references landed (Maximum Iterations, Maximum Change)
2026-10-11	minor	§15: trim-reference operators (A1:.E10, A1.:E10, A1.:.E10) parse and evaluate
2026-10-11	minor	§4: trendlines (six types, forecast, equation and R²) read, written and drawn
2026-10-11	minor	§7: password-encrypted workbooks open with their password; saving with one remains (#11)
2026-10-11	minor	§16: comment navigation, Show Comments, Show All Notes and Convert to Comments landed (#281)
2026-10-11	minor	§7: .xls (BIFF8) import of values, formulas and number formats (#121)
2026-10-11	minor	§3: XLSX pass-through keeps custom XML, external links, connections, query tables, printer settings, controls and OLE objects (#330, #324)
2026-10-11	minor	§13: Forecast Sheet landed (#322)
2026-10-11	minor	§15: ODDFPRICE, ODDFYIELD, ODDLPRICE, ODDLYIELD added (18 functions missing)
2026-10-11	minor	§15: PERCENTOF and EUROCONVERT added (20 functions missing)
2026-10-11	minor	§15: BAHTTEXT added (21 functions missing)
2026-10-11	minor	§15: TRIMRANGE added (21 functions missing; trim-reference operators still missing)
2026-10-11	minor	§16: Allow Edit Ranges landed (#307)
2026-10-11	minor	§8: calculated fields added
2026-10-11	minor	§8: PivotCharts added
2026-10-11	minor	§13, §15: FORECAST.ETS family landed (#314)
2026-10-10	minor	Updated for the 10-10 merges (#17, #31, #38, #62, #82, #104, #116) and the new chart resize bug (#190)
2026-10-10	minor	Noted that no gap blocks the alpha gate
2026-10-10	major	Created: 24 ranked gaps with evidence, from the full re-measure and the 60 open issues