Fix #921: the Properties panel's Gradient section with Type and Draw

With the Gradient tool active, the Properties panel shows a Gradient
section: the type buttons (Linear, Radial, Freeform) and, for a
freeform gradient, Draw: Points or Lines as radio buttons. The Gradient
panel and the Properties panel share the type row and the draw mode
change.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

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: 2026-10-10 (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: 2026-10-10 (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/ui-egui/src/dialogs/missing_links.rs

@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 //! (`links.relink`), and with Apply to All the other missing files are looked for by name in its
 //! folder; Ignore keeps the images showing their saved preview, and with Apply to All ignores the
 //! rest. Afterwards, with Preferences › Update Links: Ask When Modified, the modified links are
-//! offered for update (`links.update`).
+//! offered for update (`links.update`). Files changed while the app was in the background are
+//! checked when its window comes back to the front ([`after_focus`]).
 //!
 //! Fields: `missing` (`[{name, path, ids}]`, the one asked about first), `modified` (the ids of
 //! images whose file was modified), `applyToAll`, `path` (the replacement file; picked when empty)
@@ -74,6 +75,39 @@ fn ask_update(app: &mut VectorcraftApp, ids: Vec<Value>) {
     super::confirm::ask(app, tl!("Update Modified Links"), &detail, "links.update", json!({ "ids": ids }));
 }
 
+/// A linked file as last seen: its path, and its size and modification time when it exists.
+pub(crate) type FileStamp = (String, Option<(u64, Option<std::time::SystemTime>)>);
+
+/// The window came back to the front (#925): linked files of the active document changed
+/// meanwhile are read again with Update Links: Automatically, offered for update with Ask When
+/// Modified (once per change of a file), and left to the Links panel with Manually. Nothing is
+/// asked while a dialog is open.
+pub fn after_focus(app: &mut VectorcraftApp) {
+    if cfg!(target_arch = "wasm32") || app.session.prefs.update_links == "manually" || app.ui.dialog.is_some() || app.session.active().is_none() {
+        return;
+    }
+    let Ok(r) = app.session.execute("links.check", &json!({})) else { return };
+    let rows: Vec<Value> = r["links"].as_array().into_iter().flatten().filter(|l| l["status"] == "modified").cloned().collect();
+    if rows.is_empty() {
+        return;
+    }
+    if app.session.prefs.update_links == "automatically" {
+        // A failure shows in the status bar, as the Links panel's Update Link does.
+        let _ = app.run("links.update", json!({ "ids": ids(&rows) }));
+        return;
+    }
+    // The file each link reads (one found elsewhere after a move), its size and when it was last
+    // changed (two changes can share a time on file systems that keep it coarsely).
+    let stamp = |l: &Value| -> FileStamp {
+        let path = l["found"].as_str().or(l["path"].as_str()).unwrap_or_default().to_string();
+        let meta = std::fs::metadata(&path).ok();
+        let at = meta.as_ref().map(|m| (m.len(), m.modified().ok()));
+        (path, at)
+    };
+    let new: Vec<Value> = rows.into_iter().filter(|l| app.links_asked.insert(stamp(l))).collect();
+    ask_update(app, ids(&new));
+}
+
 fn body(_: &mut VectorcraftApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, d: &mut Dialog) -> bool {
     let t = Tokens::get(ui.ctx());
     let missing = d.fields.get("missing").and_then(Value::as_array).map_or(&[][..], Vec::as_slice);
@@ -262,4 +296,58 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(app.ui.dialog.is_none());
         let _ = std::fs::remove_dir_all(dir);
     }
+
+    /// #925: a linked file changed while the app was in the background follows Update Links when
+    /// the window comes back to the front.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_link_changed_in_the_background_follows_update_links_on_focus() {
+        let dir = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("vectorcraft-focus-links-{}", std::process::id()));
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(&dir).unwrap();
+        let mut app = VectorcraftApp::new(Session::new(), Default::default());
+        app.services.read = Some(Box::new(|p: &str| std::fs::read(p).map_err(|e| e.to_string())));
+        app.run("file.new", json!({"width": 400, "height": 300})).unwrap();
+        let pic = dir.join("a.png");
+        // Each version a different size, so no two share a length and modification time.
+        let mut version = 0;
+        let mut change = || {
+            version += 1;
+            let mut out = vec![];
+            image::RgbaImage::from_pixel(100 + version, 50, image::Rgba([40 * version as u8, 0, 0, 255]))
+                .write_to(&mut std::io::Cursor::new(&mut out), image::ImageFormat::Png)
+                .unwrap();
+            std::fs::write(&pic, out).unwrap();
+        };
+        change();
+        app.run("file.place", json!({"path": pic.to_string_lossy()})).unwrap();
+        let modified = |app: &mut VectorcraftApp| app.run("links.check", json!({})).unwrap()["modified"].as_u64().unwrap();
+        // The window coming to the front asks for the check.
+        let mut raw = egui::RawInput { events: vec![egui::Event::WindowFocused(true)], ..Default::default() };
+        app.raw_input_hook(&mut raw);
+        assert!(app.links_check);
+        // Ask When Modified (the default): asked once per change.
+        change();
+        after_focus(&mut app);
+        let d = app.ui.dialog.take().expect("asks");
+        assert_eq!(d.str("__command"), "links.update");
+        after_focus(&mut app);
+        assert!(app.ui.dialog.is_none(), "not twice for the same change");
+        change();
+        after_focus(&mut app);
+        assert!(app.ui.dialog.is_some(), "a new change asks again");
+        super::super::confirm(&mut app).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(modified(&mut app), 0);
+        // Automatically: read again without asking.
+        app.run("prefs.set", json!({"key": "updateLinks", "value": "automatically"})).unwrap();
+        change();
+        after_focus(&mut app);
+        assert!(app.ui.dialog.is_none());
+        assert_eq!(modified(&mut app), 0);
+        // Manually: left to the Links panel.
+        app.run("prefs.set", json!({"key": "updateLinks", "value": "manually"})).unwrap();
+        change();
+        after_focus(&mut app);
+        assert!(app.ui.dialog.is_none());
+        assert_eq!(modified(&mut app), 1);
+        let _ = std::fs::remove_dir_all(dir);
+    }
 }

crates/ui-egui/src/lib.rs

@@ -371,6 +371,12 @@ pub struct VectorcraftApp {
     /// The look for fonts installed or removed while the app was in the background, running
     /// ([`Self::refresh_installed_fonts`]): whether they were.
     font_check: Option<std::sync::mpsc::Receiver<bool>>,
+    /// The window came back to the front: check the active document's linked files next frame
+    /// ([`dialogs::missing_links::after_focus`]).
+    pub(crate) links_check: bool,
+    /// The changed linked files already offered for update (path, size and modification time), so
+    /// coming back to the window doesn't ask about the same change twice.
+    pub(crate) links_asked: std::collections::HashSet<dialogs::missing_links::FileStamp>,
     /// Keyboard pastes of something other than text (see [`shortcuts::PasteChord`]).
     pub(crate) paste_chord: shortcuts::PasteChord,
     /// Saves and exports running in the background (Preferences → File Handling).
@@ -468,6 +474,8 @@ impl VectorcraftApp {
             clipboard_probe: None,
             picks: picks::Picks::default(),
             font_check: None,
+            links_check: false,
+            links_asked: Default::default(),
             paste_chord: Default::default(),
             background: Default::default(),
             recovery: Default::default(),
@@ -881,6 +889,9 @@ impl VectorcraftApp {
             self.system_paste = wanted && self.system_clipboard_pasteable();
         }
         self.poll_font_check(ctx);
+        if std::mem::take(&mut self.links_check) {
+            dialogs::missing_links::after_focus(self);
+        }
         picks::poll(self, ctx);
         background::poll(self);
         if !self.background.jobs.is_empty() {
@@ -1014,7 +1025,10 @@ impl VectorcraftApp {
             match e {
                 egui::Event::ModifiersChanged(m) => self.host_modifiers = *m,
                 egui::Event::WindowFocused(false) => self.host_modifiers = egui::Modifiers::NONE,
-                egui::Event::WindowFocused(true) => self.refresh_installed_fonts(),
+                egui::Event::WindowFocused(true) => {
+                    self.refresh_installed_fonts();
+                    self.links_check = true;
+                }
                 _ => {}
             }
         }

crates/ui-egui/src/panels/gradient.rs

@@ -95,6 +95,43 @@ fn dragged_stops(origin: &[GradientStop], i: usize, offset: f32, copy: bool, ove
 
 // ---------- shared edits ----------
 
+/// The Type row: Linear, Radial and Freeform for the paint behind the active proxy (one of them
+/// lit when it is a gradient). The Gradient panel's and the Properties panel's.
+pub(crate) fn type_row(app: &mut VectorcraftApp, ui: &mut Ui) {
+    let kind = current(app).map(|g| g.gradient.kind);
+    ui.horizontal(|ui| {
+        widgets::dim_label(ui, tl!("Type:"));
+        for (k, icon, tip) in [
+            (GradientKind::Linear, "dc-grad-linear", tl!("Linear Gradient")),
+            (GradientKind::Radial, "dc-grad-radial", tl!("Radial Gradient")),
+            (GradientKind::Freeform, "dc-grad-freeform", tl!("Freeform Gradient")),
+        ] {
+            if widgets::icon_button(ui, icon, tip, kind == Some(k), 24.0).clicked() {
+                edit(app, json!({"kind": k.label().to_lowercase()}), Live::Released);
+            }
+        }
+    });
+}
+
+/// Set how the Gradient tool adds the points of the freeform gradient behind the active proxy.
+fn set_draw_mode(app: &mut VectorcraftApp, mode: FreeformMode) {
+    edit(app, json!({ "mode": mode.label().to_lowercase() }), Live::Released);
+}
+
+/// The Properties panel's Draw row for a freeform gradient: Points and Lines as radio buttons.
+pub(crate) fn draw_radios(app: &mut VectorcraftApp, ui: &mut Ui) {
+    let Some(g) = current(app).filter(|g| g.gradient.kind == GradientKind::Freeform) else { return };
+    let mode = shown_points(&g).mode;
+    ui.horizontal(|ui| {
+        widgets::dim_label(ui, tl!("Draw:"));
+        for (m, label) in [(FreeformMode::Points, tl!("Points")), (FreeformMode::Lines, tl!("Lines"))] {
+            if widgets::radio(ui, label, mode == m, true) && mode != m {
+                set_draw_mode(app, m);
+            }
+        }
+    });
+}
+
 /// The gradient behind the active proxy.
 fn current(app: &VectorcraftApp) -> Option<GradientPaint> {
     match active_paint(app) {
@@ -184,18 +221,7 @@ pub fn show(app: &mut VectorcraftApp, ui: &mut Ui) {
         }
         ui.add_space(4.0);
         ui.vertical(|ui| {
-            ui.horizontal(|ui| {
-                widgets::dim_label(ui, tl!("Type:"));
-                for (k, icon, tip) in [
-                    (GradientKind::Linear, "dc-grad-linear", tl!("Linear Gradient")),
-                    (GradientKind::Radial, "dc-grad-radial", tl!("Radial Gradient")),
-                    (GradientKind::Freeform, "dc-grad-freeform", tl!("Freeform Gradient")),
-                ] {
-                    if widgets::icon_button(ui, icon, tip, is_grad && kind == k, 24.0).clicked() {
-                        edit(app, json!({"kind": k.label().to_lowercase()}), Live::Released);
-                    }
-                }
-            });
+            type_row(app, ui);
             if widgets::flat_button(ui, tl!("Edit Gradient"), 96.0).clicked() {
                 app.select_tool("gradient");
             }
@@ -297,7 +323,7 @@ fn freeform_section(app: &mut VectorcraftApp, ui: &mut Ui, g: &GradientPaint) {
             (FreeformMode::Lines, "spline", tl!("Lines: clicks add points joined by a line")),
         ] {
             if widgets::icon_button(ui, icon, tip, mode == m, 24.0).clicked() && mode != m {
-                edit(app, json!({ "mode": m.label().to_lowercase() }), Live::Released);
+                set_draw_mode(app, m);
             }
         }
     });

crates/ui-egui/src/panels/properties.rs

@@ -40,6 +40,13 @@ pub fn show(app: &mut VectorcraftApp, ui: &mut Ui) {
     }
     transform_section(app, ui);
     divider(ui);
+    // The Gradient tool: the gradient's type and, for a freeform one, how clicks add points (#921).
+    if app.session.tool_id() == "gradient" {
+        section_header(ui, tl!("Gradient"));
+        super::gradient::type_row(app, ui);
+        super::gradient::draw_radios(app, ui);
+        divider(ui);
+    }
     let is_image = n_sel == 1 && matches!(first.as_ref().map(|n| &n.kind), Some(NodeKind::Image(_)));
     if is_image {
         image_section(app, ui);
@@ -563,6 +570,31 @@ mod tests {
         frame(app, ctx, vec![b(false)]);
     }
 
+    /// #921: with the Gradient tool, a Gradient section: the type, and for a freeform gradient
+    /// Draw as Points or Lines radio buttons.
+    #[test]
+    fn the_gradient_tool_shows_the_gradient_type_and_draw() {
+        let mut app = VectorcraftApp::new(Session::new(), Default::default());
+        app.run("file.new", json!({"width": 200, "height": 100})).unwrap();
+        let id = app.run("shape.rectangle", json!({"x": 10, "y": 10, "width": 50, "height": 40})).unwrap()["id"].as_u64().unwrap();
+        app.run("paint.setFill", json!({"gradient": {}})).unwrap();
+        let ctx = egui::Context::default();
+        let has = |texts: &[(String, Rect)], s: &str| texts.iter().any(|(t, _)| t == s);
+        let texts = frame(&mut app, &ctx, vec![]);
+        assert!(!has(&texts, "Gradient"), "only with the Gradient tool");
+        app.select_tool("gradient");
+        let texts = frame(&mut app, &ctx, vec![]);
+        assert!(has(&texts, "Gradient") && has(&texts, "Type:") && !has(&texts, "Draw:"), "{texts:?}");
+        app.run("paint.editGradient", json!({"kind": "freeform"})).unwrap();
+        frame(&mut app, &ctx, vec![]);
+        let texts = frame(&mut app, &ctx, vec![]);
+        assert!(has(&texts, "Draw:") && has(&texts, "Points") && has(&texts, "Lines"), "{texts:?}");
+        click(&mut app, &ctx, &texts, "Lines");
+        let fill = app.session.doc().unwrap().doc.node(vectorcraft_doc::NodeId(id)).unwrap().appearance.fill_paint();
+        let vectorcraft_color::Paint::Gradient(g) = fill else { panic!("{fill:?}") };
+        assert_eq!(super::super::gradient::shown_points(&g).mode, vectorcraft_color::FreeformMode::Lines);
+    }
+
     /// #696: the number fields are all as wide: the Transform fields, the rotation, the corner
     /// radius, Opacity and the stroke weight.
     #[test]

crates/ui-egui/src/panels/tabs.rs

@@ -141,22 +141,20 @@ pub fn show(app: &mut VectorcraftApp, ui: &mut Ui) {
         }
         ui.end_row();
         ui.label(egui::RichText::new(tl!("Leader:")).color(t.text));
-        let mut leader = stops.get(sel).map(|s| s.leader.clone()).unwrap_or_default();
-        if ui.add_enabled(stops.get(sel).is_some(), egui::TextEdit::singleline(&mut leader).desired_width(90.0)).lost_focus()
-            && let Some(s) = stops.get_mut(sel)
-            && s.leader != leader
-        {
+        // The fields keep what is typed until Enter or a click away commits it (#924).
+        let leader = stops.get(sel).map(|s| s.leader.clone()).unwrap_or_default();
+        let typed = ui.add_enabled_ui(stops.get(sel).is_some(), |ui| widgets::exact_text_field(ui, "tabs-leader", &leader, 90.0)).inner;
+        if let (Some(leader), Some(s)) = (typed, stops.get_mut(sel)) {
+            // Up to eight characters repeat in the leader.
             s.leader = leader.chars().take(8).collect();
             apply(app, &stops);
         }
         ui.end_row();
         ui.label(egui::RichText::new(tl!("Align On:")).color(t.text));
         let decimal = stops.get(sel).is_some_and(|s| s.align == TabAlign::Decimal);
-        let mut on = stops.get(sel).map(|s| s.align_on.to_string()).unwrap_or_else(|| ".".into());
-        if ui.add_enabled(decimal, egui::TextEdit::singleline(&mut on).desired_width(30.0)).lost_focus()
-            && let (Some(s), Some(c)) = (stops.get_mut(sel), on.chars().next())
-            && s.align_on != c
-        {
+        let on = stops.get(sel).map(|s| s.align_on.to_string()).unwrap_or_else(|| ".".into());
+        let typed = ui.add_enabled_ui(decimal, |ui| widgets::exact_text_field(ui, "tabs-align-on", &on, 30.0)).inner;
+        if let (Some(c), Some(s)) = (typed.and_then(|t| t.chars().next()), stops.get_mut(sel)) {
             s.align_on = c;
             apply(app, &stops);
         }
@@ -305,6 +303,62 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(back[1]["align"], json!("decimal"));
     }
 
+    /// #924: Leader and Align On keep what is typed, frame after frame, until Enter applies it
+    /// (spaces kept, eight characters at most).
+    #[test]
+    fn leader_and_align_on_keep_what_is_typed_until_enter() {
+        let mut app = VectorcraftApp::new(Session::new(), Default::default());
+        app.session.execute("file.new", &json!({})).unwrap();
+        app.session.execute("text.create", &json!({"x": 10, "y": 20, "text": "a	b", "area": {"width": 300, "height": 100}})).unwrap();
+        app.session.execute("text.tabs.set", &json!({"stops": [{"position": 50, "align": "decimal"}]})).unwrap();
+        let ctx = egui::Context::default();
+        let screen = egui::Rect::from_min_size(egui::Pos2::ZERO, vec2(320.0, 400.0));
+        // One frame with `events` → the texts painted and where.
+        let frame = |app: &mut VectorcraftApp, events: Vec<egui::Event>| {
+            let mut out = ctx.run_ui(egui::RawInput { screen_rect: Some(screen), events, ..Default::default() }, |ui| show(app, ui));
+            out.textures_delta.clear();
+            out.shapes
+                .iter()
+                .filter_map(|c| match &c.shape {
+                    egui::Shape::Text(t) => Some((t.galley.text().to_string(), t.visual_bounding_rect())),
+                    _ => None,
+                })
+                .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+        };
+        let key = |key| egui::Event::Key { key, physical_key: None, pressed: true, repeat: false, modifiers: Default::default() };
+        let click = |at| {
+            [true, false].map(|pressed| egui::Event::PointerButton {
+                pos: at,
+                button: egui::PointerButton::Primary,
+                pressed,
+                modifiers: Default::default(),
+            })
+        };
+        let stop = |app: &VectorcraftApp| current(app).unwrap().1[0].clone();
+        for (label, typed, want) in [("Leader:", [". ", "_", "123456789"], ". _12345"), ("Align On:", [",", "", ""], ",")] {
+            let texts = frame(&mut app, vec![]);
+            let r = texts.iter().find(|(t, _)| t == label).unwrap_or_else(|| panic!("{label} in {texts:?}")).1;
+            let at = egui::pos2(r.right() + 30.0, r.center().y);
+            let [down, up] = click(at);
+            frame(&mut app, vec![egui::Event::PointerMoved(at), down]);
+            frame(&mut app, vec![up]);
+            // Select what is there, then type in pieces over several frames.
+            frame(
+                &mut app,
+                vec![egui::Event::Key { key: egui::Key::A, physical_key: None, pressed: true, repeat: false, modifiers: egui::Modifiers::COMMAND }],
+            );
+            for piece in typed.iter().filter(|p| !p.is_empty()) {
+                frame(&mut app, vec![egui::Event::Text(piece.to_string())]);
+                frame(&mut app, vec![]);
+            }
+            frame(&mut app, vec![key(egui::Key::Enter)]);
+            frame(&mut app, vec![]);
+            let s = stop(&app);
+            let got = if label == "Leader:" { s.leader } else { s.align_on.to_string() };
+            assert_eq!(got, want, "{label}");
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Position Panel Above Text floats the panel over the text, its ruler's 0 on the frame's left
     /// edge and a stop's mark over the column it sets, at any zoom (#729).
     #[test]

crates/ui-egui/src/widgets.rs

@@ -364,6 +364,14 @@ pub fn text_field(ui: &mut Ui, id: impl std::hash::Hash + std::fmt::Debug, value
     (resp.lost_focus() && buf.trim() != shown).then(|| buf.trim().to_string())
 }
 
+/// A one-line [`text_field`] that keeps the text exactly as typed, spaces included (a tab
+/// leader such as ". "). Returns it when a change is committed (Enter or focus loss).
+pub fn exact_text_field(ui: &mut Ui, id: impl std::hash::Hash + std::fmt::Debug, value: &str, width: f32) -> Option<String> {
+    let id = ui.id().with(id);
+    let (buf, resp, _) = recessed_text(ui, id, value, width, 1);
+    (resp.lost_focus() && buf != value).then_some(buf)
+}
+
 /// A form row: `label` in a column `label_width` wide, then what `add` draws.
 pub fn label_row(ui: &mut Ui, label: &str, label_width: f32, add: impl FnOnce(&mut Ui)) {
     ui.horizontal(|ui| {

docs/control-protocol.md

@@ -404,7 +404,9 @@ Missing linked files: `app.open` of a document whose linked images' files can't
 folder; `ui.dialog.set {field: "discard", value: true}` then confirm ignores it (the images keep their preview), with
 `applyToAll` the rest too. The next missing file is asked about after each answer; `ui.dialog.cancel` stops asking.
 Then, with the preference `updateLinks: "askWhenModified"`, modified linked files are offered for update in a
-`confirm` dialog whose `ui.dialog.confirm` runs `links.update`.
+`confirm` dialog whose `ui.dialog.confirm` runs `links.update`. The same happens when the app's window comes back to
+the front and a linked file of the active document changed meanwhile (asked once per change of a file); with
+`"automatically"` the files are read again at once, with `"manually"` the Links panel shows them as modified.
 
 Missing fonts: once the missing linked file questions are answered, or at once when there are none, `app.open` of a
 document whose type uses fonts that aren't available (`text.missingFonts`) opens the `missingFonts` dialog, one document

docs/mcp.md

@@ -1809,7 +1809,8 @@ the preview instead of the pixels, plus the path relative to the saved file. `do
 the linked files again, looking for each at its path, then at its relative path and by name in the document's folder
 (so a folder moved with its links still opens): the result lists `missingLinks` (their images show the preview),
 `modifiedLinks` (left as they were; read again only with the preference `updateLinks: "automatically"`, then they are
-in `updatedLinks`), each as `{name, path, ids}`. `links.check` reports every link's `status` (`ok`, `modified`,
+in `updatedLinks`), each as `{name, path, ids}`. The desktop app also checks the active document's links when its window
+comes back to the front, following the same preference. `links.check` reports every link's `status` (`ok`, `modified`,
 `missing`), `links.update {ids?}` reads modified files again and `links.relink {ids?, path | folder}` points images at
 another file (or each at the file of its name in a folder); images keep their bounds, one undo step each. Without a
 file system (the web), linked images show their previews.