Type tool: a drag that starts in an empty frame draws a new text frame over it, as in InDesign

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

ROADMAP.md

@@ -348,6 +348,7 @@ list) · [roadmap.md](docs/roadmap.md) (milestones, plan) · [parity-checklist.m
 
 Newest first.
 
+- **2026-10-20** · Type tool: a drag that starts in an empty frame draws a new text frame over it, as in InDesign; a click still turns the frame into a text frame. No readiness percentage change.
 - **2026-10-16** · Type › Reload Fonts (`font.reload`): fonts installed, edited or removed while DesignCraft runs are read again without a restart, and the open documents recompose with them (#328, #547). An edited font file is noticed by its length and modification time; bundled, added and document fonts stay as they are. InDesign does this by itself, so noticing changes automatically is still open (gap 6). No readiness percentage change.
 - **2026-10-16** · Parents can be deleted from their Pages-panel context menu or `layout.parents.delete {id}`. Applied-page and based-on references are cleared, local override copies survive, and Undo restores the parent. Addresses the deletion portion of #956; no readiness percentage change.
 - **2026-10-17** · File › Package writes the document's and the IDML's links relative to the package (`Links/logo.png`, `file:Links/logo.png`), so a package holds no path from the machine that made it; opening a document resolves them to the files beside it. Links › Copy Link(s) To still links by full path. (#340). No readiness percentage change.

crates/tools/src/tests.rs

@@ -1058,6 +1058,30 @@ fn double_click_on_a_port_breaks_its_link() {
     }
 }
 
+/// With the Type tool, a drag that starts in an empty rectangle draws a new text frame over it
+/// (the rectangle stays as it is), as InDesign's does; a click still turns the rectangle into a
+/// text frame with the caret in it.
+#[test]
+fn type_tool_drag_over_an_empty_frame_draws_a_new_text_frame() {
+    let mut d = Document::new(&NewDocument::default());
+    let id = add_rect(&mut d, Rect::new(100.0, 100.0, 300.0, 300.0));
+    let (s, c, l) = (Selection::default(), Cache::new(), CanvasLayout::new(&d, false));
+    let cx = ctx(&d, &s, &c, &l);
+    let off = l.xf(SpreadRef::Doc(0)).translation();
+    let at = |x: f64, y: f64| (x + off.x, y + off.y);
+    let mut t = create("type");
+    let (x, y) = at(120.0, 120.0);
+    assert!(t.pointer(&cx, &PointerEvent::new(PointerKind::Down, x, y)).is_empty());
+    let (x1, y1) = at(280.0, 200.0);
+    let a = t.pointer(&cx, &PointerEvent::new(PointerKind::Drag, x1, y1));
+    assert!(matches!(&a[..], [Action::Begin(_), Action::Preview(cmd, p)] if cmd == "frame.create" && p["content"] == "text"), "{a:?}");
+    assert_eq!(t.pointer(&cx, &PointerEvent::new(PointerKind::Up, x1, y1)), vec![Action::Commit]);
+    // A click: the caret goes into the rectangle, which becomes a text frame.
+    assert!(t.pointer(&cx, &PointerEvent::new(PointerKind::Down, x, y)).is_empty());
+    let a = t.pointer(&cx, &PointerEvent::new(PointerKind::Up, x, y));
+    assert!(matches!(&a[..], [Action::Exec(cmd, p)] if cmd == "text.placeCaret" && p["frame"] == id.0), "{a:?}");
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn clicks_in_a_row_edit_and_select_text() {
     let mut d = Document::new(&NewDocument::default());

crates/tools/src/text.rs

@@ -31,6 +31,9 @@ pub struct TypeTool {
     start: Option<Point>,
     selecting: Option<u64>,
     drawing: bool,
+    /// A press on an empty frame: (frame, press point in spread space). A click turns it into a
+    /// text frame with the caret in it; a drag draws a new text frame over it, as in InDesign.
+    convert: Option<(u64, Point)>,
     /// A press on a table whose whole rows or columns are selected: (frame, press point in
     /// spread space) — a drag moves them, a click places the caret.
     cell_drag: Option<(u64, Point)>,
@@ -226,6 +229,7 @@ impl Tool for TypeTool {
                 self.cell_drag = None;
                 self.unit = None;
                 self.border = None;
+                self.convert = None;
                 if ev.kind == PointerKind::Down
                     && let Some(b) = border_at(cx, ev.pos)
                 {
@@ -246,6 +250,11 @@ impl Tool for TypeTool {
                         self.cell_drag = Some((id.0, sp));
                         return vec![];
                     }
+                    // An empty frame: wait to see whether this is a click or a drag.
+                    if clicks == 1 && !ev.mods.shift && !it.is_text_frame() {
+                        self.convert = Some((id.0, sp));
+                        return vec![];
+                    }
                     self.selecting = Some(id.0);
                     // Two presses select a word (or a run of spaces), three a line, four a
                     // paragraph, five the story.
@@ -296,6 +305,7 @@ impl Tool for TypeTool {
                 let mut out = vec![];
                 if !self.drawing {
                     self.drawing = true;
+                    self.convert = None;
                     out.push(Action::Begin("Create Text Frame".into()));
                 }
                 out.push(Action::Preview(
@@ -323,6 +333,10 @@ impl Tool for TypeTool {
                     self.selecting = None;
                     return vec![Action::Commit];
                 }
+                // A click in an empty frame: it becomes a text frame with the caret in it.
+                if let Some((fid, at)) = self.convert.take() {
+                    return vec![Action::Exec("text.placeCaret".into(), json!({"frame": fid, "point": [at.x, at.y]}))];
+                }
                 // Ends a press in text: drops dragged text, or is ignored by the engine.
                 if let Some(fid) = self.selecting.take() {
                     let sp = cx.layout.spread_at(ev.pos).map(|(_, p)| p).unwrap_or(ev.pos);