soundcraft/docs/ui-parity.md

UI parity

Last reviewed: 2026-10-25 · Last updated: 2026-10-25 · Change: minor (Cancel Zoom Toggle) · Target: Avid Pro Tools Ultimate 2026.4.1

How SoundCraft feels in the hands of a Pro Tools user: tools, modes, modifiers, shortcuts, windows, meters. Measured from crates/model/src/session.rs (tools, modes), the command registry (shortcuts), crates/ui-egui/src (windows, gestures) and user issues; compared with reference screenshots kept locally under plan/protools/screenshots/ (16, never committed).

UI/UX fidelity: ~55 % ready (estimated). Remaining ≈ 60–100 h.

Legend: ✅ matches · 🟡 partial · ❌ missing.

Tools and modes

Feature	Status	Notes
Tools: Zoom, Trim, Selector, Grabber, Scrubber, Pencil, Smart (7)	✅ present	Trim variants (TCE, loop, scrub trim) and Grabber variants (separation, object) partial; Multitool fade/trim handles don't adjust audio (#5)
Smart-tool Fade In / Fade Out drag bounds and preview	✅	One thin curve replaces the dragged side's previous curve and matches its appearance after release; bounded to the clip, including full-clip fades. Hovering the curve's upper endpoint shows the fade cursor and lets the existing fade be dragged
Fade midpoint curvature	✅	Visible fades retain a small midpoint handle in Smart mode, including after release and extreme bends. Hover shows the vertical resize cursor; repeated drags change curvature without changing length. Curves sample at physical-pixel resolution; preview, playback and bounce share the envelope. Length drags retain curvature
Live waveform fade preview	✅	Waveform amplitude updates during fade-length and midpoint-curvature drags, sharing the curve's temporary envelope. Mono/stereo, waveform styles, zoom and clip gain remain effective; release preserves the displayed waveform with one undo step and cached peaks
Edit modes: Shuffle, Slip, Spot, Grid (absolute/relative)	✅	Spot dialog present
Grid and nudge values, all timebases	✅	Bars/Beats, Min:Secs, Timecode, Feet+Frames, Samples
Zoom Toggle	🟡	E (Commands focus) and the button zoom to the edit selection with Fit To Window heights and back; Alt+Shift+E and Alt-click cancel it and keep the view. The Zoom Toggle preferences (Vertical Zoom, Horizontal Zoom, Track Height, Track View, Separate Grid Settings When Zoomed In, Zoom Toggle Follows Edit Selection, Remove Range Selection After Zooming In) are not present
Keyboard focus modes (Commands, Clip List, Groups)	🟡	Commands focus single-key editing ✅; list focus partial
Link timeline/edit, link track/edit, Tab to transient, insertion follows playback	✅
Mirrored MIDI, MIDI merge, layered editing	🟡	Stored and partly honoured

Keyboard and mouse

Feature	Status	Notes
Default shortcuts	🟡 146 bound (measured: distinct Some("…") shortcuts in the registry)	Pro Tools' default set is several hundred incl. numeric keypad and focus keys. Collisions: Mix/Edit toggle vs zoom (#144), Heal (#140), Export (#7)
Ctrl as Cmd on Windows/Linux	✅ since #15, #41 still open in some builds	#62 shows Ctrl in labels
Numeric keypad transport and memory-location recall	🟡	Classic / Transport / Shuttle modes not all present
Modifier gestures (Alt for all tracks, Shift-Alt for selected, Cmd-click fine faders, Ctrl-click defaults)	🟡	Main ones on faders and pan; not across every control
Scroll/zoom: wheel, trackpad pinch	🟡	Anchored trackpad zoom in open PRs #112, #137
Drag and drop: Clip List → tracks, files → tracks	✅ macOS/Windows; 🟡 Wayland (PR #150)
Context menus (clip, track name, ruler, Clip List)	🟡	Clip and track menus exist; depth lower than Pro Tools'; Clip List delete (#4); track name ▸ Scroll Into View (Edit top, Mix left)
Drag across checkboxes to check or uncheck several	✅	#399; every checkbox, as in the other Craft apps

Windows and panels

Window	Status	Notes
Edit window: rulers, track headers, view columns, Clip List, Groups, Tracks list	✅	Track Pin (new in 2026.4) ✅ (track.pin); Tracks and Groups and the Clip List sit in full-height dock columns at the window's sides
Mix window: strips, views (inserts, sends, I/O, comments, EQ curve, preamps, instruments, object)	✅	Narrow Mix ✅; Mix and Edit on screen at once (Window › Mix in Separate Window, its own native window) ✅; Delay Compensation view and HEAT missing
MIDI Editor, Score Editor, Event List	🟡	Dock height bug fixed (#113); notation editing shallow
Transport, Big Counter, Memory Locations, Automation, Video, Universe, Renderer, UI Customization	✅ present
Workspace / sound browser with previews	❌	G-16
I/O Setup	🟡	Busses and paths; no hardware channel matrix (G-01)
Preferences	🟡	Many settings stored, fewer honoured
Window configurations, Tile/Cascade	🟡	Configurations ✅; Tile/Cascade in PR #151
Plugin windows	🟡	Generic parameter sliders; Pro Tools plugins have bespoke GUIs (#138 asks for skeuomorphic design); multi-page plugin views (#6)
A plugin opens when it's inserted	✅	#486; a hosted plugin's own editor, else its plugin window
Command palette (Search)	✅	Over every command

Look and meters

Feature	Status	Notes
Dark theme close to Pro Tools'	✅	Light theme (#32) and live system appearance (#85) beyond Pro Tools
Interface scaling	🟡	Slider in PR #147
Meter types and ballistics (peak, RMS, VU, K-scales, gain reduction)	🟡	Peak/RMS; meter type choice and GR meters partial
Clip indicators, track colours, waveform views (peak/power/rectified/outlines)	✅
Fader resolution, fine adjust, numeric entry	🟡
macOS system menu bar	✅	#10

Revision history

Date	Change	Summary
2026-10-25	minor	Zoom Toggle row: Alt+Shift+E and Alt-click cancel Zoom Toggle and keep the view. Readiness estimate unchanged
2026-10-25	minor	Edit and Mix windows: Tracks and Groups and Clips in full-height dock columns. Readiness estimate unchanged
2026-10-16	minor	Track name menu: Scroll Into View brings the track to the top of the Edit window and the left of the Mix. Readiness estimate unchanged
2026-10-13	minor	A plugin opens when it's inserted (#486)
2026-10-13	minor	Drag across checkboxes (#399)
2026-10-13	minor	Waveforms and fade curves share temporary envelopes during drag, without rebuilding media or editing the document before release. Readiness estimate unchanged
2026-10-13	minor	Fade curves use bounded physical-pixel sampling; midpoint handles stay visible and inside the clip, with repeat-drag coverage after extreme bends. Readiness estimate unchanged
2026-10-13	minor	Continuous fade curvature from a midpoint drag, shared UI/audio envelope, one-step undo and saved session data. Readiness estimate unchanged
2026-10-13	minor	Existing fades have draggable upper endpoints with matching hover/drag cursors, including at adjacent clip boundaries. Readiness estimate unchanged
2026-10-13	minor	Fade drags use the same thin S-curve renderer as committed fades, replacing the dragged side's old curve. Readiness estimate unchanged
2026-10-13	minor	Bounded Smart-tool fade previews and commits; full-clip fades target only the dragged clip and side. Readiness estimate unchanged
2026-10-12	minor	Mix window: Mix in Separate Window (Edit and Mix on screen at once)
2026-10-10	major	Created: tools, modes, shortcuts, windows and meters checklist against Pro Tools 2026.4.1