Fix #4938: Dynamic symbols keep per-instance appearance linked to the symbol

docs/ui-parity.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # UI and interaction parity
 
-> **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-11-01 · **Change:** minor (Export for Screens: Include Artboard Fill, #4937) · **Target:** Adobe Illustrator 2026 (30.x)
+> **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-11-01 · **Change:** minor (dynamic symbols, #4938) · **Target:** Adobe Illustrator 2026 (30.x)
 
 ## Feature submission evidence
 
@@ -304,7 +304,8 @@ next unit in the order a right-click on a ruler lists them, from Feet back to Po
 | Make Compound Path on a group (such as outlined type) keeps its backmost path's paint; compound paths joined into one keep their holes | done | #1537 |
 | Symbol libraries: Window › Symbol Libraries (Basic Shapes, User Defined, Other Library…, Save Symbols…) and the Symbols panel's Symbol Libraries Menu button and its menu's Open Symbol Library / Save Symbol Library…; a click on a library symbol adds it to the document's Symbols (one undo step, it becomes the current symbol), Shift/Cmd-clicks select for Add to Symbols, and a symbol dragged onto the canvas is added and placed where it is dropped | done | [public source](https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/desktop/manage-objects/traces-mockups-symbols/create-or-import-symbol-libraries.html), [Symbols panel options](https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/desktop/manage-objects/traces-mockups-symbols/symbols-panel-options.html), [placing from a library](https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/desktop/manage-objects/traces-mockups-symbols/create-and-place-symbols.html); `window.symbolLibrary`, `window.symbolLibrary.other`, `ui.saveSymbolLibrary` (dialog `saveSymbolLibrary`), `window.userSymbolLibrary1`…`10`; `panels::tests_symbol_libraries`; only one built-in library (original, generated in code) |
 | Brush libraries: Window › Brush Libraries (Art Ribbons, Calligraphic Nibs, Pattern Borders, Scatter Shapes, User Defined, Other Library…, Save Brushes…) and the Brushes panel's Brush Libraries Menu button and its menu's Open Brush Library / Save Brush Library…; a click on a library brush adds it to the document's Brushes (one undo step, it becomes the current brush, and selected paths take it in the same step), Shift/Cmd-clicks select for Add to Brushes, a brush dragged onto a path is added and applied to it and one dragged onto the Brushes panel is added; thumbnails render with the library's patterns and symbols | done | [public source](https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/desktop/paint-and-fill/apply-and-edit-strokes/create-new-brush-libraries.html), [import brushes](https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/desktop/paint-and-fill/apply-and-edit-strokes/import-brushes-from-brush-libraries-or-other-files.html), [Brushes panel overview](https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/desktop/paint-and-fill/apply-and-edit-strokes/brushes-panel-overview.html); `window.brushLibrary`, `window.brushLibrary.other`, `ui.saveBrushLibrary` (dialog `saveBrushLibrary`), `window.userBrushLibrary1`…`10`; `panels::tests_brush_libraries`; four built-in libraries (original, generated in code) |
-| Symbols panel: New Symbol opens Symbol Options (Name) before making the symbol; Alt-click skips it | partial | #1560 (#1566); Registration 9-point grid in Symbol Options (`symbol.new` / `symbol.place`); Export Type (Graphic / Movie Clip) and Enable Guides for 9-Slice Scaling (guides stored, not drawn on the canvas); Dynamic/Static symbol type still missing |
+| Symbols panel: New Symbol opens Symbol Options (Name) before making the symbol; Alt-click skips it | partial | #1560 (#1566); Registration 9-point grid in Symbol Options (`symbol.new` / `symbol.place`); Export Type (Graphic / Movie Clip) and Enable Guides for 9-Slice Scaling (guides stored, not drawn on the canvas); Symbol Type (Dynamic Symbol / Static Symbol, new symbols dynamic; #4938) |
+| Dynamic symbols: an instance changes the fill, stroke, opacity and blend of objects in its symbol's art and stays linked; Reset in the Properties panel's Quick Actions and the Symbols panel menu (Reset Symbol Instance) | partial | #4938; `symbol.instance.setAppearance` (by child-index path) and `symbol.instance.reset`; redefining keeps the changes, Break Link bakes them; on-canvas Direct Selection of a part inside an instance (with the Fill/Stroke controls then setting its change) remains |
 | Pathfinder Trim, Merge and Crop remove strokes; Merge joins same-fill objects whatever their strokes | done | #1570 (#1572) |
 | Pathfinder panel on one group selected alone; a greyed-out button says what it needs | partial | #1450; the group's members are combined; one plain path selected alone stays disabled (the public documentation doesn't say what the operations do to a single path) |
 | Pathfinder Divide: an open cutting line splits a filled path | done | #1307; straight, crossed, bent and curved cutters, holes and frontmost appearance regression-tested; native automation: independent piece movement, one Undo/Redo, saved-document round trip and window capture; existing bounded-map fallback remains |
@@ -385,6 +386,7 @@ separate. Scores and hours unchanged. [Behavior and command details](development
 
 | Date | Change | Summary |
 |---|---|---|
+| 2026-11-01 | minor | Dynamic symbols (#4938): Symbol Options › Symbol Type; per-instance appearance for objects of a dynamic symbol's art; Reset in the Properties panel and the Symbols panel menu; on-canvas Direct Selection of the parts remains |
 | 2026-11-01 | minor | Export for Screens has Include Artboard Fill beside Include Bleed (on by default, remembered; `includeArtboardFill`): the files draw each artboard's background color behind its art, as exports and print now do, and the Print dialog's preview shows it (#4937); scores and estimates unchanged |
 | 2026-11-01 | minor | Select › Start Global Edit on a group takes the groups like it (the same objects at the same places, moved or scaled; Appearance, Size and the artboard options apply) and gives an edit made to an object inside one to the object at its place in each of the others, in proportion, as one undo step (#4939). Scores and estimates unchanged |
 | 2026-11-01 | minor | Document Tools add-on (a VectorCraft addition): New Symbols from Layers and Convert Layers to Symbols (#4927); scores and estimates unchanged |