diff --git a/ROADMAP.md b/ROADMAP.md
index 1188f76ea..4d00e871a 100644
--- a/ROADMAP.md
+++ b/ROADMAP.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 **Stage: alpha** · next: beta, ~15 points (60% → 75% ready for real work) and ~150–230 h away
 
-> **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-10-23 · **Change:** trivial (progress log: disabled-control reasons translated in every interface language, #2678; previously trivial: progress log: mail merge record navigation and record ranges for printing, #3028; previously trivial: selection bar for right-to-left paragraphs and table rows; previously trivial: group connector rerouting preserves rotated and flipped free or unresolved endpoints under nonuniform group scaling; readiness estimates unchanged; previously trivial: progress log: a word with no break opportunity in it no longer makes the layout quadratic, #3412; previously trivial: progress log: a relationship the markup names without the prefix is read as it wrote, and an ordinary `id` names no part; previously trivial: progress log: a document with many relationships opens in the time its part takes, and an id the text only mentions is not a reference, #3411; previously trivial: progress log: read only and comments-only protection grey out edits; previously trivial: progress log: an empty paragraph with a hidden mark shows nothing, not even its list number, #3982; previously trivial: progress log: "NaN" in the Font dialog's Size box no longer closes the app, #3663; previously trivial: progress log: a table cell span from a `.json` file no longer overflows, #3637; previously trivial: progress log: a click in the footer while editing the header moves there; previously trivial: explicit documents keep the editor when recovery discovery finishes; readable recovery controls; previously trivial: Slovenian interface catalog, 2,614 entries; previously trivial: Insert Table of Figures dialog for any caption label, #3013; previously trivial: progress log: Home › Underline drop-down, #2738; previously trivial: personal templates in File › New and Save as Word Template, #2852; previously trivial: progress log: the scrollbar page tip stays on one line, #3341; previously trivial: progress log: forms protection greys out the control buttons; previously trivial: progress log: a document with many content controls saves in the time the controls take, #13; previously trivial: progress log: Word signature lines kept on save; previously trivial: a Thai run with Latin finds one installed font covering it all on Linux too, #1549; previously trivial: progress log: closing the header returns to the body selection, #3331; previously trivial: progress log: saving to a NAS share mounted by GVFS, #3003; previously trivial: progress log: a picture dragged near the bottom of a page lands there, #3169; previously trivial: centred list labels after leading page breaks, #2964; previously trivial: progress log: inline pictures drag to an insertion cursor and stay inline, #2233, #2234; previously trivial: progress log: a text file saved over itself closes without asking, #2376; previously trivial: progress log: a text frame in the paragraph defaults frames nothing, #2360; previously trivial: fixed font inputs in four layout controls; previously trivial: typing no longer starts render threads on every repaint, #3027; previously trivial: a right, centre or decimal tab whose text doesn't fit, or a left tab past the right indent, goes to the next line with its text, #1840; previously trivial: progress log: banded rows shade as in Word, #3415; previously trivial: progress log: the table handles show while the caret is in the table, #2428; previously trivial: progress log: a click below a floating table reaches the text after it, #2038; previously trivial: progress log: Delete on selected table cells leaves one empty paragraph in each, #2802; previously trivial: progress log: lam-alef in exported PDFs extracts whole with fonts that draw it as two glyphs, #2310; previously trivial: Bullets and Numbering toggle off style-inherited lists at their effective level, including basedOn chains and numbered ListParagraph styles; other paragraphs and list definitions stay unchanged (related to #3459); previously trivial: Russian sorting keeps ё with е and recognises decomposed ё/й; previously trivial: progress log: a text box that keeps the keyboard no longer resets the input method every frame, #2986; previously trivial: progress log: recovery copies and .json files store pictures as base64, #586 follow-up; previously trivial: progress log: legacy menu keys, #1697; previously trivial: progress log: shape gradients and transparency, #1500; previously trivial: progress log: Focus fills the screen, and Full Screen View shows the pages alone, #1678; previously trivial: progress log: text above a float's anchor wraps around it, #2048; previously trivial: progress log: File › Recover follows the app theme, #3243; previously trivial: progress log: formatting toolbar with the text context menu, #2959; previously trivial: progress log: caret inside ligatures, #1974; previously trivial: text typed into a content control takes the control's formatting; localized placeholder styles recognised; previously trivial: forms protection keeps its content controls: no inserting, Properties or Remove Content Control; previously trivial: long navigation headings wrap onto further lines within the pane, #3015; previously trivial: clearing a no-match font query keeps the recent heading visible, #2068; previously trivial: a word after a slash wraps whole, like Word, #2963; previously trivial: progress log: a header-cell picture watermark sits behind the text, #1775; previously trivial: symbols keep their font when the text font changes, #2036; previously trivial: opening a DOCX no longer copies its pictures; previously trivial: Add Font imports every selected font file, #1789); previously trivial (RTF export writes sections (gap 19); previously trivial: ODT export writes sections (gap 19); previously trivial: Read Aloud speaks each sentence in its own language, #1843; previously trivial: hint-reliant CJK outlines; previously trivial: Ctrl+wheel zoom no longer scrolls the document, #1743; previously trivial: progress log: Turkish case mapping in AutoCorrect, #1923; previously trivial: a mouse drag on a table leaves the view where it is, #1738; previously trivial: progress log: Hebrew field results and smart quotes, #1670; previously trivial: Backspace removes a selected table, rows or columns, #1844; previously trivial: progress log: mixed Hebrew/Latin text keeps its order in Word, #1543; previously trivial: progress log: web typing in non-Latin text no longer repeats, #1480; previously trivial: progress log: font family caches bounded and math font lookups follow font changes, #1354; previously trivial: `-->` AutoCorrect replacement, #2223; previously trivial: numbered headings, #1793; previously trivial: Navigation Find exposes Results, #2096; previously trivial: progress log: Columns on selected text, #2024; previously trivial: progress log: legacy outline, shadow, emboss and imprint text effects drawn, #2534; previously trivial: progress log: Indonesian proofing, #498; previously trivial: progress log: DOCX glossary documents (building blocks); previously trivial: progress log: Read Mode keeps the keyboard and shows whole, unobscured columns, #1772); previously trivial: progress log: font list entries of tall-ascent fonts no longer cut off, #2570); previously trivial: progress log: Split Cells and Convert Text to Table dialogs follow the Word check, #2592; previously trivial: a new source's Tag is made like Word's, three letters of the author and two digits of the year with a number added when taken, and an edit keeps the Tag, #2094; previously trivial: Web Layout fills the window width, #1876; previously trivial: progress log: Different First Page headers reachable from page 1, #2826; previously trivial: Language dialog keeps inherited proofing language and no-proof choices (#2717); previously trivial: progress log: web preferences kept between visits, #2132; previously trivial: progress log: undrawable private-use list bullets show the level's default bullet, #1683; previously trivial: progress log: `w:eastAsianLayout` kept on save; previously trivial: table style editor formats every part, #714); previously trivial: VML freeforms read and kept on save; previously trivial: progress log: consistent preferred cell widths; previously trivial: multi-paragraph field instructions no longer add blank lines; previously trivial: page-break-only list paragraphs hide their labels; previously trivial: progress log: grouped `flowChartOr` shapes draw their circle and crossing spokes; previously trivial: progress log: copies keep their formatting in other programs, #1523; previously trivial: progress log: privacy options on save, #1062; previously trivial: progress log: equation pictures in theme colours on Windows, #1002; previously trivial: symbol fonts, #776; previously trivial: the save prompt answers from the keyboard, #861; previously trivial: table column and row markers on the rulers, #700; previously trivial: table borders and the resize handle drag on the page, #217; previously trivial: formatting revisions landed, #41; previously trivial: Draw tab ink, #307, and Draw Table and Eraser, #303, landed: catalog 402/434; previously minor: readiness table with hours per audience; full number back to the additive weighted sum, 60%; mainstream and essentials numbers added; alpha gate checked; previously major: full re-measure against Word for Mac 16.113.4; restructured to the craftrules progress-docs standard) · **Target:** Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365) for Mac 16.113.4
+> **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-10-23 · **Change:** trivial (cu20we: box float paragraph origin; previously trivial: progress log: disabled-control reasons translated in every interface language, #2678; previously trivial: progress log: mail merge record navigation and record ranges for printing, #3028; previously trivial: selection bar for right-to-left paragraphs and table rows; previously trivial: group connector rerouting preserves rotated and flipped free or unresolved endpoints under nonuniform group scaling; readiness estimates unchanged; previously trivial: progress log: a word with no break opportunity in it no longer makes the layout quadratic, #3412; previously trivial: progress log: a relationship the markup names without the prefix is read as it wrote, and an ordinary `id` names no part; previously trivial: progress log: a document with many relationships opens in the time its part takes, and an id the text only mentions is not a reference, #3411; previously trivial: progress log: read only and comments-only protection grey out edits; previously trivial: progress log: an empty paragraph with a hidden mark shows nothing, not even its list number, #3982; previously trivial: progress log: "NaN" in the Font dialog's Size box no longer closes the app, #3663; previously trivial: progress log: a table cell span from a `.json` file no longer overflows, #3637; previously trivial: progress log: a click in the footer while editing the header moves there; previously trivial: explicit documents keep the editor when recovery discovery finishes; readable recovery controls; previously trivial: Slovenian interface catalog, 2,614 entries; previously trivial: Insert Table of Figures dialog for any caption label, #3013; previously trivial: progress log: Home › Underline drop-down, #2738; previously trivial: personal templates in File › New and Save as Word Template, #2852; previously trivial: progress log: the scrollbar page tip stays on one line, #3341; previously trivial: progress log: forms protection greys out the control buttons; previously trivial: progress log: a document with many content controls saves in the time the controls take, #13; previously trivial: progress log: Word signature lines kept on save; previously trivial: a Thai run with Latin finds one installed font covering it all on Linux too, #1549; previously trivial: progress log: closing the header returns to the body selection, #3331; previously trivial: progress log: saving to a NAS share mounted by GVFS, #3003; previously trivial: progress log: a picture dragged near the bottom of a page lands there, #3169; previously trivial: centred list labels after leading page breaks, #2964; previously trivial: progress log: inline pictures drag to an insertion cursor and stay inline, #2233, #2234; previously trivial: progress log: a text file saved over itself closes without asking, #2376; previously trivial: progress log: a text frame in the paragraph defaults frames nothing, #2360; previously trivial: fixed font inputs in four layout controls; previously trivial: typing no longer starts render threads on every repaint, #3027; previously trivial: a right, centre or decimal tab whose text doesn't fit, or a left tab past the right indent, goes to the next line with its text, #1840; previously trivial: progress log: banded rows shade as in Word, #3415; previously trivial: progress log: the table handles show while the caret is in the table, #2428; previously trivial: progress log: a click below a floating table reaches the text after it, #2038; previously trivial: progress log: Delete on selected table cells leaves one empty paragraph in each, #2802; previously trivial: progress log: lam-alef in exported PDFs extracts whole with fonts that draw it as two glyphs, #2310; previously trivial: Bullets and Numbering toggle off style-inherited lists at their effective level, including basedOn chains and numbered ListParagraph styles; other paragraphs and list definitions stay unchanged (related to #3459); previously trivial: Russian sorting keeps ё with е and recognises decomposed ё/й; previously trivial: progress log: a text box that keeps the keyboard no longer resets the input method every frame, #2986; previously trivial: progress log: recovery copies and .json files store pictures as base64, #586 follow-up; previously trivial: progress log: legacy menu keys, #1697; previously trivial: progress log: shape gradients and transparency, #1500; previously trivial: progress log: Focus fills the screen, and Full Screen View shows the pages alone, #1678; previously trivial: progress log: text above a float's anchor wraps around it, #2048; previously trivial: progress log: File › Recover follows the app theme, #3243; previously trivial: progress log: formatting toolbar with the text context menu, #2959; previously trivial: progress log: caret inside ligatures, #1974; previously trivial: text typed into a content control takes the control's formatting; localized placeholder styles recognised; previously trivial: forms protection keeps its content controls: no inserting, Properties or Remove Content Control; previously trivial: long navigation headings wrap onto further lines within the pane, #3015; previously trivial: clearing a no-match font query keeps the recent heading visible, #2068; previously trivial: a word after a slash wraps whole, like Word, #2963; previously trivial: progress log: a header-cell picture watermark sits behind the text, #1775; previously trivial: symbols keep their font when the text font changes, #2036; previously trivial: opening a DOCX no longer copies its pictures; previously trivial: Add Font imports every selected font file, #1789); previously trivial (RTF export writes sections (gap 19); previously trivial: ODT export writes sections (gap 19); previously trivial: Read Aloud speaks each sentence in its own language, #1843; previously trivial: hint-reliant CJK outlines; previously trivial: Ctrl+wheel zoom no longer scrolls the document, #1743; previously trivial: progress log: Turkish case mapping in AutoCorrect, #1923; previously trivial: a mouse drag on a table leaves the view where it is, #1738; previously trivial: progress log: Hebrew field results and smart quotes, #1670; previously trivial: Backspace removes a selected table, rows or columns, #1844; previously trivial: progress log: mixed Hebrew/Latin text keeps its order in Word, #1543; previously trivial: progress log: web typing in non-Latin text no longer repeats, #1480; previously trivial: progress log: font family caches bounded and math font lookups follow font changes, #1354; previously trivial: `-->` AutoCorrect replacement, #2223; previously trivial: numbered headings, #1793; previously trivial: Navigation Find exposes Results, #2096; previously trivial: progress log: Columns on selected text, #2024; previously trivial: progress log: legacy outline, shadow, emboss and imprint text effects drawn, #2534; previously trivial: progress log: Indonesian proofing, #498; previously trivial: progress log: DOCX glossary documents (building blocks); previously trivial: progress log: Read Mode keeps the keyboard and shows whole, unobscured columns, #1772); previously trivial: progress log: font list entries of tall-ascent fonts no longer cut off, #2570); previously trivial: progress log: Split Cells and Convert Text to Table dialogs follow the Word check, #2592; previously trivial: a new source's Tag is made like Word's, three letters of the author and two digits of the year with a number added when taken, and an edit keeps the Tag, #2094; previously trivial: Web Layout fills the window width, #1876; previously trivial: progress log: Different First Page headers reachable from page 1, #2826; previously trivial: Language dialog keeps inherited proofing language and no-proof choices (#2717); previously trivial: progress log: web preferences kept between visits, #2132; previously trivial: progress log: undrawable private-use list bullets show the level's default bullet, #1683; previously trivial: progress log: `w:eastAsianLayout` kept on save; previously trivial: table style editor formats every part, #714); previously trivial: VML freeforms read and kept on save; previously trivial: progress log: consistent preferred cell widths; previously trivial: multi-paragraph field instructions no longer add blank lines; previously trivial: page-break-only list paragraphs hide their labels; previously trivial: progress log: grouped `flowChartOr` shapes draw their circle and crossing spokes; previously trivial: progress log: copies keep their formatting in other programs, #1523; previously trivial: progress log: privacy options on save, #1062; previously trivial: progress log: equation pictures in theme colours on Windows, #1002; previously trivial: symbol fonts, #776; previously trivial: the save prompt answers from the keyboard, #861; previously trivial: table column and row markers on the rulers, #700; previously trivial: table borders and the resize handle drag on the page, #217; previously trivial: formatting revisions landed, #41; previously trivial: Draw tab ink, #307, and Draw Table and Eraser, #303, landed: catalog 402/434; previously minor: readiness table with hours per audience; full number back to the additive weighted sum, 60%; mainstream and essentials numbers added; alpha gate checked; previously major: full re-measure against Word for Mac 16.113.4; restructured to the craftrules progress-docs standard) · **Target:** Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365) for Mac 16.113.4
 > **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-10-18 · **Change:** trivial (English dialects in proofing, #1281; previously trivial: triple borders draw three lines, #1740; previously trivial: progress log: double-clicking a later page's footer no longer scrolls up, #2103; previously trivial: long navigation headings wrap onto further lines within the pane, #3015; previously trivial: clearing a no-match font query keeps the recent heading visible, #2068; previously trivial: a word after a slash wraps whole, like Word, #2963; previously trivial: RTF export writes sections (gap 19); previously trivial: ODT export writes sections (gap 19); previously trivial: progress log: pasted blockquotes are indented paragraphs, #1270; previously trivial: progress log: print-area strings translated in every catalog; previously trivial: progress log: comments readable in the dark theme, #2045; previously trivial: progress log: ODT sections, #1379; previously trivial: progress log: table deletes, Change Case and Unlink Fields respect Track Changes and locked content controls, #1329; previously trivial: progress log: rounded rectangle corners, #1476; previously trivial: progress log: Save As type list, #1399; previously trivial: progress log: privacy options on save, #1062; previously trivial: progress log: equation pictures in theme colours on Windows, #1002; previously trivial: symbol fonts, #776; previously trivial: the save prompt answers from the keyboard, #861; previously trivial: table column and row markers on the rulers, #700; previously trivial: table borders and the resize handle drag on the page, #217; previously trivial: formatting revisions landed, #41; previously trivial: Draw tab ink, #307, and Draw Table and Eraser, #303, landed: catalog 402/434; previously minor: readiness table with hours per audience; full number back to the additive weighted sum, 60%; mainstream and essentials numbers added; alpha gate checked; previously major: full re-measure against Word for Mac 16.113.4; restructured to the craftrules progress-docs standard) · **Target:** Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365) for Mac 16.113.4
 > **Printing update:** 2026-10-12 · direct desktop printing through craft-print; details below.
 
@@ -136,6 +136,8 @@ Ranked, to beta (detail and remaining milestones in [docs/roadmap.md](docs/roadm
 
 ## Progress log
 
+- 2026-10-23: cu20we: paragraph-relative box floats start above effective space before; header, footer, cell and text-box layout regressions pass. Framed paragraph positioning is unchanged; no new native Word comparison.
+
 - 2026-10-22: Mail merge (#3028): Preview Results has First Record and Last Record buttons and a box with the previewed record number; type a number and press Enter to go there (past either end stops at the first or last record). Finish & Merge is now a menu. Edit Individual Documents… and Print Documents… ask for all records, the current record, or a From and To range by record number, and Print Documents opens Print for the merged document. Scripts get `mailings.first`, `mailings.last`, `mailings.goToRecord`, `mailings.printDocuments` and a `records` choice on `mailings.finish`; a range with no records in it is refused instead of leaving an empty document.
 - 2026-10-22: Re-routing a group connector keeps its free end at its displayed rotated and flipped position, including after nonuniform group resizing, while the glued end follows its existing connection-site path. Missing target shapes and invalid connection sites keep their transformed endpoints too. Fallback routes that cannot fit the renderer's 4000 pt child-size cap leave the original connector unchanged. Model and engine regressions cover starts, ends, unit/uniform/nonuniform scale, settled reroutes and safe handling of degenerate dimensions and display-size limits; no new native Word comparison.
 - 2026-10-23: Lists: an empty paragraph whose mark is hidden takes no room and draws no list number, in the body and in table cells, as in Word; the number is still counted, so the next item keeps its place (#3982).
@@ -593,6 +595,7 @@ Footer page-table height and body wrapping are corrected. Other pagination gaps
 
 | Date | Change | Summary |
 |---|---|---|
+| 2026-10-23 | trivial | cu20we: box float paragraph origins corrected, synthetic regressions added |
 | 2026-10-22 | trivial | Progress log: mail merge record navigation and record ranges for Finish & Merge and Print Documents (#3028) |
 | 2026-10-23 | trivial | Progress log: a relationship the markup names without the prefix is read as it wrote (#3411 follow-up) |
 | 2026-10-21 | trivial | Progress log: a document with many relationships opens in the time its part takes (#3411) |
diff --git a/crates/layout/src/lib.rs b/crates/layout/src/lib.rs
index 77c9fda96..d51c956c3 100644
--- a/crates/layout/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/layout/src/lib.rs
@@ -1274,6 +1274,9 @@ fn layout_box(
                 } else if i > 0 && before > 0.0 && prev_after > 0.0 && !ctx.doc.settings.sum_paragraph_spacing {
                     before = (before - prev_after).max(0.0);
                 }
+                // Paragraph-relative floats start above the effective space before, as in the
+                // body path. Keep text and wrap exclusions relative to the text's actual top.
+                let para_top = y;
                 y += if i == 0 { before } else { before.max(0.0) };
                 // Floating objects anchored here: place them, then wrap the text around them.
                 // One left out of the layout (hidden, or deleted in the final text) takes no room.
@@ -1288,10 +1291,10 @@ fn layout_box(
                     }
                     if let Some(pin) = ctx.pin.as_ref().filter(|pin| in_cell && pin.story == story && float.outside_cell && page_anchored(float)) {
                         let page = PageFrame { sect: &pin.sect, origin: (0.0, 0.0), number: pin.number, mirror: pin.mirror };
-                        pinned.insert(oi, float_rect(Some(page), (0.0, width), y, w, h, float));
+                        pinned.insert(oi, float_rect(Some(page), (0.0, width), para_top, w, h, float));
                         continue;
                     }
-                    let r = float_rect(frame, (0.0, width), y, w, h, float);
+                    let r = float_rect(frame, (0.0, width), para_top, w, h, float);
                     let outline = ctx.wrap_outline(o);
                     excl.extend(wrap_area(r, float, outline.as_deref().map(|v| v.as_slice())));
                     floats.insert(oi, r);
@@ -1317,7 +1320,7 @@ fn layout_box(
                 prev_end = push_para(&mut items, story, &path, &pl, 0, pl.lines.len(), 0.0, y + lead, width, edges);
                 // Pictures, shapes and text boxes: drawn, their areas and text boxes' text.
                 if !p.objects.is_empty() {
-                    let at = ObjFrame { page: frame, col: (0.0, width), para_y: y, table_chr: table.map(|t| &t.chr), pinned: Some(&pinned) };
+                    let at = ObjFrame { page: frame, col: (0.0, width), para_y: para_top, table_chr: table.map(|t| &t.chr), pinned: Some(&pinned) };
                     let (back, front) = place_objects(ctx, story, &path, p, &pl, (0, pl.lines.len()), (0.0, y + lead), &at, &floats, depth);
                     for placed in back.iter().chain(front.iter()) {
                         if let Placed::Object { rect, spin, wrap, .. } = placed
diff --git a/crates/layout/src/tests.rs b/crates/layout/src/tests.rs
index 5d8878aa4..817a37f29 100644
--- a/crates/layout/src/tests.rs
+++ b/crates/layout/src/tests.rs
@@ -5009,6 +5009,63 @@ fn floats_in_headers_and_table_cells_are_drawn() {
     assert!(c[0].x > 72.0 && c[0].x < 72.0 + 234.0, "inside the first cell: {:?}", c[0]);
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn paragraph_relative_box_floats_start_above_space_before() {
+    use wordcraft_doc::{
+        PartKind,
+        para::{Anchor, Float, Wrap},
+    };
+    for context in ["header", "footer", "cell", "textbox"] {
+        let gap = |before| {
+            let mut d = Document::from_text("Body");
+            let mut p = wordcraft_doc::Paragraph::with_text("Anchor", Default::default());
+            p.props.space_before = Some(before);
+            let float = Float { wrap: Wrap::BehindText, v_rel: Anchor::Paragraph, y: 7.0, ..Default::default() };
+            p.insert_object(0, rect_shape(37.0, 9.0, float), &Default::default()).unwrap();
+            let story = match context {
+                "header" | "footer" => {
+                    let kind = if context == "header" { PartKind::Header } else { PartKind::Footer };
+                    let id = d.add_part(kind, vec![wordcraft_doc::para_block(p)]);
+                    if context == "header" {
+                        d.last_section.headers.default = Some(id);
+                    } else {
+                        d.last_section.footers.default = Some(id);
+                    }
+                    StoryRef::Part(id)
+                }
+                "cell" => {
+                    let mut t = Table::new(1, 1, 468.0);
+                    t.rows[0].cells[0].blocks = vec![wordcraft_doc::para_block(p)];
+                    d.insert_block(StoryRef::Body, &Path::top(1), wordcraft_doc::Block::Table(t)).unwrap();
+                    StoryRef::Body
+                }
+                _ => {
+                    let id = text_box(&mut d, 0, "", 200.0, 100.0, page_float(100.0, 200.0));
+                    d.parts.get_mut(&id).unwrap().blocks = vec![wordcraft_doc::para_block(p)];
+                    StoryRef::Part(id)
+                }
+            };
+            let l = lay(&d);
+            let page = &l.pages[0];
+            let items = match context {
+                "header" => &page.header,
+                "footer" => &page.footer,
+                _ => &page.items,
+            };
+            let y = items
+                .iter()
+                .find_map(|i| match i {
+                    Placed::Lines { story: s, y, path, .. } if *s == story && (context != "cell" || path.0.len() > 1) => Some(*y),
+                    _ => None,
+                })
+                .unwrap();
+            let r = shapes(items).into_iter().find(|r| (r.w - 37.0).abs() < 0.01).unwrap();
+            r.y - y
+        };
+        assert!((gap(24.0) - gap(0.0) + 24.0).abs() < 0.01, "{context}: float must stay above the space before");
+    }
+}
+
 /// Inside a text box whose shape style gives its text a colour (`a:fontRef`, typically white on
 /// the accent fill), automatic text takes that colour instead of black; text with a colour of
 /// its own keeps it (Word, observed with synthetic documents).
diff --git a/docs/gaps.md b/docs/gaps.md
index 404df6879..2ab190234 100644
--- a/docs/gaps.md
+++ b/docs/gaps.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Where WordCraft falls short of Word
 
-> **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-10-22 · **Change:** trivial (gap 10: group connector rerouting preserves transformed free and unresolved endpoints under nonuniform scaling; obstacle routing still missing; readiness estimates unchanged; previously trivial: a word with no break opportunity in it no longer makes the layout quadratic, #3412; previously trivial: the ranked gap list held two rows each for #19, #20 and #21; each gap appears once now; a document with many relationships opens in the time its part takes, #3411; previously trivial: the file commands that change the document are checked on a protected document, the protection of a protected document needs an explicit stop, the session author can't change through `file.setAuthor` under protection (the CLI's `--author` uses the same protection check), and the post-check compares the settings and the metadata; previously trivial: explicit documents keep the editor when recovery discovery finishes; readable recovery controls; previously trivial: text mini toolbar available with the right-click menu, #2959; previously trivial: personal templates in File › New and Save as Word Template, #2852; previously trivial: tracked table/row/cell/section property changes record in WordCraft, narrowing gap 5; previously trivial: a document with many content controls saves in the time the controls take, #13; previously trivial: Format Page Numbers dialog carries Word's number formats and Continue from previous section / Start at, #1113; previously trivial: centred list labels after leading page breaks, #2964; previously trivial: fixed font inputs in four layout controls; previously trivial: a right, centre or decimal tab whose text doesn't fit, or a left tab past the right indent, goes to the next line with its text, #1840; previously trivial: Bullets and Numbering toggle off style-inherited lists at their effective level, including basedOn chains and numbered ListParagraph styles; other paragraphs and list definitions stay unchanged (related to #3459); previously trivial: Russian sorting keeps ё with е and recognises decomposed ё/й; previously trivial: #8: English dialects — en-GB, en-CA, en-AU… flag each other's spellings, #1281; previously trivial: #1: shape gradients and transparency, #1500; previously trivial: text typed into a content control takes the control's formatting; localized placeholder styles recognised; previously trivial: forms protection keeps its content controls: no inserting, Properties or Remove Content Control; previously trivial: clearing a no-match font query keeps the recent heading visible, #2068; previously trivial: line breaking: a slash opening a word travels whole to the next line, #2963; previously trivial: recipient list search and merged-only view, #1576; previously trivial: #2 impact restated: only ink rendering and OLE editing remain; previously trivial: #2 narrowed: native ink nested in groups and drawing canvases kept on save; previously trivial: opening a DOCX no longer copies its pictures; previously trivial: RTF export writes sections (gap 19); previously trivial: ODT export writes sections (gap 19); previously trivial: automatic Asian/Latin and Asian/number spacing laid out, #2358; previously trivial: hint-reliant CJK outlines; previously trivial: numbered headings, #1793; previously trivial: legacy outline, shadow, emboss and imprint text effects drawn, #2534; previously trivial: #8 narrowed: Indonesian proofing from the installed Hunspell dictionary, #498; previously trivial: glossary/building blocks closed; previously trivial: Split Cells and Convert Text to Table follow the Word check, #2592; previously trivial: Language dialog keeps inherited proofing language and no-proof choices (#2717); previously trivial: #29: a copied equation also goes in the MathML clipboard formats, #1297; previously trivial: #24: the Spike, Ctrl+F3 and Ctrl+Shift+F3; previously trivial: VML freeforms read and kept on save; previously trivial: consistent preferred cell widths; previously trivial: multi-paragraph field instructions no longer add blank lines; previously trivial: page-break-only list paragraphs hide their labels; previously trivial: floating-table overlap ignores empty line-break lines; previously trivial: copies keep their formatting on the clipboard as HTML, #1523; previously trivial: sample-text formulas on Enter, #1067; previously trivial: #29: copied equations as MathML, OMML open as #1297, #816; previously trivial: the Font list no longer keeps every previewed font in memory, #848; previously trivial: table column and row markers on the rulers, #700; previously trivial: table borders and the resize handle drag on the page, #217; previously trivial: formatting revisions landed, #41; previously trivial: Draw Table and Eraser landed, #303; previously minor: beta distance restated: ~15 points, ~150–230 h; previously: first version; every known shortfall from the 2026-10-10 re-measure, ranked) · **Target:** Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365) for Mac 16.113.4
+> **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-10-23 · **Change:** trivial (cu20we: box float paragraph origin; previously trivial: gap 10: group connector rerouting preserves transformed free and unresolved endpoints under nonuniform scaling; obstacle routing still missing; readiness estimates unchanged; previously trivial: a word with no break opportunity in it no longer makes the layout quadratic, #3412; previously trivial: the ranked gap list held two rows each for #19, #20 and #21; each gap appears once now; a document with many relationships opens in the time its part takes, #3411; previously trivial: the file commands that change the document are checked on a protected document, the protection of a protected document needs an explicit stop, the session author can't change through `file.setAuthor` under protection (the CLI's `--author` uses the same protection check), and the post-check compares the settings and the metadata; previously trivial: explicit documents keep the editor when recovery discovery finishes; readable recovery controls; previously trivial: text mini toolbar available with the right-click menu, #2959; previously trivial: personal templates in File › New and Save as Word Template, #2852; previously trivial: tracked table/row/cell/section property changes record in WordCraft, narrowing gap 5; previously trivial: a document with many content controls saves in the time the controls take, #13; previously trivial: Format Page Numbers dialog carries Word's number formats and Continue from previous section / Start at, #1113; previously trivial: centred list labels after leading page breaks, #2964; previously trivial: fixed font inputs in four layout controls; previously trivial: a right, centre or decimal tab whose text doesn't fit, or a left tab past the right indent, goes to the next line with its text, #1840; previously trivial: Bullets and Numbering toggle off style-inherited lists at their effective level, including basedOn chains and numbered ListParagraph styles; other paragraphs and list definitions stay unchanged (related to #3459); previously trivial: Russian sorting keeps ё with е and recognises decomposed ё/й; previously trivial: #8: English dialects — en-GB, en-CA, en-AU… flag each other's spellings, #1281; previously trivial: #1: shape gradients and transparency, #1500; previously trivial: text typed into a content control takes the control's formatting; localized placeholder styles recognised; previously trivial: forms protection keeps its content controls: no inserting, Properties or Remove Content Control; previously trivial: clearing a no-match font query keeps the recent heading visible, #2068; previously trivial: line breaking: a slash opening a word travels whole to the next line, #2963; previously trivial: recipient list search and merged-only view, #1576; previously trivial: #2 impact restated: only ink rendering and OLE editing remain; previously trivial: #2 narrowed: native ink nested in groups and drawing canvases kept on save; previously trivial: opening a DOCX no longer copies its pictures; previously trivial: RTF export writes sections (gap 19); previously trivial: ODT export writes sections (gap 19); previously trivial: automatic Asian/Latin and Asian/number spacing laid out, #2358; previously trivial: hint-reliant CJK outlines; previously trivial: numbered headings, #1793; previously trivial: legacy outline, shadow, emboss and imprint text effects drawn, #2534; previously trivial: #8 narrowed: Indonesian proofing from the installed Hunspell dictionary, #498; previously trivial: glossary/building blocks closed; previously trivial: Split Cells and Convert Text to Table follow the Word check, #2592; previously trivial: Language dialog keeps inherited proofing language and no-proof choices (#2717); previously trivial: #29: a copied equation also goes in the MathML clipboard formats, #1297; previously trivial: #24: the Spike, Ctrl+F3 and Ctrl+Shift+F3; previously trivial: VML freeforms read and kept on save; previously trivial: consistent preferred cell widths; previously trivial: multi-paragraph field instructions no longer add blank lines; previously trivial: page-break-only list paragraphs hide their labels; previously trivial: floating-table overlap ignores empty line-break lines; previously trivial: copies keep their formatting on the clipboard as HTML, #1523; previously trivial: sample-text formulas on Enter, #1067; previously trivial: #29: copied equations as MathML, OMML open as #1297, #816; previously trivial: the Font list no longer keeps every previewed font in memory, #848; previously trivial: table column and row markers on the rulers, #700; previously trivial: table borders and the resize handle drag on the page, #217; previously trivial: formatting revisions landed, #41; previously trivial: Draw Table and Eraser landed, #303; previously minor: beta distance restated: ~15 points, ~150–230 h; previously: first version; every known shortfall from the 2026-10-10 re-measure, ranked) · **Target:** Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365) for Mac 16.113.4
 
 Recovery discovery no longer interrupts an explicitly created or opened document. Older copies remain in File › Recover, whose buttons use the interface palette. See [local recovery](recovery.md).
 
@@ -122,8 +122,11 @@ Footer page-table height and body wrapping are corrected. Other pagination gaps
 
 ## Revision history
 
+> 2026-10-23 · cu20we: Paragraph-relative floats in headers, footers, cells and text boxes now start above effective space before; synthetic layout regressions cover all four contexts. Framed paragraphs already used the pre-spacing position. No new native Word comparison; broader object-position parity remains open.
+
 | Date | Change | Summary |
 |---|---|---|
+| 2026-10-23 | trivial | cu20we: paragraph-relative box floats use the pre-spacing origin; header/footer/cell/text-box regressions; readiness estimates unchanged |
 | 2026-10-22 | trivial | Gap 10: group connector rerouting preserves rotated/flipped free and unresolved endpoints under nonuniform scaling, with safe degenerate-dimension and display-size-cap handling; routing around shapes and readiness estimates unchanged |
 | 2026-10-21 | trivial | The ranked gap list held two rows each for #19, #20 and #21; the stale copies are gone, so each gap appears once, and the #20 row carries the measured figure (#3411) |
 | 2026-10-21 | trivial | #20 narrowed: a document with many relationships opens in the time its part takes (#3411) |
diff --git a/docs/layout-parity.md b/docs/layout-parity.md
index a096e516d..a6947f5d9 100644
--- a/docs/layout-parity.md
+++ b/docs/layout-parity.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Layout and pagination parity with Microsoft Word
 
-> **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-10-23 · **Change:** trivial (group connector rerouting preserves transformed free and unresolved endpoints under nonuniform scaling; readiness estimates unchanged; previously trivial: a word with no break opportunity in it no longer makes the layout quadratic, #3412; previously trivial: an empty paragraph whose mark is hidden shows nothing, not even its list number, which is still counted, #3982; previously trivial: a Thai run with Latin finds one installed font covering it all on Linux too, #1549; previously trivial: symbol fonts keep their line height without the font; previously trivial: an equation-array row without `&` is centred, #2617; previously trivial: a superscript or subscript sizes its line at the full font size, without its raise or drop, as Word does; previously trivial: an object dragged near the bottom of a page lands where it is dropped, #3169; previously trivial: centred list labels after leading page breaks, #2964; previously trivial: fixed font inputs in four layout controls; previously trivial: justified lines shrink their spaces by Word's measured limits; previously trivial: a right, centre or decimal tab whose text doesn't fit, or a left tab past the right indent, goes to the next line with its text, #1840; previously trivial: a click below a floating table goes to the text beside or after it, not to a cell of its last row, #2038; previously trivial: shapes drawn with their gradients and transparency, #1500; previously trivial: paragraphs above a float's anchor wrap around it, also when that pushes the anchor onto the next page, #2048; previously trivial: triple borders draw three lines, #1740; previously trivial: the caret, clicks and selection edges fall between the letters of a ligature, #1974; previously trivial: a word after a slash wraps whole, like Word, #2963; previously trivial: VML header-cell floats always on the page, user-checked in Word for Mac, #1775; previously trivial: an at-least row with no room for its minimum starts the next page whole, #1742; previously trivial: AutoFit donors lose equal widths down to their content minima; previously trivial: automatic space between Asian text and Latin text or digits, #2358; previously trivial: hint-reliant CJK outlines; previously trivial: positional tabs go to the margins or indents, #2367; previously trivial: field results with right-to-left text read right to left, #1670; previously trivial: a list bullet no installed font can draw shows the level's default bullet, #1683; previously trivial: a missing Thai font is drawn in one Thai face for the whole run, #1549; previously trivial: the caret after spaces hanging past the margin stays at the margin, #2146; previously trivial: covered black-circle fallback before UI sans; previously trivial: resolved split-cell continuation top insets; previously trivial: Symbol PCL6 alias uses Symbol encoding; previously trivial: exact full font names select their installed face; previously trivial: Arial Unicode MS uses proportional fallbacks; previously trivial: DrawingML outline dashes, including zero-width paths; previously trivial: TOCs include table-cell headings and retain full targets; previously trivial: kept table rows follow the next row; previously trivial: consistent cell widths override a stale table grid; previously trivial: multi-paragraph field instructions no longer add blank lines; previously trivial: page-break-only list paragraphs hide their labels; previously trivial: floating-table overlap ignores empty line-break lines; previously trivial: paragraph spacing adds up when the document turns HTML auto spacing off; previously trivial: an inherited footer sizes its percentage tables by its own section; previously trivial: an empty section mark stays on a full page; previously trivial: a fitting row with less room than its minimum height moves on whole; oversized rows still split; previously trivial: text past an exact-height row is cut off; previously trivial: a list number stays with text after a leading page break; previously trivial: a bookmark after a page break takes no line; previously trivial: a page break followed by a page break before or a next-page section starts one page; previously trivial: All Caps and Small Caps draw ß as SS, #1581; previously trivial: justified vertical page alignment, #1320; previously trivial: page numbers restart at 0; previously trivial: a list label moves with its first line when the paragraph is centred or end-aligned (#1159); previously trivial: PAGE fields in a paragraph split across pages show the page they are on, #1352; previously trivial: a dragged floating object anchors in the column it lands in, #884; previously trivial: a paragraph ending on a page with footnotes keeps its space after above the separator, #1116; previously trivial: symbol-font text drawn as Unicode symbols, #776; previously trivial: large-table scrolling measured and fixed, #811; previously trivial: text boxes use their own margins; Resize shape to fit text never cuts text, #743; previously trivial: complex-script shaping and Myanmar line breaking, #604; previously trivial: body page totals, table-cell footnotes and bookmark link pages fixed, #450 #451 #455; previously major: first version; line breaking, pagination and object placement checked against Word's behaviour from the layout source on origin/main) · **Target:** Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365) for Mac 16.113.4
+> **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-10-23 · **Change:** trivial (cu20we: box float paragraph origin; previously trivial: group connector rerouting preserves transformed free and unresolved endpoints under nonuniform scaling; readiness estimates unchanged; previously trivial: a word with no break opportunity in it no longer makes the layout quadratic, #3412; previously trivial: an empty paragraph whose mark is hidden shows nothing, not even its list number, which is still counted, #3982; previously trivial: a Thai run with Latin finds one installed font covering it all on Linux too, #1549; previously trivial: symbol fonts keep their line height without the font; previously trivial: an equation-array row without `&` is centred, #2617; previously trivial: a superscript or subscript sizes its line at the full font size, without its raise or drop, as Word does; previously trivial: an object dragged near the bottom of a page lands where it is dropped, #3169; previously trivial: centred list labels after leading page breaks, #2964; previously trivial: fixed font inputs in four layout controls; previously trivial: justified lines shrink their spaces by Word's measured limits; previously trivial: a right, centre or decimal tab whose text doesn't fit, or a left tab past the right indent, goes to the next line with its text, #1840; previously trivial: a click below a floating table goes to the text beside or after it, not to a cell of its last row, #2038; previously trivial: shapes drawn with their gradients and transparency, #1500; previously trivial: paragraphs above a float's anchor wrap around it, also when that pushes the anchor onto the next page, #2048; previously trivial: triple borders draw three lines, #1740; previously trivial: the caret, clicks and selection edges fall between the letters of a ligature, #1974; previously trivial: a word after a slash wraps whole, like Word, #2963; previously trivial: VML header-cell floats always on the page, user-checked in Word for Mac, #1775; previously trivial: an at-least row with no room for its minimum starts the next page whole, #1742; previously trivial: AutoFit donors lose equal widths down to their content minima; previously trivial: automatic space between Asian text and Latin text or digits, #2358; previously trivial: hint-reliant CJK outlines; previously trivial: positional tabs go to the margins or indents, #2367; previously trivial: field results with right-to-left text read right to left, #1670; previously trivial: a list bullet no installed font can draw shows the level's default bullet, #1683; previously trivial: a missing Thai font is drawn in one Thai face for the whole run, #1549; previously trivial: the caret after spaces hanging past the margin stays at the margin, #2146; previously trivial: covered black-circle fallback before UI sans; previously trivial: resolved split-cell continuation top insets; previously trivial: Symbol PCL6 alias uses Symbol encoding; previously trivial: exact full font names select their installed face; previously trivial: Arial Unicode MS uses proportional fallbacks; previously trivial: DrawingML outline dashes, including zero-width paths; previously trivial: TOCs include table-cell headings and retain full targets; previously trivial: kept table rows follow the next row; previously trivial: consistent cell widths override a stale table grid; previously trivial: multi-paragraph field instructions no longer add blank lines; previously trivial: page-break-only list paragraphs hide their labels; previously trivial: floating-table overlap ignores empty line-break lines; previously trivial: paragraph spacing adds up when the document turns HTML auto spacing off; previously trivial: an inherited footer sizes its percentage tables by its own section; previously trivial: an empty section mark stays on a full page; previously trivial: a fitting row with less room than its minimum height moves on whole; oversized rows still split; previously trivial: text past an exact-height row is cut off; previously trivial: a list number stays with text after a leading page break; previously trivial: a bookmark after a page break takes no line; previously trivial: a page break followed by a page break before or a next-page section starts one page; previously trivial: All Caps and Small Caps draw ß as SS, #1581; previously trivial: justified vertical page alignment, #1320; previously trivial: page numbers restart at 0; previously trivial: a list label moves with its first line when the paragraph is centred or end-aligned (#1159); previously trivial: PAGE fields in a paragraph split across pages show the page they are on, #1352; previously trivial: a dragged floating object anchors in the column it lands in, #884; previously trivial: a paragraph ending on a page with footnotes keeps its space after above the separator, #1116; previously trivial: symbol-font text drawn as Unicode symbols, #776; previously trivial: large-table scrolling measured and fixed, #811; previously trivial: text boxes use their own margins; Resize shape to fit text never cuts text, #743; previously trivial: complex-script shaping and Myanmar line breaking, #604; previously trivial: body page totals, table-cell footnotes and bookmark link pages fixed, #450 #451 #455; previously major: first version; line breaking, pagination and object placement checked against Word's behaviour from the layout source on origin/main) · **Target:** Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365) for Mac 16.113.4
 
 A document only "opens correctly" if its pages break where Word breaks them: the same lines, the
 same page count, footnotes and pictures on the same pages. This checklist covers line breaking,
@@ -237,8 +237,11 @@ Installed static fonts also resolve by their OpenType PostScript name (name ID 6
 
 ## Revision history
 
+> 2026-10-23 · cu20we: Paragraph-relative floats in headers, footers, table cells and text boxes start above effective paragraph space before, consistent with the body layout path (cu20we). Synthetic regressions cover all four contexts; native Word comparison remains pending.
+
 | Date | Change | Summary |
 |---|---|---|
+| 2026-10-23 | trivial | cu20we: paragraph-relative box floats use the pre-spacing origin; header/footer/cell/text-box regressions; readiness estimates unchanged |
 | 2026-10-22 | trivial | Group connector rerouting preserves displayed free and unresolved endpoints under nonuniform scaling while resolved ends keep their connection-site path; degenerate dimensions and unrepresentable fallback display spans are guarded; synthetic model/engine coverage only, readiness estimates unchanged |
 | 2026-10-21 | trivial | A word with no break opportunity in it, laid out beside a floating object, no longer lays out quadratically: every word is measured once, before the line is broken (#3412) |
 | 2026-10-23 | trivial | An empty paragraph whose mark is hidden is laid out as nothing, like a deleted one: no room, no list number (still counted, as in Word) and no shading, in the body and in table cells, headers and text boxes (#3982) |