Changelog — Forms reliability, app layout, offline package & SVC (1.4 → 1.5.3)

Product version: 1.5.3 (see root VERSION for current)

Runtime cache-bust: app/config.js → 1.5.3-pack-docs

Date: 2026-07-30

Later: CHANGELOG-1.5.4-circle.md — Circle / Ellipse shape tool (+ dev/patches/1.5.4-circle-shape.diff).

Earlier series still documented separately:

• CHANGELOG-1.2.0-tabs.md — multi-doc tabs, session restore, form fill UX
• CHANGELOG-1.3.0-instruction-processor.md — GaProcessor / command-pattern history
• **CASE-STUDY.html** — narrative technical case study (accomplishments, hurdles, tricks)

This file covers work from ~1.3.6 through 1.5.3 (forms export/import races, folder reorg, slim package, local server shell).

1.5.3 — Pack docs, ship layout polish (2026-07-30)

Packager / ship

• Slim zip root now includes **dev/, README.md, VERSION** (not only app\ + tools).
• Setup scripts ship under **tools\** (not nested tools\package\) for a clearer user layout.
• Root **README.md / VERSION** refreshed to match multi-tab, SVC, and setup flow.
• Maintainer scripts remain under repo tools\package\ (package.ps1 flattens into the zip).

SVC (unchanged behavior, documented in this release chain)

• See 1.5.2 notes: single-instance, sticky port, .url file, no auto-browser.

1.5.2 — Offline setup, multi-CDN, SVC packaging (2026-07-30)

**tools/package/**

Downloads (setup)

• pdfjs-dist 3.11.174 → lib/pdfjs/ (pdf.local.js / pdf.worker.local.js + cmaps + standard_fonts)
• pdf-lib, html2canvas, tesseract.js + eng.traineddata + **file:// *.embed.js**
• qpdf from npm **@neslinesli93/[email protected]** + 4-line window.QpdfModule glue (same build as in-tree; wasm SHA matches)
• Google Fonts → assets/fonts/ + generated assets/css/fonts.css

Start-on-boot

• Optional: user Startup folder shortcut (default) or HKCU Run
• No admin — localhost high port does not need elevation
• Working directory = package root so mongoose ./app resolves
• Flags: -EnableStartup, -DisableStartup, -StartupMethod Registry|StartupFolder

SVC packaging

• Zip includes **GA-PDF-Editor-SVC.exe** next to app\

1.5.1 — OCR active tab only (2026-07-30)

Bug: Scan OCR walked every .pageContainer in the document (all tabs).

Fix: Scope OCR to the active viewer (getActiveViewer() / APP.DOM.viewer).

1.5.0 — App folder reorg (2026-07-30)

app/
  assets/
    css/          fonts.css, style.css
    fonts/        *.woff2
    icons/        favicon + PWA icons
  js/             application source (unchanged structure)
  lib/
    pdfjs/        pdf.local.js, worker, cmaps/, standard_fonts/
    pdf-lib/
    html2canvas/
    qpdf/
    tesseract/
  index.html, config.js, manifest.json, sw.js

All loaders and runtime paths updated (index script list, PDF.js cMap/font URLs, OCR, qpdf, manifest icons).

1.4.4 — Title shows numeric version only (2026-07-30)

Browser title uses semver digits only (e.g. GA PDF Editor 1.5.3), not the cache-bust slug (-pack-docs, etc.).

1.4.3 — Title + File menu Close (2026-07-30)

• Version string in window title (appTitle + version).
• File menu: Close / Close All (wired to GaWorkspace.closeActiveDocument / closeAllDocuments).

1.4.2 — Forms restore race after open/refresh (2026-07-30)

Bug: Form shells sometimes missing after hard refresh / session restore (intermittent).

Causes & fixes

• Removed fire-and-forget setTimeout(100) for applyProjectData — apply immediately after pages + annotation layers finish.
• Id collision checks scoped to this viewer (not document.getElementById across tabs).
• **ensureFormsReadyForViewer / scheduleEnsureFormsReady**: re-apply schema or re-import natives at 0 / 120 / 400 / 1000 / 2500 ms.
• Native re-import no longer gated on annotation-layer DOM classes (those paint async).

1.4.1 — Form embed: create vs page widget (2026-07-30)

Bug signature (console):

wrote widgets= 0  failed= N  form.getFields()= N

Fields were registered on the AcroForm, but page widgets never landed (or create collided with zombies).

Fixes

• Drain / hard-reset leftover fields after strip.
• Safe box math (never pass NaN into addToPage).
• ga_ field name prefix; retry boxes; count fields with page widgets.
• embedOneFormField helper.

1.4.0 — KISS form export path (2026-07-30)

Problem: Live PDF export dropped forms; gapdf round-trip was the only “workaround,” then that broke too after aggressive strip/cache experiments.

Approach

1. Snapshot designer shells from the DOM.
2. Strip original page Widget annots + catalog AcroForm.
3. Create a fresh AcroForm and write snapshots.
4. Flat field names (no hierarchical . segments for pdf-lib).
5. Project save also re-embeds designer fields into the project PDF half.

Related earlier attempts (1.3.8–1.3.9): formCache invalidate after strip — necessary insight, but incomplete until 1.4.0/1.4.1.

1.3.7 — Form multi-select group drag (2026-07-30)

Bug: Marquee selected form fields, but group drag failed in Form mode.

Cause: CSS pointer-events: none on .stencil-box under body.workspace-form, and drag-engine isolation rejected non-formFieldOverlay elements (stencil is a group shell).

Fix: Stencil stays interactive/opaque in Form mode; stencil/group drag allowed through workspace isolation.

1.3.6 — Export: strip native widgets hard (2026-07-29)

Bug: Deleted designer forms still appeared in exported PDF (orphaned page /Widget annots after copyPages).

Fix: Aggressive strip: removeField + page Annots Widget pass + catalog /AcroForm cleanup. Export path: strip when forms managed, then re-embed remaining designer shells.

(Later refinements in 1.4.x fixed re-embed reliability.)

Forms lifecycle (end state as of 1.5.3)

SVC shell (1.5.x)

Source: tools/GA-PDF-Launcher/main.c.

Config version timeline (cache-bust strings)

Approximate GA_CONFIG.version progression in this arc:

Operator quick reference

# Build slim zip
cd tools\package
.\package.ps1

# Recipient setup (from zip root)
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\tools\setup.ps1

# Local server
.\GA-PDF-Editor-SVC.exe
# then open: Open GA PDF Editor.url  (once for PWA)