tabs

frontend/public/locales/en-GB/translation.json

@@ -4533,6 +4533,32 @@
       "cancel": "Cancel",
       "confirm": "Reset and Change Mode"
     },
+    "welcomeBanner": {
+      "title": "Welcome to PDF Text Editor (Early Access)",
+      "experimental": "This is an experimental feature in active development. Expect some instability and issues during use.",
+      "howItWorks": "This tool converts your PDF to an editable format where you can modify text content and reposition images. Changes are saved back as a new PDF.",
+      "bestFor": "Works Best With:",
+      "bestFor1": "Simple PDFs containing primarily text and images",
+      "bestFor2": "Documents with standard paragraph formatting",
+      "bestFor3": "Letters, essays, reports, and basic documents",
+      "notIdealFor": "Not Ideal For:",
+      "notIdealFor1": "PDFs with special formatting like bullet points, tables, or multi-column layouts",
+      "notIdealFor2": "Magazines, brochures, or heavily designed documents",
+      "notIdealFor3": "Instruction manuals with complex layouts",
+      "limitations": "Current Limitations:",
+      "limitation1": "Font rendering may differ slightly from the original PDF",
+      "limitation2": "Complex graphics, form fields, and annotations are preserved but not editable",
+      "limitation3": "Large files may take time to convert and process",
+      "knownIssues": "Known Issues (Being Fixed):",
+      "issue1": "Text colour is not currently preserved (will be added soon)",
+      "issue2": "Paragraph mode has more alignment and spacing issues - Single Line mode recommended",
+      "issue3": "The preview display differs from the exported PDF - exported PDFs are closer to the original",
+      "issue4": "Rotated text alignment may need manual adjustment",
+      "issue5": "Transparency and layering effects may vary from original",
+      "feedback": "This is an early access feature. Please report any issues you encounter to help us improve!",
+      "gotIt": "Got it",
+      "dontShowAgain": "Don't show again"
+    },
     "disclaimer": {
       "heading": "Preview limitations",
       "textFocus": "This workspace focuses on editing text and repositioning embedded images. Complex page artwork, form widgets, and layered graphics are preserved for export but are not fully editable here.",
@@ -4579,6 +4605,21 @@
       "standard14": "Standard PDF Font",
       "warnings": "Warnings",
       "suggestions": "Notes"
+    },
+    "manual": {
+      "mergeTooltip": "Merge selected boxes into a single paragraph",
+      "merge": "Merge selection",
+      "ungroupTooltip": "Split paragraph back into separate lines",
+      "ungroup": "Ungroup selection",
+      "widthMenu": "Width options",
+      "expandWidth": "Expand to page edge",
+      "resetWidth": "Reset width",
+      "resizeHandle": "Adjust text width"
+    },
+    "options": {
+      "manualGrouping": {
+        "descriptionInline": "Tip: Hold Ctrl (Cmd) or Shift to multi-select text boxes. A floating toolbar will appear above the selection so you can merge, ungroup, or adjust widths."
+      }
     }
   },
   "workspace": {

frontend/src/core/contexts/NavigationContext.tsx

@@ -121,10 +121,11 @@ export const NavigationProvider: React.FC<{
         hasUnsavedChanges
       });
 
-      // If we're leaving pageEditor or viewer workbench and have unsaved changes, request navigation
+      // If we're leaving pageEditor, viewer, or custom workbench and have unsaved changes, request navigation
       const leavingWorkbenchWithChanges =
         (state.workbench === 'pageEditor' && workbench !== 'pageEditor' && hasUnsavedChanges) ||
-        (state.workbench === 'viewer' && workbench !== 'viewer' && hasUnsavedChanges);
+        (state.workbench === 'viewer' && workbench !== 'viewer' && hasUnsavedChanges) ||
+        (state.workbench.startsWith('custom:') && workbench !== state.workbench && hasUnsavedChanges);
 
       if (leavingWorkbenchWithChanges) {
         // Update state to reflect unsaved changes so modal knows
@@ -132,7 +133,19 @@ export const NavigationProvider: React.FC<{
           dispatch({ type: 'SET_UNSAVED_CHANGES', payload: { hasChanges: true } });
         }
         const performWorkbenchChange = () => {
-          dispatch({ type: 'SET_WORKBENCH', payload: { workbench } });
+          // When leaving a custom workbench, clear the selected tool
+          console.log('[NavigationContext] performWorkbenchChange executing', {
+            from: state.workbench,
+            to: workbench,
+            isCustom: state.workbench.startsWith('custom:')
+          });
+          if (state.workbench.startsWith('custom:')) {
+            console.log('[NavigationContext] Clearing tool and changing workbench to:', workbench);
+            dispatch({ type: 'SET_TOOL_AND_WORKBENCH', payload: { toolId: null, workbench } });
+          } else {
+            console.log('[NavigationContext] Just changing workbench to:', workbench);
+            dispatch({ type: 'SET_WORKBENCH', payload: { workbench } });
+          }
         };
         dispatch({ type: 'SET_PENDING_NAVIGATION', payload: { navigationFn: performWorkbenchChange } });
         dispatch({ type: 'SHOW_NAVIGATION_WARNING', payload: { show: true } });
@@ -149,10 +162,11 @@ export const NavigationProvider: React.FC<{
       // Check for unsaved changes using registered checker or state
       const hasUnsavedChanges = unsavedChangesCheckerRef.current?.() || state.hasUnsavedChanges;
 
-      // If we're leaving pageEditor or viewer workbench and have unsaved changes, request navigation
+      // If we're leaving pageEditor, viewer, or custom workbench and have unsaved changes, request navigation
       const leavingWorkbenchWithChanges =
         (state.workbench === 'pageEditor' && workbench !== 'pageEditor' && hasUnsavedChanges) ||
-        (state.workbench === 'viewer' && workbench !== 'viewer' && hasUnsavedChanges);
+        (state.workbench === 'viewer' && workbench !== 'viewer' && hasUnsavedChanges) ||
+        (state.workbench.startsWith('custom:') && workbench !== state.workbench && hasUnsavedChanges);
 
       if (leavingWorkbenchWithChanges) {
         const performWorkbenchChange = () => {
@@ -192,13 +206,19 @@ export const NavigationProvider: React.FC<{
     }, [state.hasUnsavedChanges]),
 
     confirmNavigation: useCallback(() => {
+      console.log('[NavigationContext] confirmNavigation called', {
+        hasPendingNav: !!state.pendingNavigation,
+        currentWorkbench: state.workbench,
+        currentTool: state.selectedTool
+      });
       if (state.pendingNavigation) {
         state.pendingNavigation();
       }
 
       dispatch({ type: 'SET_PENDING_NAVIGATION', payload: { navigationFn: null } });
       dispatch({ type: 'SHOW_NAVIGATION_WARNING', payload: { show: false } });
-    }, [state.pendingNavigation]),
+      console.log('[NavigationContext] confirmNavigation completed');
+    }, [state.pendingNavigation, state.workbench, state.selectedTool]),
 
     cancelNavigation: useCallback(() => {
       dispatch({ type: 'SET_PENDING_NAVIGATION', payload: { navigationFn: null } });

frontend/src/core/contexts/ToolWorkflowContext.tsx

@@ -218,15 +218,25 @@ export function ToolWorkflowProvider({ children }: ToolWorkflowProviderProps) {
   }, [customViewRegistry, customViewData]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (isBaseWorkbench(navigationState.workbench)) {
+    const { workbench } = navigationState;
+    if (isBaseWorkbench(workbench)) {
       return;
     }
 
-    const currentCustomView = customWorkbenchViews.find(view => view.workbenchId === navigationState.workbench);
+    const currentCustomView = customWorkbenchViews.find(view => view.workbenchId === workbench);
+    const expectedWorkbench = selectedTool?.workbench;
+    const workbenchOwnedBySelectedTool = expectedWorkbench === workbench;
+
     if (!currentCustomView || currentCustomView.data == null) {
+      // If the currently selected tool expects this custom workbench, allow it
+      // some time to register/populate the view instead of immediately bouncing
+      // the user back to Active Files.
+      if (workbenchOwnedBySelectedTool) {
+        return;
+      }
       actions.setWorkbench(getDefaultWorkbench());
     }
-  }, [actions, customWorkbenchViews, navigationState.workbench]);
+  }, [actions, customWorkbenchViews, navigationState.workbench, selectedTool]);
 
   // Persisted via PreferencesContext; no direct localStorage writes needed here
 
@@ -421,4 +431,4 @@ export function useToolWorkflow(): ToolWorkflowContextValue {
     throw new Error('useToolWorkflow must be used within a ToolWorkflowProvider');
   }
   return context;
-}
+}

frontend/src/proprietary/components/tools/pdfTextEditor/PdfTextEditorView.tsx

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import MergeTypeIcon from '@mui/icons-material/MergeType';
 import CallSplitIcon from '@mui/icons-material/CallSplit';
 import MoreVertIcon from '@mui/icons-material/MoreVert';
 import { Rnd } from 'react-rnd';
+import NavigationWarningModal from '@core/components/shared/NavigationWarningModal';
 
 import {
   PdfTextEditorViewData,
@@ -347,6 +348,30 @@ const PdfTextEditorView = ({ data }: PdfTextEditorViewProps) => {
     maxWidth: number;
   } | null>(null);
 
+  // First-time banner state
+  const [showWelcomeBanner, setShowWelcomeBanner] = useState(() => {
+    try {
+      return localStorage.getItem('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBannerDismissed') !== 'true';
+    } catch {
+      return true;
+    }
+  });
+
+  const handleDismissWelcomeBanner = useCallback(() => {
+    // Just dismiss for this session, don't save to localStorage
+    setShowWelcomeBanner(false);
+  }, []);
+
+  const handleDontShowAgain = useCallback(() => {
+    // Save to localStorage to never show again
+    try {
+      localStorage.setItem('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBannerDismissed', 'true');
+    } catch {
+      // Ignore localStorage errors
+    }
+    setShowWelcomeBanner(false);
+  }, []);
+
   const {
     document: pdfDocument,
     groupsByPage,
@@ -373,6 +398,7 @@ const PdfTextEditorView = ({ data }: PdfTextEditorViewProps) => {
     onReset,
     onDownloadJson,
     onGeneratePdf,
+    onGeneratePdfForNavigation,
     onForceSingleTextElementChange,
     onGroupingModeChange,
     onMergeGroups,
@@ -1705,6 +1731,82 @@ const selectionToolbarPosition = useMemo(() => {
             )}
           </Group>
 
+          <Modal
+            opened={showWelcomeBanner}
+            onClose={handleDismissWelcomeBanner}
+            title={
+              <Group gap="xs">
+                <InfoOutlinedIcon fontSize="small" />
+                <Text fw={600}>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.title', 'Welcome to PDF Text Editor (Early Access)')}</Text>
+              </Group>
+            }
+            centered
+            size="lg"
+          >
+            <ScrollArea style={{ maxHeight: '70vh' }} offsetScrollbars>
+              <Stack gap="sm">
+                <Alert color="orange" variant="light" radius="md">
+                  <Text size="sm" fw={500}>
+                    {t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.experimental', 'This is an experimental feature in active development. Expect some instability and issues during use.')}
+                  </Text>
+                </Alert>
+                <Text size="sm">
+                  {t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.howItWorks', 'This tool converts your PDF to an editable format where you can modify text content and reposition images. Changes are saved back as a new PDF.')}
+                </Text>
+                <Divider />
+                <Text size="sm" fw={500} c="green.7">
+                  {t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.bestFor', 'Works Best With:')}
+                </Text>
+                <Text size="sm" component="ul" style={{ marginLeft: '1rem', marginTop: '0.25rem' }}>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.bestFor1', 'Simple PDFs containing primarily text and images')}</li>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.bestFor2', 'Documents with standard paragraph formatting')}</li>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.bestFor3', 'Letters, essays, reports, and basic documents')}</li>
+                </Text>
+                <Divider />
+                <Text size="sm" fw={500} c="orange.7">
+                  {t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.notIdealFor', 'Not Ideal For:')}
+                </Text>
+                <Text size="sm" component="ul" style={{ marginLeft: '1rem', marginTop: '0.25rem' }}>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.notIdealFor1', 'PDFs with special formatting like bullet points, tables, or multi-column layouts')}</li>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.notIdealFor2', 'Magazines, brochures, or heavily designed documents')}</li>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.notIdealFor3', 'Instruction manuals with complex layouts')}</li>
+                </Text>
+                <Divider />
+                <Text size="sm" fw={500}>
+                  {t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.limitations', 'Current Limitations:')}
+                </Text>
+                <Text size="sm" component="ul" style={{ marginLeft: '1rem', marginTop: '0.25rem' }}>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.limitation1', 'Font rendering may differ slightly from the original PDF')}</li>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.limitation2', 'Complex graphics, form fields, and annotations are preserved but not editable')}</li>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.limitation3', 'Large files may take time to convert and process')}</li>
+                </Text>
+                <Divider />
+                <Text size="sm" fw={500}>
+                  {t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.knownIssues', 'Known Issues (Being Fixed):')}
+                </Text>
+                <Text size="sm" component="ul" style={{ marginLeft: '1rem', marginTop: '0.25rem' }}>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.issue1', 'Text colour is not currently preserved (will be added soon)')}</li>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.issue2', 'Paragraph mode has more alignment and spacing issues - Single Line mode recommended')}</li>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.issue3', 'The preview display differs from the exported PDF - exported PDFs are closer to the original')}</li>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.issue4', 'Rotated text alignment may need manual adjustment')}</li>
+                  <li>{t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.issue5', 'Transparency and layering effects may vary from original')}</li>
+                </Text>
+                <Divider />
+                <Text size="xs" c="dimmed">
+                  {t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.feedback', 'This is an early access feature. Please report any issues you encounter to help us improve!')}
+                </Text>
+                <Group justify="flex-end" gap="sm" mt="md">
+                  <Button variant="default" onClick={handleDismissWelcomeBanner}>
+                    {t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.gotIt', 'Got it')}
+                  </Button>
+                  <Button onClick={handleDontShowAgain}>
+                    {t('pdfTextEditor.welcomeBanner.dontShowAgain', "Don't show again")}
+                  </Button>
+                </Group>
+              </Stack>
+            </ScrollArea>
+          </Modal>
+
           <Card
             withBorder
             padding="md"
@@ -2169,7 +2271,7 @@ const selectionToolbarPosition = useMemo(() => {
                                   width: '100%',
                                   minHeight: '100%',
                                   height: 'auto',
-                                  padding: 0,
+                                  padding: '2px',
                                 backgroundColor: 'rgba(255,255,255,0.95)',
                                   color: textColor,
                                   fontSize: `${fontSizePx}px`,
@@ -2212,7 +2314,7 @@ const selectionToolbarPosition = useMemo(() => {
                               style={{
                                 width: '100%',
                                 minHeight: '100%',
-                                padding: 0,
+                                padding: '2px',
                                 whiteSpace,
                                 wordBreak,
                                 overflowWrap,
@@ -2342,6 +2444,11 @@ const selectionToolbarPosition = useMemo(() => {
           </Group>
         </Stack>
       </Modal>
+
+      {/* Navigation Warning Modal */}
+      <NavigationWarningModal
+        onApplyAndContinue={onGeneratePdfForNavigation}
+      />
     </Stack>
   );
 };

frontend/src/proprietary/tools/pdfTextEditor/PdfTextEditor.tsx

@@ -207,6 +207,7 @@ const PdfTextEditor = ({ onComplete, onError }: BaseToolProps) => {
   } = useToolWorkflow();
   const { actions: navigationActions } = useNavigationActions();
   const navigationState = useNavigationState();
+  const { registerUnsavedChangesChecker, unregisterUnsavedChangesChecker } = navigationActions;
 
   const [loadedDocument, setLoadedDocument] = useState<PdfJsonDocument | null>(null);
   const [groupsByPage, setGroupsByPage] = useState<TextGroup[][]>([]);
@@ -959,7 +960,7 @@ const PdfTextEditor = ({ onComplete, onError }: BaseToolProps) => {
     }
   }, [buildPayload, onComplete]);
 
-  const handleGeneratePdf = useCallback(async () => {
+  const handleGeneratePdf = useCallback(async (skipComplete = false) => {
     try {
       setIsGeneratingPdf(true);
 
@@ -1053,7 +1054,7 @@ const PdfTextEditor = ({ onComplete, onError }: BaseToolProps) => {
 
           downloadBlob(response.data, downloadName);
 
-          if (onComplete) {
+          if (onComplete && !skipComplete) {
             const pdfFile = new File([response.data], downloadName, { type: 'application/pdf' });
             onComplete([pdfFile]);
           }
@@ -1094,7 +1095,7 @@ const PdfTextEditor = ({ onComplete, onError }: BaseToolProps) => {
 
       downloadBlob(response.data, downloadName);
 
-      if (onComplete) {
+      if (onComplete && !skipComplete) {
         const pdfFile = new File([response.data], downloadName, { type: 'application/pdf' });
         onComplete([pdfFile]);
       }
@@ -1273,6 +1274,10 @@ const PdfTextEditor = ({ onComplete, onError }: BaseToolProps) => {
     onReset: handleResetEdits,
     onDownloadJson: handleDownloadJson,
     onGeneratePdf: handleGeneratePdf,
+    onGeneratePdfForNavigation: async () => {
+      // Generate PDF without triggering tool completion
+      await handleGeneratePdf(true);
+    },
     onForceSingleTextElementChange: setForceSingleTextElement,
     onGroupingModeChange: setGroupingMode,
     onMergeGroups: handleMergeGroups,
@@ -1370,14 +1375,30 @@ const PdfTextEditor = ({ onComplete, onError }: BaseToolProps) => {
     unregisterCustomWorkbenchView,
   ]);
 
+  // Note: Compare tool doesn't auto-force workbench, and neither should we
+  // The workbench should be set when the tool is selected via proper channels
+  // (tool registry, tool picker, etc.) - not forced here
+
+  // Keep hasChanges in a ref for the checker to access
+  const hasChangesRef = useRef(hasChanges);
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (
+    hasChangesRef.current = hasChanges;
-      navigationState.selectedTool === 'pdfTextEditor' &&
+    console.log('[PdfTextEditor] hasChanges updated to:', hasChanges);
-      navigationState.workbench !== WORKBENCH_ID
+  }, [hasChanges]);
-    ) {
+
-      navigationActions.setWorkbench(WORKBENCH_ID);
+  // Register unsaved changes checker for navigation guard
-    }
+  useEffect(() => {
-  }, [navigationActions, navigationState.selectedTool, navigationState.workbench]);
+    const checker = () => {
+      console.log('[PdfTextEditor] Checking unsaved changes:', hasChangesRef.current);
+      return hasChangesRef.current;
+    };
+    registerUnsavedChangesChecker(checker);
+    console.log('[PdfTextEditor] Registered unsaved changes checker');
+    return () => {
+      console.log('[PdfTextEditor] Unregistered unsaved changes checker');
+      unregisterUnsavedChangesChecker();
+    };
+  }, [registerUnsavedChangesChecker, unregisterUnsavedChangesChecker]);
 
   const lastSentViewDataRef = useRef<PdfTextEditorViewData | null>(null);
 

frontend/src/proprietary/tools/pdfTextEditor/pdfTextEditorTypes.ts

@@ -218,6 +218,7 @@ export interface PdfTextEditorViewData {
   onReset: () => void;
   onDownloadJson: () => void;
   onGeneratePdf: () => void;
+  onGeneratePdfForNavigation: () => Promise<void>;
   onForceSingleTextElementChange: (value: boolean) => void;
   onGroupingModeChange: (value: 'auto' | 'paragraph' | 'singleLine') => void;
   onMergeGroups: (pageIndex: number, groupIds: string[]) => boolean;