FLOAT SUITE

Offline-first creative and academic tools for the browser. No accounts, no cloud, no tracking. Your work stays on your device.

Three apps, one consistent design system, eight languages.

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What's inside

App	What it is	For whom
Paint.web	Raster paint studio with layers, filters, adjustments, and shape tools	Illustrators, photo editors, sketchers
Inkling	SVG vector editor with pen, shapes, gradients, layers, boolean ops	Logo designers, icon makers, illustrators
Thesis	Academic word processor with ABNT/APA/MLA standards, reference generator, real PDF/DOCX/ODT export	Students, researchers, writers

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Quick start

1. Download the folder.
2. Open index.html in any modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari).
3. Pick an app from the portal.

That's it. No server, no install, no build step. The suite works from a USB stick, an SD card, or your local disk.

Offline use: Once loaded, all three apps work without an internet connection. The first time you export to PDF / DOCX / ODT, the suite fetches small JavaScript libraries from a CDN; after that they're cached by the browser.

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The Unity-style HUD

Every app has a global menu bar at the top with the standard menus (File, Edit, View, etc.). Click a menu to drop down its items, or use the keyboard.

Press Alt (or Ctrl+Space) anywhere to open the command palette — a search box that lets you find and run any command by name. Type "export", "layer", "undo", "save" — the palette filters instantly. Press Enter to run.

Press ? (or click the ? button on the menu bar) to see the full list of keyboard shortcuts for the current app.

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Languages

Eight languages are built in. Switch from the language selector on the menu bar — your choice persists across sessions and apps:

• English (en)
• Português brasileiro (pt-BR)
• Português europeu (pt-PT)
• Italiano (it)
• Français (fr)
• 日本語 (ja)
• Deutsch (de)
• Українська (uk)

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Themes

• Auto — follows your operating system preference
• Light — forced light
• Dark — forced dark

Themes sync across all four pages (portal + three apps) automatically.

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File structure

float-suite/
├── index.html              ← Portal / launcher
├── paint.html              ← Paint.web (raster)
├── inkling.html            ← Inkling (vector)
├── thesis.html             ← Thesis (academic word processor)
├── package.json            ← Electron + electron-builder config
├── .gitignore
├── README.md               ← This file
├── .github/
│   └── workflows/
│       └── build.yml       ← GitHub Actions: deb/rpm/pacman/AppImage/dmg/exe
├── electron/               ← Electron wrapper for native packaging
│   ├── main.js             ← Main process (window, menu, native dialogs)
│   ├── preload.js          ← Minimal context bridge
│   └── build/
│       └── entitlements.mac.plist
├── shared/                 ← Shared runtime (loaded by all 4 pages)
│   ├── float.css           ← Design tokens, HUD, modals, toasts
│   ├── i18n.js             ← 8-language dictionary
│   ├── float.js            ← HUD engine, theme, shortcuts, modal manager
│   └── exporters.js        ← PDF / DOCX / ODT exporters (lazy-loaded)
├── favicons/               ← Neo-brutalist icon set (SVG + PNG + ICO)
│   ├── float.svg/png/ico   ← Portal
│   ├── paint.svg/png/ico   ← Paint.web (yellow + paint brush)
│   ├── inkling.svg/png/ico ← Inkling (pink + Blooper squid)
│   └── thesis.svg/png/ico  ← Thesis (blue + open book)
└── README.md               ← This file

Each app HTML is self-contained — it only depends on shared/ and favicons/. You can host the folder anywhere, or open files directly from disk.

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Keyboard shortcuts

Press ? in any app to see its full shortcut list. The most common ones:

Shortcut	Action
Alt	Open command palette (HUD search)
Ctrl+Space	Same — command palette
?	Show shortcuts help
Ctrl+S	Save / Export
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y	Undo / Redo
Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V	Standard edit ops
Esc	Close modal / palette / overlay

Paint.web tools

H move · B brush · P pencil · E eraser · G fill · I eyedropper · T text · M rect-select · L lasso · W magic wand · C crop · U rectangle · O ellipse · [ ] brush size · X swap colors · D reset colors

Inkling tools

V select · A direct select · P pen · B freehand · T text · I eyedropper · R rectangle · E ellipse · L line · Y polygon · S star · H hand · Z zoom · F fit · Ctrl+G group · Ctrl+Shift+G ungroup

Thesis

Ctrl+B bold · Ctrl+I italic · Ctrl+U underline · Ctrl+F find · Ctrl+L link · Ctrl+K reference · Ctrl+Enter page break · F11 zen mode

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Export formats

App	Formats
Paint.web	PNG, JPEG, WebP, PDF, DOCX (image embedded), ODT
Inkling	SVG, PNG, PDF
Thesis	PDF, DOCX (true OOXML), ODT, HTML, TXT

How PDF export works

The suite uses jsPDF (lazy-loaded from CDN). The canvas / paper is rasterized at 2× resolution, then sliced into A4 pages with proper margins.

How DOCX export works

Thesis produces real OOXML .docx files via the docx library. Headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, images (as embedded base64), links, blockquotes, code blocks, and inline formatting (bold / italic / underline / strikethrough) are all preserved. Paint.web wraps the flattened canvas as an image inside a single-paragraph Word document.

How ODT export works

The suite generates a valid ODF package (the mimetype file, META-INF/manifest.xml, content.xml, styles.xml) using JSZip. Basic paragraph, heading, list, table, and inline formatting are supported.

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Data and privacy

What	Where
Theme preference	localStorage["float_theme_mode"]
Language preference	localStorage["float_lang"]
Paint.web autosave	localStorage["paint_autosave"]
Paint.web swatches	localStorage["paint_swatches"]
Inkling autosave	localStorage["inkling_autosave"]
Thesis documents	localStorage["thesis_docs"] (array of {name, content, standard, modified, wordCount, footnoteCount, cover})
Thesis settings	localStorage["thesis_settings"]
Thesis daily word count	localStorage["thesis_words_<YYYY-MM-DD>")

Nothing else. No cookies, no analytics, no network requests during normal use (except the one-time CDN load for export libraries).

Backup

To back up your work, copy the relevant localStorage keys via the browser console:

JSON.stringify({
  docs: localStorage.getItem('thesis_docs'),
  settings: localStorage.getItem('thesis_settings'),
  paint: localStorage.getItem('paint_autosave'),
  inkling: localStorage.getItem('inkling_autosave'),
  theme: localStorage.getItem('float_theme_mode'),
  lang: localStorage.getItem('float_lang')
}, null, 2)

Restore

Paste the JSON back into localStorage with the same keys.

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Browser support

Tested on the latest stable versions of:

• Chrome / Edge (Chromium)
• Firefox
• Safari

The suite uses modern JavaScript (ES2017+), CSS custom properties, SVG, Canvas 2D, and localStorage. Internet Explorer is not supported.

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For developers

Architecture

The suite is intentionally framework-free. Every file is hand-written HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript. The shared layer is three files:

• shared/float.css — design tokens (colors, shadows, typography, layout vars), light and dark theme overrides, plus shared components (buttons, modals, toasts, HUD menubar, HUD search overlay, shortcuts overlay, loading screen).
• shared/i18n.js — a small translation dictionary with 8 locales. Exposes FloatI18n.t(key, vars), FloatI18n.setLang(code), FloatI18n.apply() (walks [data-i18n] elements and updates them), and FloatI18n.on(fn) for change subscriptions.
• shared/float.js — DOM helpers ($, $$, el), theme manager, modal manager, toast, shortcuts registry, and the HUD engine (Unity-style menu bar + command palette + shortcuts overlay). The HUD is built declaratively from a spec object that lists menus, items, commands, and shortcuts.
• shared/exporters.js — canvasToPDF, svgToPDF, htmlToDocx, htmlToODT. Loads jsPDF, docx, and JSZip lazily on first use.

Adding a new translation

1. Open shared/i18n.js.
2. Add the locale code to the SUPPORTED array.
3. Add a new entry to the D dictionary with the same keys as en.
4. The language automatically appears in the language selector on every app.

Adding a new command to an app

Float.registerCommand({
  id: 'myapp.doThing',
  label: 'Do the thing',
  group: 'tools',
  run: () => { /* … */ },
  shortcut: { mod: ['Ctrl', 'Shift'], key: 'T' }  // optional
});

The command will appear in the HUD search and (if it has a shortcut) in the shortcuts overlay.

Building a new app on the same foundation

1. Include shared/float.css, shared/i18n.js, shared/float.js, shared/exporters.js in that order.
2. Add <div id="hud-mount"></div> where you want the menu bar to appear.
3. Call Float.mountHUD(spec) with your menu spec.
4. Register commands and shortcuts via Float.registerCommand(...) and Float.addShortcut(...).

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Native desktop builds (Electron)

The suite ships as static HTML/CSS/JS — but it can be wrapped in Electron for native installation on Linux, macOS, and Windows. The repo includes:

• electron/main.js — Electron main process. Creates a 1440×900 window, loads the portal, sets a native menu, exposes window.floatDesktop.isDesktop to pages.
• electron/preload.js — minimal context-isolated bridge.
• package.json — full electron-builder config for all 6 targets.
• .github/workflows/build.yml — CI that builds everything on push to main, on PRs, and on v* tags. Tag pushes publish a GitHub Release.

Targets

Format	Platform	Runner	Notes
.deb	Debian / Ubuntu	ubuntu-22.04	x64 + arm64
.rpm	Fedora / RHEL / SUSE	ubuntu-22.04	x64 + arm64
.pacman	Arch Linux	ubuntu-22.04	x64
.AppImage	Universal Linux	ubuntu-22.04	x64 + arm64
.dmg	macOS	macos-13	x64 + arm64 (Universal)
.exe	Windows	windows-2022	NSIS installer + portable

Build locally

# Install Electron + electron-builder
npm install

# Run as desktop app (dev mode)
npm start

# Build for your current OS
npm run dist:linux    # or :mac / :win

# Or build all platforms (cross-compile from any OS, requires extra tooling)
npm run dist:all

Artifacts land in electron/dist/.

Triggering CI builds

1. Pull request → builds all three platforms but does not publish.
2. Push to main → builds everything, uploads artifacts to the workflow run (30-day retention).
3. Tag push v5.1.0 → builds + publishes a GitHub Release with all 6 formats + SHA256SUMS.txt.

git tag v5.1.0
git push origin v5.1.0

Code signing (optional)

The workflow reads these secrets when present and skips signing when absent (so PRs from forks still build):

Secret	Purpose
MAC_CERTIFICATE + MAC_CERTIFICATE_PASSWORD	macOS Developer ID certificate (base64 P12)
APPLE_ID + APPLE_APP_SPECIFIC_PASSWORD + APPLE_TEAM_ID	notarization credentials
WIN_CERTIFICATE + WIN_CERTIFICATE_PASSWORD	Windows Authenticode cert (base64 PFX)

Without signing, macOS users will need to right-click → Open the first time, and Windows will show a SmartScreen warning.

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Favicons

Each app has a neo-brutalist icon in 4 formats (SVG + 5 PNG sizes + multi-res ICO). Source SVGs live in favicons/. Re-render all sizes with:

python3 scripts/render_favicons.py

The set:

• Float Suite (portal) — composite of the three app glyphs in a 2×2 grid
• Paint.web — yellow background with a black/red paint brush
• Inkling — pink background with a black Blooper-style squid (two big eyes, wavy tentacles)
• Thesis — blue background with an open book (yellow bookmark ribbon)

Each app HTML references all icon variants (SVG → PNG sizes → ICO fallback → Apple touch icon).

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License & attribution

Float Suite is built by Arik Closs Novais and released for academic and creative use.

The suite bundles the following third-party libraries via CDN (only loaded on first use):

• jsPDF (MIT)
• docx (MIT)
• JSZip (MIT)
• html2canvas (MIT)
• Font Awesome (icons, Free license)
• Google Fonts: Archivo Black, Space Mono, Merriweather

All app code is original.

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Changelog

Suite 5.1 — current

• Eight-language interface (en, pt-BR, pt-PT, it, fr, ja, de, uk)
• Unity-style HUD with command palette (Alt to open)
• Real .docx export via the docx library (was fake .doc HTML before)
• Real .odt export via JSZip (ODF package assembly)
• Fixed Paint.web: magic wand, smudge, blur tools now work; invert selection implemented
• Fixed Inkling: boolean ops (via clip-path / mask), align to artboard, snap-to-objects
• Fixed Thesis: PDF export zoom bug fixed, page-break visual artifacts removed, autosave restored
• Cross-app theme sync
• Shortcuts help overlay
• Autosave in Paint.web, Inkling, and Thesis
• Removed dead code, AI-generated boilerplate comments, and unused variables across all four files

Suite 5.0

• Initial release of the shared design system and i18n layer
• Three apps unified under a single portal

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Acknowledgements

Built for people who finish things — students writing a thesis at 2 a.m., illustrators sketching on a train, designers mocking up a logo between meetings. May your work be yours.