Maintaining an IVAO Aurora sector file means moving between the wider sector picture and precise source edits. Find a procedure, inspect its geometry, adjust a few coordinates, then check what will change before saving. Alpha 6 development for Aurora Sector Studio is focused on making that journey easier to follow, with the map and editing tools sharing the workspace.
The changes described here are implemented in development builds labelled 0.6.0-dev. Alpha 6 remains in development, with further implementation, manual checks and release acceptance ahead. There is no fixed release date yet.
A workspace that follows the task
When you are working in source, Project and Files navigation are available alongside the editor. Switch to Map and the airport and procedure browser takes that space. You can also keep project navigation visible beside Map when the task calls for both.
Airport, runway and procedure sections can be resized and collapsed. Layer controls have their own flyout, and the Problems panel remembers whether you left it open or closed, including when diagnostics refresh. Supported layout sizes and visibility choices are saved, with Reset layout available to recover a usable starting point.
Map commands are grouped by task. Frequent navigation stays on the toolbar, while More brings together procedure tools, comparison actions and display settings. Unavailable editing commands explain the selection or source condition they need. The map footer identifies the active procedure, runway and interaction mode, giving you a place to check your context before editing.
A clearer view of the sector
At sector scale, competing symbols and labels can hide the geometry you are trying to inspect. Map density now adapts to zoom: the overview reduces nearby symbols and competing labels, while closer views reveal more detail. Selected features and navigation points on the active procedure receive priority.
That suppression affects drawing only. It does not remove source data or take points out of the picking index; explicit layer visibility still applies.
Four display presets offer starting points for different tasks: Overview, Airport, Procedure editing and Airspace. Adjust a layer yourself and the preset becomes Custom. Existing saved layer choices are retained, and applying a preset keeps the camera and selection in place.
Selection and preview styling also carry more meaning. Active geometry uses a wider line and vertex markers, while comparison references use thinner dashed paths. Previews distinguish existing and proposed geometry through dashed and solid lines, with squares for added points and crosses for removed points. These cues work alongside colour in both themes.
Drawing and coordinate editing beside Map
Drawing tools now open in a resizable dock beside Map. Arcs, holding patterns, procedure turns and the existing calculators use this workspace, keeping the geometry visible while you adjust the inputs.
The same dock now hosts move, insert, delete, reverse, resample and coordinate clipboard tools. For example, moving a point keeps the form visible while you pick or drag on the map, then presents a preview for review before you apply the change. Visiting the source tab retains the editing session.
Inputs and expandable before-and-after source text scroll independently of status and the Preview, Apply and Close controls. On narrower workspaces, the airport browser temporarily hides to leave room for the map and tool, then returns to its previous visibility choice when the tool closes.
These changes reuse the existing geometry calculations and guarded source edits. The work here is about reaching and reviewing those tools within the map workspace.
Knowing what will change—and when
The dock distinguishes editing, a ready preview, a stale or invalid preview, and an edit applied to the document with unsaved changes. Changing inputs or source makes an outdated preview stale; a changed target cannot silently receive the old proposal.
The steps remain explicit:
- Preview leaves the document and file unchanged.
- Apply creates an undoable change in the document.
- Save writes the document to disk.
Closing the tool discards its pending proposal. It does not undo a change you have already applied to the document.
What remains before Alpha 6
The next part of the tool migration brings comparison controls into the docked workflow. Further Alpha 6 work includes Problems grouping and filters, Home and settings improvements, documentation, and complete editing-workflow checks.
Automated coverage exercises dock layout, preview and apply behaviour, stale targets, source-tab visits and Undo/Redo. Release acceptance still needs physical mouse and keyboard walkthroughs, screen-reader checks, display scaling and mixed-monitor testing, complete save/reopen/export journeys, and packaging and Aurora compatibility checks.
When editing a procedure, what most often makes you lose your place: finding the source, switching tools, or reviewing the proposed change? Share a concrete example in the Sector Studio Discord's #feature-requests channel to help shape the remaining Alpha 6 work.