diff --git a/src/uix/eidos/components/words/words.css b/src/uix/eidos/components/words/words.css
index f4e7f771e..36ec0e5b6 100644
--- a/src/uix/eidos/components/words/words.css
+++ b/src/uix/eidos/components/words/words.css
@@ -124,6 +124,13 @@
 	color: var(--color-primary-solid);
 	background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-primary-solid) 12%, transparent);
 }
+/* Preview is read-only — the surface alone looks identical to edit, so make
+   the switch obvious: collapse the formatting groups, leaving the bar as just
+   the view controls (inspector toggle + Edit/Preview). */
+[data-words][data-mode='preview'] [data-words-menubar-group] {
+	display: none;
+}
+
 /* Park the docked inspector panels below the bar so they don't cover it. */
 [data-words]:has([data-words-menubar]) [data-words-sidebar],
 [data-words]:has([data-words-menubar]) [data-words-drawer-panel] {
@@ -172,13 +179,16 @@
 	transform: translateX(1px) scale(1.18);
 }
 
-/* dashed outline emphasising the block the handle acts on */
+/* Active-block highlight while the handle acts on a block: a faint tinted
+   fill + a solid accent bar on the left edge (toward the gutter grip). Reads
+   as "this is the block" far better than the old dashed outline. */
 [data-words-block-outline] {
 	position: absolute;
 	z-index: 1;
 	pointer-events: none;
-	border: 1px dashed var(--words-border-hover);
+	background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-primary-solid) 5%, transparent);
 	border-radius: var(--words-radius-sm);
+	box-shadow: inset 3px 0 0 color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-primary-solid) 40%, transparent);
 	animation: words-outline-in var(--words-transition-duration) var(--words-transition-ease);
 }
 @keyframes words-outline-in {
diff --git a/src/uix/soma/components/words/words-provider.svelte.ts b/src/uix/soma/components/words/words-provider.svelte.ts
index 0f07363dc..f81263a51 100644
--- a/src/uix/soma/components/words/words-provider.svelte.ts
+++ b/src/uix/soma/components/words/words-provider.svelte.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import type {
 } from './types';
 import { comparePath, type WordsPath } from './engine/path';
 import {
+	createCollapsedSelection,
 	isCollapsedSelection,
 	normalizeRange,
 	type WordsPoint,
@@ -747,6 +748,9 @@ export class WordsProvider {
 			return;
 		}
 
+		// A mark / block command from a surface outside the editable (toolbar)
+		// needs a caret to act on — arm one if the editor was never focused.
+		this.ensureCaret();
 		const command = this.commandFromName(name, opts.level);
 		if (!command) return;
 		const changed = this.applyCommand(command);
@@ -1506,6 +1510,19 @@ export class WordsProvider {
 		return true;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * TipTap's `.chain().focus()` equivalent: a selection-dependent command
+	 * invoked from a surface OUTSIDE the editable (the menu bar, a panel)
+	 * needs a caret to act on. The provider freezes the selection across blur,
+	 * so this only fires on a never-focused editor — it drops a collapsed
+	 * caret at the document start so marks / inserts apply there instead of
+	 * silently no-op'ing. No-op if a selection already exists.
+	 */
+	private ensureCaret() {
+		if (this.selection) return;
+		this.setSelectionPublic(createCollapsedSelection([0, 0], 0));
+	}
+
 	private isInsideWordsTool(element: HTMLElement): boolean {
 		// Internal-tool predicate for the focus scope. Any tool that
 		// the user clicks WITHOUT intending to leave the editor must
@@ -1714,6 +1731,9 @@ export class WordsProvider {
 	 *   `toggleList`. Caret lands at the start of the new block.
 	 */
 	insertBlockOfType(id: WordsSlashCommandId, target?: HTMLElement): boolean {
+		// With no caret the insert would silently fall back to the last block;
+		// arm a caret at the doc start so a toolbar insert lands predictably.
+		this.ensureCaret();
 		const sel = this.selection;
 		const doc = this.history.present.document;
 		const currentIdx =