diff --git a/electron/astroParser.ts b/electron/astroParser.ts
index 6189338b..d7231c40 100644
--- a/electron/astroParser.ts
+++ b/electron/astroParser.ts
@@ -3469,7 +3469,16 @@ function serializeNodeElement(
       );
       return;
     }
-    openTag(`>${inlineString(node.children).trim()}${closeTag}`);
+    // The run's boundary spaces are content, not layout. A text node on a
+    // line of its own can trim them — the file's indent hands the boundary
+    // whitespace back on reparse (see serializeNodeText) — but a run written
+    // on one line has nothing but the value itself to hold them, and the
+    // parse keeps exactly one space where the source had any (collapseText).
+    // Trimming here made parse∘serialize lossy, so a word typed followed by
+    // a space came back from the save without it and the Content field,
+    // seeing its own edit echo back different, reset the caret to the start
+    // of the line.
+    openTag(`>${inlineString(node.children)}${closeTag}`);
     return;
   }
   if (node.children.length === 0) {
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 1de861ed..16bb4e88 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "stacki",
-  "version": "0.1.34",
+  "version": "0.1.35",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "stacki",
-      "version": "0.1.34",
+      "version": "0.1.35",
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index de3a650f..f8d2b526 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "stacki",
   "productName": "Stacki",
-  "version": "0.1.34",
+  "version": "0.1.35",
   "description": "Stacki — a visual builder for Astro projects — pages, layouts, components, props, live preview, and GitHub publishing.",
   "main": "dist/electron/main.js",
   "author": "Timothy Ricks <hello@timothyricks.com>",
diff --git a/src/panels/StructurePanel.tsx b/src/panels/StructurePanel.tsx
index 4b3fa0ed..2d4007d2 100644
--- a/src/panels/StructurePanel.tsx
+++ b/src/panels/StructurePanel.tsx
@@ -433,7 +433,13 @@ function NavigatorBody({
 }) {
   const nodes = props.pageState.model.nodes;
   return (
-    <div className="panel-body" ref={state.bodyRef} onDragLeave={() => state.setDropTarget(null)}>
+    <div className="panel-body" ref={state.bodyRef}
+      onDragOver={() => state.setDropTarget(null)}
+      onDragLeave={(event) => {
+        if (!(event.relatedTarget instanceof Node) || !event.currentTarget.contains(event.relatedTarget)) {
+          state.setDropTarget(null);
+        }
+      }}>
       <FrontmatterRow props={props} />
       <NodeList nodes={nodes} parentId={null} depth={0} {...treeContext} />
       {nodes.length === 0 && <EmptyDropTarget props={props} state={state} />}
@@ -482,6 +488,7 @@ function EmptyDropTarget({
       onDragOver={(event) => {
         if (isDndPayload(event)) {
           event.preventDefault();
+          event.stopPropagation();
           state.setDropTarget({ kind: 'gap', ...location });
         }
       }}
diff --git a/src/panels/StructureTree.tsx b/src/panels/StructureTree.tsx
index ecd7876e..5dbda7be 100644
--- a/src/panels/StructureTree.tsx
+++ b/src/panels/StructureTree.tsx
@@ -63,7 +63,15 @@ interface NodeListProps extends StructureTreeContext {
 
 const ANNOTATABLE = new Set(['element', 'component']);
 
+// Decode once so native drag feedback does not obscure the drop target.
+let blankDragImage: HTMLImageElement | undefined;
 export function NodeList({ nodes, parentId, depth, ...context }: NodeListProps) {
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!blankDragImage) {
+      blankDragImage = document.createElement('img');
+      blankDragImage.src = 'data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7';
+    }
+  }, []);
   const { noteFor, folded } = foldedNotes(nodes);
   return (
     <>
@@ -299,6 +307,8 @@ function treeRowHandlers(props: TreeRowProps) {
       event.stopPropagation();
       event.dataTransfer.setData('avb/node', node.id);
       event.dataTransfer.effectAllowed = 'move';
+      if (blankDragImage) { event.dataTransfer.setDragImage(blankDragImage, 0, 0); }
+      props.onSelect(node.id);
       const tag = 'name' in node ? node.name : undefined;
       setDrag({
         kind: 'node',
@@ -307,7 +317,7 @@ function treeRowHandlers(props: TreeRowProps) {
         ...(tag === undefined ? {} : { tag }),
       });
     },
-    onDragEnd: clearDrag,
+    onDragEnd: () => { clearDrag(); props.setDropTarget(null); },
     onDragOver: (event: React.DragEvent<HTMLDivElement>): void => {
       if (props.canHostChildren && acceptsDrag(node) && props.isDndPayload(event)) {
         event.preventDefault();
diff --git a/src/styles.css b/src/styles.css
index 02fa6301..61b033a1 100644
--- a/src/styles.css
+++ b/src/styles.css
@@ -2380,14 +2380,18 @@ body > .embed-editor_provenance {
    gaps of every ancestor level are adjacent in the DOM — collapse all but
    the first so they don't stack into a large blank strip (each stays a
    distinct drop target for its own nesting level). */
-.nav-gap { height: 7px; }
+.nav-gap { position: relative; height: 7px; }
 .nav-gap + .nav-gap { height: 2px; }
 
 .drop-indicator {
+  /* The marker must not move the gap or become a new drag target. */
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: 50% 0 auto;
+  transform: translateY(-50%);
+  pointer-events: none;
   height: 2px;
   border-radius: 1px;
   background: var(--accent);
-  margin: 2px 0;
   box-shadow: 0 0 6px rgba(0, 153, 255, 0.6);
 }
 .drop-zone-empty {
diff --git a/src/ui/richContentModel.ts b/src/ui/richContentModel.ts
index 4ec1ceea..a687e612 100644
--- a/src/ui/richContentModel.ts
+++ b/src/ui/richContentModel.ts
@@ -206,6 +206,20 @@ function richReadDOM(element: Element, budget: Budget, depth: number): InlineNod
   }
   return out;
 }
+// The text the model holds is the text the parser will hold: runs of
+// whitespace squeeze to one space, with one space kept at either boundary.
+// The browser renders whitespace runs collapsed anyway, so the field shows
+// the same thing — but every save echoes back through the parser, whose text
+// rule (collapseText in electron/astroParser.ts) is exactly this, and
+// emitting anything else made the echoed value come back different from what
+// the field had emitted, resetting the caret mid-word.
+function canonicalText(raw: string): string {
+  return (
+    (/^\s/.test(raw) ? ' ' : '') +
+    raw.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim() +
+    (/\s$/.test(raw) ? ' ' : '')
+  );
+}
 function richReadText(raw: string): InlineNode[] {
   assert(raw.length <= LIMITS.nodeValueCharsMax, 'RichContent: text limit exceeded');
   const out: InlineNode[] = [];
@@ -213,14 +227,14 @@ function richReadText(raw: string): InlineNode[] {
   let last = 0;
   for (const match of raw.matchAll(expression)) {
     if (match.index > last) {
-      out.push({ kind: 'text', value: raw.slice(last, match.index) });
+      out.push({ kind: 'text', value: canonicalText(raw.slice(last, match.index)) });
     }
     out.push({ kind: 'expr', value: match[0] });
     last = match.index + match[0].length;
     assert(out.length <= LIMITS.treeNodesMax, 'RichContent: text expression limit exceeded');
   }
   if (last < raw.length) {
-    out.push({ kind: 'text', value: raw.slice(last) });
+    out.push({ kind: 'text', value: canonicalText(raw.slice(last)) });
   }
   return out;
 }
diff --git a/test/navigator.js b/test/navigator.js
index 3fb89c7e..0eeebdbf 100644
--- a/test/navigator.js
+++ b/test/navigator.js
@@ -269,6 +269,45 @@ const WORDS = el('words', 'p', [{ id: 'w-text', kind: 'expr', value: '{heading}'
     );
   }
 
+  // Moving between descendants must not erase the destination between two
+  // dragover events. Leaving the panel, hovering blank space, and cancelling
+  // a drag must still remove it.
+  {
+    const source = rowFor('hero-command');
+    const gap = rowFor('if-ternary').previousElementSibling;
+    const data = new Map();
+    const dataTransfer = {
+      types: ['avb/node'],
+      setData: (type, value) => data.set(type, value),
+      getData: (type) => data.get(type) || '',
+      setDragImage: () => {},
+    };
+    const fire = (element, type, relatedTarget = null) => act(async () => {
+      element.dispatchEvent(Object.assign(
+        new dom.window.MouseEvent(type, { bubbles: true, cancelable: true, relatedTarget }),
+        { dataTransfer }
+      ));
+    });
+    await fire(source, 'dragstart');
+    check('dragging selects the source row', selected.at(-1) === 'hero-command');
+    check('dragging keeps the source in its original place', rowFor('hero-command') === source);
+    await fire(gap, 'dragover');
+    check('a gap shows the insertion marker', !!gap.querySelector('.drop-indicator'));
+    await fire(gap, 'dragleave', gap.querySelector('.drop-indicator'));
+    check('entering the marker does not erase it', !!gap.querySelector('.drop-indicator'));
+    await fire(rowFor('if-and'), 'dragover');
+    await fire(gap, 'dragleave', rowFor('if-and').querySelector('.label'));
+    check('entering a row preserves the new child destination', rowFor('if-and').style.borderColor !== '');
+    await fire(rowFor('if-and'), 'dragleave', document.body);
+    check('leaving the panel clears the child destination', rowFor('if-and').style.borderColor === '');
+    await fire(gap, 'dragover');
+    await fire(container.querySelector('.panel-body'), 'dragover');
+    check('blank space clears the previous marker', !container.querySelector('.drop-indicator'));
+    await fire(gap, 'dragover');
+    await fire(source, 'dragend');
+    check('cancelling clears the insertion marker', !container.querySelector('.drop-indicator'));
+  }
+
   // --- arrow keys -------------------------------------------------------------
   // They walk the tree that is drawn: a row nobody can see is not somewhere the
   // selection can land.
diff --git a/test/renderer-rich.js b/test/renderer-rich.js
index ad3b84c5..6b82b83c 100644
--- a/test/renderer-rich.js
+++ b/test/renderer-rich.js
@@ -48,5 +48,24 @@ for (let depth = 0; depth < 66; depth++) {
   parent = child;
 }
 assert.throws(() => domToNodes(host), /DOM depth limit exceeded/);
+
+// Text the field emits is the text the parser will hold: whitespace runs
+// squeeze to one space with one space kept at either boundary. The save echo
+// comes back through the parser's own text rule (collapseText in
+// electron/astroParser.ts), so anything looser made the echoed value differ
+// from the last emission and the field's sync reset the caret mid-word.
+host.textContent = 'hello  ';
+assert.deepEqual(domToNodes(host), [{ kind: 'text', value: 'hello ' }]);
+host.textContent = ' hello';
+assert.deepEqual(domToNodes(host), [{ kind: 'text', value: ' hello' }]);
+host.textContent = 'a\n b';
+assert.deepEqual(domToNodes(host), [{ kind: 'text', value: 'a b' }]);
+host.innerHTML = 'hi {x}  there';
+assert.deepEqual(domToNodes(host), [
+  { kind: 'text', value: 'hi ' },
+  { kind: 'expr', value: '{x}' },
+  { kind: 'text', value: ' there' },
+]);
+
 dom.window.close();
 console.log('renderer-rich: inline round trips, invalid shapes, and traversal limits passed');
diff --git a/test/roundtrip.test.js b/test/roundtrip.test.js
index 2d477d30..fb4c44ab 100644
--- a/test/roundtrip.test.js
+++ b/test/roundtrip.test.js
@@ -179,6 +179,57 @@ describe('serialization is idempotent', () => {
   }
 });
 
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// 4b. An edited inline run keeps its boundary spaces
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+//
+// The Content field is where words get typed, and the keystroke that ends a
+// word is a space: the field emits "hello ", the model serializes it, and the
+// parse must hand back the same value — parse∘serialize is the field's save
+// echo, and an echo that comes back different resets the caret mid-word. A
+// text node on a line of its own may trim its boundary spaces (the file's
+// indent carries them back in); a run on one line has nothing else to hold
+// them, so the serializer must not strip them.
+
+describe('an edited inline run keeps its boundary spaces', () => {
+  const cases = [
+    ['trailing', '<h1>hello </h1>', 'hello '],
+    ['leading', '<h1> hello</h1>', ' hello'],
+    ['both ends of a run after an edit', '<h1>hi</h1>', ' hello '],
+  ];
+
+  for (const [name, source, editedValue] of cases) {
+    test(name, () => {
+      const first = parsePage(source);
+      assert.ok(first.editable, 'fixture stopped parsing as editable');
+      const heading = first.model.nodes[0];
+      assert.ok(heading, 'fixture has a top-level node');
+      const text = heading.children?.[0];
+      assert.ok(text && text.kind === 'text', 'fixture starts with a text child');
+
+      // The edit the Content field makes: the value changes under the same
+      // tree, the way setNodeInline's single text child lands.
+      text.value = editedValue;
+      text.source = undefined;
+      const once = serializePage(first.model);
+
+      const second = parsePage(once);
+      assert.ok(second.editable, 'edited output no longer parses as editable');
+      const echoed = second.model.nodes[0]?.children?.[0];
+      assert.ok(echoed && echoed.kind === 'text', 'edited run lost its text child');
+      assert.equal(
+        echoed.value,
+        editedValue,
+        `the save echo lost the boundary space of ${JSON.stringify(editedValue)}`
+      );
+
+      // And the round trip is stable: the next save changes nothing.
+      const twice = serializePage(second.model);
+      assert.equal(twice, once, 'saving twice re-trimmed the boundary space');
+    });
+  }
+});
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // 5. Locality — one edit, one line
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------