diff --git a/docs/architecture/ribbon.md b/docs/architecture/ribbon.md
index 03d7898..3d2575d 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/ribbon.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/ribbon.md
@@ -85,7 +85,10 @@ at every height. A flex row cannot reserve width in part of its height, so it mo
   measures and lands its own height too low.
 - **A reused picker anchors its panel itself**, and no prop says when it opened. `pinPanels`,
   one action on the band, watches for a mounted absolutely-positioned node and pins that; the
-  ColorPicker places its own and only needs the band-aware top.
+  ColorPicker places its own and only needs the band-aware top. Reading that position computes
+  the style of the whole document, and the band rebuilds its galleries whenever a document is
+  opened — 300 ms there, for 40 buttons and no panel — so records are classified at once only
+  within a second of a click or key in the band, and a task later otherwise.
 - **Insert caption sits in three tabs**: References, where both products keep it, plus the
   picture/shape and Table Layout contextual tabs, which are open anyway when you caption
   something. Each mounts its own `CaptionDialog`; it reads the caret for its category, so the
diff --git a/src/lib/components/ribbon/menu.svelte.ts b/src/lib/components/ribbon/menu.svelte.ts
index 342ffc4..8c36685 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/ribbon/menu.svelte.ts
+++ b/src/lib/components/ribbon/menu.svelte.ts
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ export function pinPanels(node: HTMLElement) {
 
   // Only what a picker just mounted, so a permanently absolute element in the
   // band (the hidden file input) is never mistaken for a panel.
-  const observer = new MutationObserver((records) => {
+  function classify(records: MutationRecord[]) {
     for (const record of records) {
       for (const added of record.addedNodes) {
         if (!(added instanceof HTMLElement)) continue;
@@ -86,13 +86,27 @@ export function pinPanels(node: HTMLElement) {
         return place();
       }
     }
+  }
+
+  // Reading a position computes the style of the whole document, and the band rebuilds
+  // its galleries whenever one is opened — 300 ms there, for 40 buttons and no panel.
+  // A panel mounts from a click in the band; the rest waits for the style to be there.
+  let acted = -Infinity;
+  const act = () => { acted = performance.now(); };
+  const observer = new MutationObserver((records) => {
+    if (performance.now() - acted < 1000) classify(records);
+    else setTimeout(() => classify(records), 0);
   });
   observer.observe(node, { childList: true, subtree: true });
+  node.addEventListener('pointerdown', act, true);
+  node.addEventListener('keydown', act, true);
   window.addEventListener('resize', place);
   window.addEventListener('scroll', place, true);
   return {
     destroy() {
       observer.disconnect();
+      node.removeEventListener('pointerdown', act, true);
+      node.removeEventListener('keydown', act, true);
       window.removeEventListener('resize', place);
       window.removeEventListener('scroll', place, true);
     },