@@ -1016,10 +1016,10 @@ has any effect. The settings here are global and apply to the entire model.
 
 :at:`savecanonical`: :at-val:`[false, true], "true"`
    If "true", orientations are saved as quaternions, angles in radians, sizes and poses which were given with
-   :at:`fromto` as :at:`size`, :at:`pos` and :at:`quat`, and a :at:`fullinertia` as :at:`diaginertia` and
-   :at:`quat`. If "false", they are saved in the notation in which they were written. This attribute has an effect
-   only if :ref:`savecompiled<compiler-savecompiled>` is "false": compiled values are always saved in the canonical
-   notation.
+   :at:`fromto` as :at:`size`, :at:`pos` and :at:`quat`, a :at:`fullinertia` as :at:`diaginertia` and :at:`quat`, and
+   every actuator as :el:`general`. If "false", they are saved in the notation in which they were written. This
+   attribute has an effect only if :ref:`savecompiled<compiler-savecompiled>` is "false": compiled values are always
+   saved in the canonical notation.
 
 .. _compiler-conflict:
 
 
@@ -151,6 +151,10 @@ Actuation
   full documented table, including its dynamics and activation layout, and a :ref:`pid<actuator-pid>` without ``kp``
   has the documented gain of 1, not 0. Added ``mjsActuator.type`` (:ref:`mjtActuator`), the element an actuator is
   written with.
+- A model saved in the notation it was written in (:ref:`savecanonical<compiler-savecanonical>` "false") now writes
+  each actuator, and each actuator default, with the shortcut it was written with (``<position kp="10"/>``), with its
+  own attributes, whenever reading the shortcut back gives the same actuator; otherwise it is written as
+  :ref:`general<actuator-general>`. The canonical notation writes every actuator as general, as before.
 - A :ref:`pid<actuator-pid>` actuator with both :ref:`ki<actuator-pid-ki>` and :ref:`slewmax<actuator-pid-slewmax>`
   now compiles; its two activation states were rejected.
 
 
@@ -51,9 +51,7 @@
 # If you add a new schema element with a bound spec, either migrate its
 # reader to ReadAttrTable (it will be auto-included) or add it here.
 NOT_TABLE_DRIVEN = {
-    # actuator shorthands: read shared rows + per-tag remappings
-    'motor', 'position', 'velocity', 'intvelocity', 'orientation',
-    'pid', 'damper', 'cylinder', 'muscle', 'adhesion', 'dcmotor',
+    # plugin actuator: shared rows + plugin config
     'actuator_plugin',
     # equality subtypes: read shared equality_base + per-type refs
     'connect', 'weld', 'equality_joint', 'equality_tendon',
@@ -65,6 +63,10 @@
     'frame', 'plugin', 'numeric', 'text', 'tuple',
 }
 
+# actuator tags whose mechanical rows are collected into kActuatorDispatch,
+# keyed by the actuatortype enum; shortcut parameters are reading=custom
+ACTUATOR_DISPATCH_ENUM = 'actuatortype'
+
 # sensors whose whole branch derives from the schema (identity constants +
 # references); their arrays are also collected into kSensorDispatch
 SENSOR_DISPATCH = [
@@ -403,6 +405,17 @@ def generate():
   out.append('inline constexpr int kSensorDispatchN = '
              'sizeof(kSensorDispatch) / sizeof(kSensorDispatch[0]);')
   out.append('')
+  out.append('// actuator tags and their mechanical rows: dispatch by tag or type')
+  out.append('struct mjXActuatorEntry { const char* tag; int type;'
+             ' const mjXAttr* rows; int n; };')
+  out.append('inline constexpr mjXActuatorEntry kActuatorDispatch[] = {')
+  for tag, const in schema.enums[ACTUATOR_DISPATCH_ENUM].items:
+    array = array_name(tag)
+    out.append(f'  {{"{tag}", {const}, {array}, {array}N}},')
+  out.append('};')
+  out.append('inline constexpr int kActuatorDispatchN = '
+             'sizeof(kActuatorDispatch) / sizeof(kActuatorDispatch[0]);')
+  out.append('')
   for gname, (struct, array) in EMIT_GROUPS.items():
     rows = rows_for_group(schema, structs, gname, struct)
     out.append(f'// group {gname} ({struct})')
 
@@ -632,9 +632,11 @@ This is done via the XML elements :ref:`motor <actuator-motor>`, :ref:`position
 <actuator-velocity>`, :ref:`intvelocity <actuator-intvelocity>`, :ref:`orientation<actuator-orientation>`,
 :ref:`pid<actuator-pid>`, :ref:`damper<actuator-damper>`, :ref:`cylinder<actuator-cylinder>`,
 :ref:`muscle <actuator-muscle>`, :ref:`adhesion <actuator-adhesion>`, and :ref:`dcmotor<actuator-dcmotor>`. These are
-*not* separate model elements. Internally MuJoCo supports only one actuator type -which is why when an MJCF model is
-saved all actuators are written as :el:`general`. Shortcuts create general actuators implicitly, set their attributes to
-suitable values, and expose a subset of attributes with possibly different names. For example, :el:`position` creates a
+*not* separate model elements. Internally MuJoCo supports only one actuator type. Shortcuts create general actuators
+implicitly, set their attributes to suitable values, and expose a subset of attributes with possibly different names.
+When a model is saved in the notation it was written in, an actuator is written with its shortcut if reading the
+shortcut back gives the same actuator, and as :el:`general` otherwise; in the canonical notation every actuator is
+:el:`general`. For example, :el:`position` creates a
 position servo with attribute :at:`kp` which is the servo gain. However :el:`general` does not have an attribute
 :at:`kp`. Instead the parser adjusts the gain and bias parameters of the general actuator in a coordinated way so as to
 mimic a position servo. The same effect could have been achieved by using :el:`general` directly, and setting its