Crossword Express
user guide
Copyright © AUS-PC-SOFT
Onkaparinga Valley Road
VERDUN, S.A. 5245 Australia
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Contents
A quick introduction
Return to the
Crossword Express Home Page.
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Crossword Express Home Page.
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Crossword Express Home Page.
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Crossword Express Home Page.
Appendix
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Crossword Express Home Page.
A quick introduction
About Crossword Express
Crossword Express lets you create, solve and print crossword
puzzles, ‘crozzle’ puzzles and special interest puzzles easily and
quickly. On-screen help is available at all times to guide you
through the processes.
You can create crosswords in other languages and you can even
change the language used on all the screens if you want to.
Several lattices and dictionaries are supplied with the program so
that you can start creating and solving crosswords straight away.
Later on you can create your own dictionaries or alter the
dictionaries supplied, and you can create or modify the lattices used
to build the crosswords.
Please remember the following provisos when using this manual:-
- It was written originally for the Windows operating system,
and Mac users will find many examples of Windows specific
information. Please be patient until it is gradually rewritten to
encompass both systems.
- Crossword Express is a developing product, and new fetures
are continually being added. For this reason, you may find
some areas of the program are not exactly in accord with the
manual. If this happens, just click the Help button, for assistance
regarding the new or upgraded feature.
Back to Index
Using the Control Center screen
The Control Center screen is the main menu of the program. It
has a series of buttons that you use to select the various options
offered by the program. The buttons on this screen are:
- Dictionary Maintenance: select, create, delete or change dictionaries
- Lattice Maintenance: select, create, delete or change lattices
- Solve a Crossword: select and solve a crossword
- Print or Export a Crossword: select and print a crossword, or export it to the Clipboard
- Make Classroom Puzzles: create a special ‘crozzle’ style puzzle for classroom activities
- Make Standard Puzzles: create crossword puzzles just like the ones you see in your morning paper
- Make Preset Word Puzzles: create a crossword puzzle containing up to 20 pre-set words
- Special Interest Puzzles: create a special interest puzzle (such as one on botany or classical composers)
- Miscellaneous Functions: change the language used on screen, or alter any of the User Options defined for Crossword
Express
Selecting from menus
A menu is a list of option buttons, similar to the Control Center
described above. You can select an option from any menu using a
mouse or keyboard.
Using a mouse
To select one of the buttons use your mouse to move the arrow to
the button and click the mouse button to select the option. This
combined operation is called clicking on the button.
Using a keyboard
If you don’t have a mouse you select a button by typing the
underlined letter. For example, in the Control Center screen type I
to use Make Special Interest Puzzles.
Back to Index
Making a crossword
Making a crossword using one of the lattices and dictionaries
supplied is simple.
There are many options, such as selecting a lattice, deciding
whether or not you want to see the words as the crossword is
created, choosing another language and so on. All these options are
explained later in this guide. To get started quickly, leave
everything set up as supplied and:
- At the Control Center screen, click the button labelled Make Standard Puzzles.
- Click the button labelled Make.
- Sit back and be entertained as Crossword Express makes your first Crossword Puzzle.
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Solving the crossword
When the crossword is ready a Puzzle Completed message
appears in the status box at bottom left, of the Make screen.
It takes only a few seconds for the program to create most
crosswords. (If you had selected or created a very large lattice, or if
you had used a dictionary containing only a few words it could take
quite a bit longer.) When the crossword is ready:
- Click the Stop/Return button to get back to the Control Center screen.
- Click on the Solve a Crossword button to display the crossword you just created.
A red highlighted block (the focus cell) is in the first available cell
in the crossword lattice and the clues for the words across and
down are shown in the boxes on the left. You can use the arrow
keys or mouse to move the cursor to other cells. As the cursor
moves the clues change to match its location:
- Type in the answers that you know.
Notice that as you type, the cursor moves to the next cell for you
(as soon as it is certain which way you want to go).
You can click on the Help button (or press F1) if you have any
problems. There are many options, which are explained in more
detail later on.
When you have finished the crossword, or decide to stop solving it:
- Click on Return (or press Esc).
The solution or partial solution is saved to disk so that you can
return to finish the puzzle later.
Back to Index
Printing the crossword
You can print the crossword at any time, whether you have solved
it or not. To do this:
- Click the Return button to get back to the Control Center
screen (if you have not already done so).
- Click the Print or Export a Crossword button to use the
Print screen.
- Click the Smart Print button to display the Smart Print
dialog box.
- Make sure your printer is turned on, and click the Print button.
It’s as simple as that. However, there are numerous buttons and
options involved in printing that allow you to set up the printer,
select another crossword, and so on. These options are explained
later in this user guide.
Back to Index
Making a Standard Crossword
This chapter shows you how to:
- enter a Puzzle Description for the new puzzle
- select a lattice to be used for the puzzle
- select a dictionary
- set options for making the crossword
- make the crossword
Describing the Crossword
This Puzzle Description dialog box contains six input fields and
two check boxes which enable the user to input useful descriptive
material concerning the puzzle, or to configure its mode of
operation during the on-screen Solve process. This can be done
either before it is constructed, or subsequently during a Puzzle
Editing phase. When you enter this dialog box, you may find that
some or all of the fields already contain data. This is quite natural if
you are editing a puzzle, but if you are making a new puzzle, then
the data displayed will be that of the most recently loaded and
displayed puzzle. Any or all of these fields may be retained for the
new puzzle if you wish.
The input fields are:-
- Puzzle File Name. A file name for the puzzle which is about
to be constructed should be entered into this field. Type in the
file name, using a maximum of eight characters selected from
the 26 letters and the 10 digits. If you type in a name which
already exists, you will receive a warning. If you ignore this
warning, then the old puzzle will be destroyed when the new
one is saved to disk. If you are editing the Puzzle Description
of an existing puzzle, then there is no point in changing this
field, as any changes you make to it will be ignored.
- Puzzle Title. This is an optional field. Up to 30 characters may
be entered to serve as the Title for this puzzle. The title will
appear on the output of any Smart Print operation which you
may perform.
- Puzzle Author. This is an optional field. If you are producing
crossword puzzles for publication, you may like to attach your
name, or that of your company to the puzzle. It will be printed
in a single line immediately below the Puzzle Title. A
maximum of 30 characters can be entered.
- Copyright Notice. This is an optional field, and if present will
be printed immediately below, and to the left of the puzzle
lattice. Up to 30 characters of copyright information can be
entered.
- Puzzle Number. This is an optional field, and if present will
be printed immediately below and to the right of the puzzle
lattice. You can use it for any purpose which suits your needs,
but if you leave it blank, the letters CWE will be inserted by
the program. Up to 15 characters can be entered.
- Puzzle Notes. This is an optional field, and can contain up to
250 characters of background information concerning the
puzzle. If present, it will be printed centrally, just below the
puzzle lattice.
The checkboxes are:-
- Disable Cheating. Checking this box will result in the inability
to cheat when using the Solve function. This would be
appropriate when using the program in a classroom situation.
- Disable Scoreboard. Checking this box will disable the
scoreboard feature when using the Solve function. This would
be appropriate when using the program in a classroom
situation.
- Scramble Puzzle. Checking this box will result in the puzzle
being saved in a scrambled format. This is to prevent computer wise
students from peeking at the solution by looking into the actual puzzle file.
- Save to Floppy during Solve. Checking this box will condition the
resulting puzzle so that when it is used by the Freeware Player program, it
will not be saved back to its original location, but will be saved instead to
the floppy drive. If there is no disk in the floppy drive, it will not be
saved at all. This option has no effect on the behaviour of the Compiler
program when it is used to solve the puzzle.
To return to index, click "Back" in the tool bar.
Selecting a Lattice
Click on Lattice to display a dialog box containing a list of all the
available lattices with the current lattice highlighted.
To choose a lattice, click on its name or use the arrow keys to
highlight it, and then click OK.
Whenever you highlight a new lattice name, an image of that lattice will be
displayed in the Preview area to the right of the list box.
To return to index, click "Back" in the tool bar.
Selecting a Dictionary
When you first install Crossword Express the English dictionary
will be selected. If this is the one you want to use, you don't need
to do anything.
If you want to see what other dictionaries are available or select one
of them, you can do this from within most of the Crossword
Express screens. Click on Dictionary to display a dialog box which
contains a list of all the available dictionaries with the current
dictionary highlighted.
To choose a dictionary:
- Click on its name or use the arrow keys to highlight it.
- Click OK.
To return to index, click "Back" in the tool bar.
Setting the MAKE options
A number of options are available to you when you are about to
construct a crossword puzzle.
- Make a single puzzle
This is the default and constructs a single puzzle. You can name the
puzzle and save it to disk.
- Save multiple puzzles
This option constructs a series of puzzles and saves them to disk.
The number of puzzles made is specified under How many
Puzzles. The puzzles are named by taking the first four letters of
"Puzzle Name" and adding an ascending sequence of four digits
starting from 0001.
- Print multiple puzzles
This is similar to "Save multiple puzzles" above, but the puzzles are
sent to the printer as they are made, rather than to the disk. The
solution, the blank lattice, and the clues are printed.
The positioning of these items on the paper is determined by a
series of options available via the Print Crossword screen. For this
process to work correctly, you must use the Print Manager for your
printing. Just select the "Use Print Manager" radio button in the
window that appears when you select Control Panel/Printers. For
further information, please refer to your Windows user manual.
- How many puzzles?
When you are Saving or Printing multiple puzzles, you must
specify the number of puzzles you wish to make. Use this option to
type in the number of puzzles required up to a maximum of 9999.
- Naming the puzzle
This option allows a puzzle name to be entered. If you have already
named the crossword, the name will appear here and you can
change it if you wish. This is useful. for example, if you have just
made a crossword and you decide to make another one with the
same lattice.
- Using all words
By default, this option is on, and Crossword Express will use all
of the words in the dictionary when building a puzzle. If you want
to avoid words that were used in recently constructed puzzles, then
you can do so by turning this option off. It is recommended that
this option be on if you are making very large or complex puzzles.
- Show letters?
When Crossword Express is making a new puzzle, it lets you
know how far it has progressed, by displaying the letters it has
inserted into the puzzle. This is the default condition, and can be
quite entertaining to watch, but it is not recommended if you are
making a puzzle that you plan to solve yourself. You can turn off
this option so the cells are shaded light gray whenever a letter is
inserted. This option also controls the appearance of the Print
Puzzle screen.
Back to Index
Making the Crossword
To begin making the crossword click on the Make button in the
Make a Puzzle screen. As the operation proceeds, a number of
status messages are displayed to keep you informed of progress. A
short beep is emitted when the process is complete. You can then use
either the Solve or the Print button to begin making use of your new puzzle.
Back to Index
Solving a Crossword
To solve a crossword select Solve a Crossword from the Control
Center. You must have made at least one crossword before you
can solve one!
The Solve a Puzzle screen is displayed, showing the most recent
crossword you made. You can solve this puzzle immediately if you
wish.A red focus cell in the lattice indicates where your typing will
appear. The clues corresponding to the focus cell position are
shown at the left of the screen.
Selecting a dictionary
Please refer to the section Selecting a Dictionary in the chapter
Making a Standard Crossword.
Back to Index
Selecting a Puzzle
You can select a puzzle other than the one displayed by clicking the
Select Puzzle button. A dialog box is displayed listing the available
puzzles. If the list is a long one there may be a scroll bar at the
bottom of the list so you can scroll through those out of view (by
clicking on the scroll bar or pressing the arrow keys). Click on the
puzzle you want (or use the arrow keys to move the highlight). To
confirm your choice, click the OK button or press Enter.
Your Puzzle selection is assisted by a preview section to the right of
the list box which displays the Puzzle Description of the currently
highlighted puzzle.
To return to index, click "Back" in the tool bar.
Solving the Puzzle
A red focus cell shows where your typing will appear and it follows
the mouse cursor as it moves over the lattice. You can also move
the cell using the arrow keys.
If you watch the ACROSS and DOWN clues you will see them
change in response to the movement of the focus cell.
To solve the puzzle type in the answers you know. Characters typed
appear in the focus cell. In most cases the focus cell automatically
moves to the next cell, but sometimes it is impossible to predict
whether an ACROSS or DOWN word is being entered, in which
case a warning beep is issued. If this happens, just use the arrow
keys to inform the program of your intentions. After this, the focus
cell will move in the requested direction.
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Cheating
If you are in the mood for cheating, just press the '?' key, and the
correct solution letter will be entered into the focus cell. Don't over-
use this feature, as the program counts the number of times it is
used. Naturally, if cheating has been disabled in the Puzzle
Description, the ? character will be inserted instead.
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The score board
You can view your score and progress statistics at any time. To do
this, click on the Score Board button. Of course this will only operate
if the score board function has not been disabled in the Puzzle
Description.
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The Solve Font
The font used to display the puzzle as you are solving it is the same
as that used when the solution is being printed. This font is
specified as the Word Font when the dictionary was created, or if
no such font was specified, it is the font selected from the User
Options dialog box of the Miscellaneous Functions option.
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Printing a Crossword
To print a crossword select Print or Export a Crossword from
the Control Center. You must have made at least one crossword
before you can print one!
The Print a Puzzle screen is displayed, showing the most recent
crossword you made. Note that when the puzzle is displayed, the
letters may or may not be included, depending on the setting of the
Show Letters option available from the Make a Crossword
screen. You can perform any of the following operations:
Selecting a dictionary
Please refer to the section Selecting a Dictionary in the chapter
Making a Standard Crossword.
Selecting a Puzzle
Please refer to the section Selecting a Puzzle in the chapter
Solving a Crossword.
Edit a Puzzle
The currently selected puzzle is presented with the first word in the
puzzle highlighted in green. This word and its clue are also placed
in edit boxes in the Edit dialog box, where they can both be altered
if required. If you should want to edit other words in the puzzle,
you can select these words by means of the four buttons at the top
of the Edit dialog box. The > button moves the highlight forward
one position through the puzzle, while the >> button moves the
highlight forward ten positions through the puzzle. In a similar
way the < and << buttons move the highlight backwards through
the puzzle. When you are done with editing, the OK button will
save your changes, but you can also abandon all of the changes at
any time by use of the Cancel button.
If you intend to use this edit facility, you should be aware of the
fact that Crossword Express makes no judgements about the
changes you make. It is your responsibility, and yours alone, to
ensure that interlinking words continue to be valid words after you
make your changes.
This option also allows you to edit the Puzzle Description. Please
refer to the section Describing a Crossword in the chapter
Making a Standard Crossword.
Back to Index
Smart printing a puzzle
This is the option which you will most often use to produce a
printed copy of your crossword puzzles. The Smart Print dialog
box contains the following controls and buttons:-
- Measurement Units
The units of length which you use for the size of your printed
output may be specified in inches or in cms. Two Radio Buttons
are provided in this Group Box to allow you to indicate your
preference.
- Print Dimensions
The Horizontal and Vertical dimensions of the printed output can
be input either directly by selecting the appropriate input box and
typing in the required value, or indirectly by clicking the associated
‘-’ and ‘+’ buttons. These buttons change the dimension values by
one tenth of a unit for each click.
- Print Margins
The Top and Left margins control the location of the printed
output on the paper. The default values are zero, because it is
assumed that you will want your printout to cover the entire sheet.
You can change these values either directly by selecting the
appropriate input box and typing in the required value, or indirectly
by clicking the associated ‘-’ and ‘+’ buttons. These buttons change
the margin values by one tenth of a unit for each click.
- Clue Columns
This is where the user can control the number of columns of clues
which appear in the printed output. The two values to be considered
here are the total number of columns from left to right across the
entire printout, and the number of columns across the width of the
puzzle lattice. These values can only be adjusted by clicking the ‘-’
and ‘+’ buttons associated with the two values.
- Solution Puzzle
The Select button will provide you with a list box containing a list
of all of the puzzles which are available for inclusion as solutions
in the printout. You should note that the solution puzzle must have
the same dimensions (squares Across and squares Down) as the
actual puzzle, but of course it need not be the same puzzle. If you
do not select a Solution Puzzle, then only the puzzle and it’s clues
will be printed, and no solution will be included.
- Status
This Status report will give you an indication of what the Smart
Print function is currently doing. The three possibilities are:-
- Dialog The program is ready to receive your input.
- Previewing The program is getting puzzle data ready for display on the screen.
- Exporting The program is sending the puzzle to the Windows Clipboard.
- Printing The program is getting puzzle data ready for transmitting to the printer.
- Options
The Options dialog box allows you to change a number of options which will
affect the appearance of your printed output.
- Preview
The Preview button triggers the Smart Print function to display
on the screen a replica of the printed output, based on the current
settings for Print Dimensions and Clue Columns. Previewing of
adjustments to these settings can be done very quickly and easily.
- Puzzle Description
This button leads to a dialog box consisting of two group boxes in addition to the
normal OK, Cancel and Help buttons:-
- Puzzle Description Group Box
Controls in this group box allow you to control whether or not the description
details will be printed. If you decide that they should be printed, then you can
allow the program to select suitable default values for the font, size and face
of the text, or you can determine this independently for each of the five elements
of the description by means of the five Font Selection buttons.
- Solution Title Group Box
Here you can control whether or not the Solution Title will be printed, and if
it is you can either permit the program to select default values for the font,
size and face of the text, or you can select these for yourself using the single
Font Selection button.
- PLEASE NOTE ...
As a general rule, Crossword Express will use the font details that you choose.
However, if you select a text size which is inappropriately large, the program
will automatically reduce this value so that the puzzle description item will
fit into the space available.
- Export
The Export button sends a metafile replica of the puzzle to the
Windows Clipboard. From here it can easily be pasted into you WP
or DTP application. Note that you will have the ability to resize this
puzzle after the pasting operation.
- Print
The Print button sends the puzzle to the printer, with formatting
determined by the current settings for Print Dimensions and Clue
Columns. It is recommended that the Preview function always be
used before printing is undertaken.
Back to Index
Custom printing a puzzle
Mostly when you print a puzzle, you will use the Smart Print function which
will produce a printout which is suitable for most situations. If you want to
do anything unusual, such as placing different parts of the printout on
different pages, or printing a very large puzzle, then the Custom Print function
is the one to use. When you take this option, you will be presented with a
dialog box which provides you with a comprehensive range of options which you
can adjust before you actually start printing.
- Units of measurement
Many of the print options involve measurements which control the positioning
and size of the printed elements. You can select English (Imperial) or Metric
units. Note that the units of measurement are in inches or cms respectively.
- The Puzzle Group Box
There are four sets of controls in this dialog box:-
- Width This is the value which controls the size of the printed
puzzle. The height of the puzzle will be determined by the relative number of
horizontal and vertical cells in the puzzle, and also by your decision to
include or not include the puzzle description in the printout.
- Margins The Left and Top Margins control the location of the puzzle
on the resulting printout. The default value for the margins is zero.
- Puzzle Description Print Options
This button leads to a dialog box consisting of two group boxes in addition to the
normal OK, Cancel and Help buttons:-
- Puzzle Description Group Box
Controls in this group box allow you to control whether or not the description
details will be printed. If you decide that they should be printed, then you can
allow the program to select suitable default values for the font, size and face
of the text, or you can determine this independently for each of the five elements
of the description by means of the five Font Selection buttons.
- Solution Title Group Box
Here you can control whether or not the Solution Title will be printed, and if
it is you can either permit the program to select default values for the font,
size and face of the text, or you can select these for yourself using the single
Font Selection button.
- PLEASE NOTE ...
As a general rule, Crossword Express will use the font details that you choose.
However, if you select a text size which is inappropriately large, the program
will automatically reduce this value so that the puzzle description item will
fit into the space available.
- Print check box The state of this box determines whether or not the
puzzle will be printed at all. In any case, no printing occurs until the Print
button at the bottom of the dialog box is clicked.
- The Solution Group Box
There are five sets of controls in this dialog box:-
- Width This is the value which controls the size of the printed
solution. The height of the solution will be determined by the relative number
of horizontal and vertical cells in the puzzle, and also by your decision to
include or not include the puzzle title in the printout.
- Margins The Left and Top Margins control the location of the solution
on the resulting printout. The default value for the margins is zero.
- Solution Title Print Options
This button leads to a dialog box consisting of two group boxes in addition to the
normal OK, Cancel and Help buttons:-
- Puzzle Description Group Box
Controls in this group box allow you to control whether or not the description
details will be printed. If you decide that they should be printed, then you can
allow the program to select suitable default values for the font, size and face
of the text, or you can determine this independently for each of the five elements
of the description by means of the five Font Selection buttons.
- Solution Title Group Box
Here you can control whether or not the Solution Title will be printed, and if
it is you can either permit the program to select default values for the font,
size and face of the text, or you can select these for yourself using the single
Font Selection button.
- PLEASE NOTE ...
As a general rule, Crossword Express will use the font details that you choose.
However, if you select a text size which is inappropriately large, the program
will automatically reduce this value so that the puzzle description item will
fit into the space available.
- Print check box The state of this box determines whether or not the
solution will be printed at all. In any case, no printing occurs until the Print
button at the bottom of the dialog box is clicked.
- Text Format check box Checking this box will result in the solution being
printed in a text format, rather than the traditional lattice format. The Width and
Margins defined above will be effective, and the font characteristics will be those
which have been defined for the puzzle solution.
- The Clues Group Box
There are five sets of controls in this dialog box:-
- Margins The Left and Top Margins control the location of the clues
on the resulting printout. The default value for the margins is zero.
- Character Size The size of the characters used to print the clues is
entered here in 'points'. As a result it is independant of your choice of inches
or cms for the Units of Measurement.
- Column Width and Column Length These are specified in the units you
chose under Units of Measurement.
- Number of Columns Make sure that the Number of Columns multiplied by
the Column Width does not exceed the width of the paper on which you are printing.
It may well happen that not all of the clues will fit onto a single sheet. In
such cases, printing will automatically flow on to the next sheet, and the top
margin will be set to zero for second and subsequent sheets.
- Print check box The state of this box determines whether or not the
clues will be printed at all. In any case, no printing occurs until the Print
button at the bottom of the dialog box is clicked.
- Custom Print Status
This Status indicator will report either Dialog or Printing to give you an indication
of what the Custom Print function is currently doing.
- Options
The Options dialog box allows you to change a number of options which will
affect the appearance of your printed output.
- Print
The Print button sends the puzzle to the printer, with formatting determined by
the current settings for the options described above.
Back to Index
Clue in Puzzle Print
This method of printing provides an interesting variation to the
farmiliar tabular method of presenting the clues of a puzzle. The
clues are incorporated into the puzzle itself, and are printed in the
puzzle cells which would have otherwise been black pattern cells.
The Clue in Puzzle dialog box contains the following controls and
buttons:-
- Measurement Units
The units of length which you use for the size of your Clue in
Puzzle output may be specified in inches or in cms. Two Radio
Buttons are provided in this Group Box to allow you to indicate
your preference.
- Print Dimensions
The Horizontal and Vertical dimensions of the printed output can
be input either directly by selecting the appropriate input box and
typing in the required value, or indirectly by clicking the associated
‘-’ and ‘+’ buttons. These buttons change the dimension values by
one tenth of a unit for each click.
- Status
The Status report will give you an indication of what the Clue in
Puzzle function is currently doing.
The two possibilities are:-
- Dialog The program is ready to receive your input.
- Printing The program is getting puzzle data ready to be transmitted to the printer.
- Print and Cancel Buttons
The Print button sends the puzzle to the printer, with formatting
determined by the current Print Dimension settings. The Cancel
button returns you to the Print menu, and no printing function is
performed.
Warnings
A few warnings regarding the use of this feature are appropriate,
due to the limited space available for the printing of the clues. One
way or the other, Crossword Express will fit the clues into the
puzzle, but you can make its job easier, and improve the end result
by following these suggestions:-
- Set the Print Dimensions to the maximum values permitted by
the paper on which you are printing.
- Limit the size of your puzzle. For example, if you are printing
onto A4 paper, then a reasonable maximum size for your
puzzle would be 12 cells by 18 cells.
- Try to arrange the design of pattern cells in you lattice in such a
way that there is no requirement for both an Across and a
Down clue to be printed into the same cell. Crossword Express
will do this if it has to, but it will result in the use of a very
small font, and may well be unreadable.
- Ensure that the dictionary which you use to make these puzzles
has clues which are as short as possible.
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Fill-In Print
This option provides an interesting variation to the normal
crossword printout...instead of printing the clues, the actual
words of the puzzle are listed in length order and in alphabetical
order. To solve such a puzzle, the words must be fitted back into
the puzzle with each word being used exactly once. The dialog box
contains exactly the same items as the
Smart Print dialog box.
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Word-Find Print
This option provides yet another variation to the normal crossword printout.
It is similar to the Fill-In puzzle with the actual words of the puzzle
listed in length order and in alphabetical order. In addition to this, the
letters of the words are printed into the puzzle lattice, and instead of
printing the pattern squares, CWE replaces them with randomly chosen letters.
This results in a simple Word-Find puzzle, in which the solver must find the
location of each word in the puzzle. The dialog box contains exactly the same
items as the Smart Print dialog box.
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Clipboard export
If you are developing crossword puzzles for publication in
newsletters and the like, then you will probably want to paste the
puzzle directly into your Word Processor or Desk Top Publishing
application. Crossword Express allows you to export your puzzle
to the Windows Clipboard, from where it can easily be pasted into
your publication. This function has been largely superceded by the
Export option of the Smart Print function which you should
consider using as a preference.
The dialog box provides two sets of controls:-
- Export Mode. The choices are Metafile mode and Bitmap
mode. Of these, Metafile generally gives the better results and
is recommended.
- Export Type. Here you can choose between Lattice, Solution
and Clues. The Clipboard can hold only one of these at a time,
so if you are interested in including all three types to your
publication, you will have to do three separate Export and
Paste operations.
When you have made your selection from these controls, you can
do the Export by clicking the Export button, or you can abandon
the process by means of the Cancel button.
Back to Index
Printer Setup
This button leads you to the standard printer setup dialog box for
your printer. If you have more than one printer, you can choose between
them here, or you can change various characteristics such as paper
orientation. If you do not use this option, Crossword Express will
automatically present you with the dialog the first time you use
any of the print functions.
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Deleting a puzzle
Click on the DeLete button to delete the puzzle currently displayed.
A message box will appear to give you an opportunity to change
your mind.
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Maintaining the dictionaries
To create or operate on dictionaries select Dictionary
Maintenance from the Control Center. The Dictionaries menu is
displayed and offers the following options:
Choosing a dictionary
Click on Choose Dictionary to select a dictionary from a list of those
available. To choose a dictionary, click on its name or use the arrow keys
and spacebar to highlight it, and then click on OK.
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Creating a dictionary
The dialog box for this function has the following input fields and
controls:
- Dictionary Name
This name must be restricted to 8 characters, which should be
chosen from the 26 letters and the 10 digits. However, if you are
creating a Special Interest dictionary, then you should start its name
with the special character '$', so that it can be correctly identified.
Note that no extension is required.
- Word Font
If you are making a specialized dictionary which uses an alphabet
other than the Latin alphabet, then you will need to attach a specific
font to the words on a permanent basis. If a font is selected, it will
override the font selected under User Options for all situations
where Words are displayed or printed. If no special font is
required, then leave the selection at the default value of "Default
Font".
- Clue Font
As above, but select a font for the clues. It is quite OK to select a
font for Words, but go with the default for clues, or vice versa.
Also, you could select a Cyrillic Font for the words, and a Greek
Font for the clues, if you were interested in making a Russian-
Greek dictionary.
- Import Format
If you are going to import words into your new dictionary, they must be
imported from a file whose format corresponds to one of the following types:
- Word List. This is a text file in which each line of text consists
of a word and its clue, separated by one or more spaces. Each
line of text is terminated by a new line character.
- Document. This can be any text file at all. Crossword
Express will break it down into individual words which are
placed into the dictionary. Naturally these words will not have
clues, but you will still be able to make puzzles from the
resulting dictionary.
- Dictionary. This is the standard XWORD.DIC dictionary file which
can be found inside any of the dictionary folders. You may wonder why you
would want to import such a file. There are two possible reasons: (1) You may
want to duplicate a dictionary as a safety measure before you begin a major
editing activity. (2) If you use the filter option of the import function,
you can arrange to import a very precise subset of the imported dictionary.
Teachers could find this very useful in imparting the rules of spelling, and
the exceptions to those rules.
- Encoded Word List. If you download and unzip one of the
dictionaries available from the AUS-PC-SOFT web site, you will get a file
having this format, and a file extension of .EWL. Create a new dictionary,
and import the file using this format option to get a dictionary which is
ready for action. It should be noted that this function will only work if
you have a registered copy of Crossword Express at Version 4.2 or better.
A Combo box allows you to select which of these formats you
wish to use. If you require a format other than these, please
send details to AUS-PC-SOFT, so that it can be incorporated.
- Import File Name.
A standard File Selection dialog box allows you to select the file from which
Crossword Express will import words into the newly created dictionary.
- Import Filter.
If you enter an Import Filter you can exercise control over which of the
words in the Import File will actually be imported into your new dictionary.
The filter consists of a string of standard characters interleaved with
“wild card” characters in a way which will be quite farmiliar to users of DOS.
The components of an Import Filter are:-
- Standard Characters. The characters in a Word must match
exactly any corresponding Standard Characters in the Import Filter.
- The ? wild card. A ? character at any position in the Import
Filter will match any character in the corresponding position in the Word.
- The * wild card. A * character at any position in the Import
Filter will match any number of characters in the Word, including zero
characters.
- The [ABC...XYZ] wild card. A set of square brackets surrounding
a string of standard characters will match the corresponding character in
Word if that character is included in the string of standard characters.
The string of standard characters can include the - character to denote a
run of consecutive characters. eg. A-G is equivalent to ABCDEFG.
A few examples may help to clarify these rules:-
- T?E will match the words THE, TOE etc.
- T*E will match the words THE, TOE, TIME, TROUBLE etc.
- A[CL]E will match the words ACE and ALE, but not AGE etc.
- *[A-RT-Z] will match any word not ending with S
- *ABLE will match any words which end with ABLE.
- *CEI* will match any word containing the sub-string CEI.
- *C?E[LNP]? will match the words CREPE, ACCENT, ACCEPT, ANCIENT,
NICKELS etc.
- Case Sensitivity Checkbox. Under default conditions, when you are
importing a Word List, or a Document, the characters in the imported word
will be converted to Upper Case. If you require that the case of your
imported words be maintained, you can achieve this by checking the Case
Sensitivity checkbox. When importing from a Dictionary or an Encoded Word
List, case sensitivity is always maintained regardless of the state of this
checkbox.
- OK button.
Click on OK or press Enter, to return to the Menu after the new
dictionary has been created and words have been imported. The
new dictionary automatically becomes the chosen dictionary.
- Cancel button.
Click this button to return to the menu without creating a
dictionary.
Back to Index
Editing a Dictionary
When you first enter the Edit Dictionary dialog box, the Edit Status
indicator will show 'Loading Dictionary'. The time required for this activity
will depend on the size of the dictionary you are about to edit.
When the dictionary has loaded, the Status will change to 'Editing...', and a
portion of the contents of the dictionary will be displayed. To the left of
the dialog box will be displayed the current word in an edit box, along with
a maximum of five words immediately before and after the current word in the
dictionary. To the right of the current word, the current clue will be
displayed in a much larger edit box. The following sub topics provide details
of how to make use of the controls provided in the Edit Dictionary Dialog
Box:-
- Navigating the Dictionary
Moving around the dictionary is a simple matter of clicking the Scroll
Forward and Scroll Back buttons. Buttons are provided to move you 1, 10,
100 or 1000 words at a time. If you want to jump to a very precise location
in the dictionary, you can click the 'Enter a New Word' button, and type
into the word edit box the word that you want to jump to and then press the
Enter key. If the word happens to be already in the dictionary, its clue
will be displayed, and you will have the opportunity of editing that clue.
If the word is not in the dictionary, the clue edit box will be empty, and
you can type in a clue if you wish. Otherwise you can continue scanning
through the dictionary by means of the Scroll buttons.
- Adding and Deleting words
- Adding Words.
Clicking the 'Enter a New Word' button or pressing the Enter key will
move the cursor to the Word edit box, and allow you to type in the new
word. When you have done so, pressing the Enter key again will move the
cursor to the Clue edit box where you can type in your clue. If you want
to type in more than one clue for the new word, you should separate the
clues by means of a single '*' character. When finished you can move to a
new location in the dictionary by means of the scroll buttons, or you can
add another word as before. In either case, the changes you have made will
be saved into a 'Change List', and a counter will be updated to show you
how many entries you have in the Change List. As with any editing function,
you should save your work at regular intervals.
- Deleting Words.
Clicking the 'Delete this Word' button will replace the current clue with
the string '##DELETED'. This will be recorded in the Change List and the
word will be deleted from the dictionary the next time you do a Save
operation.
- Editing Clues
If you make any change at all to the clue of the current word, this will
be recorded in the Change List, and the Clue will be updated when you do
the next Save operation.
- Saving the changes
To avoid the frustration of losing your work in a power failure, you should
perform a save operation at regular intervals. Mostly you will use the
'Save and Resume' button which allows you to continue editing after the
save. The Edit Status will change to 'Saving...' followed by 'Loading
Dictionary...'. When the Status reverts to 'Editing' you may resume your
dictionary editing.
If you are done with editing, you can use the 'Save and Quit' button which
results in the Edit Dictionary dialog box being closed after the save has
been completed.
If you want to finish editing without saving your changes, then you should
use the Quit button. Note that a warning will be given in this case if
changes have been made.
- Case Sensitivity
Under default conditions, the characters in the word will be converted to
Upper Case. If you require that the case of your input be maintained, you
can easily achieve this by checking the Case Sensitivity checkbox. Note
that the state of this checkbox reverts to the unchecked state each time
the Edit Dictionary dialog box is initiated.
To return to index, click "Back" in the tool bar.
Importing and Merging words into a dictionary
The dialog box used for this function is very similar to the one used when
Creating a dictionary, and you should read
that topic before attempting to use this function. The big difference is
that the imported words do not replace the existing contents of the
dictionary, but are merged into it.
Back to Index
Dictionary statistics
This dialog box is for information only, and displays the following
data on the current dictionary:
- Total number of words contained in the dictionary. Separate
subtotals are also shown for the number of words with and
without clues.
- The number of words of each length from a minimum of two
through to a maximum of fifteen.
- The number of words for each starting and ending character.
Characters are not limited to the letters A to Z, so that for
example, you can create a dictionary where each "word" is
made up of the digits 0 to 9, and the clue is a simple arithmetic
problem. The list boxes for these totals have two columns, and
can display up to 44 totals. If the dictionary contains more than
44 starting or ending characters, then the additional totals can
be brought into view using the scroll bars at the bottom of the
list boxes.
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Exporting a dictionary
Use this feature if you want to add words to your dictionary using a
text editor. The words and clues are exported into a file whose
format conforms to the WORD LIST description. The dialog box
that appears suggests the name WORDS.LST as a default name for
the resulting file, but you can enter any name you like. The file will
be created in the directory of the current dictionary, but if you
include a complete path name, you can create the file anywhere on
your computer. After you have finished editing it, you can recreate
it as a dictionary using the import feature of the Dictionary Create
function.
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Backing up a dictionary
Select this option to back up the dictionary to a floppy diskette.
Make sure you have at least one formatted diskette ready before
you begin. The dialog box that controls the backup process
provides the following controls:
- Backup to. This pair of check boxes allows you to specify
whether drive A or B is to be used to carry out the backup.
Simply click the required check box with the mouse, or use the
Tab key to move the focus to the required check box and press
the space bar.
- Cancel. Click on Cancel or press Esc to cancel the Backup
operation.
- Proceed. Click on Proceed or press Enter to begin the Backup
operation. As the backup proceeds, the status box keeps you
informed about the number of disks involved, and the number
of bytes remaining to be backed up. If the backup extends over
more than one disk, a message box will prompt you when it is
time to insert the next disk. Please be sure to number the disks
to assist in restoring the dictionary should the need arise.
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Restoring a dictionary
If you need to restore a dictionary from a backup diskette to the
hard disk, make sure you have the diskette(s) ready, then select this
option. The dialog box that controls the backup process, provides
the following controls:
- Restore from. This pair of check boxes allows you to specify
whether drive A or B is to be used to carry out the restore.
Simply click the required check box with the mouse, or use the
Tab key to move the focus to the required check box and press
the space bar.
- Cancel. Click on Cancel or press Esc to cancel the Restore operation.
- Proceed. Click on Proceed or press Enter to begin the Restore
operation. As the restore proceeds the status box keeps you
informed about the number of the disk being restored, and the
number of bytes which have been restored. If the dictionary
extends over more than one disk, a message box will prompt
you to insert the next disk as required. If you accidentally insert
an out of sequence disk, the restore will not proceed, and you
will be advised of the situation.
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Deleting a dictionary
The currently selected main dictionary can be deleted from the
system by clicking the Delete Dictionary button. This is a rather
extreme action, and as you would expect, Crossword Express
gives you an opportunity to reconsider your actions before they are
put into effect.
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Maintaining lattices
A lattice is the array of cells and pattern squares you use to create
the crossword. To create or edit lattices select Lattice
Maintenance from the Control Center. The currently selected
lattice is displayed.
Selecting a lattice
Please refer to the section Selecting a Lattice in the chapter
Making a Standard Crossword.
Back to Index
Altering a lattice
You can modify any lattice by removing or adding black cells as
follows:
- Move the red focus cell over the lattice (using the mouse or
arrow keys) to a cell you want to change.
- Change the cell by clicking the left mouse button or pressing
the space bar.
As you do this the red focus cell changes colour. If the new state of
the cell is black the focus changes from blue to red. If the cell is
now white the focus cell changes from red to blue. The word
counts on the left side of the screen change to tell you how many
words of each length you have in the lattice.
If you have a large number of consecutive cells that you want to
change and you are using a mouse, just hold down the left mouse
button and drag the cursor cell through all of the cells you want to
change.
Note: Be careful not to create a crossword with too
many two-letter words or excessively long
words or the dictionary may not contain
enough words of this length to create a large
crossword. You can check the dictionary
statistics using the Dictionary Maintenance
screen.
When you have made all of the changes you require, save the lattice
using the saVe or SaveAs functions (see below).
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Using Null Cells
Firstly, what exactly is a Null Cell? It is a cell within the lattice into
which Crossword Express will not insert a letter. It is very similar
to the well known pattern, or black cell, but has the additional
feature that when the puzzle is printed, this cell will be omitted
from the printout. By carefully positioning a number of such cells
in the lattice, you can make lattices of any shape you require. You
can do this to the lattices you use when you make a standard
crossword puzzle, in which case the lattice will contain both pattern
cells and null cells. For lattices which will be used in Crozzle
construction (Templates), you will generally insert only null cells
to define the required shape, although you can add pattern cells for
added interest if you wish. Note that Null Cells are colored dark
gray when displayed on the screen, and the colored cursor becomes
green when it enters a Null Cell. Note also that the name of a
lattice which is to be used as a Crozzle Template must commence
with a $ character so that it can be correctly identified.by the
program.
Setting and clearing Null Cells.
The process is identical to that of setting and clearing pattern cells,
with the following exceptions:-
- Mouse method Use the Right Mouse button, instead of the Left
Mouse button to change the state of the cell which is being
addressed by the colored cursor cell.
- Keyboard method Use the Enter key instead of the Space Bar to
change the state of the cell being addressed by the colored cursor
cell.
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Creating a lattice
Click on Create from the Lattices menu to create a new lattice.
Four items of information are required, as shown below:
- Squares Across Enter a number between 3 and 47.
- Squares Down Enter a number between 3 and 47.
- Symmetry Enter a letter from A thru G. These letters have
the following meanings:
- A Rotational symmetry, in that the design
of the resulting lattice appears unchanged
when it is rotated through an angle of 90
degrees. It can only be applied to square
lattices.
- B Similar to A except that the lattice must
be rotated through a full 180 degrees for
the design to appear unchanged.
- C The resulting lattice is simultaneously
symmetrical about a vertical line and a
horizontal line through the center of the
lattice.
- D Symmetrical about a vertical line through
the center of the lattice.
- E Simultaneously symmetrical about both
diagonals. It can only be applied to
square lattices.
- F Symmetrical about a diagonal from
bottom left to top right. Once again it can
only be applied to a square lattice.
- G No symmetry. You can place a single
black or null square at any point you
choose within the lattice.
- Lattice Name. Enter a distinctive lattice name having a
maximum of eight characters, consisting of the 26 letters, the
10 digits, and the minus and underscore characters.
When you are satisfied with what you have entered, click on OK or
press Enter, but if you decide not to proceed with the create
process, click on the Cancel button, or press Esc. If you choose to
proceed, a blank lattice will appear, and you can begin the design
process described in the topic Altering a Lattice.
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Saving a lattice
To save the lattice with the name shown at the left side of the
screen, click on the SaVe button.
To save it with a different name click the SaveAs button. A dialog
box allows you to enter the name of the new lattice.
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Deleting a lattice
You can delete the current lattice at any time by clicking on the
Delete button. A message box gives you a chance to change your
mind.
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Crozzle puzzles
Select Crozzle Puzzles from the Control Center to use the
Crozzle Puzzle screen, which contains a blank lattice and a menu
of selection options.
A crozzle puzzle differs from the standard crossword in the
following ways:
- It is constructed from a very limited set of words.
- It is constructed on a blank lattice (up to 30 x 30 squares), with
the program inserting black squares as required, so that the end
result does not in general exhibit any symmetry.
- The degree of interlinking of words is quite low; less than
fifty percent of letters interlink.
You must use a Special Interest dictionary to make crozzle puzzles.
These may have as many as 255 words, or as few as 10 words.
Such dictionaries usually follow a specific theme such as Football,
Surfing, Great Composers, Botany, or any other topic you may care
to name. Their names all begin with a $ symbol.
To make a crozzle puzzle you:
- describe the puzzle
- specify the puzzle
- select dictionary
- make the puzzle
Describing the puzzle
Please refer to the section Describing a Crossword in the chapter
Making a Standard Crossword.
Back to Index
Specify a Crozzle puzzle
The Crozzle Puzzle is specified in one of two different ways:-
Specify by size
- Squares Across. Insert a value in the range 3 to 30 to specify
the number of columns of squares in the finished puzzle.
- Squares Down. Insert a value in the range 3 to 30 to specify
the number of rows of squares in the finished puzzle.
- Note. These values are treated as maximum values only. If
Crossword Express can fit all of the words contained in your
list into a smaller area, then it will do so.
Specify by Template.
Select a Crozzle Template from a list of available templates.
Note that all Crozzle Templates have names commencing with
the $ character. A template enables you to make Crozzles in
shapes of your own choosing, such as a circle or a heart. The
Lattice Maintenance function provides all of the facilities you
will need to design your own templates.
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Selecting a dictionary
Please refer to the section Selecting a Dictionary in the chapter
Making a Standard Crossword.
New Dictionary
This function allows you to create a new Special Interest
Dictionary, and to immediately begin the task of entering words
and clues into it. The dialog box has a single input field which
accepts the name of the new dictionary, and two buttons which allow you
to select fonts for the Words and Clues in this new dictionary.
The rules which govern the naming of this dictionary are:-
- The name must commence with the $ character.
- The remainder of the name can have a maximum of 7
characters selected from the 26 letters and the 10 digits.
- The name will not be accepted if it is the same as an existing
dictionary.
Clicking the OK button after a legal name has been entered will
automatically put you into a Dictionary Edit screen where you can
begin to build your new dictionary.
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Making the crozzle
Click on Make to begin the construction process and Crossword
Express will create and display the first puzzle within a few
seconds.
As the crozzle construction progresses, the program maintains two
scores which provide a figure of merit for the puzzle concerned.
These are:-
- The total number of words used in the puzzle.
- The total number of interlinking letters in the puzzle.
These scores are displayed along with the puzzle itself. Crossword
Express then goes into a repetitive puzzle building sequence,
looking for a better puzzle. In this context, a puzzle is better if it
contains more words. If it has the same number of words, then it is
better if it has more interlinking letters. If two puzzles have the
same scores for words and interlinking letters, then the one which
occupies the smallest area is considered to be the better one.
Whenever a better puzzle is found, it is displayed along with its
word and interlinking letter scores. This construction phase will
normally be allowed to run until the currently displayed puzzle is
considered to be of satisfactory quality, at which time construction
is terminated by clicking the Stop/Return button, or by pressing R
or Escape. You can then exit from the Crozzle screen by means of
the Stop/Return button, or you can resume Crozzle construction
by means of the Make button. Alternatively you can use
either the Solve or the Print button to begin making use of your new puzzle.
Back to Index
Pre-set word puzzles
Click on Preset Word puzzles on the Control Center to create
these special puzzles. The Preset Words feature of Crossword
Express allows you to insist that particular words must be used at
certain locations within the lattice when it is used to create a puzzle.
This function allows you to specify these Preset Words, along with
the clues that shall be used, and their locations within the lattice.
Describing the puzzle
Please refer to the section Describing a Crossword in the chapter
Making a Standard Crossword.
Selecting a lattice
Please refer to the section Selecting a Lattice in the chapter
Making a Standard Crossword.
Selecting a dictionary
Please refer to the section Selecting a Dictionary in the chapter
Making a Standard Crossword.
Back to Index
Locating Preset Words
When you select this function, Crossword Express will load your
list of Preset Words into memory, and will fit as many of them as
possible into the currently selected lattice. It will then present you
with a dialog box which will enable you to exercise complete
control over the placement of Preset Words in the lattice. This
dialog box contains a list of your Preset Words, up to a maximum
of 20 words. Each word has a set of three placement control
buttons:-
- The Use/Don’t use button. This button is located to the left of
the word, and will contain the letter 'x' if the word is currently
included in the lattice, or it will be empty if the word is not
included in the lattice. Clicking this button will toggle the word
into and out of the lattice. When the word goes into the lattice
it will occupy the first available slot of the correct size. If
Crossword Express is unable to find a slot for the word, a short
beep will be heard.
- The < button. This button moves its corresponding word to the
previous available slot. If no previous slot is available, a short
beep will be heard.
- The > button. This button moves its corresponding word to the
next available slot. If there is no next slot, a short beep will be
heard.
When you are happy with the locations of your Preset Words, you
can return to the Preset Word screen by means of the OK button,
or you can use the Make button to return to the Preset Word
screen, and automatically begin the Make function.
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Making the puzzle
Click the Make button when you have returned to the Preset
Words menu. As the operation proceeds, a number of brief
advisory messages will be displayed to keep you informed of
progress. A short beep is emitted when the process is complete.
You can then use either the Solve or the Print button to begin making use
of your new puzzle.
Back to Index
Special interest puzzles
Many users will want to generate crossword puzzles which follow a
particular theme or subject, but find that they cannot create a big
enough dictionary on the subject to be able to reliably construct the
desired puzzle. The Special Interest Puzzle option overcomes this
problem by allowing the user to specify Special Interest
dictionaries which Crossword Express will search in an effort to
find a suitable word. Only if a suitable word cannot be found in any
of the Special Interest dictionaries will the search revert to the
standard or Back-fill dictionary. As few as one, or as many as four
Special Interest dictionaries may be specified, and these will be
searched in strict priority order. A Special Interest dictionary can be
quite small, having a maximum of 255 words.
Of course, this does not provide any guarantees as to how many, or
even if any, Special Interest words will be included in the puzzle.
For this reason, Crossword Express will display a count of how
many Special Interest words were included, and will then go on and
create a whole series of puzzles. Each time it makes a puzzle
having a count which is higher than the previous best, it will save
that puzzle under the name that you have specified, and will update
the Puzzle and Best Count display. This process will continue until
such time as you click the Stop/Return button, or press Escape.
An important feature of the puzzle display is the background color
coding used to indicate the dictionary from which the Special
Interest words were obtained. These colors are:-
- Priority 1...Gray
- Priority 2...Green
- Priority 3...Blue
- Priority 4...Brown
The following steps are involved in the construction of a Special
Interest puzzle, although the first four are optional if you are happy
to use the current default values:-
- Name the Puzzle to avoid destroying an existing puzzle.
- Select a Lattice if the current one is not to your liking.
- Select the Special Interest Dictionaries which you intend to use.
From one to four dictionaries may be selected.
- Select the Backfill Dictionary to be used. This would normally
be the English dictionary.
- Start the Special Interest MAKE Process and sit back and watch
the action. During the MAKE process, a number of Advisory
messages will be displayed.
Describe the puzzle
Please refer to the section Describing a Crossword in the chapter
Making a Standard Crossword.
Selecting a lattice
Please refer to the section Selecting a Lattice in the chapter
Making a Standard Crossword.
Back to Index
Selecting the special interest dictionaries
The dialog box for selecting the prioritized list of Special Interest
dictionaries may appear quite daunting at first sight, due to the
large number of buttons, but it is quite simple in its operation.
Firstly note that there are four more or less identical sets of buttons,
one for each of the maximum of four Special Interest dictionaries.
The names of the dictionaries appear at the left hand end of the
dialog box as they are selected. If no dictionary has been selected at
a given priority level, then its slot will be left blank.
The functions of the buttons are as follows:-
- Select.
This activates a dialog box which allows you to select a dictionary
for the associated priority slot. If there is already a dictionary in the
slot concerned, then it will be replaced by your new selection.
- Create / Edit
This is a dual purpose button, whose function is conditioned by
whether or not a dictionary has already been selected for its
associated slot. If one has been selected, then you will be presented
with the contents of that dictionary displayed in the Edit Dictionary dialob
box, where you can edit it in any way you wish.
If no dictionary has been specified for this slot, then you will see a
small dialog box which will invite you to enter the name of a new
Special Interest dictionary. When you have done this correctly, you
will be prsented with an Edit Dictionary dialog box into which you can begin
to enter the contents of your new dictionary.
- Clear
If you want to eliminate a dictionary from one of the priority slots,
then clicking the associated Clear button will achieve the desired
result. Note that this does not clear the contents of the dictionary. It
just removes it from your list.
- Swap
It may happen that you have all of the wanted dictionaries selected,
but have accidently gotten them into the wrong order. Rather than
going through the process of clearing and reselecting, you can
quickly rearrange the order of the puzzles by use of the Swap
buttons.
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Selecting a backfill dictionary
Click on Dictionary to select the dictionary to be used as the
backfill dictionary. You select it from the dialog box in the usual
way.
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Starting the special interest make process
Clicking the Make button, or pressing M on the keyboard when the
Special Interest menu is displayed will start the MAKE process.
Crossword Express will make a series of puzzles, and each time it
makes one having a number of Special Interest words which
exceeds the previous best, it will save that puzzle, and update the
Puzzle and Special Interest word count displays. This operation will
continue until you are satisfied with the number of Special Interest
words actually inserted in the puzzle, at which time you can stop
the process by clicking the Stop/Return button, or by pressing
Escape. As MAKE proceeds, a number of brief Advisory messages
will be displayed to let you know what is happening, and a short
beep is emitted each time an improved score is achieved. Having
stopped the MAKE process, you can exit from the Special Interest
Puzzle screen by use of the Stop/Return button, or you can resume
the construction cycle by using the Make button. Alternatively you can use
either the Solve or the Print button to begin making use of your new puzzle.
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Miscellaneous functions
Select Miscellaneous Functions from the Control Center to
adapt Crossword Express to more closely meet your particular
requirements. The available options are:
Choosing a new language
This dialog box contains a list of available languages, having the
current language highlighted. Select the required language by
clicking with the mouse, or using the arrow keys to move the
highlight. When you are satisfied with your choice, click OK or
press Enter, and all subsequent screen text will be presented in that
language. At this stage, the Help text is restricted to English only.
If you would like to create a new language for Crossword
Express, you can do this by copying the file ENGLISH.TXT into a
new file called LANGUAGE.TXT, where LANGUAGE can be any
language which can be represented using the Latin alphabet. Then
do a word by word translation of this file into the chosen language.
This is best done using a.simple text editor, as the resulting text file
must be a simple ASCII file.
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User Options
This is a collection of useful options which may be changed at will
to make Crossword Express conform to the user’s particular taste.
Some of these options are duplicated in other locations within the
program, but are grouped together here for convenience.
- Use all words during Make.
By default, CROSSWORD EXPRESS will use all of the words in a
dictionary when it is making a new puzzle. If you would like to
reduce the chance of recently used words being used again, turn
this option off. If you are making very large, complex puzzles then
you should have this option turned on.
- Show letters during Make.
When Crossword Express is MAKEing a new puzzle, it lets you
know how far it has progressed, by displaying the actual letters it
has inserted into the puzzle. This is the default condition, and can
be quite entertaining to watch, but it is not recommended if you are
making a puzzle which you plan to solve yourself. Turning off this
option will result in the squares of the lattice being shaded to a light
gray whenever a letter is inserted, but still giving a very graphic
indication of progress. This option also controls the appearance of
the Print Puzzle screen.
- Display Hint of the Day.
Crossword Express has the ability to display a randomly selected
hint on how to get the most out of the program each time it is
started. By default, this feature is turned on, but you can turn it off
by using this option.
- Include Solution in Lattice.
If you have partially completed the solution of a puzzle on screen
you may wish to print the puzzle, and to have your work included
in the lattice. Selecting this checkbox will produce the desired
result.
- Period after Clue Number.
The default mode for Crossword Express when printing the clues is to NOT
place a period after the clue number. Selecting this checkbox will result
in the clues being printed with a single period after the clue number.
- Invert Solution.
Clicking this box will result in the solution part of any printout being
printed up-side-down. This feature has not yet been implemented in the
Macintosh version.
- Pattern Density.
By default, the pattern squares in both the lattice and the solution
will be printed in solid black to conform with tradition. Using this
option, you can replace the black by a dot pattern whose density,
expressed as a percentage, can be selected by you. The main benefit
of doing this is to reduce the usage of ink in your ink-jet printer, or
toner in your laser printer. A pattern density of zero is a special
case, in that pattern cells will not be printed at all, giving a
'skeleton' style puzzle.
- Font.
This specifies the font used when printing the various components
of a puzzle. This is also the font used to display the puzzle when it
is being solved on screen. Note, however, that this font selection
will be over-ridden in the case of Solutions and/or Clues, if a font
was permanently associated with the dictionary at the time of
creation.
- Clue Lettering
When solving a puzzle, the clues are presented in an intermediate font size
which should be satisfactory for most users. You can change this font size
to a considerably smaller one or to a much larger one to suit your tastes.
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Appendix
Internal site license
Licensor: AUS-PC-SOFT
Onkaparinga Valley Road
VERDUN, South Australia
5245
As a registered owner of Crossword Express, you are reminded
that this software is protected by the provisions of International
Copyright Law. You are authorised to make copies of this software
only for the purposes of backup, and to protect your investment
from loss, and it is recommended that you do so. You may install
the program on more than one computer if this is convenient,
provided that at no time is it used on more than one computer.
Crossword puzzles produced by Crossword Express may be used,
published, given away or sold, without additional license fees. You
are not required to indicate that the puzzles were generated by
Crossword Express, although a brief endorsement to this effect
would be appreciated.
The LICENSOR warrants that it is the sole owner of the Software,
and has full power and authority to grant this license without
consent of any other party.
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LIMITED WARRANTY
With respect to the physical diskettes enclosed herein, the
LICENSOR warrants the same to be free of defects in materials
and workmanship for a period of 90 days from the date of
purchase. In the event of a diskette proving to be defective,
corrective action shall be limited to replacement, and shall not
encompass any other damages, including but not limited to loss of
profit, and special, incidental, consequential or other similar claims.
The LICENSOR hereby disclaims all other warranties relating to
this Software, whether expressed or implied, including without
limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a
particular purpose. The person using the Software bears all risk as
to the quality and performance of the Software. The LICENSOR
will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect
or similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason even if
the LICENSOR or an agent of the LICENSOR has been advised of
the possibility of such damages. In no event shall the LICENSOR's
liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license
to use the Software, regardless of the form of the claim.
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