Copyright: Copyright Antony Lewis 1994


Help Contents

Editing the Puzzle

Finding Words

Filling Automatically

Editing Clues

Reviewing Clues

Printing

Copying to the Clipboard

Registering Crossword Compiler

Index

Other Related Software


Index

Anagram

Autofind

Block Filling

Clipboard

Defaults

Filling Automatically

Find Word

Flip puzzle

Font

Format

Information

Keyboard

Linking Clues

Mouse

New

Open

Page Setup

Printer Setup

Printing

Puzzle editing

Reference

Registering

Removing Blanks

Review Clues

Save As

Square Sizes

Symmetry

Toolbar

Word Format

Writing Clues


Block Filling

A British-style puzzle, in which words are linked every alternate letter, has a regular pattern of blocks. The basic pattern can be filled in quickly by choosing Fill Blocks from the Pattern menu.

Block filling fills in every alternate block on alternate rows. There are four choices of starting position:

Fill from (1,1):	Fill from (2,1):

Fill from (1,2):	Fill from (2,2):

Note that fill from (2,1) and (1,2) is not compatible with dual-symmetry.


Symmetry

You can automatically create a symmetric pattern by selecting one of the symmetry options from the Pattern menu. You can have normal S-Symmetry or Dual-Symmetry (Dual-Symmetry only works if you have a square puzzle).

This pattern shows Dual-Symmetry:

Whereas this one only has S- Symmetry:


Autofind

Autofind can be used to find words to fit in the puzzle. Select Autofind from the Words menu, or click the right mouse button on a square in the word. Words are found to fit in the current type direction, but if there is only one possible word through the cursor's square, words are found to fit there.

For example if you had a puzzle that looked like this:

You may want to find a word to fit down the middle. Click with the right mouse button on one of the squares, for example, above the 'D', and a scrollable list of words that fit is produced. Simply scroll through and select the word you want and press Insert. If you selected the word  ADMIRAL then the puzzle would look like this:

Note that compound words in the word list are not punctuated, eg. 'OUT OF DATE' appears as 'OUTOFDATE', as it will in the puzzle.

To find a word to fit a given template use the Find Word... command on the Words menu. To find a fit for whole sections of the puzzle rather than just one word at a time us the Fill Automatically command on the Words menu.


Find Words

If you want to find words that match a specific pattern you can use the Find Word... command on the Words menu.

In the dialogue box enter the template for the word, using '?' for letters you don't know. Eg. to find a 5 letter word that starts in 'T' and ends in 'ND' enter 'T??ND', and the program will find all the words in the lists which match (eg. 'TREND').

If you want to find words to fit in the puzzle it is easier to use the Autofind facility.


Puzzle Flipping

A puzzle may be flipped to its mirror image by selecting Flip Pattern from the Pattern menu. This has not effect other than the numbering and order of the clues, and the appearance of the puzzle. A flip can be undone by doing another flip. Here is a puzzle, one before and one after a flip:


Change Font
Font

You may change the font used to display and print the puzzle and clues by selecting Font... from the Options menu. You can only use True Type fonts with Crossword Compiler. The point size you choose has no effect on the puzzle but is used in Printing the clues. Here is what a sample puzzle looks like with some of the standard fonts:

Arial:	Arial Bold:

Courier New:	Times New Roman:


Anagram

You can search for multiple word anagrams of a given word, either from the Clue Editor or by choosing Anagram... from the Words menu.

If you run it from the Clue Editor the word you are clueing will be anagrammed automatically. If you choose Anagram... from the menu you should enter the word in the dialogue box. If you wish to anagram for multiple words just enter the words you want to anagram.

Anagram finds all the multiple word anagrams of the given word up to a certain number of letters. The maximum number of words in the multi-word anagram can be specified in the Defaults dialogue box. If you choose a large number the search is slower as there will be a lot of different anagrams. Specifying a small number also makes it easier to find a suitable anagram.

Anagrams are displayed as they are found. The words in multi-word anagrams are not sorted, but anagrams are found in order of word length, so you should get all the straight anagrams before the multi-word ones etc.

The Search can be aborted at any time by pressing OK. Anagrams are added to the bottom of the list as they are found. If there are a lot of possible anagrams they may not all be found, but you should always get at least the first thousand or so. The finder will work in the background as you edit other clues or whatever. To bring the window to the top just click on it. You can leave the anagram window open, and it will be reset with a new word whenever you select Anag... in the clue editor, or New in the anagram window. Anag... sets the word to the word you are clueing, New prompts you for a new word to anagram.

Anagrams are found using the word file selected in the Anag files path and name input line in the  Defaults box. The program uses an internal list of words from 1 to 3 letters long for anagrams. These cannot be changed.

The anagram feature is a quick and easy way to find anagrams of words. However if you wish to find meaningful anagrams of longer words, phrases or names, it will take quite a long time, and you may have to look through a list of 16000 anagrams to find the best one.  There is however a dedicated anagram program that I can recommend to anyone with a special interest in anagrams, called Anagram Genius.


 Anagram Genius for the PC

  After six years of development what is probably the world's most  sophisticated anagram generator has finally been ported to a  mass-market platform: Microsoft Windows.

  This highly unusual software takes the names of your friends, employers and competitors and transforms them in ways you would never believe. It rearranges the letters and uses powerful Artificial Intelligence techniques to say things that are weird, wonderful (and  sometimes extremely insulting!)

  For example:

  ** type in "Ronald Wilson Reagan" and tell the software he is male, a politician and you want satirical anagrams. It rearranges the letters of his name to say he is "a long-insane Warlord"!

    ** You want to do some research into fundamental philosophy. Type in "The meaning of life" and out comes (along with many others) "The fine game of nil".

  ** Type in "The best things in life are free" and it produces "Nail-biting refreshes the feet": it is free after all (although you may need to pay for some yoga lessons first!)

  ** Type in "The end of the world is nigh!" and get "Down this hole, frightened".

  There are many many more examples, buy the software and you can add to them with (amongst others) your name, the names of your friends and colleagues, your employer, acquaintances, commercial rivals etc. Etc.

  (Thanks to Donald L. Holmes for finding the last two examples).

  Correspondence from existing owners of anagram genius

** Your latest version of Anagram Genius defies superlatives! What  a fantastic and fascinating creation!

** One friend turned out to be an anagram of "recombined anus", another "I'm a jolly anarchic poker" and my wife "And in herself weary"; all of which were appropriate. My yuppy boss found out her name was an anagram of "She'll engineer gain" which she thought appropriate.

** Terrific! It has brought me and my friends considerable entertainment.

** I was interested to note that an anagram of Virginia Bottomley "I'm an evil Tory bigot" made it into the national press - I'd spotted that one a year earlier using the original version of Anagram Genius!

** May I congratulate you on an excellent product.

** There isn't anything I don't like about it ... I think you have a hit!

** It is much better and more sophisticated than I could imagine.

** The program is great and I am amazing my friends with it.

** Anagram Genius is wonderful.

... plus many many others.

(All quotes can be proven genuine on request. Some of the quotes refer to 'Supergram', the name of the same software on the Acorn Archimedes. To avoid confusion 'Anagram Genius' was substituted into these examples.)

  Selected features of the latest version

** Choice between American or British English. The default is automatically selected from the computer's country code.

** 'Satire' flag for wildly satirical anagrams, 'Flattery' flag for flattering anagrams. 'Normal' flag for no good or bad bias.

** 'Vulgar words' flag allows on censors coarse or obscene language. (When not censored and combined with the 'Satire' flag these words are considered highly desirable!)

** Limit the number of anagrams to keep. Keep only anagrams scoring above a certain score. Limit the number of words in the found anagrams.

** Describe the text by gender, political, computer or business associations. Describe the text in detail by specifying the relevance of individual words. Your description is used by the artificial intelligence routines to find relevant and meaningful anagrams for that subject.

** Include interjections, dropped 'H' words ("'ello", "'orrible" etc.) and others. Penalise anagrams for not being a good mix of the initial text.

** Automatic intelligent default punctuation and choice of word-order for each anagram which is completely overridable if you so choose.

** Print or save out reports, word lists and anagrams. Fully-featured print-preview option.

** All anagrams are given a score and sorted into order. For texts which contain many anagrams you only need look at the best ones.

** The powerful back-end works hand-in-hand with an excellent user interface which is both logical and powerful. The process of finding anagrams is divided into four conceptually clear stages. The stages can be flicked between and the computer's choices overridden or left as you choose. At all times you are in control.

** It can deal with short texts of just a few letters or long  texts of thirty letters or more which would choke any other software. Most texts are processed in just a few seconds but a powerful scheduling algorithm keeps the search within reasonable timescales no matter how massive its task.

*** All for just 19.99 pounds sterling! ***

  Anagram Genius ordering information

To run Anagram Genius you will need a machine running Windows 3.1 (or another compatible Operating System), 4Mb of RAM or more, at least 386 processor and a mouse. The software is supplied on a high density 3.5" PC disc.

** All orders should be sent to:

        Genius 2000 Software

        Dept AL

        P.O. Box 395

        Cambridge CB3 9PJ

        United Kingdom

** In the United Kingdom: Send a cheque for 19.99 + 1.65 S&H (total 21.64 pounds) payable to "Genius 2000 Software" to the above address.

** In the United States: Send a check for $29.95 made payable to "Genius 2000 Software" to the above address. Current airmail postage from the US to the UK is 50 cents (write "airmail" on the envelope). Your order will be dispatched back to you by fast international airmail. This price includes shipping, handling, bank charges and all sales taxes.

** In other countries: send a cheque for 22.99 pounds sterling (19.99 + 3.00 shipping and handling) drawn on a British bank to the above address. Alternatively add 5 pounds to cover bank charges (totalling 28.00), convert to your local currency and send a cheque in your native currency drawn on a local bank. All cheques should be payable to "Genius 2000 Software". Exchange rates are published in most newspapers.

These prices buy a single copy of the software and a licence to use it on one machine by one person at a time. If the software is to be used by more than one person you will probably need to buy a site licence: send email to AGenius@genius.demon.co.uk or write for details.

If you have any further questions please email: AGenius@genius.demon.co.uk


Square Sizes
Changing Square Sizes

The size at which the puzzle and solution are displayed, printed, and copied to the clipboard can be customised. Select Square Sizes... from the Options menu to bring up a dialogue box.

Puzzle  - Specifies the size in millimetres of the puzzle used in printing and the suggested puzzle size when it is copied to the clipboard.

Solution  - Size in millimetres of the solution.

Zoom % of puzzle size  - Specifies the factor by which the puzzle size is enlarged when you edit it on the screen. This does not effect the printed size.


Puzzle Editing
 Editing the Puzzle

When you start a New puzzle, or Open an existing one, the puzzle is displayed in the window with a cursor in the top right hand corner.

You enter letters from the current cursor position by typing as normal. Black squares (blocks) are inserted by pressing the space bar. In the puzzle there are usually words going in two directions, to change the direction of typing press tab, or click on the direction icon on the Toolbar. This then displays the current type direction. The cursor also changes to show the type direction:

     To type Horizontally

     To type Vertically

You can use the cursors to move round the puzzle, or click with the left mouse button to move to a certain square. You can also insert blocks by double clicking with the left mouse button.

For a full list of keyboard commands see Keyboard.

You can fill in some of the pattern by using the Fill Blocks command on the Pattern menu.

To automatically insert blocks in symmetrical positions select one of the Symmetry options on the Pattern  menu.

You can create irregular puzzles by removing unwanted squares from the puzzle. Press Ctrl+Delete with the cursor on the square to be removed. To remove all blank squares from the puzzle, select the Remove Blanks command from the Pattern  menu. This makes the puzzle only have lines around squares with letters or blocks in, so giving it an irregualar outline.

 You can Undo editing by pressing Alt+Delete. This moves the cursor to the end of the last editing action and then undoes the action. This can be repeated a large number of times to undo chunks of the puzzle. Interlocking letters are not removed using Undo, so leaving the intersecting words intact. Undo is particularly useful with Autofind to test words in certain positions and then undo them if necessary.


Reference
Giving the puzzle a reference

You can give a reference to a puzzle in addition to its file name by selecting Reference... from the File menu. Enter anything you want, typically information about who wrote the puzzle, when etc. It has no effect other than to give some extra information about the puzzle, and it can be printed when you Print the puzzle.


Clipboard
Copying to the clipboard

You can copy the puzzle, clues, solution or answers to the clipboard to use them in other Windows programs. Select Copy to clipboard... from the file menu, and select what you want copied.

 The puzzle and solution are copied as pictures (metafiles) that can be resized in the host application. They are copied by default at the size specified in the Square Sizes dialogue box, but can then be resized without any loss in quality.

  The clues and answers are copied as Rich Text Format (RTF) and plain text. The host application will use the appropriate format. Most word processors (but NOT Write) and DTP programs will accept RTF, which gives formatted text, bold clue numbers right aligned etc. Other programs can use the plain text, but it won't look as good.

  The space between clues, and the space between the clue number and the clue can be customised in the Format dialogue box for RTF. The relative size of the numbers in the puzzle can also be changed. The font in the puzzle and solution is set in the Font dialogue box, the font for the clues and answers is set by the host program so it will match the font you are using in that. If you find that the clues do not copy correctly then try increasing the Number/Clue space in the format dialog box.

The answers option copies the answers in text form eg.

Across: 1 Cueing, 4 Abbott, 9 Infant prodigy, 10 Connoisseurs, 12 Alcove, 14 Shinto, 16 Overdecorate, 19 Command module, 20 Donate, 21 Oyster.

Down: 1 Chitchat, 2 Elfin, 3 Non-conversant, 5 Biotechnology, 6 Omicron, 7 Toys, 8 Spasm, 11 Forebear, 13 Cavemen, 15 Bendy, 17 Adult, 18 Scud.

The solution option copies the completed puzzle, as it looks when you edit it, eg.

The clues and answers can then be put into columns or whatever in the host program.


Review Clues
Reviewing the Clues

  You can view the clues written so far using the Review Clues... command in the Clue menu. The clues are shown in two scrollable lists, with the clue number at the left, and the solution to the right. If a word is unclued the clue reads 'No Clue'. If  there are incomplete words in the puzzle the solution appears with question marks for the missing letters.

   You can edit a clue by selecting the clue by scrolling through the lists and pressing the Edit button (Alt+E), or double clicking on the clue with the left mouse button. This brings up the Clue Editor dialogue box which you can use normally. You can move between the Across and Down clues using Tab and Shift+Tab.

It is a good idea to review the clues before you Print them to check you haven't missed any clues, or that any words are incomplete. It also makes quite a convenient way to edit the clues.


Keyboard

Keyboard controls when editing puzzle:

CURSORS	Move the cursor

CTRL+CURSORS	Skip to next or previous word start

TAB	Toggle type direction

ENTER	Move to left or top of next line

SPACEBAR	Insert Block

DELETE	Delete letter/block at cursor

CTRL+DELETE	Remove square from puzzle

SHIFT+DELETE	Delete word. Doesn't effect intersecting words

ALT+BACKSPACE 	Undo

ALT+A	Autofind

ALT+E	Edit Clue

F1	Help Index

F2	Save

CTRL+ESC	Switch to another program

See Mouse for mouse combinations and the Toolbar topic


Mouse

Left Button	Move cursor to square clicked on

Double Left Button	Insert block in square clicked on

Right Button	Autofind words to fit in word clicked on

See Keyboard for keyboard shortcuts, and the Toolbar topic.


Open
Open and existing file

  You can open an exisiting crossword file by selecting Open... from the File menu.

Enter the name of the file to open, or select the directory and file from the list boxes and press Open. If you have an unsaved puzzle already open you will be prompted to ask if you want to save it or not before opening the new puzzle.

Crossword Compiler puzzle files have the .CWD extension, and are in a special format, you cannot open files saved by another application.


New
Starting a new crossword

  You can start a new crossword with a blank grid by selecting New from the File menu.

You are prompted for the size of the puzzle you want to create. Valid sizes are between 3 and 39 squares height and width. If you have an unsaved puzzle already open you will be prompted to save it.


Save As
Saving a puzzle with a name

You can give a puzzle a name, or save under a new name by selecting Save As... from the File menu. Enter the name for the puzzle and press OK. You can select a different directory by using the list box on the right.

 You can save the puzzle as a .CWD file for further editing with Crossword Compiler, or as Rich Text Format, to use in other applications. Change the selection in the Save file as type input box to change the setting and give the file a name ending in '.RTF' Puzzles saves as Rich Text Format (RTF) with the .RTF extension cannot be reopened from Crossword Compiler, but does allow you to save the puzzle clues etc. so that they can be used in word processing, DTP programs etc. If you save as RTF you are prompted for what you want saved in the file, the puzzle, clues, solution, answers or a combination.

You can save a puzzle as a .CWD file with its present name by pressing F2 or selecting Save from the File menu.


Save

Select Save from the file menu or press F2 to save the puzzle with its present name. If the puzzle is un-named the Save As dialogue box will open for you to choose a name.


Printer Setup

Select Printer Setup... from the File menu to select and setup a printer for Printing. Select the printer you want from the drop down list. You can press the Setup... button to set other options such as page orientation, size etc.


Toolbar

The toolbar is the array of icons at the to of the program window. By clicking on them with the mouse you can quickly invoke the command they represent. By holding the mouse cursor over a button for a short time you will pop up some text which tells you what the button does. Use this feature if you are unsure what any button does.

Here is a complete description of all the buttons:

		Get Help
		Open an existing file
		Save the crossword
		Invoke Autofind
		Fill Automatically from cursor
		Toggle type direction
		Undo last change. Can be used multiple times.
		Edit Clue

See Editing the Puzzle for more information on undoing  and type directions.


Editing Clues
Writing Clues

You can edit the clue for a particular word in the puzzle by pressing Alt+E with the cursor on the word of the clue you want to edit, or by using the Edit tool on the Toolbar. If there are two words through the letter at the cursor, it will select the word in the current type direction. A dialog box will pop up in which you enter the clue. Once you have finished the clue press Enter to close the dialog box or Alt+> to edit the next clue. The number of the clue is displayed in the title bar of the dialog box and the word the clue is for is displayed below. There is a large input box for entering the clue and an input line for entering the format of the word.

Here's a summary of clue dialog box commands, which can also be called by clicking with the mouse on the buttons at the top of the dialog box:

 Enter	Close editor, saving changes

 ESC	Close editor without saving changes

 Alt+D	Delete the clue

 Alt+>	Move to next clue, saving changes

 Alt+< 	Move to previous clue, saving changes

 Alt+K	Link the clue

 Alt+U	Update the box, eg if you have changed

the puzzle or the word format

 Alt+H or F1	Bring up this help screen

I suggest that you complete the puzzle network before starting to write clues, so then you can systematically write each clue in order with no chance of missing a clue or writing a clue for a word which will be changed later. Once you have finished you can review the clues by selecting Review Clues from the Clue menu.

 Editing the Clue

To edit the clue, or write a new one, simply type the clue in the Clue editor box. The editor word-wraps the clue as you type so there is no need to press Enter to end a line, and the clue will then be correctly wrapped when it is printed as well. The clue can be of any length up to a maximum of 400 characters, which should be long enough for anyone's purposes. The cursor can be moved within the editor box using the cursor keys, or by clicking with the mouse. You can skip to the next word using Ctrl-Right or the last word with Ctrl-Left.

You can change the format of the solution by entering the format in the Word Format input line.


Word Format
 Word Format - Automatic Word length

Do not include the length of the clue in the clue editor, but in the Word Format input line. By default this is just the number of letters in the word, which is entered automatically. However if the 'word' is in fact hyphenated or more than one word you can enter the format here. Just type the number of letters in each word, or hyphened half word, and a comma to indicate a new word or a hyphen to indicate a hyphen. The format is then automatically included in brackets at the end of the clue when it is printed, and the word is correctly formatted in the dialog box and if you print the answers.

For example if the word is displayed as ONTOPOFTHEWORLD (On top of the world), then in the format line type '2,3,2,3,5'. On pressing tab or Alt+U to update, the correctly formatted word will appear at the top of the dialog box. If the clue is linked then the format should be entered for the linked solution.


Printing
 Printing the Crossword

Select Print... from the File menu to print the crossword. A dialog box is displayed showing the various print options. Check the check boxes for what you want printed. 'Puzzle' just prints the blank numbered puzzle as it would appear in a newspaper. You can also print the solution with the words in.

You can choose to print just the clues, in which case they are printed word wrapped in two columns, or you can print the clues with answers - word wrapped clue on the left and the solutions on the right (as when you review the clues).

If you try to print the clues before you have written the clues the program will print out the clue numbers with a blank space next to it. If you like to work to a hard copy writing clues you can print out the clues and answers berfore writing the clues, which will leave you a space to write the clue on the printout sheet.

Note that very large puzzles may not fit on A4 paper. If not you will be asked whether the square sizes you have chosen should be shrunk to make it fit. To change the margins choose the Page Setup... command  from the File menu. The printer can be changed by selecting Printer Setup... on the File menu.

Printing the puzzle uses all the settings set in the various Options dialog boxes.

See Square Sizes , Font and  Format for more information.


Default Settings
 Changing Default Settings

The directories in which the word files are kept should be set correctly before you use the Autofind, Find Word, AutoFill or Anagram facilities. These will probably be set up correctly if you have Crossword Compiler installed to the C:\CCW directory.

Selecting Defaults.. under the Options menu allows you to set and change the word file directory settings. The word files supplied with the program are called WORDS.X3,WORDS.X4 etc. To set the word files' directory, enter the root name and directory in the input line. So, for example, if the WORDS.X?? files are in the C:\MYWORDS directory then you would enter C:\MYWORDS\WORDS. The complete set of the files with the given root should be in  the given directory otherwise you will get an error when searching for words of certain lengths. By default the SHORTS.X?? word list is used for Automatic Filling, as it contains less obscure words, and far fewer parts of speech than the WORDS word list. You can if you wish set the words used for anagrams and word finding to the SHORTS word list if you only want to use more common words, and few plurals etc.

You can also change the default puzzle size, so if, for example, you always produce 13x13 puzzles you could change the default settings so that you do not need to change the size settings when you start a new crossword. You may also change the default Symmetry setting.

The maximum number of words found by Autofind can also be altered. Specifying

a very large number may slow down the search considerably, and a huge list of words

is not very helpful. Suggested numbers are in the range of hundreds or a couple of

thousands. Specifying a small number would probably only increase the search

speed significantly on a very slow computer. Larger figures are recommended as

you can then scroll through the list so that your puzzle does not end up with all its

words beginning with 'A'.

The maximum number of words in multi-word anagrams found by the Anagram facility can also be changed. Numbers larger than 3 or 4 will tend to make the search slow and produce vast numbers of anagrams for long words.

Settings in the Defaults... box are saved automatically when you quit the program.


Linking Clues

It is possible that you have two or more words in the crossword for which you wish to write a combined clue. For example, if somewhere in the puzzle there are the two words PREGNANT and PAUSE you may wish to write one clue for the phrase 'PREGNANT PAUSE' rather than two separate clues. To do this bring up the Clue Editor with the cursor on the word 'PREGNANT'. Press Alt+L, or click with the mouse on the Link button at the top of the dialog box. Enter the number(s) of the clues to link to (the number of the clue is displayed at the top of the dialog box when you edit the clue). In the example above, 'PREGNANT' may for example be 1 Across, and 'PAUSE' 5 Across. To link the two simply enter '5' in the input line and press Enter. The word at the top of the editor dialog box will now be PREGNANTPAUSE, and to format this correctly you should enter '8,5' in the Word Format  input line.

From now on these two words will be linked, and if you select Edit Clue with the cursor on 'PAUSE' it will automatically show you the clue you have written for 'PREGNANT PAUSE'. If you Print the puzzle 5 Across will have the clue 'See 1', and 1 Across will have the linked clue. If you print the answers the linked word will be printed after 1 Across and not after 5 Across. If at some point you change the puzzle layout so that 'PAUSE' is no longer 5 Across but, say, 7 Across the linking will still be done correctly.

You can link more than two words by entering the clue numbers you want linked separated by '/'. Do not enter the number of the clue you are editing, but just the clues you want linked to the end of it. You must be editing the first clue in the link so that you get the words linked in the correct order. Links can only be done on words in the same direction. To try to link clues that are already linked would be an error as you can only link a given word once.

Note that pressing OK in the Link dialog box saves the clue as it is when you close the box, and that the link will not be undone if you Cancel the clue editor box after making a link. To remove a link bring up the Link dialog box and press delete to clear the input line. There will then be no links, and the clues of the words which were linked will be returned to the state they were in before the link was made.


Registering
Registering Crossword Compiler

This program is distributed as Shareware. You may use the program for a maximum of 30 days for evaluation. If you wish to use the program after this period you must register it. Registration costs only £25 including P&P for EEC, and £27 for other countries. A registration form is provided in the REGISTER.WRI file, and can be printed out by pressing Alt+R when at the program start-up screen, entering your details and printing the form.

Otherwise send a cheque or PO/International Money Order (sorry, I can't take credit cards) to

Antony Lewis, 16 Townley Rd, London SE22 8SR, England.

Registered uses get the latest version of the program, with word lists for 3 to 20 letters, including compound words. The registered version also has facilities for adding and removing words from the word lists and the registering nag at program start up is also removed. It comes with an installation program to set it all up for you.

You may also buy some additional word lists at 5 UK pounds each.

The files are in two forms. Word files, which can be used directly like the original word lists, and Merge files, which can be used to supplement one of the larger files. A utility is also provided for converting Word files into Merge files so that the larger lists can also be merged together.

The sets are as follows:

174000+ Unusual words and variant spellings all in one word file

117000+ Expressions, literature, armaments & Old Testament.

Mostly one large word file of expressions, with the 3 others as merge files.

176000+ Place names, Latin, Greek, German, Spanish, French and Jewish.

Word files of Latin, German and US place names, with the other files as merge files (including cities and UK place names).

UK Advanced cryptics dictionary loads of words in one word file

Note for American users

An American version of Crossword Compiler is available. This is basically the same as this version, but comes with an American English word list, and does not have an AutoFill feature. This is no big disadvantage as AutoFill is only designed to work with British style puzzles. It costs 40 US dollars, plus 10 US dollars for each additional word list.

You can order the American version from M&G Services by check, cash, money order or C.O.D. The numbers for ordering are 1-800-425-7775 or 1-404-513-6566. Faxes are also accepted at these numbers. There is an extra charge of $5 for C.O.D.


Format

  They layout of the puzzle and clues when printed or copied to the clipboard can be changed by selecting Format... from the  Options menu.

Spacings

These specify the gap left between the number of the clue and the clue itself, and the vertical space between different clues when printed or copied. If you have problems copying clues to the clipboard, or opening a file save as Rich Text Format you could try increasing the value of the number/clue space as some programs don't like small measurements.

Size % of Squares

Here you can change the relative size of the squares and the numbers, the letters and the lines. Give a value in terms of the percentage of the Square Size. These ratios will then be preserved if you change the square sizes, or change the size once copied into another application.

Across/Down

Specify whether you want the Across and Down titles for the clues capitalised or centred.

Print Clues in Roman

Check this box to print the clues in Times New Roman font, regardless of the setting in the Font dialog box. Otherwise the same font is used for the clues as for the puzzle.

All changes in this box are saved automatically when you quit the program.

See Page Setup for changing the margins.


Information

For statistics and file information about a crossword select the Information... item on the File menu.

Labels in box are self explanatory.


Remove Blanks
Removing Blanks

To remove all squares in the puzzle with no letter or block in, select the Remove Blanks  item on the Pattern menu.

Removing blanks gives the puzzle an outline that goes round every filled square, allowing you to create free-form puzzles. A square can be toggled between being removed and blank by pressing ctrl+delete with the cursor on the square to be toggled. Here is an example of a puzzle before and after removing the blanks:


Page Setup

Select Page Setup... from the File menu to change the margins used when the puzzle is printed.

All measurements are in centimetres.


Automatic Filling
Filling the Puzzle Automatically

 You can fill in complete puzzles, or sections of puzzles from a word list using the Fill Automatically command on the Words menu. You can also click on the AutoFill icon in the Toolbar.

 AutoFill attempts to fill in all non-complete words connected with the word the cursor is in. Place the cursor in a square in the section you want to fill, or place it in a blank square at the top of the grid to fill a blank puzzle. You need to have your array of black squares finalised before invoking AutoFill, which then fills round the blocks you have. It is designed to work with British style puzzles, and will not really work on American style ones.

For example, if you had a crossword that looked like this:

you could place the cursor next to the 'E' in 'STICKER', and invoke AutoFill, to get a complete crossword. For example

Where there is a choice of words that will fit, one is chosen at random. By pressing Alt+Backspace to undo one fill, and invoking AutoFill again, you may be able to produce many different fits.

  AutoFill uses the word files specified in the AutoFill  files' path and name input line in the Defaults dialog box. By default these are the SHORTS word list, which is much shorter than the full WORDS word list, and contains words more likely to be acceptable in a crossword, rather than an exhaustive list of 'all' words.

While the computer is searching, words that it is trying are shown in the puzzle. The program actually looks 1 to 2 levels deeper than is displayed, but it gives you some idea  of the progress that it is making. You can cancel or stop the search at any time by pressing the buttons on the dialog box which pops up. There is a beep when the search is complete.