Copyright ⌐ 1994 Patrick J Stevenson, all rights reserved.
Published by Focus Development Corporation.
Ordering Information
===================
Pricing:
Single user $59.00
Building License $295.00
District License call
To order the full working version of WordPuzzler, contact your favorite software dealer. If they don't carry it yet, they should. You can also call, write or e-mail:
Greg Wentz
Focus Development Sales
6626 Buckingham Alcove
Woodbury, MN 55125
Telephone: (612) 731-0812
FAX: (612) 731-8051
AppleLink: FOCUSDEV
GEnie: FOCUSDEV
CompuServe: 71035,2133
Introduction
============
WordPuzzler is a tool for making word search puzzles from word lists. Without question, it is the most powerful and user friendly program available on any personal computer for turning word lists into word search puzzles. The program will use any list of words and clues (up to 100 pairs) and automatically generate a word search puzzle. The word search puzzle can be printed to any printer including any laser printer or it can be stored in a PICT file for importing into a drawing or publishing program.
This documentation is for the demonstration version of WordPuzzler. It will cover only the basic functions of the program to help you get started with the demo. Most of the features of the program are self explanatory, so a little exploration should allow you to use all of the features contained in the demo.
The purpose of the demo version is to give you an idea of what the full version can do. For that reason, it is different from the full version in two ways. First, the ability to save files has been removed. You cannot save newly created puzzles, nor can you save changes to previously created puzzles. Also, this means that puzzles cannot be saved to PICT files as they can in the full version. Second, all printouts will have the word DEMO printed in large outline font to indicate that they were printed from the demonstration version of the program. Also, the solutions will be circled on all printouts.
This demonstration version is public domain software and may be distributed freely. It may not be sold, nor may it or this documentation file be altered in any way.
Shameless Plug
==============
If you enjoy crossword puzzles then CrossPuzzler is the program for you. You should be able to obtain a copy of CrossPuzzler-Demo from the same location you received WordPuzzler-Demo. CrossPuzzler is as easy to use as WordPuzzler, but it generates crossword puzzles instead. The programs are similar so that if you know how to use one, you will be able to use the other immediately. If you've seen both you've probably already realized the similarities of the documentation. If you can't locate CrossPuzzler or CrossPuzzler-Demo you can contact Focus Development at the address or telephone number above.
Starting WordPuzzler-Demo
==========================
To start WordPuzzler-Demo you simply double click on the application icon. An information screen will appear which you can remove by clicking the mouse or pressing a key. The information screen will also appear anytime you choose About WordPuzzler-Demo... from the Apple menu.
Entering A Word List
====================
To generate a word search puzzle, you need to enter a list of words and clues. You can start a new word list by highlighting New from the File menu and selecting Word List from the submenu that appears.
Once the word list window appears you will see the two columns for words and clues. Simply enter the words and clues pressing Tab after each.
It is not necessary to enter the clues for a word search puzzle. However, there are two useful reasons for entering a clue along with each word. First, words cannot contain blanks, and they are placed into the puzzle in upper-case. Therefore, a word in the puzzle might be NEWYORKCITY. For readability, it would be better to enter New York City as the clue for the word. Second, you might wish to enter an actual clue for the word to be printed rather than the word itself. The clues might be names of states while the answers to be circled might be their capitals. In that case you would enter the capital cities (with blanks or punctuation) into the word column and the names of the states into the clue column. To print the clues in the puzzle printout you must check Print Clues Instead Of Words in the puzzle layout dialog (see Changing The Word Search Puzzle Options below).
Generating A Word Search Puzzle
=============================
Once you have entered a word list, you can generate a word search puzzle by choosing Word Search Puzzle... from the Generate menu. You will be presented with the word search puzzle generation dialog box.
The current size of the puzzle grid will be shown in the dialog box. You can change the size of the puzzle grid to anywhere from 5x5 to 50x50. You can also mark certain areas of the grid where you do not wish to have words placed. To make these changes press the Configure button.
When configuring the puzzle you can open a predesigned configuration called a template. Click on the Open button and the standard Macintosh file dialog box will appear. From it you can open a template file. A few templates are included in the demo in various shapes. All words in the puzzle will be placed into the clear area of the template.
You can begin generating the puzzle by pressing the Generate button. WordPuzzler will arrange the words in the grid until it can place them all. The number of words the program has placed will be shown as the Best Fit.
You can pause the process any time by clicking on the Pause button. If the program takes more than a few minutes, you can pause the generation and then click on Configure to make the grid larger. With a large enough grid, WordPuzzler can arrange even 100 words in just a few seconds.
After a puzzle has been generated, you can click on the Accept button. The dialog box will disappear and the windows for the word search puzzle will appear. There will be one window for the puzzle grid and one window for each of the across and down clue lists.
Opening A Word Search Puzzle
==========================
You can open one of the sample word search puzzles by highlighting Open from the File menu and selecting Word Search Puzzle... from the submenu that appears. You will get a standard Mac dialog box that will allow you to select a word search puzzle.
Changing The Word Search Puzzle Options
=====================================
The Options menu allows you to edit various aspects of the word search puzzle.
Titles... will allow you to enter or edit a title, theme, author, and date of the word search puzzle.
Characters... will allow you to restrict the content of the puzzle to alphabetic characters or alphabetic and numeric characters.
Layout... will allow you to arrange the manner in which the puzzle will be printed. You can select the number of columns into which the words/clues are divided or the placement of the puzzle grid on the page (ie. upper-right or center).
Colors... will allow you to change the colors used to display the puzzle on a color screen or print the puzzle on a color printer.
Display... will allow you to change such items as the size of the squares in the puzzle grid or the shading pattern used for the squares around the words.
Changing The Word Search Puzzle Text
==================================
The Text menu allows you to modify the type styles used in the word search puzzle. The font, point size, and type face of the cluesand the puzzle grid text can each be changed.
Printing A Word Search Puzzle
===========================
You can print a word search puzzle at any time it is open by choosing Print... from the File menu.
You can preview what a puzzle will look like on paper by choosing Preview... from the File menu. This will allow you to see how the words/clues and puzzle grid will be arranged and whether they will fit on one page or not. The preview dialog box will initially show printouts reduced so that the entire page can be seen, but you can zoom the display so that the preview is full-size. This option is not only a great paper saver but a great time saver as well.
Final Notes
===========
This file essentially covered entering a word list, generating a puzzle, and printing it out. WordPuzzler and WordPuzzler-Demo allow you to manually create word search puzzles as well should you wish to enter a puzzle from a magazine or newspaper. Also, word lists do not have to be entered in WordPuzzler. You can create a word list with just about any word processing, spreadsheet, or database program. Just place one word and clue on each line, and separate them with a tab character. Then save the word list as a text file. You can open the text file by choosing Text File from the File Format menu in the Open dialog box.
Good luck. Have fun. We'll be waiting for your order.
