Featuring 250 Puzzles from Stavrolex Publications, Inc.
CrossPro™, published by Aspen Gold Software™ of Denver, Colorado, offers users of the Apple Macintosh computer the classic enjoyment of the traditional crossword puzzle, and adds whole new dimensions to that venerable game form. If you are an avid crossword solver, you must see this program! The demo version of CrossPro that accompanies this Read Me file is fully featured, except that you cannot save your puzzles, nor print them except to print the puzzle with all answers filled in. The demo comes with two sample puzzles.
Enjoy Traditional Macintosh Features ------------------------
Designed from the ground up as a true Macintosh program, CrossPro provides for the solution of crosswords using the full range of the Macintosh interface in ways that Mac® users have come to expect. Unlike other crossword programs sold for the Mac, CrossPro is not a “carry over” from MS-DOS® or Windows™, so it behaves as a Mac program should. The standard features of the Macintosh interface allow for very flexible manipulation of the puzzle and entry of answers. These features include:
• Single window design, with integrated puzzle grid, clue lists, timer and score displays, and separate fields for display of the current word and its clue. Plus, it follows the standards for Mac window controls.
• Puzzle navigation controls use either the mouse, the keyboard, or menus, at your discretion, allowing you to move among the words and letters in the manner that you want to, not how some programmer thought it should be done.
• Word entry can be accomplished by typing directly into the puzzle grid, or into an answer box, at your choice.
• Word direction can be changed, from across to down and vice versa, with a click of the mouse or a Command-key stroke.
• Set the font and size of the letters displayed in the puzzle grid, with similar controls for the words in the clue list – you choose how you like to view your puzzles.
• Size the window to fit your screen, with separate scroll bars for the puzzle grid and the clue lists.
• The puzzle grid scrolls automatically to show the current word and letter.
• Create an electronic version of a paper puzzle, using the Puzzle Edit feature. Enter the answers given for the puzzle, or define in an empty grid and solve the puzzle without seeing the answers.
• Print the puzzle in three different ways: empty, as currently solved, or showing the correct solution.
• Save a puzzle as filled in, and open it later to finish it, retaining all settings.
• Clear all cells of a puzzle to save it for someone else, or to try it again later.
• Solve puzzles up to 30 cells on a side.
• Balloon Help™ is available under System 7™.
• Undo typing mistakes.
• A user’s manual of more than eighty pages, explaining all program features.
• Ships with 250 puzzles published by Stavrolex Publications, Inc., with an optional follow-up disk containing 120 additional Stavrolex puzzles.
New Dimensions in Puzzle Solving ------------------------
The CrossPro user will enjoy all the traditional elements of paper and pencil crossword puzzles, as well as new features that only a computer version can provide. These added capabilities of CrossPro allow you to:
• Display the current word in a separate answer box, with unfilled letters appearing as dashes (such as TH--T-R for the word THEATER), so that you can get a better view of word letters.
• Choose either easy or hard clues, if both are available for a specific puzzle, with a single key stroke or menu selection.
• Display optional word hints (e.g., “2 wds,” “abbr,” or “hyph. wd”) in the clues.
• Display letter set contents, with or without duplicates (e.g., for the word LETTER, CrossPro would add [EELRTT] or [ELRT], respectively, to the word clue).
• Enter answers as “uncertain”, allowing you to “pencil in lightly” the letters that you may not be sure about. Go back later and make a letter or an entire word “certain” to score more points.
• Flash one letter or an entire word, or fill in that letter or word, if you are completely stumped, making “peeking” more precise than traditional paper puzzles.
• Cycle through the letters of the alphabet to test what letters might fit in a partially filled-in word.
• Have the program automatically check your answers as you enter them, or manually check one word at a time or the entire puzzle.
• Choose from four different scoring methods:
– Count scoring tallies the number of correct letters entered into the puzzle.
– Basic scoring tallies a fixed number of points for each of the letters entered into the puzzle, accounting for certain and uncertain entries.
– Advanced scoring scores each letter based on the difficulty level that you used, which takes into account the types of clues shown, the hints used along the way, and letters flashed or filled while peeking.
– Tournament scoring is similar to Advanced, but it applies more stringent time limits when used with the optional timer feature, as well as bonus points for beating the clock.
– Alternatively, you can choose not to use the scoring option altogether.
• Choose between two different timer features:
– A “count up” timer is used with the Count and Basic scoring options, so you can time your solution.
– A “count down” timer is used with the Advanced or Tournament scoring option, so you can limit how long you can take to solve the puzzle.
– Alternatively, you can choose not to use the timer option altogether.
• Choose either Default or User-Defined time limits, request five minute time extensions under the Advanced scoring option, plus pause and reset the timer at your discretion.
• Select the colors you want to use in displaying the selected word in the grid.
• Select the sound you want for alerting you about wrong letters and other errors.
• Define your own preference settings for all these options, so that you can tell CrossPro how you like to solve puzzles and how you want to display the puzzle.
Runs on Virtually Any Mac! Ideal for PowerBooks! ------------------------
To run CrossPro, all you need is a Macintosh Plus™ or better, running at least System 6.0.5. CrossPro is System 7-savvy, offering Balloon Help and AppleEvent™ support for core events. A hard drive is recommended, but not essential. The program runs in 384K under MultiFinder®. It will also use the hard drive very little after program start-up, except to save or open puzzle files, save preferences settings, display some dialogs, or print a puzzle. This makes it ideal for use on a PowerBook®, where battery life depends greatly on the amount of hard drive usage.
How to Order CrossPro ------------------------
CrossPro ships with 250 puzzles of moderate difficulty, provided by Stavrolex Publications, Inc. Registered owners of the program, who want even more puzzles to satisfy their continuing puzzle cravings, can order an additional puzzle disk, containing 120 more Stavrolex puzzles, directly from Aspen Gold Software.
For information on pricing and ordering, please see the accompanying TeachText file entitled "Ordering CrossPro™."
Orders are shipped by 2-day Priority mail within the United States, but please allow two to four weeks to receive your order.
A demonstration version of CrossPro is available in the Macintosh Games sections on America Online®, CompuServe®, ZiffNet/Mac®, and AppleLink®.
For more information about CrossPro, call Aspen Gold Software, at (303) 745-5448, or send us an E-mail message at these addresses:
America Online: AspenGold
AppleLink: ASPENGOLD
CompuServe: 73543,107
Internet: aspengld@cscns.com
Or, if you still use the U.S. Postal Service, write to us at:
Aspen Gold Software
P.O. Box 370486
Denver, Colorado, 80237-0486
We’ll be happy to hear from you!
Aspen Gold Software, CrossPro and the CrossPro logo are trademarks of Aspen Gold Software. Apple, Macintosh, Mac, PowerBook, AppleLink, and MultiFinder are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Incorporated. Macintosh Plus, Balloon Help, System 7 and AppleEvents are trademarks of Apple Computer, Incorporated. MS-DOS is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. America Online is a registered trademark of America Online, Inc. CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe Information Services. ZiffNet/Mac is a registered trademark of Ziff-Davis Publishing Co.
