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- Screen Layout/Landmarks
-
- Crossword Creator's main screen is divided into five major
- sections:
-
- Menu Bar - Crossword Creator's "control center". All
- of the program's major functions are
- invoked through pull-down menus.
-
- Puzzle Window - Where you design your puzzles. You cannot
- move the cursor outside of the puzzle
- window boundaries, nor can you type in
- other areas of the screen. The DOS
- filename of the current puzzle is
- displayed in the top boundary.
-
- Guide Window - Displays tips on how to design a puzzle.
- If you are ever unsure about "what to do
- next", glance at the instructions
- displayed here.
-
- Status Window - Contains various facts about the current
- puzzle: number of clues, cursor
- coordinates, available memory, etc.
-
- Dialog Box - Displayed when CWC needs to prompt you for
- additional information, or inform you
- about something.
-
-
- Try this now
-
- 1. Start Crossword Creator. An opening copyright screen
- is displayed while the program loads and initializes
- itself.
-
- 2. When initialization is complete, the main screen is
- displayed. Note the major elements described above.
-
- 3. To end the program, press the ALT key, and release it.
- Then press F (for "File"), followed by X (for "Exit").
-
- Using the Keyboard
-
- Crossword Creator is, essentially, a specialized
- word-processor and a good deal of your time will be spent
- typing on the keyboard. Since this tutorial is not intended
- to be a primer on computers, we'll assume you already know
- what the keyboard is, how it works, and what all the keys
- do.
-
- However, Crossword Creator uses keystroke combinations and
- sequences that may be unfamiliar to you, and it's important
- that you interpret them correctly when they're referred to
- in the documentation or on the screen.
-
- CWC uses a simple notational convention to describe
- multi-key keystroke combinations. When the keycap names are
- joined together with a "+" (for example, Ctrl+P), it means
- that you should first press and hold down all of the keys,
- then release them together.
-
- When you see keycap names joined together with a "-" (for
- example, Alt-E-C), it means that you should press and
- release the keys in sequence.
-
-
- The F1 function key is the universal HELP key. You can
- display help at any time in Crossword Creator by pressing
- F1.
-
- The ESC key is the universal CANCEL key. Pressing ESC
- dismisses a dialog window, discarding all changes.
-
-
- Try this now
-
- 1. From the main screen, press Alt-F-P. The "Print"
- dialog box is displayed.
-
- 2. Press ESC. The dialog box is dismissed.
-
- 3. Press Ctrl+P. The "Print" dialog box is displayed.
- Note that this "shortcut" bypassed the interim menu
- selections.
-
- 4. Press F1. A help window is displayed, presenting more
- information. Scroll through the text by pressing
- PgUp/PgDn or the cursor arrow keys.
-
- 5. Press ESC. The help window is dismissed.
-
- 6. Press ESC. The dialog box is dismissed, and you are
- returned to the main screen.
-
- Using the Menus
-
- Crossword Creator, like all computer programs, is simply a
- collection of related functions that help you accomplish a
- specific task. In that sense, CWC can be thought of as a
- "toolbox" for building crossword puzzles, and to use those
- tools you must select them from the menu bar.
-
- In its neutral state, the menu bar appears along the top
- line of the screen. Each word in the menu bar is associated
- with a group of related tools. To activate the menu bar,
- press the ALT key.
-
- Once activated, each word in the menu bar displays a
- highlighted letter. Pressing one of these "hotkeys"
- displays a menu of the related tools. Each of the menu
- items also has a highlighted letter, and pressing one of
- those hotkeys will invoke the corresponding tool.
-
- Some tools have a "shortcut" keystroke, displayed to the
- right of their menu name. You can bypass the menus and
- invoke these tools directly by pressing the shortcut key.
- If a tool's menu name ends with an ellipsis ("..."), it
- means that you will be prompted for more information before
- the tool is invoked.
-
-
- Try this now
-
- 1. From the main screen, press ALT. The menu bar is
- activated and the hotkeys become highlighted.
-
- 2. Press F. The File menu is displayed.
-
- 3. Notice that the "Open" menu item ends with an ellipsis,
- and that the shortcut key for "Open" is Ctrl+O.
-
- 4. Press O. The "Open" dialog box is displayed.
-
- 5. Press ESC.
-
- 6. Now press the shortcut key for "Open", Ctrl+O. The
- "Open" dialog box is displayed immediately, bypassing
- the File menu.
-
- 7. Press ESC. You are returned to the main screen.
-
- Using Dialog Boxes
-
- To make use of a software program you must be able to
- interact with it. In Crossword Creator the exchange of
- information between you and the computer is handled
- primarily by dialog boxes.
-
- As its name implies, a dialog box establishes a
- "conversation" between you and the software so that you can
- input information, as well as receive it. Almost everything
- you do in Crossword Creator has a dialog box associated with
- it, so it is very important to understand how they work.
-
- Dialog boxes are easy to recognize because they "pop-up" in
- the center of the screen. You will also notice that each
- dialog box contains a unique set of controls, similar to the
- dashboard of a car or the front panel of a microwave.
-
- Crossword Creator uses five different controls, each one
- specialized for a particular kind of input. The following
- graphic illustrates how each type of control is used.
-
-
- Text Box - Used for typing freeform text. A text box is
- like a "mini" word-processor because you can
- type words, delete and insert characters,
- move the cursor, etc.
-
- In the example, the name of the person making
- the reservation has been typed in.
-
-
- List Box - Used for making a choice. A list box is a
- "single choice" control because you may
- select only one item from the list. To make
- a selection, use the cursor arrow keys to
- highlight your choice, then press ENTER.
-
- In the example, "American" has been selected
- as the airline.
-
- If a scroll bar is present on the right-hand
- border, it means that the list contains
- additional items that are not visible.
- However, you can scroll through the entire
- list using the cursor arrow keys and the
- PgUp/PgDn keys.
-
- +-------------------- reservation --------------------+
- | |
- Text | + Name --------------+ + Seat Location -----+ |
- Box ---------- | Joe Businessman | | ( ) Window | |
- | +--------------------+ | ( ) Center | ----- Radio
- | | (o) Aisle | | Buttons
- | + Airline -----------+ +--------------------+ |
- | | American | |
- List Box | +--------------------+ + Special Needs -----+ |
- with | | Alaskan ^ | [ ] VIP Security | |
- Scroll Bar --- | American | | [X] WS Journal | ----- Check
- | | Delta v | [X] Laptop PC | | Boxes
- | +--------------------+ +--------------------+ |
- | |
- Command +-----------------------------------------------------+
- Buttons ------------------- < Ok > < Cancel > |
- +-----------------------------------------------------+
-
-
- Radio Buttons - Used for making a choice. Similar to a
- list box, radio buttons allow you to
- select only one item from the group. To
- make a selection, press the SPACEBAR on
- the button of your choice.
-
- In the example, "Aisle" has been selected
- as the seat location.
-
-
- Check Boxes - Used for selecting options. Check boxes are
- a "multiple choice" control because you can
- select as many items as are available. Use
- the SPACEBAR as a "toggle" to select and
- deselect the items you want.
-
- In the example, special needs of "WS Journal"
- and "Laptop PC" have been checked.
-
-
- Command - Used for initiating action. Command buttons
- Buttons are the only controls that actually cause
- something to "happen". To select a command,
- press the SPACEBAR on the button of your
- choice.
-
- The most common commands are "Ok" ("accept my
- input and proceed"), and "Cancel" ("ignore my
- input and do nothing"). All dialog boxes
- contain at least one command button.
-
-
- The last, and most important, point about using dialog boxes
- is the concept of "focus". Although a dialog box may
- contain multiple controls, your computer has only one
- keyboard and can therefore interact with only one control at
- a time -- the control that has the focus.
-
- The TAB and Shift+TAB keys allow you to move the focus from
- one control to the next, and the control that currently has
- the focus is always highlighted to draw your attention.
- Moving the focus allows you to interact with each control in
- turn.
-
-
- Try this now
-
- 1. From the main screen, press Alt-F-P. The "Print"
- dialog box is displayed.
-
- 2. Notice the group of radio buttons labeled "Format".
- The first item, "Puzzle and Clues", is highlighted,
- indicating that this control currently has the focus.
-
- Note, also, that "Puzzle and Clues" is the currently
- selected choice for "Format". This is indicated by the
- dot inside the parentheses, "()", to the left of the
- item.
-
- 3. Press the TAB key five times. Watch as the focus moves
- to each of the other choices in the "Format" group.
-
- 4. The focus is now on "Word List", although the selected
- choice is still "Puzzle and Clues". Press the
- SPACEBAR.
-
- 5. The dot now indicates that "Word List" is the desired
- format.
-
- 6. Press TAB three times. The focus has now moved into
- "Options", a group of check boxes, and
- "Fill Puzzle Area" is highlighted.
-
- 7. Press the SPACEBAR twice. Notice how the checkmark
- inside the brackets, "[X]", is toggled on and off.
-
- 8. Press TAB four times. The "Printer" list box now has
- the focus. The name of the currently selected printer
- is displayed in the small window at the top of the
- list.
-
- 9. If there is more than one printer name in the list, use
- the cursor down arrow key to highlight a different
- selection.
-
- 10. Press ENTER. The new printer name is displayed in the
- small window at the top of the list.
-
- 11. Press TAB. The focus moves to the text box labeled
- "Destination".
-
- 12. Type "outer space". Notice how the old text is
- replaced with the new text.
-
- 13. Press F2. The focus jumps to the "Ok" command button.
- If you wanted Crossword Creator to accept all your
- changes and begin printing, you would select this
- button. Right now, though, we don't want to do that.
-
- Note: F2 is provided as a shortcut key on all
- dialogs. Regardless of where the focus
- is, pressing F2 will move it to the
- first command button.
-
- 14. Press TAB, again, to move to the "Cancel" button.
- Selecting this command will simply discard all the
- changes you've made and dismiss the dialog box.
-
- 15. Press the SPACEBAR to select the "Cancel" button. The
- dialog disappears and you're returned to CWC's main
- screen.
-
- Using a Mouse
-
- Crossword Creator has built-in support for
- Microsoft-compatible mice. If the appropriate mouse
- software is installed on your system and a mouse is indeed
- attached, CWC will recognize it automatically.
-
- As with the "Keyboard" topic, this tutorial will not tell
- you how to install a mouse, nor explain how it works. If
- the terms button, click, press, release, and drag are
- unfamiliar to you, spend some time with your mouse's owner's
- manual and practice these techniques. It will be well worth
- your effort.
-
- CWC's mouse support is extended primarily to the menu bar
- and the dialog boxes. All but two of the mouse actions are
- performed with Button 1 (usually the left-most button on the
- mouse). In addition, there are some simple short-cuts
- associated with the Puzzle Window and the Status Window.
-
-
-
- Try this now
-
- 1. From the main screen, click on the word File in the
- menu bar, then click on Print in the pull-down menu.
- The "Print" dialog box is displayed.
-
- 2. Click on one or more of the radio buttons in the
- "Format" group. Notice that clicking on a control not
- only moves the focus to that item, but selects it as
- well.
-
- 3. Click on one or more of the check boxes in the
- "Options" group. Clicking on a check box toggles its
- on/off state.
-
- 4. Click on one of the names in the "Printer" list box --
- your selection is displayed in the small window at the
- top of the list.
-
- 5. If the list box has a scroll bar, click on the
- arrowhead that points down. The list scrolls forward
- one item. Click on the opposite arrowhead, the list
- scrolls backward.
-
- 6. Click on the "Copies" text box. Clicking on a text box
- simply moves the focus. Naturally, you'll have to use
- the keyboard to type in your data.
-
- 7. Click on the "Cancel" command button. All of your
- changes are discarded, and the dialog is dismissed.
- You're returned to CWC's main screen.
-
- 8. Click on the "(+)" symbol in the Status Window. This
- toggles the current typing direction.
-
- 9. Click anywhere inside the Puzzle Window. The puzzle
- cursor moves to that location.
-
- 10. Lastly, use Button 2 (usually the right-most button on
- your mouse) to click inside the Puzzle Window. This is
- identical to selecting the "Edit Clues" tool from the
- "Edit" menu.
-
- 11. If the "Edit Clues" dialog box is displayed, click on
- "Cancel". If a message box is displayed, click on
- "Ok". You're returned to CWC's main screen.
-
- The Grand Tour
-
- In this section we'll be touring the landscape of Crossword
- Creator. Our destination: your first puzzle.
-
- Although we'll be exploring several of CWC's tools, this
- trip will definitely be "in the fast lane", not the "scenic
- route". The goal is to produce a finished puzzle in as few
- steps, and in the shortest amount of time, as possible.
-
- Of course there will still be much for you to explore on
- your own, but we want to get that first crossword into your
- hands right now. So, if you haven't already, startup
- Crossword Creator and move to the main screen.
-
- Here we go.
-
-
- ______________________________
-
-
-
- The Words
-
- Of course, a crossword puzzle is composed of words and
- clues, but the words must come first in CWC. The
- "Edit Bank" tool will accept a list of words, so that's
- where we'll start.
-
- 1. Press Alt-E-B. The "Edit Bank" dialog is displayed;
- the "Word" text box has the focus.
-
- 2. Place 10 words of your own choosing into the word bank.
- First type a word, then press ENTER to place it in the
- list.
-
- 3. Move the focus to the "Ok" command button and press the
- SPACEBAR. Your list is saved, and the dialog is
- dismissed.
-
- The Grid
-
- Okay, now we have a word list. Next, we need to intersect
- those words into a grid, so we'll use the "Auto Place" tool.
-
- 1. Press Alt-E-A. The "Auto Place" dialog is displayed;
- the "Word" text box has the focus. Also, notice that
- your words are displayed in the "Bank" list box.
-
- 2. Look at the two controls grouped under "Mode", and the
- three controls grouped under "Robot". If they are not
- already, select the "Freeform" button, select the "On"
- button, and check the "Long Words First" box.
-
- 3. Press F2 to move the focus to the "Across" command
- button.
-
- 4. Press the SPACEBAR to begin building the puzzle grid.
-
- While you watch, Crossword Creator will do its best to
- intersect your words; this should only take a few
- seconds. If CWC does not generate a grid of acceptable
- size, go back to "Edit Bank", type in some more words,
- and run "Auto Place" again.
-
- 5. When the robot is finished, the "Auto Place" dialog
- will be redisplayed. Leftover words that were not
- placed into the grid will still be visible in the
- "Bank" list box. Press ESC to dismiss the dialog.
-
-
- Although you will probably use the "Auto Place" tool most often,
- you may also build grids manually by typing words directly into
- the Puzzle Window. Built-in text-editing features enable you to
- modify the grid at any time so you can add additional words,
- delete words, move words to new locations, etc. Simply use
- Crossword Creator as if it were a word-processor, and treat the
- Puzzle Window as if it were a block of text.
-
- If you want to edit the grid manually, remember that you may type
- vertically, as well as horizontally. Simply press the Plus key
- ("+") to toggle the typing direction from "ACROSS" to "DOWN".
-
- The Clues
-
- Well, you may have thought that building a grid would be the
- hard part. But, as you can see, Crossword Creator makes it
- a snap. It's the clues that actually take a little time.
- And, now that we have a grid, we're ready to go to work on
- them with the "Edit Clues" tool.
-
- 1. Press Alt-E-C. The "Edit Clues" dialog is displayed.
- If the "Across" text box does not have the focus, press
- PgUp to move it there.
-
- 2. Type in the clue for the "Across" word.
-
- Clues can be up to four lines in length. Note, though,
- that each line is a separate control -- there is no
- word-wrap. To move from one line to the next you must
- press TAB or Shift+TAB, just like you would with any
- other dialog control.
-
- 3. When your "Across" clue is complete, press PgUp to
- select the next "Across" word. Type in the clue as you
- did before.
-
- Continue this process until all of the "Across" words
- have clues. When the first clue you typed appears
- again, you know that you've cycled through all of the
- "Across" words.
-
- 4. Press PgDn to move the focus to the "Down" text box,
- and supply a clue for each "Down" word. Remember to
- use PgDn (rather than PgUp) to cycle through the "Down"
- words.
-
- 5. When you've supplied a clue for each word in the
- puzzle, press the "Ok" command button to dismiss the
- dialog.
-
- The Puzzle
-
- That's it -- you're done. There are just two minor things
- left to do: save your work, and print the finished puzzle.
-
- 1. Press Alt-F-S. The "Save As" dialog is displayed.
-
- Notice that although you selected "Save" from the menu,
- the "Save As" dialog was displayed instead. Crossword
- Creator always presents the "Save As" dialog when you
- save a new puzzle for the first time.
-
- 2. Supply a name for your puzzle in the "Name" text box,
- replacing the "UNTITLED" default. Crossword Creator
- uses this name to store your puzzle on disk.
-
- 3. Supply a title for your puzzle. It's not required, but
- if you provide a title it will appear centered over the
- puzzle when you print it.
-
- 4. Press "Ok". Your puzzle is now safely stored on disk.
-
- The Finished Product
-
- 1. Press Alt-F-P to display the "Print" dialog.
-
- 2. Under "Format", select "Puzzle And Clues", then press
- "Ok" to begin printing.
-
- Printing is always a time-consuming task on computers,
- so CWC displays message boxes that keep you informed of
- its progress. Notice that each message box provides a
- "Cancel" button that will immediately stop the print
- process if you press it.
-
-
- ______________________________
-
-
-
- Well, the tour's over and you have your first crossword
- puzzle in hand. Along the way you learned about, menus,
- dialogs, controls, and dozens of other Crossword Creator
- details. You are no longer a novice; you're a journeyman
- cruciverbalist. Becoming an expert just takes practice and
- experience.
-
- Of course, there are many other useful gadgets in Crossword
- Creator's "toolbox" that we didn't even try. But your own
- experience and CWC's extensive on-line Help will serve you
- well as you explore the more advanced features.
-
- And remember, if you get lost, the Guide Window is always
- there to make gentle suggestions about what to do next.
-
- Thanks for riding along.
-
-