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1988-10-20
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PC HELP-LINE's Professional
CROSSWORD CREATOR
Version 3.60
-----------------------------------
Addendum to the Version 3.30 manual
-----------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Distribution Disks ...................... 1
II. The New LANGUAGE Files (*.CWL) .......... 2
III. HELP File Changes ....................... 3
IV. Starting Crossword Creator .............. 4
V. New Printer Definition Keyword .......... 5
VI. CLUE File Format Changes ................ 6
VII. Other Enhancements ...................... 7
I. Distribution Disks
Crossword Creator is now distributed on two 5.25", 360K
floppy disks or one 3.5", 720K micro-floppy disk. In the
latter format, "Disk #1" and "Disk #2" are the same physical
disk.
Disk #1 - Crossword Creator program files
-----------------------------------------
. CWC.EXE - the Crossword Creator program
. CONFIG.CWC - a sample configuration file
. REGISTER.CWC - registration/upgrade instructions
. README.CWC - miscellaneous notes (please read!)
. CWC330.DOC - disk-based documentation
. CWC360AD.DOC - addendum to the Version 3.30 manual
. *.PUZ - sample puzzle design files
. *.CLU - sample clue files; paired with *.PUZ
. *.SOL - sample puzzle solution files
. ENGL.CWH - English version help file
. ENGL.CWL - English version language file
. IBMGRAPH.CWP - IBM Graphics printer definition file
Disk #2 - Crossword Creator support files
-----------------------------------------
. CWINSTAL.EXE - the installation program
. *.CWH - HELP files
. *.CWL - LANGUAGE files
. *.CWP - printer definition files
1
II. The New LANGUAGE Files (*.CWL)
Crossword Creator now supports foreign languages. All the
on-screen text has been externalized into files that are
read when the program first starts. LANGUAGE files have a
primary file name that identifies the particular language.
The extension name for a LANGUAGE file is ".CWL".
The default language is "English", but you can instruct
Crossword Creator to load other language files if they are
available. To specify a different language file, use the
command line switch, "/L=". After the equal sign, supply
the primary part of the language file name; "SPAN", for
example (do not use the ".CWL" extension). Crossword
Creator will read the corresponding language file when the
program starts. After that, all the text you see on the
screen will be in that language.
You CANNOT run the program without at least one language
file. If you do not supply a language name with the "/L="
switch, the program will assume you want the English
language version (ENGL.CWL).
The format for a language file is relatively complex and
modifications should probably only be attempted with the aid
and/or supervision of PCHL. Technical support will NOT be
extended to problems related to language files that have not
been tested and approved by PCHL.
If you have a need for a language that is not currently
supported, and are willing to provide the translation skills
necessary to do the job, contact PCHL for assistance in
getting started. It is important that the language file
specifications be adhered to exactly, but they are easy to
follow and available for the asking.
2
III. HELP File Changes
The naming conventions for HELP files have changed, since
now there must be a different HELP file for each supported
language. HELP files now have the same primary file name as
their corresponding LANGUAGE files. The extension name for
a HELP file is ".CWH".
The HELP pointer codes in the file have been changed to:
100 - MAIN MENU
200 - DESIGN PUZZLE
300 - SOLVE PUZZLE
400 - LOAD/SAVE PUZZLE
500 - PRINT PUZZLE
3
IV. Starting Crossword Creator
To start CWC, type "CWC" at the DOS prompt and press ENTER.
CWC.EXE must be in the default directory unless you have a
PATH command that allows DOS to find it. CONFIG.CWC and a
language file must also be in the default directory unless
you use the DOS environment variable to indicate a specific
directory (refer to "The "CWC=" DOS Environment Variable"
section in the manual for a detailed discussion).
CWC [design name] [solution name] [/L=language name]
examples:
CWC sports mysol#1 (loads SPORTS.PUZ, MYSOL#1.SOL; English)
CWC cat (loads only CAT.PUZ; English)
CWC demo /l=span (loads DEMO.PUZ; Spanish)
4
V. New Printer Definition Keyword
"MaxPrintCols=" is a new keyword that can be included in
printer definition files. It is used to define the number
of characters that a particular printer can print on one
line. This is not always a physical attribute of the
printer's carriage width since many printers have a
"condensed" print mode that allows more characters than the
"normal" print mode.
When you print a puzzle, Crossword Creator calculates the
number of print columns that are required and compares that
to the number of available columns specified by
"MaxPrintCols=". If the number required is less than the
number available, you are presented with three choices: 1)
cancel the print routine; 2) truncate the puzzle to fit and
continue printing; 3) disregard the warning and print the
puzzle anyway.
Depending on your printer, trying to print a too-wide puzzle
will probably result in garbled output. Most printers will
perform an automatic carriage-return if a print line is too
long, throwing off CWC's line spacing and "wrapping" the
extra characters to the next print line.
If you get a "Puzzle is too wide..." warning and your
printer has a condensed-print mode, try using a different
printer definition file; Crossword Creator supplies both
"normal" and "condensed" drivers for all printers that
support condensed printing.
MaxPrintCols= This keyword specifies the maximum
number of characters that may be printed
on a single line. A warning is given
before printing if a puzzle requires
more than this many columns.
- OPTIONAL -
Valid values are 1 to 145.
example: MAXPRINTCOLS=/137
default: 80
5
VI. CLUE File Format Changes
Crossword Creator puzzle clues may now be up to three lines
long, with each line containing up to 33 characters. Each
clue is still defined by a single record in the CLUE file,
but a vertical bar is used to indicate a logical break where
the clue extends onto another line.
ex. "DOG","cat's worst enemy or|man's best friend"
Also, imbedded quotes in the CLUE file are no longer stored
as UNDERSCORES; they are now stored as TILDES (~). You may
have noticed in earlier versions of CWC that the UNDERSCORE
character could not be typed into a puzzle clue; it was a
reserved character that was used "behind the scenes" when
the CLUE file was loaded or saved.
However, several professional puzzle designers commented
that the lack of the UNDERSCORE was limiting because this
character is often used when a common phrase is part of a
puzzle clue.
ex. "RAIN","The ____ in Spain"
Since the TILDE character is used much less often, it has
now replaced the UNDERSCORE as the reserved character for
imbedded quotes.
If you have existing puzzles that contain quotes in the CLUE
file, you need to do one of two things. The first
alternative is to load your puzzle into CWC Version 3.60 and
edit each clue that contains quotes; they'll show up as
UNDERSCORES on the screen because CWC will not have
translated them as it did before. When you save the puzzle,
everything will work fine.
The second, easier alternative is to load your CLUE file
into a word processor and perform a global
search-and-replace, changing all UNDERSCORES to TILDES.
When you're done, remember to save the file in NON-DOCUMENT
mode to eliminate any formatting characters. Your modified
CLUE file will now be translated correctly by CWC 3.60.
6
VII. Other Enhancements
1. New PRINT PUZZLE menu: PUZZLE DESIGN/CLUES, ANSWER SHEET,
DESIGN ONLY, CLUES ONLY
2. New LOAD/SAVE menu: OPEN DESIGN, DESIGN SAVE,
LOAD SOLUTION, SAVE SOLUTION (these are cosmetic name
changes; the functions are no different from earlier
versions).
3. Extended puzzle clues: Type up to four lines, 33
characters per line.
4. Change printers without exiting the program: Each PRINT
function now prompts for a printer name; type in a new
one, or select from the available list.
5. Additional edit capabilities in DESIGN PUZZLE: Tab and
BackTab keys move the cursor 6 times as fast as the ARROW
KEYS. INSERT MODE and DELETE are now supported in the
puzzle area; entire rows (or columns, depending on the
typing direction) are pushed or pulled, just like a word
processor. MINUS (-) erases all letters from the cursor
position to the end of the row (or column, depending on
the typing direction).
6. New printer definition files for the Panasonic KXP-series
printers:
KXP1080 - These printers can emulate the IBM Graphics
KXPCOND Printer, but they must be switched into that
mode via software commands (already provided in
the printer definition files) or by setting DIP
switches inside. All IBM-style printer
commands are supported, as well as the full IBM
character set.
Additional drivers for the Epson LX-series printers were
added.
Some of the printer definition files were renamed,
slightly, in order to achieve some consistent naming
conventions. If you are upgrading from a previous
version, make sure you use the new driver.
IMPORTANT: All printer definition files included with
Crossword Creator Version 3.60 use the new
keyword "MaxPrintCols=" (see section "V. New
Printer Definition Keyword", above). If you
are upgrading from a previous version, make
sure that you install the new drivers so you
can take advantage of this feature.
7
7. A picture of a clock is now displayed while Crossword
Creator reads in the language file; the unidentified
"marching dots" were dismaying to a number of people.
This situation is a bit of a Catch-22 for me. Since
reading the language file takes a little time, I want to
display an informative message to the user about what is
happening. But I can't do this with words because the
program hasn't read the language file yet. You see? I
have to read the language file before I can use words to
tell you that I'm going to read the language file.
That's why I chose to use the marching dots; at least it
was apparent that something was going on. I added the
clock symbol because it is used more universally to
indicate that a function is executing and that the user
should wait patiently until it completes.
8. "Available memory" indicators have been added to the
lower boundary of the WORK AREA window. Two values are
displayed showing the number of bytes (characters) of
memory that are available for Crossword Creator to use.
The first indicator, "MEM=" shows the total amount of
memory available in the computer. The second indicator,
"STR=", shows the amount of available "string space".
The "total memory" value should be self-explanatory. It
merely shows how much of your computer's main memory is
currently unallocated by any program. The "string space"
value, however, is quite important because it is directly
related to the size of the puzzle you are working with.
Without getting into a technical discussion on BASIC
programming, "string space" is a dedicated area of memory
where all "character data" is stored. This includes all
of the on-screen text, help messages, internal variables,
and, most importantly, the letters in your puzzle and its
accompanying clues.
String space is limited to about 64,000 characters and
since CWC is a large program by BASIC standards, only
about 16,000 characters are left for you to build puzzles
in. Watch this number CAREFULLY. If it drops below
about 7000, you are close to the maximum puzzle size. If
it drops below about 4000, you will probably not be able
to print your puzzle or use the REVIEW CLUES function.
If string space drops below 1000, the program will
probably crash. An "Out of string space" error is,
unfortunately, often impossible to handle gracefully in
BASIC because trapping errors requires more program code
and more code requires more string space; another
Catch-22.
8
9. The maximum value of the "MaxPuzClues=" keyword has been
reduced from 999 to 300 to conserve string space. This
should be of little consequence since I do not believe it
is actually possible to squeeze more than 300
at-least-two-letter words into a 36 by 22 matrix.
10.The format of the printed puzzle clues has been modified
to conform to AP/UPI newsservice standards. Basically,
this amounts to right-aligning the clue numbers and
printing a period after each number.
11.The DESIGN SAVE function now prompts for an optional
"Puzzle Title" that can be up to 33 characters long.
This title is centered above the puzzle when the
crossword is printed.
9
I. Distribution Disks 1
II. The New LANGUAGE Files (*.CWL) 2
III. HELP File Changes 3
IV. Starting Crossword Creator 4
V. New Printer Definition Keyword 5
VI. CLUE File Format Changes 6
VII. Other Enhancements 7