New enhancements in CWC Version 3.60 are documented below. PC HELP-LINE's Professional Crossword Creator --------------------------------------------- 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 - this file CWC330.DOC - disk-based documentation CWC360AD.DOC - addendum to the Version 3.30 manual *.PUZ - sample puzzle design files (ex. DEMO.PUZ) *.CLU - sample clue files; paired with *.PUZ (ex. DEMO.CLU) *.SOL - sample puzzle solution files (ex. DEMO.SOL) 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 - CWC help files (ex. English version, ENGL.CWH) *.CWL - CWC language files (ex. English version, ENGL.CWL) *.CWP - printer definition files (ex. IBM Graphics, IBMGRAPH.CWP) Printing the documentation -------------------------- The CWC manual and registration form are formatted for a generic text printer at 66 lines per page. To print them out, issue the DOS commands: A> type cwc330.doc > lpt1: A> type cwc360ad.doc > lpt1: A> type register.cwc > lpt1: Installing Crossword Creator ---------------------------- CWINSTAL.EXE is a program that will assist you in installing Crossword Creator on either a floppy system or a hard-disk system. Simply run the program and answer the questions it asks. For complete instructions, see the "Installing Crossword Creator" section of the manual. Registration with PCHL ---------------------- Registration of your copy of Crossword Creator is important if you want to be informed of future upgrades or need technical support. Registered subscribers to PCHL products will also receive a bound, typeset manual, discounts on new software products and upgrades, and access to a growing library of Crossword Creator puzzles. A registration form and detailed instructions are contained in the REGISTER.CWC file included with this package. I encourage you to read it and to take the time to let PCHL know who you are. ============================================================================== Puzzle Library -------------- The Crossword Creator Puzzle Library is a resource for all you puzzle-hounds out there. I hope that you will want to contribute your own puzzles to the library for others to try, and I want YOU to be able to pit your own etymological skills against me and my other subscribers. As a registered user of Crossword Creator, you have two ways to use the Library. First, for every original puzzle you contribute, you'll get another puzzle of your choice; a free exchange. Second, you can simply purchase puzzles from the Library to enjoy on your own. Each puzzle disk costs $10 and contains 15 to 30 crossword puzzles. ============================================================================== Crossword Creator Enhancements ------------------------------ CWC has been enhanced many times since its introduction (Version 2.50) to add new features or to fix bugs that were discovered. The following pages document RECENT changes. It is important that you read this information, even if you are already familiar with previous releases. Enhancements in Version 3.60 ---------------------------- 1. New PRINT menu: PUZZLE DESIGN/CLUES, ANSWER SHEET, DESIGN ONLY, CLUES ONLY 2. Modified LOAD/SAVE menu: OPEN DESIGN, DESIGN SAVE, LOAD SOLUTION, SAVE SOLUTION. These changes are merely cosmetic and do not alter the function from previous versions. 3. More clue space: Four lines for puzzle clues, 33 characters per line. REVIEW CLUES and PRINT PUZZLE were modified to handle the additional clue lines. This is the most often requested enhancement. Sorry it took so long. 4. Foreign language support: CWC is now capable of displaying all of its on-screen and printed text in any language that uses the Arabic alphabet (English, French, German, Spanish, etc.) I say "capable" because these other languages take time to translate properly and I am not multi-lingual. Anyone interested in undertaking the job of producing an alternate language file should contact PCHL for details on how to go about it. Simply, all the text used by Crossword Creator has been externalized into ASCII files. These "language files" are identified by an extension of ".CWL". The primary part of the name identifies the particular language. For example, ENGL.CWL is the English version language file for CWC. If you have multiple language files, you can specify which one the program should use at boot-up. Use the new command line switch "/L=" as follows: A> cwc demo mysol /l=engl (do not specify the .CWL extension) The above example instructs CWC to load the ENGL.CWL language file. At least one language file MUST be available to the program. The default is English, so you do not even have to use the "/L=" switch to run in English. Copy all the .CWL files into the same directory as your .CWP printer files so Crossword Creator can find them. Contact PCHL for up-to-date information on available language files. 5. The HELP file name was changed to conform to the naming convention requirements for foreign languages. HELP files now have an extension of ".CWH". The English version HELP file is ENGL.CWH. HELP files should also reside in the same directory as the language and printer files. 6. The need for CWCLTD (the "LIMITED" version of CWC) no longer exists. The available menu functions are now controlled by the language file and can be activated or deactivated by supplying different menu definitions. 7. Changing printer definitions: You can now change printer definitions WITHOUT exiting the program and modifying your CONFIG.CWC file. Each PRINT function prompts you for the printer definition file you want to use, exactly the same way that the LOAD/SAVE function prompts you for puzzle names. The printer named in your CONFIG.CWC file is still loaded automatically on boot-up. 8. New editing keys for the puzzle area: These new keys/functions are now available when you are designing a puzzle: Ins, Del - insert and delete letters from a puzzle; other letters in the same row (or column, depending on the typing direction) are pushed or pulled, just like in a word-processor. Minus (-) - erase all letters from the cursor position to the end of the row (or column, depending on the typing direction). Tab, BackTab - moves the cursor six letter-positions forward or backward; this makes it easier and faster to get around inside the puzzle area. 9. New printer definition files for Panasonic KXP-series printers and Epson LX-series printers. 10. The file containing the registration instructions was renamed from CWCREGIS.TXT to REGISTER.CWC. 11. Imbedded quotes in CLUE files are no longer stored as UNDERSCORE characters; they are now stored as TILDES. Existing CLUE files will have to be modified. This can be done easily in a word processor with a global change command, or you can edit the clues manually from inside CWC. See the section on CLUE files in the CWC360AD.DOC addendum for more details. 12. A CLOCK symbol displayed while the language file is being read, indicating that you should wait for the operation to complete before continuing. 13. AVAILABLE MEMORY indicators were added to the WORK AREA window. "MEM=" shows total available system memory. "STR=" shows available string space. See item 8 in the "Other Enhancements" section of the CWC360AD.DOC addendum. 14. New printer definition file keyword: MaxPrintCols=. Specifies the number of characters that the printer can print one a single line. See the "New Printer Definition Keyword" section of CWC360AD.DOC addendum for details on how this keyword affects puzzle printing. 15. Puzzle clues print format modified to conform to AP/UPI newsservice standards. ex. 9 The ____ in Spain changed to >> 9. The ____ in Spain 10 Dog's worst enemy ------------- 10. Dog's worst enemy 16. The maximum value of the MaxPuzClues= keyword has been reduced from 999 to 300. 17. 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. ============================================================================== Version 3.31 BUG fixes: ----------------------- 1. In rare cases the auto-placement routine does not "see" existing words in a puzzle, erroneously assumes the puzzle area is blank, and overlays the auto-place word on top of existing letters, perhaps corrupting the puzzle. This can happen if you have single words in your puzzle that stretch the entire width of the puzzle area, AND you have only a few total words. This is obviously an extreme situation and you may never experience it. Version 3.60 corrects the problem. 2. If you are using a printer definition file that contains the line "FORMFEED=/M" (indicating a manual paper-feed printer), CWC ejects the paper incorrectly. The program is supposed to pause during printing and allow you to setup a new sheet of paper, and indeed it does. Unfortunately, when you instruct CWC to CONTINUE printing it proceeds to eject the new page you just put in and starts printing merrily away on the platen. Obviously, this sequence is wrong and I apologize to those of you who had to discover the problem the hard way. Version 3.60 now ejects the current page BEFORE prompting for a new sheet of paper. Whew... 3. It is possible to crash the program if you load a puzzle design that has more clues than the number you have specified with the MaxPuzClues= keyword. If you try to print the puzzle or use the Review Clues function, the program subscripts out of range, corrupting the string space area in memory. Version 3.60 now issues a "Too many words in the puzzle..." error message when it encounters this unusual situation.