Question 1

How to use the Time Saver for Code Search

Accepted Answer

This tutorial explains how to use the Time Saver for Code Search.

This tutorial applies to Puzzle Maker Pro - Time Saver for Word Search, in combination with:

Introduction to the Time Saver Add-On

Time Saver Add-on's in Puzzle Maker Pro serve two main purposes:

Additional Layout options for Instant Puzzle Books, and
A faster way to create puzzle variations (batch processing)

Layout Options

The Page Layout options will be shown in a separate window, which can be accessed with the Edit Layout button on the Instant Puzzle Books -> Page Layout tab:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/wMjJdHqSfh/Instant%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20Page%20Layout.png (Instant Puzzle Books - Page Layout)

You can set the number of puzzle rows and columns and the number of solution rows and columns, along with some other settings.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/2hcfQDc5aC/Instant%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20Page%20Layout%20Window.png (Instant Puzzle Books - Page Layout Window)

The page layout can be used directly in combination with the Dynamic Size option (on the Output Settings tab), to get the right output for Code Search puzzles for your puzzle books. The Dynamic Size option is discussed in the Main Code Search Tutorial.

Puzzle Creation

The Time Saver also allows you to create many different Code Search variations at once: You can add rows to the (empty) grid on the Time Saver -> Puzzles Setup tab. Each row consists of a selected preset along with the options you can choose, these are prefilled from the preset, but they can be adjusted in the grid.

Click the Add Row button to add one or more rows:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/7ePvGv8bJo/Code%20Search%20TS%20-%20Select%20Presets.png (Code Search TS - Select Presets)

In the screenshot you can see a list of presets, these are presets that are saved from within the Puzzle Settings for Code Search:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/UAI2fcRsWk/Code%20Search%20-%20Preset%20Box.png (Code Search - Preset Box)

After selecting one or more presets, these will be added to the list of puzzles to be generated. The number of rows and columns etc will be retrieved from each preset, but you can edit them in the table.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/8Ot6k7tJYv/Code%20Search%20TS%20-%20Table%20Options%20V2.png (Code Search TS - Table Options V2)

Once you have specified all the puzzle preset and puzzle details you want, you can click the "Create (TS)" button. (click the "Use Time Saver" option at the top of the window to make sure the "Create (TS)" button is shown.

"Create (TS)" will create all the puzzles you specified, and can optionally create an Instant Puzzle Book with these puzzles.

Introduction

The Image Code Search option allows you to use your own images to create code search puzzles. Optionally you can use the built-in preset images for quick results.

Image Code Search Puzzles

Just like the other Code Search variations, with Image Code Search you can set a total number of Images (16 in the screenshot) and than select a limited number of images for each puzzle (5 in the screenshot). This way each puzzle will use different images. Of course you can also use the entire set of images for each puzzle - for example set the maximum to 20 and use all 20.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/8IuTmvZhR9/Image%20Code%20Search%20-%20Abstract.png (Image Code Search - Abstract)

The example uses one of the built-in image sets. It's alawys better to use your oqn unique images.

Note: For Image Code Search it's best to use a thicker line for the solutions, optionally with a colored or gray fill for the solution indicator symbols, as shown in the screenshot above. Especially with less abstract and more natural shapes, it can otherwise become hard to see the solutions.

For Kids' puzzles, it makes sense to use smaller grids and fewer symbols, and also set the number of copies for each code to 1 only.

Here's an example of an image code search puzzle for kids:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/pMAr2Pv0vv/Image%20Code%20Search%20-%20Kids.png (Image Code Search - Kids)

You can also reduce the number of codes to only 5 or 10 (or as few as you need).

Introduction

With Puzzle Maker Pro - Letter Code Search you can create several types of Code Search puzzles:

Letter Code Search puzzles
License Plate Search puzzles
Password Code Search puzzles
Binary Code Search puzzles

Letter Code Search puzzles

Letter Code Search is actually a very flexible module that can also be used for License Plate, Password and Binary Code Search puzzles.

You can type the letters you want to use (Values -> Custom) or use one of the buttons to quickly enter the (English) alphabet or the digits 0 to 9. You can also paste or type letters and characters in other languages.

Here's an example using the default Alphabet:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/2yewWzhntI/Letter%20Code%20Search.png (Letter Code Search)

And an example using Spanish, French and German letters:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/E2HJ9zvrxi/Letter%20Code%20Search%20-%20Characters.png (Letter Code Search - Characters)

License Plate Search puzzles

Using the "Letters" symbol type, you can create some fun themed puzzles. For example with a mix of letters and digits (ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789) , you can create the so-called License Plate code search puzzles:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/KulNm2arIH/Letter%20Code%20Search%20-%20License%20Plate.png (Letter Code Search - License Plate)

Password Code Search puzzles

Using a mix of uppercase and lowercase and other symbols (ABCdefGhIJKlMnoPQRStuVwXyz0123456789@#$%^&(!), you can create codes that resemble passwords:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/7Q7F8COhOw/Letter%20Code%20Search%20-%20Passwords.png (Letter Code Search - Passwords)

Binary Code Search puzzles

Binary codes consist of only zeroes and ones (0 and 1). This type of puzzle works best when also setting the Min / Max Copies to larger values:

Introduction

The Color Code Search option allows you to play with colors. You can set your own colors or choose random colors.

Color Code Search Puzzles

Just like the other Code Search variations, with Color Code Search you can set a total number of colors (20 in the screenshot) and than select a limited number of colors for each puzzle (5 in the screenshot). This way each puzzle will be different.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/NL5DpcKQev/Color%20Code%20Search.png (Color Code Search)

You can choose the default set of 9 colors, change the colors 1 by 1, or Randomize the entire set. To change a color, click the colored panel, and a color selection dialog will be shown:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/O2guA6agV2/Color%20Code%20Search%20-%20Color%20Selection.png (Color Code Search - Color Selection)

You can change the color in several ways:

Click the black or white mini panels
Click the rainbow panel that shows the entire color range
Click the saturation or illumination panels
Enter the Decimal or Hexadecimal color value
Enter the HSL code for the color

Note: For Color Code Search it's best to use a thicker line for the solutions, optionally with a colored or gray fill for the solution indicator symbols:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/WDcl0BNmGL/Color%20Code%20Search%20-%20Solution%20Lines.png (Color Code Search - Solution Lines)

Introduction

With Puzzle Maker Pro - Number Search you can create several types of Code Search puzzles:

True Number (Code) Search puzzles
Roman Numerals Code Search puzzles

Number Search Puzzles

To create Number Search puzzles, select "Numbers" in the Symbol dropdown menu.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/yd9pB6JRuy/Number%20Search%20-%20Details%20-%20Annotated.png (Number Search - Details - Annotated)

There are three options to set the numbers for your number search puzzle (2):

Default - the range of numbers from 1 to the "Max" value. (Although it says "Max Colors/Images", this applies to the default numbers setting as well).
Range - You can set a different range, for example 100 to 200 or 25 to 2500.
Value List - type the numbers you want to use

The "Number of Items for Puzzle" (1) specifies how many different numbers will be used in the puzzle. In the example this is set to 5 - that means 5 different numbers are randomly selected from the range from 1 to 100. The randomly selected numbers will differ for each puzzle that is generated.

Roman Numerals Code Search puzzles

For Roman Numerals Code Search puzzles you can use the default range or set a specific range of numbers. Please be aware that there's an upper limit to the Roman numerals of 3999. Since Roman numerals can be quite long, the font size used will be quite a bit smaller than for numbers or letters. Here's an example of a Roman Numerals Code Search puzzle:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/61nlRyNwJh/Roman%20Numerals%20Code%20Search%20Example.png (Roman Numerals Code Search Example)

What are Copy and Color puzzles?

Copy and Color puzzles are puzzles where parts of an image are shown. You have to finish the drawing by filling in the missing parts. An example of the image can be shown.

The image is divided in parts using a grid layout, with a number of rows and columns. In addition to that, help lines can be printed on each puzzle piece to make it easier to fill in the missing parts.

These puzzles are great for activity books, both for young ones, but also for elderly (as mental activity). In addition to the 'regular' Copy and Color, it's also possible to print only the 'puzzle' image, boosting creativity by drawing the missing parts without an example image.

Copy and Color Overview

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/KQbXr0vlgk/Copy%20Color%2001%20Overview.png (Copy Color Overview)

In this screenshot you can see the example image at the top and a 'puzzle' image at the bottom, in the preview panel at the right.

Puzzle Maker Pro - Copy and Color - Getting Started

Most modules in Puzzle Maker Pro work more or less the same way. Here are the main parts for Copy and Color:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/AVjExfpSVQ/Copy%20Color%2002%20Overview.png (Copy Color Overview)

Control settings - how many images to use, randomize the image order, and optionally Export the puzzle and example images (in addition to a combined 'puzzle' image)
The Images area - Change 'Total Image Count' to add more images to your list
Click the little panels with the animals to change the image, or just drag and drop an entire list of images on one of the panels
There are a few presets with default options to fill the image list, the Kids Animals option is the best for Copy and Color
Click Next Preview to see a new puzzle image
For most modules you can toggle between Puzzle and Solution, but with Copy and Color the solution (example image) is already included in the puzzle.

Copy and Color Layout Settings

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/9Iu5Af0uul/Copy%20Color%2003%20Layout.png (Copy Color Layout)

By default the example image is shown at the top, the puzzle image is shown at the bottom. You can change this, and also set the alignment for either puzzle.

The grid for the example and puzzle will always use the dimensions of the image you use (rectangular or square). There are several settings to control the overall puzzle image (that contains both grids), which will be discussed later.

Copy and Color Styling Options

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/T0BuM7AofS/Copy%20Color%2005%20Styling.png (Copy Color Styling)

The Line Style is used for the basic lines that define the grid. In the example, these are the black lines.

Additionally you can add 'help lines', additional lines that make it easier to draw / complete the image. In the example these are the thin gray lines.

Copy and Color Clues Options

The "Clues" tab is where you set the magic for this puzzle module: Many different ways to create incomplete images.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/nFT3kvmAiL/Copy%20Color%2006%20Clues%20Cols%20From%20Right.png (Copy Color Clues Cols From Right)

You can see many options, including a few randomization options:

Checkerboard will create a checkerboard pattern where neighboring squares are switched on and off. Like a checkerboard
Striped Rows / Columns creates a striped pattern, where neighboring rows (or columns) are switched on and off
Rows / Columns from Side - You can set this to display a fixed number of rows or columns from one of the sides. The screenshot shows only 2 columns from the right.
"Rnd Checkerboard / Striped" will select one of these three options to use for a puzzle
Rnd From Side will select one of these four options

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/YRDyOaRPmR/Copy%20Color%2007%20Clues%20Random%20Squares.png (Copy Color Clues Random Squares)

Random Squares (1): Select the percentage of squares that will be shown, e.g. 40% in the screenshot
Random Randomization (2): Pick any of the options in this list. This can be powerful when you also set the Variations number: This way you can quickly create 2 or 5 or 10 different puzzle images for each source image. For example in a classroom where you want to give each person a different puzzle to work on.

Note: The "Quantity" setting defines the number of images to process. The Variation setting controls the number of puzzles for each image. With a Quantity of 7 and a Variation of 3, you will get 21 different puzzles.

Output / Export Options

In addition to generating puzzles, it's important to create your output in the right format.

The grid images that are saved with the "Export Parts" option, will be using the dimensions from the source image. If you use images with 2000 x 1000 pixels, the grid images will have this size as well.

The Puzzle image will be created using the settings on the "Output Settings" tab, just like sudoku or word search puzzles.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/AWHb1x1GCY/Puzzle%20Maker%20Pro%20v202411%20-%20Output%20Settings%20Overview.png (Puzzle Maker Pro v202411 - Output Settings Overview)

Puzzle Size - determines the size of the puzzle image - we'll discuss this in detail in the following paragraphs
Resolution - The DPI setting for the saved image. Please be aware that a 3000x3000 pixel image will have the same file size for 300 DPI and 96 DPI. The DPI setting will be used by Powerpoint, InDesign, etc to determine the print size of the iamge when it's imported
Puzzle Output Format - You can use JPG, PNG and Transparent PNG. With PNG output you can also use 4 bit colors, which reduces the size significantly, when you use B/W or grayscale images.

Fixed Size Output

With Fixed Size Output you can set the size in pixels or inches. The output 'puzzle' image (the combined image with the example grid and the puzzle grid) will be square, using the fixed size you set. This works well for rectangular source images.

Dynamic Size (IPB) Output

Dynamic Size (IPB) output will use the size you set for the instant puzzle books. This is based on the trim size (e.g. 8.5" x 11") and the Page Layout settings.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/zmlvN2197r/Puzzle%20Maker%20Pro%20v202410%20-%20Page%20Layout%20Rectangular.png (Puzzle Maker Pro v202410 - Page Layout Rectangular (1).png)

You can set the page layout on the Instant Puzzle Books -> Page Layout tab, then click the Edit Layout button. (This is only available if you have the Time Saver add-on for Kids Color Puzzles).

In the example you can see a layout with 1 row and two columns. When you use Dynamic Size, Puzzle Maker Pro will calculate the exact size of each puzzle area, based on the trim size, margins and layout settings, and use this to create the puzzle images (JPG/PNG).

Using Dynamic Size (IPB) Output without Time Saver

If you don't have the Time Saver add-on, and you want to benefit from the Dynamic Size output, you can set the trim size to exactly the size you want for the puzzle (with or without margins). Without the Time Saver there will be one puzzle per page. You can find the trim size settings on the Instant Puzzle Books -> Page Format tab.

Use Image Settings

For both the Fixed Size and the Dynamic Size options, you can choose to use the additional "Image Output" settings. This name may be confusing with all the 'image' variations, in Puzzle Maker Pro it's an option to create social media images (or memes) with your puzzles, by adding a title, description and watermark.

You can click the "Use Image Settings" option, or click the "Image Settings" button to edit these settings.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/3SYMGcDlBV/Image%20Settings%20Button.png (Image Settings Button (1).png)

Here you can set the size for different areas (e.g. Title, Description, Watermark) on the output image, along with text options and a watermark (e.g. your website url) and a logo.

This will define the area that's available for the example grid and puzzle grid.

On the Image tab in Copy and Color you can set the title and description options (dynamic or fixed) that will be printed.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/GQcfwL8WE5/Copy%20Color%2008%20Image%20Settings.png (Copy Color 08 Image Settings)

Time Saver Concepts

Each Time Saver in Puzzle Maker Pro has two different parts:

Puzzle setup for 'batch' processing, and
Additional Page Layout options for Instant Puzzle Books.

With the Time Saver for Kids Color Puzzles you can set up a list of images to use, and then set up a list of puzzle formats to generate. Settings that are not configured in the Time Saver, will be 'inherited' from the current puzzle setup.

Always check the option "Use Time Saver to generate Puzzles" to use the Time Saver. This will change the text for the "Create" button to "Create (TS)".

Selecting Images

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/CGgshFwleI/Kids%20Color%20Time%20Saver%20-%20Images.png (Kids Color Time Saver - Images)

Use the Images tab in the Time Saver to add all your images. You can use the "Add Files" button to select image files, and often it is faster and easier to use drag and drop. Select the files and/or folders you want to use, and drag them to the Image list. All the files will be listed here, and for folders it will show how many images are in it (as you can see in the screenshot - the top folder has 17 files).

Puzzles Set Up

After selecting all the images you need, you can set which puzzles to create:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/UJS4irSZXa/Kids%20Color%20Time%20Saver%20-%20Puzzles%20Setup.png (Kids Color Time Saver - Puzzles Setup)

You can choose to create puzzles with a fixed number of rows and columns, e.g. 1 row and 5 columns, but you can also set it to randomise the number of rows or columns. Or first create 20 puzzles with 1 to 2 rows / columns, and then create 20 puzzles with 3 to 5 rows / columns. This allows you to create your puzzles faster and with ease.

Page Layout Options

The Time Saver also enables the Page Layout options. You can choose to print more than 1 puzzle per page:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/zmlvN2197r/Puzzle%20Maker%20Pro%20v202410%20-%20Page%20Layout%20Rectangular.png (Puzzle Maker Pro v202410 - Page Layout Rectangular (1).png)

Especially for Cut and Color puzzles it can be a good fit to use long rectangular rows or columns to fit the empty grids and scrambled puzzles together.

What are Cut and Color puzzles?

Cut and Color puzzles are a simple type of jigsaw puzzles that you can add to an activity book. Square or rectangular puzzle pieces can be cut out and placed on a grid to recover the original image.

These puzzle pieces can be colored before or after cutting them and positioning them. Or optionally the pieces can be glued on the grid, before coloring.

In a way, Cut and Color can be seen as a lightweight version of our JigSaw module, but it has some additional features as well.

Cut and Color overview

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/DVUXwD0fSb/Cut%20and%20Color%20Overview.png (Cut and Color Overview)

As you can see in this screenshot, you get a 'puzzle image' with the empty grid and scrambled puzzle pieces to cut out, and a 'solution image' that shows the correct placement of the puzzle pieces in the grid.

You can use your own images (this is preferable), and for testing the different settings, you can also use the preset images that are shown in the screenshot.

Selecting Images

The Images tab has a "Total Image Count" setting, this setting controls the number of images that are shown and that can be selected. To use even more than the maximum number that's available here, you can select unlimited images and entire image folders with the Time Saver add-on (along with more randomisation options).

To use your own images, you can either click the white image panels (that currently show the alpaca, the butterfly, etc) to select your images one by one, or you can use drag and drop to select many images at once. Just select the images in File Explorer, and drop them onto one of the image panels.

You can choose to use only a few images from the list (using the Quantity setting), or use the entire list. Additionally, you can randomise the order in which the puzzles are created, if you want to create multiple different puzzle books or printables.

Cut and Color Output

With our Cut and Color module you get several output options:

The regular Puzzle and Solution output, as shown in the screenshot in the Cut and Color overview. These consist of Puzzle Output - regular output with an empty grid and a scrambled / shuffled grid with puzzle pieces (in the screenshot below this is the image at the left, and Solution output - the original image, drawn in a grid. The puzzle and solution output is sized according to the settings on the "Output Settings" tab in Puzzle Maker Pro.

Additionally, you can also export the image parts: Scrambled Pieces, Empty Grid and Solution Grid. These will be saved as separate images in the Export folder. Just click the "Export Parts" option.

Cut and Color Layout

There are several options to customise the puzzle layout to your liking.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/95L2sCvV2n/Cut%20and%20Color%20Hor.png (Cut and Color Hor)

You can choose to print only the scrambled image, or print both an empty grid (to place the pieces) and the scrambled image.
You can position the scrambled image (the shuffled puzzle pieces) on any side of the empty grid, and set the padding between both images
You can set the alignment for each of the parst in its designated area.

Furthermore, there are some options of the generic Puzzle Maker Pro Output Settings that can be very useful for Cut and Color pages

Output Settings

In Puzzle Maker Pro you have separate output settings for the actual puzzles and for the Instant Puzzle Books. (Our name for puzzle book output in PDF or Powerpoint format).

If you have the Time Saver add-on, you can print several puzzles on a page. Since the Cut and Color puzzles are printed in a highly rectangular shape, it makes sense to set a page layout of 2 rows and 1 column or 1 row with 2 columns, to create rectangular areas.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/hIzwhGdE8N/Puzzle%20Maker%20Pro%20v202410%20-%20Page%20Layout%20Rectangular.png (Puzzle Maker Pro v202410 - Page Layout Rectangular)

Without the Time Saver, you don't have this option, but using the trim size, and especially the margins, you can also control how and where the puzzle will be printed.

The magic happens when you use Dynamic Sizing. You can find this setting on the "Output Settings" tab in the "Puzzle Size" area:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/QDzNfAc1Nx/Puzzle%20Maker%20Pro%20v202410%20-%20Dynamic%20Sizing.png (Puzzle Maker Pro v202410 - Dynamic Sizing)

Instead of using a fixed size of say 1000 or 2500 pixels for each puzzle, it will use the area that's available for each puzzle in the page layout. In most screenshots in this tutorial we've used this option to get puzzle images that really fit the pages to which they are printed.

Cut and Color Image Output

Like most modules in Puzzle Maker Pro, you can also create social media images with a single mouse-click. You can set up your custom style and watermark just once, and then apply this style to images you create to promote your puzzle printables or books on social media.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/aJIpNHizAy/Cut%20and%20Color%20-%20Image%20Settings.png (Cut and Color - Image Settings)

What is Reverse Word Search

Reverse Word Search is a puzzle where a list of words must be placed in an almost empty grid, instead of Standard Word Search where you have to find words that are already placed in the grid.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/AvNQwkSm0O/0-20240925072051786-1-W-P.png (0-20240925072051786-1-W-P)

In this example you can see that some words are already placed in the grid. For each unplaced word, one or more letters will be shown. With each puzzle you also get the complete list of words for that puzzle, in this case:

Astonishing, Blessing, Compelling, Delight, Discovery, Dream, Energetic, Enrich, Exclusive, Ferocious, Hero, Life-Changing, Now, Overwhelm, Passion, Pleasure, Power, Quality, Renewal, Results, Sensational, Service, Sexy, Soul, Thriving, Transforming, Unlimited, Whole.

If you already know Puzzle Maker Pro - Standard Word Search, or Zig Zag Word Search, the options and features of this module will be familiar to you.

Set up the Word List

Every word puzzle starts with your word list. You can either type / copy the words, or select a txt file with the words. Each word should be on a separate line.

The screenshot shows that a word list file was selected, and also shows a preview of a puzzle and solution that were generated from the word list:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/yzP6rYhoLb/Reverse%20Word%20Search%20-%20Overview%201.png (Reverse Word Search - Overview 1)

Reverse Word Search Complexity

The complexity / difficulty of Reverse Word Search depends on several settings, such as:

The words in your word list
The size of the grid
The number of clues in the grid
The number of words that are already shown

The number of clues and the number of words can be set on the Advanced tab:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ntp6Scjq9B/Reverse%20Word%20Search%20-%20Overview%202%20Clues.png (Reverse Word Search - Overview 2 Clues)

There are five settings for the number of Clues:

Very Easy (1 clue for each 3 letters) - a 9 letter word will show 3 letters
Easy (1 clue for each 5 letters) - a 9 letter word will show 2 letters
Normal (1 clue for each 6 letters) - a 12 letter word will show 2 letters
Hard (1 clue for each word)
Very Hard (1 clue for each two words)

The letters will be selected randomly. Because of overlapping words, it's possible that more than the number of clues are shown for a specific word.

It's best to play with these options after setting the grid size and the word list, to determine which number of clues works best.

Puzzles for Kids

There are several features that allow you to create puzzles specifically for kids. Of course it starts with selecting a suitable word list and grid size. Additionally there are options for:

Limiting the number of diagonals
Switch off Reversed words
Kids Diagonal: An option to enforce that diagonal words are always printed from top left to bottom right.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/hmq0ZGymUO/Reverse%20Word%20Search%20-%2002%20Kids%20Diagonals.png (Reverse Word Search - 02 Kids Diagonals)

(The word list in this example is obviously not a great fit for younger kids, it's just used to demonstrate the Kid's Diagonal feature).

Solution Options

In contrast to Standard Word Search there are no options to set the 'noise' letters to fill the grid, since empty square will be shown as black squares. (Otherwise the puzzle would be unsolvable).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Jzq4h7531k/Reverse%20Word%20Search%20-%2005%20Solution%20Style.png (Reverse Word Search - 05 Solution Style)

You can set the style of the lines that indicate the words in the solution, along with the line color and thickness.

Puzzle Styling Options

You can customize the styling of the puzzle by selecting your own font (and font color) and setting the colors for the lines and squares. For Reverse Word Search Puzzles it's necessary to print the lines in the grid, otherwise it will become really hard to solve.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/6EG56rtVfv/Reverse%20Word%20Search%20-%2006%20Style.png (Reverse Word Search - 06 Style)

You can change the font by clicking on the white panel that shows the font name (it also shows the text "Click to Edit Font Settings").

Word List Styling Options

Additionally there are some options to control the way the word list is displayed in Instant Puzzle Books.

If your word list has hints / descriptions in addition to the words, you can choose to display those. That adds a significant bit of complexity. This feature can also be used to create language translation puzzles. (instead of just typing a word on each line, type the word and description, separated by a colon, like this "word:description")
Words can be aligned left, center or right.
Words can be sorted in several ways

Here's an example of a Reverse Word Search page in an Instant Puzzle Book (this example uses the Time Saver features):

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/1ddRcvonnD/Reverse%20Word%20Search%20-%2007%20Output%202%20Per%20Page.png (Reverse Word Search - 07 Output 2 Per Page)

Word Lists in Columns

Each column (in Excel) has a title for the word list, and a list of words below it, for example:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/EzwY8uF3gZ/CSV%20Example%201.png (CSV Example 1)

In Excel, Export to CSV by selecting File -> Save As, and then select CSV (comma delimited). In Puzzle Maker Pro select Tools -> "CSV Splitter (Columns to Files)" and select the file you want to split.

After processing, Puzzle Maker Pro will automatically open the folder with the newly generated txt files, that are ready for use in the Word puzzle or Word Search modules in Puzzle Maker Pro.

Word Lists in Rows

Each Row (in Excel) has a title for the word list, and a list of words to its right, for example:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/NXk24jyjH1/CSV%20Example%202.png (CSV Example 1)

In Excel, Export to CSV by selecting File -> Save As, and then select CSV (comma delimited). In Puzzle Maker Pro select Tools -> "CSV Splitter (Rows to Files)" and select the file you want to split.

After processing, Puzzle Maker Pro will automatically open the folder with the newly generated txt files, that are ready for use in the Word puzzle or Word Search modules in Puzzle Maker Pro.

How to use the Time Saver for Code Search

How to get the most out of Puzzle Maker Pro - Image Code Search

How to get the most out of Puzzle Maker Pro - Letter Code Search

How to get the most out of Puzzle Maker Pro - Color Code Search

How to get the most out of Puzzle Maker Pro - Number Search

How to create Copy and Color Puzzles?

How to use the Kids Coloring Time Saver

How to create Cut and Color puzzles?

How to create Reverse Word Search puzzles?

How to use the CSV Splitter in Puzzle Maker Pro