Question 1

How to create Social Media Images with Puzzles using Puzzle Maker Pro

Accepted Answer

This tutorial describes how to create Social Media Images with Puzzles using Puzzle Maker Pro.

For some modules, e.g. Crossword Variations, it's now possible to create image output with a title and a watermark, in addition to the regular output for puzzle books. Please be aware, this is not yet available for all puzzle modules.

Introduction

The additional 'Image' output was introduced to make it possible to create puzzles with an improved layout for social media or printables. To make this possible, we created an 'Image Settings' layout option that has all the settings for these images. Here's an example of what's possible (the puzzle in this image is a Criss Cross puzzle):

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/WxQGD5xMbx/Image%20Settings%20Puzzle%20Only.png (Image Settings Puzzle Only)

Setting the Title and Description

The title and description for this puzzle are part of the word list that's used for this puzzle, using the "#title" and "#description" options:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ODGv25G7ka/Image%20Settings%20Example.png (Image Settings Example)

Editing the Image Settings

When a puzzle in Puzzle Maker Pro supports these new Image Settings, there is an option on the Output Settings tab to edit the settings:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/O1fwKTFuAV/Image%20Settings%20Button.png (Image Settings Button)

In the next sections we'll explain all the different options for the Image Settings.

Layout Settings

The first tab has the Layout Settings. This is where you can enable or disable the different settings and add padding.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ysezj02Sq2/Image%20Settings%20Puzzle%20Only%20-%20Marked.png (Image Settings Puzzle Only - Marked)

Padding and sizing is specified as a percentage of the total size of the puzzle. The exact size in pixels is calculated, based on the Puzzle Size.

Top Padding - optional empty space at the top of the image
Title Height - The font for the title will be adjusted automatically to make the text fit in the allocated space
Title Bottom Padding
Description Height
Description Bottom Padding - The description can be placed at the top or at the bottom of the puzzle
Puzzle Padding - empty space on all four sides of the puzzle, when it is added to the image. The actual empty space will also depend on the size and format of the puzzle. For example, when fitting a square puzzle in a rectangular space, there will be more white space on some of the sides
Watermark Top Padding
Watermark Height - The actual watermark is set on another tab, by default it's set to "www.bookpublishertools.com"
Bottom padding

You can enable or disable the different areas, depending on your styling preferences.

Colors and Fonts

You can set background color for the entire image (the canvas color) and the background color for the puzzle. (If the puzzle module has it's own canvas color settings, these will be used as well). Additionally you can add an outer border to the image.

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

You can set the fonts for the Title, Description and Watermark. (The Watermark font can be found on the Watermark tab). The font name, color and case will be used when printing the Title, Description or Watermark in the image.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/7zgRuiHY0O/Image%20Settings%20-%20Fonts.png (Image Settings - Fonts)

Size Options

By default the image settings from the "Output Settings" tab in Puzzle Maker Pro are used. You can override this by selecting one of the size settings on the "Size Options" tab. This allows you to configure specific size settings for your social media platform.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/d5KWGezzvB/Image%20Settings%20-%20Size%20Options.png (Image Settings - Size Options)

Watermark

The Watermark option allows you to add an url or brand name at the bottom of each image automatically. It's best to switch off the Watermark (on the Layout tab) when you are creating puzzle books, but it's a handy feature when you are creating images for social media.

Question 2

What are Presets in Puzzle Maker Pro

Accepted Answer

There are many ways to fit Puzzle Maker Pro in your workflow. To help you to keep your layouts and styling consistent, we introduced 'Presets' in one of the earliest version.

What is a Preset

A Preset is basically the list of all the settings you can use for a puzzle. What is saved in a preset for Sudoku is different than for Word Search. In general, all the settings and options that are shown on the Puzzle Settings tab are part of it.

Time Saver Presets

In the Time Saver tab you can also find presets. These contain all the settings on the Time Saver tab (and sub-tabs) for that puzzle type. For example, for Sudoku, it will contain the entire table of sudoku variations and quantities. For Word Search it will include the word list and the table of puzzle sizes, along with the Main settings.

It is not required to use presets at all, but in some cases it can make your workflow more efficient.

Presets and Word Puzzles

A specific use case is when you generate word puzzles, such as Word Search: The word list you select for Word Search is part of the preset. When you 'load' that preset, you should see the same word list or word list file displayed.

When you use the Time Saver for Word Search, you can use select these (word search puzzle) presets to generate a puzzle book, and choose the option to use the word list that's included in that preset.

Please note: Puzzle Maker Pro supports different workflows. You don't have to use the presets, it's an option that may work for you.

Alternatively you can use a single preset for consistent styling of your puzzles, and use the Time Saver to override the word list.

Question 3

What exactly is the Time Saver in Puzzle Maker Pro?

Accepted Answer

Puzzle Maker Pro started as a puzzle generator, with limited flexibility to create puzzle books. Early users requested functionality that offered more flexible creation of puzzles and puzzle books. The name "Time Saver" was suggested by those early users, because the add-ons can save a lot of time.

Time Saver Explained

Each Time Saver (add-on) consists of two parts:

Options to create more puzzles a bit faster, in a flexible way
Additional layout options

Faster Puzzle Creation

These options can be found under the "Time Saver" tab in Puzzle Maker Pro. The actual features depend on the puzzle type, for example for Sudoku you can select different sudoku types and difficulty levels, while for Word Search you can also add your own Word Lists.

To use the Time Saver to create puzzles, you'll have to make sure the "Use Time Saver" checkbox is enabled. This will also change the text of the "Create" button to "Create (TS)".

Layout Options

The "Page Layout" tab (can be found on the "Instant Puzzle Books tab" in Puzzle Maker Pro) is enabled by the Time Saver Add-on.

Conclusion

Whenever the term Time Saver is used, we refer to the functionality described here.

Question 4

How to delete or copy presets for Puzzle Maker Pro

Accepted Answer

This tutorial shows how to delete or copy presets for Puzzle Maker Pro.

Preset Locations

All the presets that are saved from within Puzzle Maker Pro are stored on your computer, in subfolders for "Documents\BookPublisherTools\Presets\PMP".

An easy way to find that folder is to click the "Open Presets Folder" button on the Tools tab in Puzzle Maker Pro:

Tools tab Open Preset Folder

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/MLH4neHFkw/Tools%20tab%20Open%20Preset%20Folder.png (Tools tab Open Preset Folder)

When you click this button, it will open Windows File Explorer for the Presets folder:

Presets Folder Word Search

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/2SRRBHFHic/Presets%20Folder%20Word%20Search.png (Presets Folder Word Search)

In this folder you'll find subfolders for each puzzle type and Time Saver add-on. You can double- click a folder to see which presets are saved in it. For example you can double-click the Word Search folder to see all the Word Search presets.

Tips and Tricks

You can delete presets and copy them to a different computer. Please be aware that if the presets refer to other files on your computer, you'll have to copy those too, to exact the same location.

For example, if you have a Word Search preset that refers to a word file "D:/Word List/Occupations.txt": You'll need to copy that file as well, and put it in exact the same location. Otherwise it cannot be found.

For JigSaw, Sudoku and other modules that use images: You'll need to make sure that all the images that are referred to in a preset, will be available in the same locations when you copy a preset.

Question 5

Puzzle Maker Pro - Tutorial Overview

Accepted Answer

Puzzle Maker Pro Tutorials

Welcome to the Puzzle Maker Pro - Tutorials page: This page lists the tutorials for Puzzle Maker Pro. Please use search if you don't see here what you're looking for.

Getting Started

Puzzle Maker Pro - Getting Started

Puzzle Maker Pro Tabs

Output Settings - Puzzle Files

Output Settings - Additional Output

Output Settings - Page format

Page Layout

Time Saver

Tools

Puzzle Specific Tutorials

Generic FAQ's

Drag and Drop Images

Color and Font Selection

Mask Editor

Question 6

Getting Started with Puzzle Maker Pro

Accepted Answer

Introduction to Puzzle Maker Pro

Welcome to Puzzle Maker Pro - the world's best puzzle maker. We've tried our best to make the software as easy and intuitive to use as possible. However, because we want you to be able to create something unique to you, we still offer a lot of options.

In this tutorial we'll show you the basics. Your first puzzle (or even puzzle book) is just one click away.

Puzzle Maker Pro - Main window.

When you start Puzzle Maker Pro, you'll see a window looking a lot like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/V3P2w4AK32/Puzzle%20Maker%20Pro%20Main%20Window.jpg (Puzzle Maker Pro Main Window)

It currently shows Sudoku, but if you purchased a different puzzle, it'll show that instead.

Puzzle Maker Pro is a framework for puzzle modules - some parts will be different for each puzzle, other parts are standard options available to all puzzles.

Let's start the tour:

Puzzle Selection: This dropdown menu will list all the available puzzle types. The ones you purchased are listed as "Licensed", others are listed as "Demo". For Demo puzzles you also get all of the options, but you won't be able to save them. The categories for puzzles are also shown above the dropdown menu. At the top of the screen, you'll see the version number Puzzle Maker Pro, in this case v2023.1.0.2. If you have support requests or other questions, it's usually helpful to mention the version. If anything goes wrong, you can contact the helpdesk at: Helpdesk.
Tutorial and About: The "Tutorial" button will lead you to the main tutorial website, https://help.bookpublishertools.com. Older versions (up to v1.9.2.5) have a built-in tutorial, but this has been replaced by the website. The "About" button opens the About window. You'll need this to retrieve the license for Puzzle Maker Pro. Licenses are stored on a central website, but the Puzzle Maker Pro on your computer needs to connect to the central website to find out which puzzle modules you currently own.
Puzzle Settings: The "Puzzle Settings" tab completely depends on the puzzle you selected. In the screenshot it's sudoku. This is where you'll find options that determine how your puzzle will be generated and its appearance. Next to "Puzzle Settings" you can see a number of other tabs. We'll discuss those later.
Puzzle Preview panel: This is where you'll see the preview of your puzzle or its solution. You can use the mouse-wheel to zoom in or out so you can get a closer look at details. Perhaps not necessary when you're making a sudoku, but if you're making a connect-the-dots puzzle, or a nonogram, these details will matter.
Create and Preview: There are two options to create your puzzles. "Create" will create and save puzzles for you. This will include the puzzle, the solution, additional files (such as a word list). If you have selected "Additional Output" such as Powerpoint or PDF, that will be created as well. "Create" will also automatically use the Time Saver, if that's selected (more about that later). "Preview" will create a new preview, that you can see in the preview panel. You can use this to set up your puzzle options and styling. For certain puzzle types, such as Mazes and Word Search, it may make sense to generate lots of previews and save the ones you want to keep, because they all look different and some may be less appealing. "Save Preview" will save the current preview (puzzle and solution file) to your computer, but it will not create any additional output.
Preview Solution: You can use this button to display the puzzle or the solution in the preview panel. For some puzzles, such as Mazes and Word Search, it makes sense to see the solutions, for others, e.g. Sudoku, it makes more sense to preview the puzzles.

Preview

Now go on and press preview, maybe change some of the settings, colors or numbers, and see what happens when you click preview again.

To find out where your puzzle files are saved, continue to Output Settings. For all other topics, go back to Tutorial Overview

Question 7

How to use the Zoom function in POD Graphics Maker or Puzzle Maker Pro

Accepted Answer

This Youtube tutorial shows how to use the zoom function in the preview window in POD Graphics Maker.

The same options are available in the Puzzle Maker Pro preview window.

Question 8

How to use the Output Settings in Puzzle Maker Pro

Accepted Answer

When you first start Puzzle Maker Pro and try to set up the output settings, it can seem overwhelming. You can use the default settings unless you have specific requirements. Most advanced options have been requested by users (so don't blame us for making it overwhelming)

The Output settings are split between the output settings for puzzle files (the Output Settings tab) and the output settings for Instant Puzzle Books (which can be found under the Instant Puzzle Books tab).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ts0bG9Symp/Puzzle%20Maker%20Pro%20-%20Puzzle%20Output%20Settings.png (Puzzle Maker Pro - Puzzle Output Settings.png)

Puzzle Size (1)

You can set the puzzle size in Pixels or Inches. The conversion from Pixels to Inches depends on the DPI settings.

300 DPI (Dots Per Inch) is the required setting for commercial print - you'll need this if you plan to publish your puzzles with KDP or another Print on Demand service. 96 DPI is best for web or display only.

The size in Pixels or Inches is always used for the longest side (horizontally or vertically), and for both sides if the puzzle output is square.

Optimize the Puzzle Size

You can optimize the puzzle size for your puzzle books: A smaller puzzle size will result in a smaller PDF or PPT file size.

For example: if you are creating a puzzle book with a trim size of 8.5"x11" with 0.5" margins, you'll have a page body that's 7.5" by 10". If you print only one puzzle per page, it doesn't make sense to have a puzzle size wider than 7.5" (or 2250 pixels at 300 DPI), because the size will be decreased when printing the puzzle.

Additionally, if you use a layout with 2 columns and 3 rows, the maximum width would be 3.75" and the maximum height for each puzzle would be less than 3.33" (the titles will be printed as well). In that case you might set the puzzle size for square puzzles to only 3" or 900 pixels.

Unfortunately, as a publisher, you'll need to do some of this easy math yourself. With all the different output options, you can configure the output any way you like.

Puzzle Output Format (2)

The basic output formats are JPG and PNG. These are bitmap formats, and will include some antialiasing, depending on the puzzle type. You can use Transparent PNG as well, but keep in mind that this will need flattening when you publish puzzle books on KDP. (Flattening means, amongst other things, that the transparent color will be replaced with the background color. PDF software (or Powerpoint if that's what you use) will do that for you).

Additional output formats are:

4 bit colors - this works for PNG only, and will result in a much smaller image size. The default format for JPG and PNG is 24 bits - 8 bits for each RGB color, and 32 bits for Transparent PNG). However, 4 bit colors will only work well for black and white / grayscale images
SVG is a vector based format, which is available as an add-on for a limited number of puzzles. (Our goal is to add it to all puzzle types eventually, but that's a long-term project)
XML is a text format that will save the meta-information for the puzzles. This is available as an add-on, and only useful if you use software that can read the XML format and do something useful with it

Custom Puzzle File Name (3)

By default, each time you click "Create", puzzle file numbering will start at 1 (the file also includes a timestamp and other information). If you want to control the numbering, you can set this number. (This number is NOT used for Instant Puzzle Books).

File Location (4)

You can set or select a base folder (or root folder) where all your puzzles and Instant Puzzle Books will be saved.

Folder Options (5)

You can completely customize the folder structure for your puzzles. This folder structure will be placed under the "Root" folder.

Use the dropdown boxes to set each level of the folder structure to Date, Project, Puzzle Type, None or Custom1/Custom2. You can freely enter your own text for Custom1/Custom2 (e.g. a topic or client name)

You can also select one of two date formats.

The resulting Folder Name will be displayed after you change the folder structure.

Where can I find my puzzle files?

The “Tools” tab has a few options related to these file settings.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/hRcdNKV0ER/Puzzle%20Maker%20Pro%20-%20Tools%20-%20Puzzle%20File%20Settings.png (Puzzle Maker Pro - Tools - Puzzle File Settings.png)

In the “Puzzle Files” section on the “Tools” tab, you can:

If you create Additional Output (PDF, PPT), this will include all the puzzles in the folder;

Question 9

How can I create Large Print books using Puzzle Maker Pro?

Accepted Answer

A question that often comes up, is the font size that's used for puzzles that are generated with Puzzle Maker Pro.

Especially when you want to mark a book as Large Print on KDP/Amazon, you really want to know the font size in the books generated with Puzzle Maker Pro.

This is not an easy question to answer, because there are several steps involved, and additionally, not all fonts have the same size at a given font size. (Which has nothing to do with Puzzle Maker Pro).

In general, if you want to publish Large Print books, it also make sense to use a clear font like Arial, to improve readability. If you use a artful font with lots of embellishments, it may satisfy the requirements for Amazon, but still be hard to read for your target audience, resulting in negative reviews.

How are Fonts and DPI related to each other?

First, lets discuss font size and DPI.

DPI is an acronym for Dots Per Inch, and for print you’ll need 300 DPI. All Puzzle Maker Pro images are created at 300 DPI (unless you switch to 96DPI). You don’t have to worry about that.

Font size is measured in points, not in dots or pixels: One point is 1/72th of an inch. Large print, 16 points or larger, means 16/72th of an inch, which is 0.222″ (or larger).

Note: Different tools use different units. For example Microsoft Office uses points, while most image editing apps use pixels.

How do I create a puzzle book with Puzzle Maker Pro

Puzzle Maker Pro uses two steps to create puzzle books:

Create the puzzles,
Create the puzzle book from these puzzles.

Find out more about the two-step approach of Puzzle Maker Pro

How can you find out the font size that's used for a puzzle?

The font size that is used in your puzzles depends on the size of your puzzle, the puzzle type and the puzzle settings. Below you can see the method to find out your font size.

How to set the Puzzle Size

In puzzle Maker Pro, you can select how big you want your puzzle images to be. Starting at 300, up to 3000. With 300DPI that’s 1″ up to 10″.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/JOPzyUGUxP/PMP%20-%20General%20-%20Puzzle%20Size.png (How to set the puzzle size in Puzzle Maker Pro)

How to calculate the font size for a puzzle type

The size of the characters that are used to print a puzzle, depends on the puzzle size you’ve selected.

Let’s take regular 9×9 sudoku as an example:

The total puzzle size (let’s say 2700 pixels) is split into 9 rows and 9 columns. Each row has a height of 2700/9, and each column has a width of 2700/9, which is 300 pixels. Which is 1″

Puzzle Maker Pro automatically calculates the font size for each square. By default it uses 80% of the height, leaving 10% on top and 10% at the bottom as margins. For some puzzle types you can modify this ratio, resulting in a different font size.

To calculate the font size, take 80% of 300 pixels, this is 240 pixels (numbers are rounded here). This is not yet the font size in points.

To go from pixels to points, we divide by 300 (300 pixels per inch) and multiply with 72 (72 points per inch). 240 / 300 * 72 = 57.6 points.

Summarized: A 9×9 sudoku puzzle, rendered to a jpg of 2700 pixels, will use a font size of 57.6 points.

However…

That only applies if you print the image at it’s actual size.

How does the font size change when creating a puzzle book from your puzzles?

When you create your puzzle book, the puzzle images will be resized, and usually the size will be reduced.

For example, let’s create a 6×9″ book interior with 0.5″ margins left and right. 6″ minus 0.5″ (left margin) minus 0.5″ (right margin) leaves 5″ for the puzzle.

5″ at 300 DPI is 1500 pixels.

Let's say we created a puzzle of 3000 pixels, resulting in a font size of 64 points.

You can easily see that it needs to be reduced by 50% (1500 / 3000). In which case the font also will be 50% smaller. 64 points / 2 = 32 points. Still a lot more than 16.

For the 9×9 sudoku puzzles, you’ll usually be fine, but for other sudoku puzzles, you’ll need to do the math, unfortunately.

What are the steps to determine the font size?

In most cases it's enough to approximate the font size, as long as it's clearly over 16 points.

Here are the steps:

Calculate the page body width, which is the trim size minus the margins.
Divide by the number of puzzles in a row.
Calculate the number of pixels for each square in the puzzle. This depends on the puzzle type.
Calculate the font size in pixels for each square. This is 80% of the square size (with 10% padding).
Calculate the font size in points from the font size in pixels: inches * 72 = points.

For some puzzles, for example Word Search and Bingo, you can further modify the font size for each font. In that case these calculations get a bit more difficult, but the slider for the font size also shows the percentage. You can use this percentage to calculate the resulting point size.

Question 10

How to select images for your puzzles in Puzzle Maker Pro?

Accepted Answer

Several Puzzle Maker Pro modules, like Sudoku 9x9 Creative, Sudoku Kids Edition and Sudoku Variations, Bingo and Game Maker, allow you to use your own images (cliparts) as symbols in a puzzle.

In this tutorial we will use Sudoku 9x9 Creative as an example. In other modules it works the same, although the option may have a slightly different name.

Preparing your images for use in Puzzle Maker Pro

To use images in Puzzle Maker Pro, they need to be stored on your computer in PNG or JPG format.

Puzzle Maker Pro will reduce the size of the images when they are too large, but will never increase the size. Increasing may result in blurred lines or edges, reducing the quality of your puzzles.

In most cases images can be quite small, this depends on the puzzle size and puzzle type you are using.

The puzzle type defines how many images will be put next to each other horizontally or vertically. For example, Sudoku 9x9 will use 9 images horizontally and 9 images vertically. Sudoku Kids Edition will use 4 or 6 images in each row or column.

A quick example: Let's say you create a Sudoku 9x9 puzzle, the puzzle size is set to 1800 pixels. 1800 pixels at 300 DPI means a puzzle size of 6".

Since there can be 9 images in a row or column, we can easily calculate the minimum size for each image: 1800 divided by 9 is 200. That means the images you use can be as small as 200 x 200 pixels, and still create a fairly large puzzle.

Another example: A Sudoku Samurai puzzle has 21 x 21 squares. If we create a puzzle of 2100 pixels (7" x 7" at 300 DPI), each square will be 100 x 100 pixels. Which is also the size at which your images will be printed in the puzzle.

Note 1: The puzzle sizes in the examples were chosen to make the calculations easy. However, if you will use the puzzles in a puzzle book - for example on KDP - you'll still be limited by the available trim sizes. Even for a large 8.5"x11" puzzle book, the maximum width for the page content is only 7.5", if you use 0.5" margins. 7.5" equalis 2250 pixels at 300 DPI.

Note 2: Even though Puzzle Maker Pro will resize the images to make them fit in smaller squares, this will take processing time. In other words, creating puzzles and puzzle pages will take longer if large files have to be imported and resized to fit.

How to use your images in Puzzle Maker Pro

There are two ways to select the images you want to use:

Click the little image panel to open a file selection window (the same 'dialog' you'll see in most other Windows apps), and select the file you want to use for that panel;
Use drag and drop to select multiple images at once.

How to use drag and drop to import your images to Puzzle Maker Pro

It's easy to use your own images: Just drag the images from your file explorer, and drop them onto one of the little image panels (where the domino tiles are shown).

You can select one or more images, click the left mouse button on one of them, and then move the mouse (while keeping the button pressed) to these little image panels, and let go of the mouse button. The images will be used, for one or more panels, starting at the panel you pointed at.