Question 1

How can I use different layouts for left and right pages in Ultimate Planner Maker?

Accepted Answer

This video tutorial shows how to set up the different page sections and how to create different layouts for left and right pages in Ultimate Planner Maker.

Question 2

How can I use Header Images in Ultimate Planner Maker?

Accepted Answer

This video tutorial demonstrates the use of header images.

Question 3

How do I create journals with Easy Journals?

Accepted Answer

Easy Journals

Easy Journals is a plugin for Powerpoint - it requires MS Windows and MS Powerpoint to be installed on your computer. It doesn't work with the cloud version of MS Office / Powerpoint.

If you haven't installed the plugin yet, you should do that first. There's a tutorial for downloading and installing the plugin here.

Applications

This plugin doesn't just create journals, you can use it for many other mix and merge applications, such as simple memes that consist of a text quote and a background image. Wherever you see 'journal' in this tutorial, you can replace it other products if that works better for you.

If you create journals, you could create a guided journal, or a journal with writing prompts, by setting up a text file with the text for each page and then use the plugin. If you want a small illustration at the top or bottom of each page, that's different on each page, you can select the list of images as well, before using the plugin.

You can even create coloring books this way, by adding a (large) placeholder for images on each page, and then use the plugin. This way all the images will be placed at the exact same location. (However, if the dimensions of the images are different, they may appear stretched).

It's very easy to do a test run, although it's best to use a limited text file (just 2 or 3 words or phrases). That way you can see the results, and use Ctrl-Z to quickly remove the new slides. (Using the plugin counts as a single action for Powerpoint, so you only need to press Ctrl-Z once, even if you have 100's of new slides).

Using Text and/or Images

With Easy Journals you can use text and/or images to quickly generate a journal.

You can use text, images, or both. The plugin will copy your 'template' slide, and replace the placeholders with words from your text file and/or images from the list of images you selected.

Click "Text File" to select the text file you want to use. This file should contain each word (or phrase) on a separate line.

You can choose the codes that need to be replaced. By default these are set to "{TEXT}" and "{IMAGE}". You can use all the Powerpoint styling options for the text, these will be applied to the new text as well. Images will be added as a 'fill' for the shape containing the code "{IMAGE}".

This screenshot illustrates how it works. Please don't be offended by the lack of content and styling, it's just showing the mechanics.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/hF6GHM1xIL/EJ%20001%20placeholder%20codes.jpg (EJ 001 placeholder codes.jpg)

The green arrows show how the codes are configured and added to the page.

The red arrows show how to set the content that will replace the codes.

After using the plugin (click "Go") the output could look like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/REWnkc1Zr1/EJ%20002%20Rendered%20page.jpg (EJ 002 Rendered page.jpg)

Reminder: You will need to remove the template slide before uploading your journal to KDP or Etsy.

Page Setup with Easy Journals

There's one other (free) feature in Easy Journals: You can quickly set up the page format you need and add guides to indicate the margins.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Ta2wJYpIXu/EJ%20003%20Page%20Setup.jpg (EJ 003 Page Setup.jpg)

Using the button 'Get Current' it will retrieve the current settings from Powerpoint. These will be translated from the internal Powerpoint format (72 points per inch) to inches.

You can change the format to e.g. 8.5" by 11". Once you click "Set", the page (slide) format will be changed.

Powerpoint does not work with margins, because it's an app to create presentations, not books. However, you can easily use guides to help you out here: Just set the margins the way you want to and click "Add Guides". This will add four red guides - top, bottom, left, right.

It will also remove other red guides: Because the plugin doesn't know which guides were set as 'margins', it uses the color red for this purpose. Guides in other colors will not be affected.

Question 4

How do I create multiple puzzles at once in Puzzle Maker Nonogram

Accepted Answer

Welcome to the tutorial on how to create multiple puzzles at once in Puzzle Maker Nonogram. This function is only possible with Puzzle Maker Nonogram complete edition.

How to use the Batch Function

The Batch function can be found on the bottom right of the screen.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/fMSvLDC8Y3/nonogram%20where%20is%20the%20batch%20button.jpg (nonogram where is the batch button)

Using the batch option has its pros and its cons.

On the upside, you can generate many puzzles in one go.

On the downside, you do not get to manually edit all your puzzles.

This allows for a faster workflow, but many puzzles that could be discarded.

Then why would you use the batch option? There are two things you can do with this. But first, let's check out the screen.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/IEi20shRxz/Nonogram%20batch%20screen.jpg (Nonogram batch screen)

The Source and Output Folders. You can select the folder where all your templates are, and the area where the program should drop all of the puzzle results.
The Puzzle Sizes. Very similar to what you've already seen in the normal screen, and we'll get back to this later.
The Source Files. After you've selected a Source Folder in step 1, you'll see a list of all the pictures in that Folder here. Right now we have a folder with a lot of fish images selected.

From here multiple options are possible. First, just below the Output Folder button, you see multiple options on where you want your hints to show up, what the separator is, zeroes and empty rows... If you're curious about what these buttons do, you can find the information in our Getting Started with Nonograms tutorial.

Now, first things first. Let's grab one picture, and select multiple Puzzle Sizes.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Pm1vJDGkZS/Batch%20option%201.jpg (Batch option 1)

Now, if we select "Go", the software will automatically generate all the puzzles we have selected.

As you can see, we haven't selected any options to remove white space, so a lot of empty rows appear in the puzzles.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/HIDyyzSzNH/A%20lot%20of%20fish.jpg (A lot of fish)

From this, we can select whichever puzzle(s) we like best, and keep those. Everything else we can discard, or choose to use later. However, as they're output as PNG files, we can no longer edit these puzzles.

There's a second option available too. We can select many puzzles, and only one size.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Yey09KroKQ/Batch%20option%202.jpg (Batch option 2)

Let's see what happens if we output with these settings.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/B9IZ007nqg/Many%20different%20fish.jpg (Many different fish)

A lot of 40x40 puzzles have been generated, one from each image in the Source Folder. Again, we can quickly select the puzzles that work, and discard the ones that don't. If you need many puzzles of the same size for a puzzle book, this is a quick and easy option to create them.

Finally, let's combine both options. Multiple puzzles, and multiple sizes.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/MC19pVBgTI/Even%20more%20fish.jpg (Even more fish)

You can see that all fish have different sizes where they work better, and if we discard everything else, we have the beginnings of a fish-themed nonogram puzzle book. Now all that's left is to combine them all into a book, for example by using our Easy Puzzle Books Powerpoint Plugin.

Selecting a Mask

If you select the "Use Mask" tab on the module, you can open up the Grid Editor to fine-tune masks.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/d1YYrhktrp/Word%20Search%20use%20mask.jpg (Word Search use mask)

As you open up the Grid Editor, you'll see a new screen with several options.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/NXYnn2p6In/Word%20Search%20mask%20grid%20editor.jpg (Word Search mask grid editor)

The Grid Setup. This is the same amount of rows and columns you are already using for your Word Search puzzle, but if you want to adjust the size, here is where you do that.
The option to select a mask file, or clear the mask entirely. If you choose "Select file" you will go to windows explorer, where you can select the correct file to use.
Choosing the background colour. Most .png files have a transparent background. Some other files may use white as background. Because of that, these two options are always selected. But say your mask uses a white cloud over a blue sky? then you can turn off the White, and instead select blue as the background colour, so the shape of the cloud shows up, instead of everything but the cloud.
Presets. You can save what you've done with your mask, and re-use that for later puzzles if you choose to do so. If you've already made a preset, you can load it here.
The mask screen. You can see how your mask currently looks. As a standard, everything is selected.

Now let's import a mask and see what that does.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/JBTxu70W1h/Word%20Search%20mask%20selected.jpg (Word Search mask selected)

Finetuning your mask

On the left, you can see the preview of the file, and on the right you can see what the mask looks like now.

If you want to, you can click on the right part of the screen to add or remove tiles from the puzzle. Or if the puzzle doesn't look right, you can change the size of the mask. Because this looks a bit strange, I've personally changed the format to 15 rows and 15 columns.

Once you're done, select "use mask" in the bottom right, and see what your puzzle looks like now.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/OtaI7rrPbp/Word%20Search%20mask%20added.jpg (Word Search mask added)

As you can tell, the program automatically resized the puzzle as soon as I made the mask 15 by 15. It also makes sure that all words stay within the mask used.

Now, you can either keep the mask this way, but you can also add "Print Mask as Background". This does exactly what it advertises, and turns the file you used as a mask into the background for the puzzle. This works incredibly well with some pictures, but is not a mandatory step to use.

Installation

Installing the plugins

There's a separate tutorial to install our plugins for Powerpoint: Click here.

Installation Issues

When using our Powerpoint Add-ins, there have been a few occurrences where the installer seemed to work properly, but the Add-in was not visible in the Add-in’s menu.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Ifih5ZMYla/AddIns%20Menu.png (AddIns Menu.png)

First of all, you should go to File -> Options -> Add-ins, to verify that it’s installed, but possibly inactive, or not available at all.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/tVZ1DEZfug/AddIns%20Options.png (AddIns Options.png)

In addition to that, there’s an option to force Powerpoint to show Add-in error messages (which may be suppressed otherwise). We need these messages to figure out what’s going on.

You can find this setting in File -> Options -> Advanced.

When you report add-in errors, please be as specific as you can be, and add screenshots of errors that are shown.

You can report the error to the seller (for Powered by BookPublisherTools add-ins) or to our on helpdesk for BookPublisherTools add-ins.

Certificate Not Trusted

There's a separate tutorial to fix certificate issues: Click Here

Other Issues

Please read the tutorials before reporting issues with the plugins.

Display Issues

There's a separate tutorial to fix display issues: Click Here

Question 8

How Do I get started with Connect the Dots (Text Version)

Accepted Answer

Puzzle Maker Pro – Connect the Dots is an interactive playground to create Connect the Dots puzzles. There are three different versions: The Lite Edition, the Manual Edition and the SVG Edition.

The Manual Edition has tools and options to add, insert, move and delete dots, change the style of the dots, the style of the lines and the style of the tags (numbers or text), for multiple paths (lines). These paths can be grouped together for easier overview.
The Lite Edition has all the features and options of the Manual Edition, but is limited to only one path.
The SVG Edition adds options to import SVG files and optimize the number of dots resulting from an SVG import.

In this tutorial we’ll focus on the basics – the window layout, and the tools and options to create a very simple Connect the Dots puzzle. This tutorial assumes some knowledge of Puzzle Maker Pro – Settings for output path, file size and format are explained elsewhere.

How to get Started with Puzzle Maker Pro – Connect the Dots

After choosing Connect the Dots in the Puzzle Type menu, you’ll see a window like the one below. (Details may differ slightly, because we’re continuously improving the software)

Creating a Connect the Dots puzzle consists of two steps:

Create the dots and paths for the puzzle
Change the styling and options

Lite Edition

The next image is the default display for the Lite version of Connect the Dots.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/dGEhcGHh9L/PMP%20-%20Connect-the-Dots-101-Start-Here-1.png (PMP - Connect-the-Dots-101-Start-Here-1.png)

The properties for the current path, such as line color and dot type. We’ll explain this after creating our first path.
The preview panel contains brief instructions for Connect the Dots, telling you to Open the Path Editor (3)

Click the “Open Path Editor” button (3) to get started.

Manual Edition and SVG Edition

The Manual Edition and SVG Edition open the window with the Navigation menu visible. When starting a new puzzle, there will only be one single path shown: "New Path".

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/YTBlcfghFd/PMP%20-%20Connect-the-Dots-101-Start-Here-2-1.png (PMP - Connect-the-Dots-101-Start-Here-2-1.png)

Click the “Open Path Editor” button (3) to get started.

How to Use the Path Editor for Connect the Dots

The Path Editor contains tools and options to create the different paths for your puzzle.

Some Connect the Dots puzzles only use one single path, that is: a single chain of dots numbered from 1, where the puzzler has to connect all the dots with consecutive numbers. 1 to 2, 2 to 3, and so on.

More complex Connect the Dots puzzles may have multiple paths. Puzzle Maker Pro – Connect the Dots – Manual Edition and SVG Edition support the use of multiple paths.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/yGMV6mJDvg/PMP%20-%20Connect-the-Dots-101-Path%20Editor.png (PMP - Connect-the-Dots-101-Path Editor.png)

With the Path Editor you can:

Click to add dots (1). Just click on the preview panel, that contains the tutorial text. As soon as you place your first dot, the text will disappear.
Clear all (2): If you make mistakes, or you want to continue with a blank slate, click the “New Image” button
You can select an image on your computer to use as an overlay (3). That way you can add dots along the outline (or outlines) of your image. The filename of your overlay file will be shown as well (5)
With the SVG Edition you can also open the SVG Editor (4). This is a separate window that will display your SVG image and has options to change the number of dots.
At the left you can see the path settings panel (6). You can change all the path settings here, such as the name, colors, dot type, and more.

How to Add Dots to create a puzzle

By left-clicking the mouse on the panel at the right (that initially shows the tutorial text), you can add dots. The software will keep track of the order of the dots, and display lines between the dots (the path).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/xwHaNtzTma/Connect-the-Dots-101-Path-Options.png (Connect-the-Dots-101-Path-Options.png)

In this example we’ve created a simple path with 5 dots in the shape of a house.

After you change the settings for any of the styling options, click “Preview” (bottom left) to update the preview.

The next screenshot shows the same image with totally different styling options:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/a5T7aISQwi/Connect-the-Dots-101-Path-Options-2.png (Connect-the-Dots-101-Path-Options-2.png)

How to Edit the Current Dot position

Puzzle Maker Pro - Connect the Dots is the only puzzle app where you can edit (move or delete) the individual dots in a path.

How to use the Path Data (tab)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/iNC8uP2T6X/Connect-the-Dots-101-Path-Data.png (Connect-the-Dots-101-Path-Data.png)

An additional way to see all the points, is the “Path Data” tab. This will show you co-ordinates for all the dots. The current dot is shown with a blue bar. You can use buttons to “Clear All” dots from the path, or to “Delete” the current dot. Usually you won’t need to use this information. You can also click other points in this list, and you’ll see a different dot getting selected in the image.

The option “Closed Path” will allow you to automatically add a line between the last and first dot in the path. In the puzzle this will result in a combined number for the first dot, shown as “1/73”

How to use the additional path settings

All the path settings are available in all Connect the Dots editions, however some path settings only make sense when you use multiple paths.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/gKq1Sdk0HV/PMP%20-%20Connect%20the%20Dots%20-%20Additional%20Settings.png (PMP - Connect the Dots - Additional Settings.png)

How to use Multiple Paths in Connect the Dots

You can create Connect the Dots puzzles with one or more paths if you have the Manual Edition or the SVG Edition. On the Navigation tab you can see a hierarchically ordered list of all the paths.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ufpMrOGdAp/PMP%20-%20Connect-the-Dots-101-Multiple-Paths.png (PMP - Connect-the-Dots-101-Multiple-Paths.png)

By right-clicking on the navigation panel, you’ll see a popup menu with different options:

Question 9

How Do I Install the Powerpoint Plugins?

Accepted Answer

Here's a generic step by step guide to install Powerpoint plugins.

#1 Download the file

The first step is to download the Plugin file and save it on your computer. Usually that's as simple as clicking the download link. You can find this on the download page that has been emailed to you, or in the member area if you are using a paid plugin.

After this you should have a file named BPT-Easy-Journals.zip, possibly including a version number, in the Downloads folder on your computer.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/BWgLerx0Mc/Plugin%20Install%20001%20-%20Zip%20File.jpg (Plugin Install 001 - Zip File.jpg)

#2 Extract the files

The next step is to extract the files from the zip file, or 'unzip' the file. You can do this by right-clicking the filename and then select "Extract Here" or "Extract To".

Warning: Do not just double click the filename. This will let you browse the contents (that's fine) without unpacking it. You cannot install the plugin unless the files have been extracted from the zip file.

In the screenshot below you can see the result of "Extract Here" - The zip file contains a folder "BPT-Easy-Journals" that will be created on your computer.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/2YHUR1GoPg/Plugin%20Install%20002%20-%20Folder.jpg (Plugin Install 002 - Folder.jpg)

#3 Find the Files

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/LAOOSDHeG2/Plugin%20Install%20003%20-%20Files.jpg (Plugin Install 003 - Files.jpg)

#4 Start the Setup

Warning: You'll need to keep this folder in the same place, otherwise Powerpoint won't be able to find the plugin files later.

Powerpoint will show you a confirmation message:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/vZACmHpdXP/Plugin%20Install%20004%20-%20Confirmation.jpg (Plugin Install 004 - Confirmation.jpg)

It will say "Publisher: Core Insights". That's the registered company name of BookPublisherTools.

After this step you can use the plugin in Powerpoint, as described in other tutorials.

#5 Troubleshooting

In 99% of the cases, the installation will work properly. However, if you find it doesn't work, here are the solutions to the most common problems.

Certificate not trusted

The software certificate is comparable to the certificates used on websites for https (the secure internet protocol). It is used to 'sign' the sofware and ensure that it has not been tampered with.

There are two reasons why this error may occur:

Depending on the Windows settings on your computer, you may need to manually save the certificate, before installing the plugin (or other BookPublisherTools software). You can find a guide here.
The certificate may have expired. This is not a problem for plugins that have already been installed, but it will be checked when you install a new plugin. This can be solved by downloading the newest version of the plugin. If that doesn't fix it, contact us.

Other errors

There have been a few other types of errors, all of which have been fixed by re-downloading or re-installing the plugin. If that doesn't work, please contact us.

Question 10

How do I solve the Multidokus

Accepted Answer

Puzzle Maker Pro - Sudoku comes with many different variations for sudokus. Some of these may be a little confusing, so we'll explain how each sudoku works.

Standard Sudoku

The basic module for Sudoku 9x9 standard does exactly what it says on the tin. It creates a sudoku that is 9x9 squares, which is the most common variation. With Sudoku 9x9 Creative it's also possible to create sudokus with pictures, letters, or other symbols.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/4GpsEUZxBR/Sudoku%20creative.jpg (Sudoku creative)

Different Sizes

We also have two different modules, for smaller or bigger squares. Sudoku Kids Edition has 4x4 sudokus, and 6x6 sudokus. Sudoku More Squares offers sudokus of the sizes 8×8, 10×10 and 15×15. Sudoku Large Squares 1 contains 12×12 and 16×16 sudokus, and Sudoku Large Squares 2 takes it to the extreme, with 14×14, 18×18, 20×20, 24×24 and 25×25 sudokus.

The largest we currently offer is 25x25. As it still has to be printed on a page, this is the largest option that still looks good.

Sudoku X and Hyper Sudoku

These are from the Sudoku Variations add-on. Both use the standard 9x9 shape, but they have additional difficulties.

The Sudoku X has added diagonals, where in each diagonal the numbers 1-9 appear once. The Hyper Sudoku has extra 3x3 squares overlayed, that also can only contain the numbers 1-9 once.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/xaFLJXAqQI/Sudoku%20X%20and%20Hyper%20Sudoku.jpg (Sudoku X and Hyper Sudoku)

Multidokus

Multidokus are sudokus that have multiple sudokus overlapping. We have several variations of these. For the examples we'll be using the standard 9x9, but many of these can also be combined with the different sizes, depending on the modules that you own. These sudokus look intimidating, but once you realise they're built up out of multiple normal sudokus, they become very easy to solve.

So let's look into these sudokus per module. First, the sudokus from Sudoku Multidoku 1. This contains the variations Sudoku Twins, Samurai, Marathon and Triathlon.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/abDBp5AcKL/Multidoku%20Twins%20Marathon%20Samurai.jpg (Multidoku Twins Marathon Samurai)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ycH0giecSF/Multidokus%20triathlon.jpg (Multidokus triathlon)

As a visual aid, we have colourcoded these sudokus. As you can see, each multidoku is built up out of multiple overlapping 9x9 sudokus. This actually makes the multidokus slightly easier, because for the squares in the overlapping area you can use hints from both sudokus to figure out the solutions!

Now that you understand the basics of how the multidokus work, let's see how the Multidokus from Sudoku Multidoku 2 are built up. With these it can be slightly more difficult to find the 9x9 squares that build up the sudoku, but they're still very much there. The Sudoku Multidoku 2 module contains the following sudoku forms: Sensei, Cross, Gattai, Flower and Windmill.

So let's see what those look like.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/rMxtWgUeLq/Multidoku%20Sensei%20gattai%20flower.jpg (Multidoku Sensei gattai flower (2).jpg)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/RDDttsGXrw/Multidoku%20Cross%20Windmill.jpg (Multidoku Cross Windmill)

That got complicated really quickly. The sensei has the least overlap of any multidoku, but the other ones in this set have multiple squares, and even some hidden sudoku squares in the middle of each.

However, you can still solve these the way you solve a normal sudoku. Just take it one square at a time, and use the overlapping squares to your advantage to solve all the sudokus!

FAQs directory