Question 1

Getting Started with Nonconsecutive Sudoku

Accepted Answer

Getting Started with Nonconsecutive Sudoku

This tutorial applies to:

https://www.bookpublishertools.com/product/puzzle-maker-pro-nonconsecutive-sudoku-9x9
Puzzle Maker Pro - Nonconsecutive Sudoku Other Squares

Nonconsecutive Sudoku

Nonconsecutive Sudoku is a sudouk variation with additional rules for the grid: consecutive numbers cannot be adjacent. In other words, when there's a 3 in a cell, the cells next to it - horizontally and vertically - cannot contain a 2 or a 4.

In our modules for Nonconsecutive Sudoku, the highest and lowest numbers are considered consecutive as well: In a 9x9 grid, the 1 and 9 can also not be adjacent to each other.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/tEiJuBOOHT/Nonconsecutive.PNG (Nonconsecutive.PNG)

This image illustrates the impact of this rule: In a regular sudoku, if the numbers 2, 4 and 6 would be placed like this, there would be 6 available numbers for the center cell: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9. (in a 9x9 grid sudoku).

For Nonconsecutive Sudoku there are quite a few restrictions:

the 2 removes the 1 and 3 from the options
the 4 removes the 3 and 5 from the options
the 6 removes the 5 and 7 from the options

Instead of 6 different numbers, there are only 2 options for the center cell: the 8 and 9.

As you can see the nonconsecutive rule hugely diminishes the number of options for the grids. As a result, there are significantly fewer nonconsecutive sudoku puzzles available.

Find Nonconsecutive Sudoku in Puzzle Maker Pro

To create Nonconsecutive Sudoku puzzles in Puzzle Maker Pro:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/GYxuecZjSI/Nonconsecutive%20Sudoku%20Overview.png (Nonconsecutive Sudoku Overview)

Go to Sudoku Variations
Select one of the Sudoku Grid Sizes that are available for Nonconsecutive Sudoku (6x6, 8x8, 9x9, 10x10, 12x12, 14x14, 15x15, 16x16)
Select "Nonconsecutive" in the Variation menu.

There are quite a few tutorials about all the regular features of Sudoku in Puzzle Maker Pro, ranging from grid setup to symbol options, please check the tutorials below.

Note: Even though it's possible to use images for Nonconsecutive Sudokus, it doesn't make much sense, and the sudokus may be impossible to solve, since there are no odd and even images.

How to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Patchwork Log Cabin

This tutorial applies to Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Patchwork Log Cabin.

The tutorial "How to use Mazes 2D Squares" describes how to use the generic options for Mazes 2D.

In this tutorial we'll explain the specific 'log cabin' features.

Log Cabin is a type Patchwork design, resembling the way logs are stacked to build a log cabin.

This module includes:

4 different log cabin designs
3 colorization options (no colors plus two ways to add color accents, dependent on the log cabin design)
Several options to fill a larger grid (maze) with a smaller log cabin design, just the way it's done in patchwork designs.

In addition to the log cabin options, this module includes the 'standard' maze generation and style options in the Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D collection.

Note: Due to the specific algorithm for Mazes 2D Patchwork Log Cabin, the Masks Add-On is not available for this module. It would go against the log cabin concept, and additionally, you wouldn't be able to mask smaller parts of the 'logs'. However, the Mazes 2D DIY Maze module can do all this and more.

Mazes 2D Patchwork Log Cabin

Select Mazes 2D in the main Puzzle Type dropdown menu, then select Patchwork Log Cabin in the (maze) Type dropdown menu. Click "Next Preview" to quickly get a first impression. (Changing settings does not automatically create a new preview, because you may want to change multiple settings, and the mazes, especially at larger sizes, may take some time to generate).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/77E92SJ0ue/Patchwork%20Log%20Cabin%20Overview.png (Patchwork Log Cabin Overview)

On the special Log Cabin tab, you can see several groups of settings:

The Log Cabin settings Variation and Steps
Repeat settings
Colorization settings

Variation and Steps

Currently there are four different Log Cabin variations in this maze module:

Standard
Courthouse Steps
Chimneys and Cornerstones
Chevrons

For each variation you can customize the size ("Steps"), this will add more log levels.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/J4gJVE2Imb/Patchwork%20Log%20Cabin%204%20Variations.JPG (Patchwork Log Cabin 4 Variations.JPG)

Repeat Settings

As you can see, these separate grids have quite long cells, which would result in fairly easy mazes. That's why there's the option to fill a larger grid with these log cabin patterns, and generate a maze for the entire grid. The grid size is determined by the Rows/Columns settings in the Puzzle Control area.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/fETY0Ty7Fp/Patchwork%20Log%20Cabin%20Repeat%20Patterns.JPG (Patchwork Log Cabin Repeat Patterns.JPG)

There are several 'Repeat' options:

Copy - this will just copy the log cabin pattern until the grid is filled.
Rotate Clockwise (1x, 2x, 3x)
Mirror Vertically or Horizontally or both
Random - will randomly select one of the repeat options for each maze you generate.

Finally there's the "Full Repeats Only" option: When you want a 50x50 puzzle, but the log cabin size you selected is 8x8 squares, the log cabins at the right and bottom will be cut off. This may not be a problem, but especially when you use the colorization options, you may want to show only full log cabins. The Full Repeats Only option lets you do that. In the 8x8 log cabin example and a 50x50 maze, it would generate a 48x48 maze instead, using 6 log cabin patterns in each direction.

Colorization Settings

Colorization of your mazes is not required, but it can be a nice touch. In patchwork / quilting there's usually a kind of contrast in the different fabrics that are used, resulting in patterns like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/hsLv9rHrj8/Patchwork%20Log%20Cabin%20Colorization.JPG (Patchwork Log Cabin Colorization.JPG)

You can use this for a maze as well. There are three colorization options and a random option

No Color
Color Variation 1
Color variation 2
Random (Randomly choose one of the three options for each maze you generate)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/UQQLVJHdnl/Patchwork%20Log%20Cabin%20Maze%20Colorization.JPG (Patchwork Log Cabin Maze Colorization.JPG)

The colorization can give a true patchwork log cabin look and feel to the maze, as you can see in these examples.

Just like other Puzzle Maker Pro modules, it's best to play around with the settings, generate previews of the mazes, and find settings that fit your style. Don't forget to save these settings as presets, for later reuse!

Introduction

The Time Saver for Word Search has several options to specify the puzzles for your book:

"Fast" - Specify the dimensions and quantity for the word search puzzles
"Presets" - Specify your own existing presets to create word search puzzles
"Masks" - Specify which mask presets to use for your word search puzzles (to be released soon)

This tutorial describes the process to use "Presets" for your puzzle book. There are three steps to do this, in addition to the regular steps to create puzzles and puzzle books:

Create the Mask
Save the puzzle Preset
Select the Preset in the Time Saver

Creating a Mask for Word Search

To create a shaped puzzle using masks, first go to Standard Word Search. Then find the "Use Mask" tab and click "Set Mask".

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/IsdlTUAINb/Masks%20TS%20-%20Word%20Search%20Set%20Mask.png (Masks TS - Word Search Set Mask)

This will open the Mask Editor. Here you can create a mask from scratch, or import an image (JPG or PNG) to define the mask.

Create a Mask from an existing image

The screenshot below shows the Mask Editor for Word Search.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/lpB1FP8xTk/Masks%20TS%20-%20Mask%20Editor.png (Masks TS - Mask Editor)

There are several things you can do here:

Set the number of columns for the grid. (To keep the correct proportions for the mask, the number of rows is calculated automatically, based on the image you use)
Select an image - Click "Select File" to select a JPG or PNG image. As soon as it's selected, the grid will show the puzzle shape. Please be aware that a mask will usually remove many cells (spaces) from the grid. If you'd normally use a 10x10 grid with 100 letters, you may need to increase the size to 18x18 when you use a mask, to still have 100 letters in the grid. (You can change the number of Columns after the image is selected).
To make the mask available for further use or editing, click "Save Preset". If you don't save it, it can still be used for the word search puzzle, but you won't be able to reuse it. It's best to choose a name that reflect the image and size, e.g. "Spaniel 25" in our case.
Finally click "Use Mask" to go back to Word Search and apply the mask.

You can also edit the mask - just click the individual cells to switch them on and off.

Creating the Word Search Preset

Back in the Word Search settings, you'll immediately see a preview of a word searhc puzzle with the mask applied.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/o0NOJ8fYP2/Masks%20TS%20-%20Word%20Search%20With%20Mask.png (Masks TS - Word Search With Mask)

You can use the background image (silhouette) as a background image.
Save the Word Search puzzle WITH the mask as a preset. You can use any name, but again it makes sense to use the theme and the size. That way you can easily select the preset whenever you need it. Just type a name and click one of the 'disk' buttons.

Adding the Preset in Time Saver for Word Search

In the Time Saver for Word Search, you can first set up the Main options and the Word Lists. In this tutorial we'll explain the Batch Creation / Presets option.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ZvRzwFi0Vh/Masks%20TS%20-%20Selecting%20Presets.png (Masks TS - Selecting Presets)

This should show you a list of your Standard Word Search presets.

Tips and Tricks

In this tutorial we've used two different presets:

Mask Presets - these are saved in a separate folder at 'my documents'/Puzzle Maker Pro/Mask Presets/ . Here you can manually copy or delete presets if needed.
Standard Word Search presets - these are saved in a different folder: 'my documents'/BookPublisherTools/Presets/PMP. In this folder you can find subfolders for each puzzle type.

A quick way to open Windows File Explorer to the general presets folder is to go to the Tools tab and click "Open Preset Folder".

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/K62AtznBzM/Find%20the%20Preset%20Folder.png (Find the Preset Folder)

Differences between Standard Mazes 2D and Geometric Mazes

There are currently multiple 2D mazes products in the product list in Puzzle Maker Pro. These include: Standard Mazes 2D and Geometric Mazes. These modules use different algorithms to create the puzzles. While Geometric Mazes has some unique options (and will be getting additional add-on options), the Standard Mazes 2D product is more suitable for large mazes (100+ rows and columns) and is faster for batch creating lots of mazes.

There's also a difference in the 'random wall thickness' option: Standard Mazes 2D randomizes for each wall, while Geometric Mazes will randomize for each cell, resulting in different, more natural looking patterns.

(Future) Add-on's for Geometric Mazes

Currently several future add-ons are planned:

Rooms and Crossings (Rooms are larger cells in a grid, only available for Squares. Crossings will be available for Squares, Triangles and Hexagons)
Breadcrumbs (text - words or phrases, or images, to add an additional challenge to the mazes)

Question 7

How to use the Manual mode in Easy Puzzle Books (plugin for Powerpoint)

Accepted Answer

This tutorial explains the Manual mode in Easy Puzzle Books (plugin for Powerpoint)

Overview of the Manual process

The "Manual" way of creating puzzle books consists of a number of steps:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/N5EaNwfdcq/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20044%20-%20Manual%20Panel.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books 044 - Manual Panel.jpg)

Some of the steps are identical to the "Auto" approach, some are different:

Select Puzzles - Select puzzles and solutions (identical), and set up the placeholder codes for the puzzles (optional)
Create Puzzles Page - Set up the grid (identical), and Create the Puzzles template slide (new)
Create Solution Page - Set up the grid (identical) and Create the Solutions template slide (new)
Select Slides (New) - Select which template slides to use for puzzles, and which for solutions
Create Puzzle Book - (identical)

Step 2 and 3 include creation of the template slides, and manually editing (changing) them. This diagram illustrates the steps.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/QeCv0UcQaB/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20050%20-%20Manual%20Overview.PNG (Easy Puzzle Books 050 - Manual Overview.PNG)

Placeholders

Part of this process is creating "Placeholders" that will be replaced by puzzles and puzzle titles later. There are three steps that affect the placeholders. For Easy Puzzle Books this is mostly automatic, because there's only one puzzle type involved. The three steps are shown in this diagram:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/8J40NaqEh7/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20051%20-%20Manual%20Placeholders.PNG (Easy Puzzle Books 051 - Manual Placeholders.PNG)

Set up Puzzles - As part of the puzzle setup, you can specify the specific placeholders for the puzzle. There are four different placeholders: Puzzle, Puzzle Title, Solution, Solution Title. Each of these will be used in the template that you can edit.
Create Grid - A new slide will be created that contains placeholders for the puzzles, solutions and titles.
Create Puzzle Book - Will create as many copies of the template slides as needed, and replace the placeholders with the actual puzzles, solutions and titles.

The diagram below shows examples for the different steps. We'll cover all of these in detail.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/BLxUQcVCL3/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20052%20-%20Manual%20Examples.PNG (Easy Puzzle Books 052 - Manual Examples.PNG)

Set up Puzzles - Placeholders

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/qHVgFjX8da/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20040%20-%20Manual%20Placeholders.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books 040 - Manual Placeholders.jpg)

The tab "Titles" in The Puzzle Setup window will let you edit the Placeholders. As you can see, there are four of them, Puzzle (Image), Puzzle Title, Solution (Image), Solution Title. These are the four different items that will be placed on your puzzle pages.

There's a "Placeholder Code" which is set to "%%" by default. However, if you need to use "%%" in your titles, you can set it to a different value.

You can also set the number of Puzzles per Page and the number of Solutions per Page. For example, if you want to create a 2x3 puzzle grid, you'll have 6 puzzles and 6 puzzle titles on a puzzle page.

To keep track of which title belongs to which puzzle, they are numbered: {Puzzle Title 1} belongs to {Puzzle 1}, {Puzzle Title 4} belongs to {Puzzle 4} etc. (See the example screenshot in the next paragraph).

Remember: These are just temporary numbers on a page. For example, the third page with puzzles that's generated in step 5, will have replace {Puzzle Title 1} with "Puzzle 13", and {Puzzle 1} with the image file for puzzle 13.

Note: If this dazzles your mind, just remember not to edit these placeholders.

Create Grid and Edit Layout

You can set up the grid just like you did for "Auto", but in this case you need to click "Create Grid" to actually create a template slide. With a 2x3 grid, it can look like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/NTqUsi9n1K/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20041%20-%20Manual%20Create%20Grid.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books 041 - Manual Create Grid.jpg)

Here you can see the 6 different placeholders for puzzles, and 6 for puzzle titles. (You'd see the same type of placeholders on the solution template.

As long as these placeholders remain in place, you can completely change the look and feel of this template slide. For example, change the position of titles and puzzles, change the font and color of the titles. You can also change the size of the puzzle placeholders.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/equTmkIObX/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20042%20-%20Manual%20Edit%20Grid.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books 042 - Manual Edit Grid.jpg)

You could even copy the template slide and remove some of the puzzles, to have 2 puzzles on the first page, and 4 on the second page.

You can repeat this step for the Solution Grid, so you'll end up with at least one Puzzle Page Template, and one Solution Page Template.

Select Slides

You can create 1 or more template slides for the puzzles, and 1 or more tempate slides for the solutions. That means the plugin cannot really know which is which, and you have to specify which slides to use. (That means you can even create one master Powerpoint file with all your templates, and just select the ones you need for this session).

When you use more than 1 template slide for puzzles or solutions, you can also include slides that do not have any placeholders, but other text, images, etc.

In the screenshot below we've used 1 puzzles template slide and 1 solutions template slide:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/sJRcL1WK2t/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20045%20-%20Manual%20Select%20Slides.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books 045 - Manual Select Slides.jpg)

First select the puzzle slide (or slides) in 'Slides Pane'. In the example that's slide 2. With this slide selected, click the green "Set Puzzle Slides" button (Step 4).

Next select the solution slide or slides. In this example that's slide 3. Click "Set Sol Slides".

You can now see a small status text (the red rectangle in the screenshot): "Selection P 2 S 3". P is for Puzzles, S for Solutions, the numbers are the slide numbers.

Create Puzzle Book

Just like in "Auto" mode, you can select whether you want to collate the puzzles and solutions, and whether you want the puzzle book to be created as a new Powerpoint file. Click "Create Puzzle Book" to use the slide templates and create your book. Here's an page created with the template from the earlier example:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Q1T3DIbT5P/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20043%20-%20Manual%20Puzzles%20Page.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books 043 - Manual Puzzles Page.jpg)

Final remarks

Feel free to play with the options, and it's best to make a lot of mistakes and learn from them. (That's what I do as well).

The selected puzzle files and titles, and the grids, are shared between the "Auto" and "Manual" workflows. That means that you can start with an "Auto" approach, see how the puzzle book turns out, and if needed, use the "Manual" to finish the product.

Puzzles / Solutions per Page

The settings for Puzzles per Page and Solutions Per Page is part of the puzzle settings, but it can be adjusted when creating the grids: If you set it to 1, and the grid is 2x3, you'll need 6 puzzles / solutions per page. It will be automatically set to 6. (It's only adjusted when CREATING the grids, not in other steps)

However, there's no automatic check later on, so if you manually adjust these numbers, e.g. set the Puzzles per Page to 4, you may get an incomplete set of puzzles in your book, or worse, you get duplicates.

An example: For the first page, the first puzzle number will be 1. Then 2, etc. For the second page (more precisely: the second copy of the puzzles template slides, the first puzzle number will be 1 + the number of Puzzles per Page. When the Puzzles per Page are set to 4, the second page will start with puzzle 5. When Puzzles per Page is set to 8, the second page will start with puzzle 9.

If you use a grid with 6 puzzles on a page, the first example (with 4 puzzles per page) will result in duplicates, while the second example (with 8 puzzles per page) will never print puzzles 7 and 8.

Question 8

How do I use the Time Saver for JigSaw?

Accepted Answer

This tutorial shows the basics of using the Time Saver for Jigsaw. For this you require any version of Jigsaw Maker, and the Time Saver.

Basics

To use the Time Saver for JigSaw, you need to select the "Time Saver" tab, and then check the box "Use Time Saver to generate Puzzles" at the top.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/nQFCAF35W4/Jigsaw%20040%20-%20Time%20Saver%20Overview.png (Jigsaw 040 - Time Saver Overview.png)

There are two ways to use this Time Saver, which can be combined:

Using Images (the "Fast" mode)
Using (JigSaw) Presets

In addition to the "Use Time Saver" option, you'll need to check the options you want to use, e.g. the "Use Time Saver - Fast" option in the screenshot.

Using Images

In the Fast Mode you can just select a number of images and adjust some of the settings for each image. (All the other settings will be copied from the 'Puzzle Settings' tab.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/XL3HqEShIN/Jigsaw%20041%20-%20Time%20Saver%20Fast%20Mode.png (Jigsaw 041 - Time Saver Fast Mode.png)

Add Images

At the bottom of the window ([1] in the screenshot), you can see a button "Add Images". This will allow you to select a number of images on your computer, that will be used for puzzles. These images will be added to the table.

Using the "Delete Rows" button you can remove rows that you have selected (by clicking on them), "Delete All" will remove all the rows from this table.

Set default values

You can set a couple of default values ([2] in the screenshot) for each set of images you import, such as the puzzle type, the number of rows and columns, "Perfect", and the connector type. This will allow you to very quickly create a list of puzzles to create.

Editing the table

For each image you can edit the settings in the table.

Once you're done, click "Create" to create your puzzles and/or puzzle book.

Note: "Next Preview" and "Save Preview" have no use for the Time Saver.

Using Presets

The other option for the Time Saver is using Presets. These are presets you have created for JigSaw.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/EDacC7DyTl/Jigsaw%20042%20-%20Puzzle%20Presets.png (Jigsaw 042 - Puzzle Presets.png)

In the Time Saver you can see all the presets you have created, and select the ones you want to use to create puzzles (for your puzzle book). Everytime you use a preset, it will create a new randomized puzzle, based on the preset settings.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Zm6scty1QK/Jigsaw%20043%20-%20Time%20Saver%20with%20Presets.png (Jigsaw 043 - Time Saver with Presets.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 10

How to use SVG files in Connect the Dots

Accepted Answer

This tutorial demonstrates the use of SVG files in Puzzle Maker Pro - Connect the Dots

Getting Started with Nonconsecutive Sudoku

How to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Patchwork Log cabin

How to use Masked Word Search Puzzle Presets in the Time Saver for Word Search (for Puzzle Maker Pro version 1 to 2023.3.2)

How to use Shortcut Keys with Connect the Dots

How to create a 'Mountains' style pattern with POD Graphics Maker

Which Product do I need to Purchase for Geometric Mazes

How to use the Manual mode in Easy Puzzle Books (plugin for Powerpoint)

How do I use the Time Saver for JigSaw?

How to use the Output Settings in Puzzle Maker Pro

How to use SVG files in Connect the Dots