Question 1

Can I get an overview of what Puzzle Maker Pro can do for me?

Accepted Answer

This is a short overview video of the features and functions of Puzzle Maker Pro.

Question 2

How to create an Instant Puzzle Books with custom margin settings

Accepted Answer

In this tutorial we'll set up a puzzle book layout with different settings for left and right pages.

Step 1 - Set the puzzle options

In this example we'll work with Sudoku, which is one of the easiest puzzles to create - since there's no need to set up a word list or other input.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/5PqtIUAORB/1%20Set%20Puzzle%20Options.jpg (1 Set Puzzle Options.jpg)

We'll create just 2 pages, with 6 puzzles in total, to illustrate the layout options.

Step 2 - Set the Desired Output Type

In this case we'll create a Powerpoint file and a PDF.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/x7hOz2ziqj/2%20Output%20Type.jpg (2 Output Type.jpg)

Step 3 - Set up the Page Format

The next step is to set up the Page Format and the Margins.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/TGtbmgjGsS/3%20-%20Page%20Settings.jpg (3 - Page Settings.jpg)

1 - The Page Format or Trim Size

In this example we'll set it to 8.5"x11". You can use any trim size you want. However, with smaller trim sizes and large margins, there will not be much space left for the actual puzzles and solutions!

(For puzzle books generated with Puzzle Maker Pro, there's no need to use Bleed, unless you set the margins to zero. Normally the puzzles will be placed within the page margins, and not in the margins and bleed area.)

2 - Top and Bottom Margins

You can set these as desired.

3 - Left/Right Margins

Let's say you want different margins for left and right pages, because you want a larger gutter margin. In that case the "Left" Margin setting is used for the outer margins (left margin on the left page, right margin on the right page), and the "Right"setting is used for the inner margins (right margin on the left page, left margin on the right page).

To illustrate this in the output, we'll set a really large inner margin of 1.5".

4 - Mirror Margins

By default, if you would create a PDF or Powerpoint file (that can be exported to PDF with Powerpoint), the first page would be a right page (the front cover), the 2nd page would be a left page, etc.

However, if you use different margins for left and right pages, it's important to specify which page is the first one. However, if the first page is not a 'right' page, you'll have to add a cover page to your PDF or Powerpoint file manually.

We select "Mirror Margins", and unselect "First is Right Page". That means the first page is a left page, and you'll have to add the cover page later.

These are the settings to create different left/right margins in your puzzle book.

Step 4 - Page Layout

The final part to set up is the page layout:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/VFqrWNpxgb/4%20-%20Page%20Layout.jpg (4 - Page Layout.jpg)

Here you can set the number of rows and columns for the puzzle pages (1) and for the solution pages (2).

In addition to that, you can specify the padding (distance) between the puzzles (3). In this case it's set to 0.1"

Step 5 - Create

After setting the different options and settings to your taste, click "Create". Puzzle Maker Pro will now create the puzzles for you, and create the Instant Puzzle Books from those puzzles.

Here are screenshots of the Powerpoint results (first image) and PDF results (second image, only two pages shown).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/EuQdeQCyv5/5%20-%20Result.jpg (5 - Result.jpg)

Question 3

How to set up the Page Format in Easy Journals or Easy Puzzle Books

Accepted Answer

This tutorial explains the Page Setup options for Easy Journals and Easy Puzzle Books (plugins for Powerpoint).

Overview

Trim Size is the official term for the size of your book. When you create books for Amazon / KDP, you can use a fixed number of trim sizes, when you create printables, it's best to stick with a common printer paper format in your country (e.g. Letter for the USA, A4 for Europe).

It takes a couple of steps to set the right Trim Size in Powerpoint, and it actually has a different name, because originally Powerpoint was not intended for books.

The "Page Setup" tab can be found in the Easy Journals plugin and in the Easy Puzzle Books plugin.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/cy3o11TTbK/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20030%20-%20Page%20Setup.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books 030 - Page Setup (1).jpg)

Trim Size

You can set the trim size in inches. Click "Set" and it will be applied to your current Powerpoint file immediately.

Margins

Powerpoint doesn't support page margins (because it's created for presentations, not pages), however it does support guides... the dotted lines that help you to align shapes and text.

You can use the Page Setup to add lines for your margins: Set the proper margins in inches, and click "Add Guides".

Note: these margins have a specific color, that will help the Page Setup to remove / replace them when you change the trim size.

Presets

When you've set up the trim size and margins, you can reuse these settings by saving them as a preset (at the top, just below "Page Setup". You can also load presets.

Get from Powerpoint

A final option on this page is "Get Current", which will retrieve the current page format from Powerpoint (the slide height and width), and update the Trim Size settings. This can help you if you're not completely sure wether you set the Powerpoint size to 8"x10" or 8.5"x11".