Question 1

Word Puzzle Output

Accepted Answer

This tutorial explains the output options for Word Puzzles in Puzzle Maker Pro.

This tutorial applies to:

When you generate puzzles (by clicking "Create") several files will be created in your project folder:

TXT file (plain text) in the 'Puzzles' subfolder
CSV file (Comma Separated Variable-length file) in the 'Puzzles' subfolder
PMP file (Puzzle Maker Pro file for internal use) in the 'Meta' subfolder

Additionally there are some optional files:

JPG/PNG files if you generate Images/Memes as well, see also: Creating Images/Memes for Word Puzzles
PDF and/or Powerpoint file - Instant Puzzle Books

TXT file output

The TXT file output consists of one line for each word or phrase, for example:

This file is for your own use, you can copy the words to other software, or not use it at all, if you create Instant Puzzle Books as well.

Encoded puzzle - the first part is the encoded puzzle, ending with "||"
Solution - after the "||" you see the solution, the original word
Description - if there was a description in the source words file (or a set title if you use word sets), this will be added after a colon ":". To use sets, see: Word List format for Word Puzzles

CSV file output

CSV is a standardized file format that can be used with many applications. The example above in CSV format would look like this:

You can import this file in Excel (or other spreadsheets), for example to use it with our Replicator software, and you can even import this file into Canva (with a Pro subscription) to quickly generate a batch of images. (Note: at the moment of writing, somehow the automatic import into Canva doesn't work properly, but as a work-around, manual import will work - Open the CSV file in Excel, then select all the rows / columns and past it in the manual bulk import area in Canva).

Circles

First of all, the JigSaw Circles will only create a circular puzzle. It will not fill out the empty space along the borders of your image. This means a significant part of your image will be cut off - it makes sense to prepare images that have the actual image centered.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/sOnRU71cz1/Jigsaw%20025%20-%20Blank%20Circles%20Puzzle.png (Jigsaw 025 - Blank Circles Puzzle.png)

Number of concentric circles

Instead of changing the amount of rows and columns, you only get one choice here: The amount of concentric circles that will be in the image. We personally recommend 2-4 circles for the best result. If you go much larger, the printed pieces will become much smaller, and it will be hard to tell the pieces apart.

Circles and Ovals

The option "Perfect Circle" will enforce the resulting puzzle to be an actual circle. If you don't have this selected, and your picture isn't a perfect square, the puzzle will instead come out as an oval.

This can be used in some cases, but the pieces will become more easily recognisable by shape, and the end result may not be aesthetically pleasing in all cases. Puzzle Maker Pro - JigSaw Circles has not been optimized for extreme differences. The screenshot below illustrates the effects of using an oval where the height and width differ a lot:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/27rrCZUA1M/Jigsaw%20036%20-%20Circles%20-%20Oval%20Shapes.png (Jigsaw 036 - Circles - Oval Shapes.png)

In addition to this effect, the puzzle page (showing the separate puzzle pieces) may show overlapping pieces, because the sizes of the pieces differ too much.

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 4

How can I quickly set up a layout with the Journal Filler Plugin for Powerpoint?

Accepted Answer

This tutorial shows you how to quickly create a tight layout in Powerpoint using the Journal Filler Plugin for Powerpoint.

As you know, each 'page' in Powerpoint is called a slide. That's the terminology we will use in this tutorial.

Overview

The Journal Filler Plugin for Powerpoint will save you time with two different options:

Quickly fill a shape with lines, squares or dots (see: Lines, squares or dots)
Add new shapes to set up a layout quickly (this tutorial)

To use the Journal Filler Plugin, click on the "Add-ins" option in the Powerpoint menu. This will open the Add-in ribbon, that includes the "BookPublisherTools" options. In the "More Options" menu you can find "Journal Filler". This will open a new side panel in Powerpoint.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/c2xd7twyDJ/Add-in%20menu.jpg (Add-in menu.jpg)

There are two ways to add new shapes on a slide (or on several slides)

Add shapes on a blank slide - this will create new shapes with black/white colors only
Set up a shape on your page, and use that as a template for new shapes.

Add shapes on a blank slide

An easy way to get started with your journal or planner layout, is by adding a basic layout on a blank slide. With a blank slide we mean a slide that does not yet contain any shapes or other things.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/UUTYtulvDt/006%20Empty%20Blank%20Slide.jpg (006 Empty Blank Slide.jpg)

As you can see in the screenshot, we've used Easy Journals to set up an 8.5"x11" page layout, and to add guides for the 0.5" margins. (These guides are not required for Journal Filler.)

At the right you see the Journal Filler plugin, where the "Shapes" tab is selected. Here you can:

Set outer margins, that you don't want covered with shapes. You can set this to 0 (zero), to 0.5" for KDP margins, or to larger sizes to create a specific layout. For example to keep the top half of the page empty.
Set Interior Margins, the margins between your shapes. You can specify the horizontal distance between columns, and the vertical distance between rows
Set the number of rows and columns.

In the example we create 3 columns x 3 rows, with 0.1" margin between the rows and columns, and 0.5" margins on the outer borders. This will result in a new layout like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/qtC7QP8VC6/007%203x3%20for%20Blank%20Slide.jpg (007 3x3 for Blank Slide.jpg)

When you create shapes on a blank slide, the shape fill color is white, the border line will be black, and the font color is black as well.

You can also use custom colors and font settings for your shapes, by starting from a 'template' shape:

#Add shapes from a 'template' shape

Or... you may want to use specific color settings - a rose gold background with a purple script font and green borders.

Journal Filler will let you replicate (copy) the shape you create with the exact same settings.

Step 1 - Set up the shape format, position and size

First you add a shape to your slide. For journals and planners you'll probably use squares, but you can use stars, arrows, etc as well.

You can change the colors, font style and font color as you wish. In the screenshot below we just used a white background with black borders:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/chogcVIhdF/Filler-Squares.jpg (Filler-Squares.jpg)

To be honest, these four squares have been created from a larger square.

Step 2 - Set up the number of shapes you want

Journal Filler will create the specified number of shapes in the place of the selected shape. If you set the number of rows and columns both to 2, you will end up with 4 shapes, each approximately 50% of the height and width of the original shape. (It will apply the Interior Margins you set).

Step 3 - Add the new shapes

Now you can select the shapes you want to use as templates (1 or more) and click "Add" to add the new shapes.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/BuZqZa6IpQ/Filler-Smaller-Squares.jpg (Filler-Smaller-Squares.jpg)

In this screenshot you can see the result after:

Selecting the top left and bottom right squares, and selecting 1 column and 2 rows, then clicking 'Add'
Selecting the top right and bottom left squares, and selecting 2 columns and 1 rows, then clicking 'Add'

Using Ctrl-Z you can undo all the changes made by the plugin.

Step 4 - Customize and embellish

After you've created this basic layout, you can manually change, resize and edit the shapes any way you want. These are 'just' Powerpoint shapes.

Question 5

How Can I Change the Styling for Puzzle Maker Pro - Jigsaw puzzles?

Accepted Answer

Welcome to the tutorial for styling your Jigsaw puzzles made with Puzzle Maker Pro - Jigsaw. The techniques shown in this tutorial apply to all versions of Jigsaw.

For Jigsaw puzzles, the following styling options are available:

Font Styling for Coordinates
Line Width and Color
Help Lines in the puzzle pieces.

Font Styling

You can choose any (TrueType) font on your computer for the printed coordinates. Just click the white area that has the font name (by default "Arial", in this screenshot "Artless") and the Font Setup window will be shown, where you can configure and preview the font settings.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/1PQPuu1YAz/Jigsaw%20015%20-%20Font%20Styling.png (Jigsaw 015 - Font Styling.png)

Remember that not all fonts are free to use in commercial works. We have a separate tutorial to find out if you can legally use your font.

Line Width and Color

You can set the Line Width and Color for the puzzle and solution, and separately for the puzzle pieces. That way you can choose for thicker lines if the puzzle pieces are intended to be cut out.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/zGokAZ8tVW/Jigsaw%20016%20-%20Line%20Styling.png (Jigsaw 016 - Line Styling.png)

Help Lines

In addition to the puzzle piece border lines, you can also add Help Lines. These will help children (or adults) to draw parts of the puzzle piece in the right location. This can be especially helpful if you have puzzle pieces with lots of details. The next screenshot shows an example. The purple color for the Help Lines was chosen to contrast with the bright colors.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/XFp9E9y0aY/Jigsaw%20017%20-%20Help%20Lines.png (Jigsaw 017 - Help Lines.png)

Variation 1 Step 1 - Specify which letters to remove

On the 'Advanced' tab for Word Search Puzzle Settings, you can find an option 'Remove Other'. Although originally intended to remove certain symbols in other languages, such as ', `, and - in French words and word combinations, you can also use this setting to create Missing Vowel puzzles.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/7fxuVbZOfJ/Word%20Search%20-%20Hidden%20Vowels%201.png (Word Search - Hidden Vowels 1.png)

In the screenshot you can see that we chose to remove A, E, I, O, U and Y. Y isn't considered a vowel in all languages, but for this example it is.

By its nature, missing vowel word search puzzles will be very compact, since all the words will be a lot shorter and easier to connect to other words.

Warning: There are quite a few words that will result in just a single letter if you remove the vowels, such as 'age', 'ago', 'aid', 'aide', 'no', 'any', or two letters , like 'all', 'ally'. Especially the single letter results will make the puzzle hard or impossible to solve, since a single 'g' or 'n' could also be randomly chosen for an empty square. Please make sure that you check your word list and the resulting puzzle to verify that it's the puzzle you want to publish.

Variation 1 Step 2 - Fill the Empty Squares

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/JRFwKRSPyq/Word%20Search%20-%20Hidden%20Vowels%202.png (Word Search - Hidden Vowels 2.png)

On the 'Solution' tab you can specify which letters you want to use for the empty squares, in the 'Hidden Word' section. It makes sense to remove the vowels from this list as well.

Variation 2

In this variation, empty spaces are left over where vowels should go. For this we select the "Hide Vowels" option. As with variation 1, you can choose what you consider a vowel, as this could be different depending on your language.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/0EADBJUkkX/Puzzle%20maker%20word%20search%20no%20vowels.jpg (Puzzle maker word search no vowels)

Now, in the image above you still see the vowels, because we are looking at the solution. However, if we turn off "Preview Solution" in the bottom right of the screen, we see that all vowels have been removed, leaving only a blank space.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/FXZKRvfDy6/No%20vowels%20word%20search.jpg (No vowels word search)

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 Books with Mixed Puzzle Books (plugin for Powerpoint)?

Accepted Answer

Getting Started

This tutorial explains the steps to create puzzle books using Mixed Puzzle Books (plugin for Powerpoint).

If you are using Puzzle Maker Pro, you can quickly create puzzles and puzzle books with a single mouse-click. However, there is a lot of puzzle-software available - free and commercial - that only creates the puzzles, not the books. That's where Mixed Puzzle Books comes in. (Fair warning: the Easy Puzzle Book plugins may not work properly with certain Puzzle Maker Pro puzzle types, such as Word Search or JigSaw).

Install the Plugin

First of all, you'll need to install the software: Easy Puzzle Books is a plugin for Powerpoint - it requires MS Windows and MS Powerpoint to be installed on your computer. It does not work with the cloud (browser) 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.

Start the Plugin

To start Easy Puzzle Books, open the "Add-ins" ribbon in Powerpoint (this is a menu option, usually just to the left of the Help Menu).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/c2xd7twyDJ/Add-in%20menu.jpg (Add-in menu.jpg)

The Add-ins ribbon should contain the BookPublisherTools group of options. Click "More Options" to open the dropdown menu, and select "Mixed Puzzle Books".

Mixed Puzzle Books - Overview

If you have used the Easy Puzzle Books plugin for Powerpoint, please be aware that Mixed Puzzle Books is designed slightly differently.

The Mixed Puzzle Books plugin will open a panel at the right (just like the shape edit panel in Powerpoint). The panel has two tabs:

First things first: Page Setup

Always set up the page size first, otherwise you'll be generating grids and puzzle page in the wrong format later.

Automatic Book Generation

As you can see in the screen shots, there are 4 steps to set up and create your puzzle book:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/sMpP6hL201/Mixed%20Puzzle%20Books%20001%20Overview.jpg (Mixed Puzzle Books 001 Overview.jpg)

At the top of the tab page is a "Preset" section: You can save the entire book setup as a preset, and retrieve it later. This will NOT save the Powerpoint contents, and saving the Powerpoint file will NOT save the Easy Puzzle Books data!

Step 1: Set up the puzzles

Select puzzle and solution files on your computer for your puzzle book. Click the green button "Select Puzzles". More details can be found in the Puzzle Setup Tutorial.

After selecting the puzzles and solutions, you should see the status information next to the green button.

There are two additional options:

"Start At" - The first puzzle number to use. In most cases this will be 1 (one), but if you want to create parts of a puzzle book to combine later, you can enter a different number here,
"Balance Puzzle Sets" - Use this option to make sure each page will contain an equal number of puzzles from each set. An example: if you have 4 sets of 50 puzzles and want to balance them, the four puzzles will be used in a random order. The order can be A-B-C-D C-A-B-D D-A-C-B, but it will never be A-A-B-C D-A-C-D.

Note: For Mixed Puzzle Books it makes sense to name the puzzle sets properly, to prevent making mistakes.

Note: If you select just one set of puzzles, Mixed Puzzle Books create books that are identical to Easy Puzzle Books output.

Step 2: Set up the Puzzles Grid

Easy Puzzle Books will use a grid-style layout for your puzzles, e.g. 1 per page, 2x2, 3x4, etc. Click the green button "Set Up Grid (Puzzles)" to set up the number of puzzles per page and the margins and padding. Details can be found in the Grid Setup Tutorial

When the grid setup for the puzzles is done, the selected grid size should be shown next to the green button.

Step 3: Set up the Solutions Grid

There are two options for the solutions grid:

It can be identical to the puzzles grid. Click the "Use Puzzles Grid" option and make sure it's checked. This is usually the best format if you want to create a solutions page right after each puzzles page;
Set up a separate grid for the solutions - for example you can have 6 puzzles on a page and 12 solutions on a page

Setting up the solutions grid is done identical to the puzzle grid.

Step 4: Create Puzzle Book

The final step is to create a puzzle book, using the settings specified in the previous steps.

There are three options here:

Keep Aspect Ratio - If you use different types of puzzles, with different shapes, e.g. rectangles and squares, you want to keep the original size of the puzzle. By default, images are stretches to fit in the shapes of the grid. However, adjusting the size of each shape (based on the shape of the puzzle or solution) strongly affects the processing time;
Collate - Print the puzzles first and the solutions later. if unchecked, it will print a puzzle page, then a solution page, then the next puzzle page, etc;
New Powerpoint File: It's possible to create the puzzle pages in a new Powerpoint file. It will automatically copy the page setup (width and height) from the current file. Otherwise the new pages will be appended at the end of the current Powerpoint file.

Example

To show you what it can look like, this screenshot shows the setup for a sudoku puzzle book with 50 puzzles. The next screenshot shows the pages that have been generated in Powerpoint.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/L2NEj8vewb/Mixed%20Puzzle%20Books%20002%20Auto%20Filled%20Overview.jpg (Mixed Puzzle Books 002 Auto Filled Overview.jpg)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/9o3nAexdjc/Mixed%20Puzzle%20Books%20003%20Example%20Powerpoint.jpg (Mixed Puzzle Books 003 Example Powerpoint.jpg)

Next steps

In many cases the automatic puzzle book creation will be just what you need. It's fast.

Once you have a configuration that works for you, with the proper grid sizes and margins, you can even save the entire setup as a preset, to use for several books. Each time you create a new book, you can load the preset, and just clear the puzzle sets and select different puzzles.

It's possible to have many presets, for example if you publish different book sizes or different puzzle types.

Manual Puzzle Book Creation

With Easy Puzzle Books you can also customize the grids, page style, fonts, etc before filling the templates with puzzles and solutions. This is called Manual Puzzle Book Creation. You can find a tutorial here.

Question 10

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".

Word Puzzle Output

How can I create Circle JigSaw Puzzles?

How Do I Install the Powerpoint Plugins?

How can I quickly set up a layout with the Journal Filler Plugin for Powerpoint?

How Can I Change the Styling for Puzzle Maker Pro - Jigsaw puzzles?

How Can I Create Missing Vowel Puzzles with Puzzle Maker Pro - Word Search?

How to Add Page Numbers to Powerpoint Puzzle Books?

How to use the Output Settings in Puzzle Maker Pro

How Can I Create Books with Mixed Puzzle Books (plugin for Powerpoint)?

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