Question 1

How to create patterns from your photos and images with POD Graphics Maker

Accepted Answer

This Youtube tutorial demonstrates POD Graphics Maker Pattern 03-4, using a photo to create a seamless pattern.

Question 2

How to use the Masks Add-On for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Squares

Accepted Answer

The Masks Add-On for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Squares

With the Masks Add-On for Mazes 2D Squares you can create shaped mazes. Mazes in the shape of anything you want.

This add-on supports three different styles of mask creation:

Quick Masks
Create masks in the Mask Editor using a silhouette
Create masks in the Mask Editor manually

Of course you can also combine the two: Use a silhouette first, and then manually edit the resulting mask.

You can find the mask options under the Mask tab.

Mazes 2D Squares - Mask Tab

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/MtMjI9wSGg/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Mask%20Tab.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Mask Tab)

To use a Mask, the first step is to click the “Use Mask” checkbox. That will let the software know that it should use a mask. (You can also uncheck it, to temporarily disable a mask that you’ve set up).

Whenever you switch the Maze Type, the mask will reset.

Note: the details may work slightly different for different shapes, but the main mechanics are the same.

This tutorial applies to the following products:

Masks Add-On for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

Quick Masks

The easiest option to create a mask, is the Quick Mask option.

First, you need to select an image. Either beither clicking the white panel below the “Use Quick Mask” checkbox, or by dragging your image onto that panel.

Next, click the “Use Quick Mask” button, and click “Next Preview”.

Mazes 2D Squares - Quick Mask

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/rGIxqazIvV/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Quick%20Mask.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Quick Mask)

When you do this, there can be different outcomes:

You get a shaped maze, like the example screenshot.
Nothing happens
You get a result, but it’s underwhelming

After the Quick Mask is generated, the “Use Quick Mask” checkbox will be unchecked automatically – Generating a mask from a bitmap image takes time, and you may not want to generate the same mask over and over, while you’re adjusting style settings (or selecting different tiles).

However, if you want to create a new mask with the Quick Mask feature, because you changed the grid size or the image, you have to manually check this checkbox again.

Quick Mask - Nothing Happens

The Quick Mask option will try to generate a mask, using the grid settings (the number of rows) and the image you selected. It will do so by analyzing the silhouette image, using AI to find settings that result in a "Connected Mask" is created.

Connected Mask – To create a maze, all the cells in the grid must be connected. When you use a mask that results in separate ‘islands’ of cells that are not connected, the mask cannot be used.

If the AI cannot find a Connected Mask the Quick Mask generator will give up, and there will be no mask.

Underwhelming Results

In many cases, especially when you’re first starting to use the Masks Add-On, the result may be a bit underwhelming. The screenshot shows an example of what can happen:

Mazes 2D Squares - Mask Underwhelming Result

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/UXRLQg5SpU/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Mask%20Underwhelming%20Result.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Mask Underwhelming Result)

Even though we started with the silhouette of a car, and a mask was created, the resulting image and the maze do not resemble a car. This is not a bug: The mask generator did what it’s supposed to do – each cell that has enough colored (in this case black) pixels, will be added to the maze.

However, when the grid is too small (in this case 12 rows) and the lines of the silhouette are too thin, the cells won’t be part of the mask. In this case the roof of the car, and the top of the headlights are not part of the mask.

You can increase the number of rows for the grid, to create a better mask, or optionally use the Mask Editor to manually create a good mask based on the silhouette.

Mask Editor - Using a Silhouette

To create a mask from an image, you’ll need an image that can work as a silhouette: You can set which background color(s) to remove from the mask, and all other colors will be part of the mask. The masks feature won’t work well with line-art images.

When you click “Edit Mask”, you’ll see the Mask Editor:

Mask Editor Overview

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/RQbQUfYO33/Masks%20Add-On%20Mask%20Editor.jpg (Mask Editor Overview)

The resulting mask. If you already had a mask selected, it will be shown here, otherwise all cells will be part of the mask,
The image selection panel. Either click here to select an image, or drag and drop an image onto the white panel
Depending on the image, you may need to adjust the background color
At the top you can see a status message. In the screenshot it’s green “Cells are connected”. If there are disconnected ‘islands’ of cells in your mask, it will show a warning in red.
After selecting an image, you can change the Mask Sensitivity to create a better result,
After changing the grid size or Mask Sensitivity, click “Scan Image” to create the new mask from the current image. This will overwrite any manual changes that you’ve made.

You can toggle each square (or tile) in the mask by clicking on it, or by using the advanced editing options:

Setting the background color

For regular silhouette images, the background will be either white or transparent. You can also select a different color, or even switch the foreground and background for a silhouette image. It’s also possible to use white and a selected other color and transparent as three different options to determine the background.

Changing the Mask Sensitivity

The Mask Sensitivity is the threshold for background pixels in each cell (square or isometric). If there are more background pixels than that threshold, it will be excluded from the mask. Otherwise it will be included. You can manually adjust the threshold to create a slightly different mask from your image.

Three examples of different Mask Sensitivity settings:

Mask Editor - Scan Sensitivity

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/I3rpsYCuEO/Masks%20Add-On%20Sensitivity.jpg (Mask Editor - Scan Sensitivity)

Create Masks Manually

Click on the “Manual Editing” tab (in the Mask Editor) to reveal the advanced editing options:

Masks Add-On Manual Mask Editing Options

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/zLPM5rq2AZ/Masks%20Add-On%20Manual%20Mask%20Editing%20Options.jpg (Masks Add-On Manual Mask Editing Options)

Action - Toggle will switch the color from black to white and vice versa. This will include or exclude the cell or range from the mask.
Action - Copy Color will copy the color of the clicked cell to all the cells in the range
Range Type: When you click on a single cell (tile), you can select whether just the cell, the row or the column have to change color
Range Size: Adjust 1, 3 or 5 cells, rows or columns at a time

The screenshot shows the result after two mouse-clicks:

Click on a cell with Action “Toggle”, Range type “Row” and Range Size “3”
Click on a different cell with Action “Toggle”, Range type “Column” and Range Size “3”

You can see that by using Toggle, some of the white cells in the rows have turned black again. By using “Copy Color” you can prevent this.

You can also see that the result of these two actions is a maze that is NOT connected (see the red warning at the top of the window). I’d have to do more editing to make this into a good shape for a maze.

Note: clicking the cells for editing is somewhat sensitive. If you move the mouse while clicking, the software will not know whether you want to move or click. (If you zoom in, using the mouse wheel, you can click and drag the image, to view exactly the part that you need to see best).

Introduction

With the Time Saver for Letterbox you can combine multiple word lists, randomise word lists, and use more flexible layout settings for your Instant Puzzle Books. To use the Time Saver, you should have a basic understanding of Puzzle Maker Pro - Letterbox. The Time Saver will overwrite the grid size and the word list, all other options of Letterbox will be used as set in the Puzzle Settings.

Time Saver for Letterbox

With this Time Saver, you can select multiple word lists. Each word list will add one row to the 'job' table. You can then edit some settings for each row, and when you're done, generate all the puzzles.

Letterbox Time Saver

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/lRv14SRvgv/Letterbox%2050B%20Time%20Saver.png (Letterbox Time Saver)

Letterbox Time Saver

To use the Time Saver, you have to click the "Use Time Saver" option, to let Puzzle Maker Pro know what you want to create. The button "Create" [8] will then change into "Create (TS)"
Set the Rows and Columns setting for your puzzles. By default it's set to 6 by 5, but you can use different sizes to change the complexity of the puzzle, or to accomodate shorter or longer words. (This value will be used in each row when you click "Select/Add Word Lists")
Set the number of puzzles or choose Unlimited to use the entire word list. (This value will be used in each row when you click "Select/Add Word Lists")
Select word lists to use for your puzzles. Each word list should be TXT file, as described in the Letterbox tutorial. You can select multiple files at once.
After selecting word lists, rows will be added to the table. You can edit the Rows, Columns, Quantity and Unlimited settings for each word list
If you selected too many files, you can delete rows from the table
Optionally you can randomize the word order for each file, to create puzzles in a different order each time you use the same word list
Create all the puzzles and optionally the Instant Puzzle Book.

Layout Options

In addition to the Time Saver automation features, the Time Saver also unlocks the advanced layout options in Puzzle Maker Pro. On the Instant Puzzle Books -> Layout tab, you can select the number of puzzles and solutions on each page.

Time Saver Layout Setup

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/VDUPnRhcEt/Time%20Saver%20Layout%20Setup.jpg (Time Saver Layout Setup)

Time Saver Layout Setup

How to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D DIY Mazes

This tutorial applies to Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D DIY Mazes.

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

The tutorial for "Patchwork Log Cabin" describes the common features - this tutorial focuses on how to draw and create your own maze.

Mazes 2D DIY Mazes lets you design your own maze. Entirely, or as a building block that will be repeated and rotated to fill a larger grid.

This module includes:

The option to use your own maze, by creating a text file that can be selected (imported) in Puzzle Maker Pro
3 colorization options (no colors plus two ways to add color accents, dependent on the your maze specifications)
Several options to fill a larger grid (maze) with a smaller design. If you are using POD Graphics Maker as well, you'll recognize this. (this feature is described in detail in the tutorial for "Patchwork Log Cabin"

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: There is no Masks Add-On available for this module. However, you can build the mask into your DIY Maze by adjusting the pattern.

Using Mazes 2D DIY Mazes

Select Mazes 2D in the main Puzzle Type dropdown menu, then select DIY Mazes 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/IBkFx743jG/DIY%20Mazes%20Overview.png (DIY Mazes Overview)

On the special DIY Maze tab, you can see several groups of settings:

File selection
Repeat settings
Colorization settings

How to use the Repeat settings and colorization settings is described in the Patchwork Log Cabin tutorial. The way it looks will completely depend on your maze.

Creating the maze

There are 6 steps to create your maze

Draw the maze
Number the different cells / shapes in your maze
Create a text file from these numbers
Select the text file in Puzzle Maker Pro
Click Preview
Adjust maze settings

Step 1 - Draw the maze

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Lo3eOJFSFz/DIY%20Maze%20-%20design.jpg (DIY Maze - design)

This example image was created in Powerpoint (using a 5x5 table), but you can draw with pencil and paper, or any way you like. The image with the different cells or shapes is just for you, it's not just by Puzzle Maker Pro.

The one thing you need to take care of, is that the grid is made out of squares, each row has the same number of squares, and each column has the same number of squares.

You obviously do not need to design the passages between the cells. These will be generated by Puzzle Maker Pro. if two shapes have multiple shared borders (such as shape 3 and 4 in the next image), Puzzle Maker Pro will randomly select one of the borders.

Each shape needs to be fully connected (in math terms: 4-connected). That means the squares in the shape should be next to each other vertically or horizontally. Otherwise no maze can be generated.

You can choose your own size, up to 100x100. However, in most cases you get create effects by using a smaller design, e.g. 5x5 to 10x10 squares, and then use the power of Puzzle Maker Pro to create randomized repeats.

Step 2 - Number the cells

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/I5kRldmEwk/DIY%20Maze%20numbered%20cells.jpg (DIY Maze numbered cells)

You can use numbers or letters or words, to identify each shape in your maze design. The example uses consecutive numbers (this is the best way for quality control, to be sure there are no duplicate numbers in different shapes).

Step 3 - Create a text file

Now create a simple text file, that can be edited in Notepad. The software can NOT handle Word, Excel or Powerpoint files!

Here's a screenshot of the file DIYMaze.txt that I created for this tutorial:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/XU6nyc8ohF/DIYMaze.jpg (DIYMaze)

The commas will be used to separate the different cell/shape codes. You cannot use another symbol instead.

That's really all there's to it.

Step 4 - Select the text file

That's number (1) in the screenshot at the top of this page

Step 5 - Click Preview

You'll need to click "Next Preview" to see the results. This is done on purpose, because you may want to adjust several settings at once, and generating a custom maze can take a bit of time (a second or two, for very large mazes, depending on your computer)

Step 6 - Adjust maze settings

Depending on your design, you can now change the grid size and the repeat options, to get differently looking randomized mazes from your design.

Advanced design options

Excluding squares from the maze

There is no Masks option for DIY Mazes, but you can easily exclude cells from the maze: Just use a 0, or nothing at all to add a square that's excluded.

For example 1,1,0,2,2 - this is identical to 1,1,,2,2 (the first option is easier to read and to adjust visually).

Colorization

In addition to the numbers for your maze, you can add a separate (!) line starting with the word 'Accent1' or 'Accent2' that has the numbers that need to be colorized. The lettercase of the word Accent1 doesn't matter.

Accent1 will be used if you select Color Style 1, acccent2 will be used if you select Color Style 2.

This will use the specified accent color for shapes 1, 6 and 9. This can give you a result like the following screenshot:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Ow7ueuRR6Y/DIY%20Maze%20Accent%20Colors.png (DIY Maze Accent Colors)

Final remarks

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

Full page word search puzzles are printed on a spread consisting of 2 pages. The puzzle itself is printed on one page, the word list is printed on the second page. In Puzzle Maker Pro it's easy to generate the puzzles, but it takes a little bit of math to get it right. An example of the pages in Powerpoint could look like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ZctWy8np1D/Full%20Page%20Example.png (Full Page Example)

First we'll explain a bit of background, next we'll show you how to do it in Puzzle Maker Pro in several steps.

Page and Puzzle Dimensions

The entire layout depends on your page setup, the trim size and margins. The puzzle dimensions should be adjusted to this. Or the other way around, if you want a certain size for the puzzle, say 30x40 or 34x44, you may want to adjust the page settings accordingly.

As you can see on the previous image, the puzzle page consists of several parts:

The title
The puzzle itself
The margins

Optionally you may want to add a page number as well.

Trim Size and Margins

There are several trim sizes that are commonly used for KDP books. For printables, you may use slightly different dimensions, corresponding to common paper sizes (Letter Size in the USA, A4 in Europe).

Let's say you want to use margins of 0.5" on each side. (This is not a requirement for Puzzle Maker Pro). This will have an impact on the printable area for each trim size:

A trim size of 6x9" will have a printable area of 5x8"
A trim size of 8x10" will have a printable area of 7x9"
A trim size of 8.5x11" will have a printable area of 7.5x10"

The horizontal:vertical ratio is important, because it determines how many letters you can use horizontally and vertically. It gets slightly more complex if we add a title, but luckily you only need to do the math once.

Adding room for the title.

In Puzzle Maker Pro, the space for the title is allocated as a percentage of the total height for each puzzle. In this tutorial we have just one puzzle per page. Let's say we set the title percentage to 5%, that means:

A trim size of 6x9", printable area 5x8", title area is 5% * 8" = 0.4". The puzzle area will be 5x7.6"
A trim size of 8x10", printable area 7x9", title area is 5% * 9" = 0.45". The puzzle area will be 7x8.55"
A trim size of 8.5x11", printable area 7.5x10", title area is 5% * 10" = 0.5". The puzzle area will be 7.5x9.5"

As you can see, the sizes are different, and more importantly, the ratio between horizontal and vertical is different. This means that the number of letters horizontally and vertically will be different:

5x7.6" has a horizontal:vertical ratio of 1:1.52, which means 1.52 letters vertically for each letter horizontally
7x8.55" has a horizontal:vertical ratio of 1:22, which means 1.22 letters vertically for each letter horizontally
7.5x9.5" has a horizontal:vertical ratio of 1:27, which means 1.27 letters vertically for each letter horizontally

For the larger trim size 8x10", the 1:1.22 ratio means a hor/vert ratio of 30x37 or 33x40 letters.

If you change the margins, you'll get slightly different calculations.

Using a fixed grid size

On the other hand, if you want to use a fixed grid size, say 30x40 or 34x44, you can also do that. Puzzle Maker Pro will resize the puzzle (image) to fit into the space that's reserved for the puzzle. This may result in a tiny bit of additional white space next to the puzzle.

Page Setup in Puzzle Maker Pro

You'll need to set up the Trim Size, the Page Layout, and the Titles.

Trim Size and Margins

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/IHUyJmo9Gy/full%20page%20word%20search%20trim%20size.png (full page word search trim size)

You can set the Trim size on the Instant Puzzle Books -> Page Format tab.

Set the Trim Size, and optionally select Bleed. (Bleed will affect the printable area, Puzzle Maker Pro will take this into account)
Set the Margins. Optionally you can use different margins for left and right pages. In that case:
Click "Mirror Margins", and you'll also want to make sure "First is Right Page" is not enabled. This will ensure that each full page word search puzzle and its word are printed on facing pages. You'll have to add a first page later on, since KDP requires that the first page is always a 'right' page.

Page Layout

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/5d1Y0Gf0ce/full%20page%20word%20search%20Page%20Layout.png (full page word search Page Layout (1).png)

You can set the Full Page layout on the Instant Puzzle Books -> Page Layout -> Word Search Layouts tab. (This is only available with the Time Saver Add-On for Word Search).

First, make sure to click Collate Setting "B". This will print all the puzzles first, and the solutions at the end of the book. (The solution layout can be set on the tab "General Layouts").
Layout types 7 and 8 are used for full page word search puzzles
You can set the number of word columns to 3 or 4.

Titles Setup

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/43xHIOxl1Y/full%20page%20word%20search%20titles%20setup.png (full page word search titles setup)

You can set the titles setup on the Instant Puzzle Books -> Titles Setup tab in the Title Layout Settings area.

Set the "Puzzle Title Height" to the number you used in your calculations. 5-10% is enough to have a clearly printed title. The font size for the title will automatically be adjusted for the space you set.
The solution title height is usually not important, but you can set this as well.
If you want, you can change the font for the titles. This font does not apply to the word list.

Puzzle Setup in Puzzle Maker Pro

The previous steps were more or less the boring part. Important, but you still have nothing to show for it.

The options for Word Search are explained in other tutorials. For full page word search puzzles, you'll need to set the grid size, and have a large enough word list.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/g17ILUuRSc/full%20page%20word%20search%20preview.png (full page word search preview)

In this example we've set the grid size to 40 rows and 32 columns.

As with all modules in Puzzle Maker Pro, you can use the mouse scroll wheel on the Preview panel to zoom in (or out) and see more details of the puzzle.

Don't forget to set the right settings on the Advanced tab, such as spaces.

Creating the Puzzle Book - Time Saver

There are several techniques to create the entire puzzle book: Obviously there is the Time Saver, and some people prefer to create the puzzles manually, one by one, and then assemble them into a puzzle book using a separate module of Puzzle Maker Pro.

When you use the Time Saver, you have some additional options for the puzzle titles, and the whole process is faster. However, you'll have less control over the individual puzzles.

Make sure to click the "Use Time Saver to generate Puzzles" to make sure the Time Saver is used. When this is enabled, the "Create" button will change into "Create (TS)".

Time Saver - Main

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ZEoat0GPdZ/full%20page%20word%20search%20ts%201%20main.png (full page word search ts 1 main)

On the "Main" tab you can set some preferences:

Merge All Word Lists - this will merge all your separate word list into one huge set of words. Use this if you have many themed word lists and want to mix them all up for the word search puzzles
Separate Puzzles Per Word List - this will create puzzles for each word list. This will also allow you to use the titles of the word list files as puzzle titles.

Time Saver - Word List

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/paLkfJB3Sr/full%20page%20word%20search%20ts%202%20word%20lists.png (full page word search ts 2 word lists)

Select all your word files on the "Word Lists" tab. Each word list file should contain just the words, one on each line. No headings, no additional information. Just the words in plain text. Just be careful when you copy word lists from the internet, you may by accident copy additional characters that cannot be processed by Puzzle Maker Pro.

Time Saver - Puzzle Setup

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/IiDRaEaPMF/full%20page%20word%20search%20ts%203%20puzzle%20formats.png (full page word search ts 3 puzzle formats)

Finally the Puzzle Setup. Use the dimensions you calculated at the start of this tutorial (or the ones you just want to use). Optionally select the other options in each row. Just click on the cell (e.g. where it says 40 or 32 or 20 in the screenshot) to edit the number or switch an option on or off.

When you click "Create (TS)", Puzzle Maker Pro will generate puzzles and a puzzle book. (Don't forget to select Powerpoint and/or PDF on the Instant Puzzle Books -> Output Type tab).

The way Puzzle Maker Pro handles these settings:

For each word list, it will process the table with puzzle formats, and generate the quantity of puzzles you've set here.

If you have 10 word lists, and just one puzzle format with quantity 10, you'll get 100 puzzles
If you used "Merge All Word Lists", it counts as 1 single (large) word list. In that case you would get just 10 puzzles.

Creating the Puzzle Book - Manually

Another option to create a Word Search puzzle book (or any other type of puzzle) is to manually create puzzles that appeal to you visually. Puzzle Maker Pro will create a completely randomized new puzzle each time you click "Next Preview".

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/sNPJzh5r1x/full%20page%20word%20search%20-%20manual%201.png (full page word search - manual 1)

Click "Next Preview" to generate a new puzzle
Optionally switch between Puzzle and Solution Preview, by clicking the "Preview Solution" option
Click "Save Preview", this will save the puzzle files in the project folder, exactly the same way it would be saved when you click "Create".

The next step would be to create the puzzle book from all the saved puzzles:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/IeL7BFWvau/full%20page%20word%20search%20manual%202.png (full page word search manual 2)

On the "Output Settings" tab you can find an option "Skip Puzzle Creation". When you switch this option on, and click "Create" (or "Create (TS)"), Puzzle Maker Pro will not generate new puzzles, but will only create the Powerpoint file or PDF from the existing puzzles in your project folder. (You have to make sure there are no additional puzzles or other files that you don't want to appear in the book).

Introduction

With Puzzle Maker Pro version v2023.3.3, the Time Saver for Word Search has undergone significant changes. It now lets you combine multiple puzzle types in one single table (more about that later). This allows you to completely set up your puzzle book to look the way you want.

Using this Time Saver consists of 3 steps, before you click the "Create" button:

Set up the 'global' options for the puzzles and puzzle book,
Select the Word Lists you want to use in your puzzle book,
Configure the puzzles you want to generate and include in your puzzle book.

A good way of learning to use this version of the Time Saver is to play around with the word lists and puzzle configuration first. You can easily create 'test' puzzle books in Powerpoint or PDF format, to see the results of certain options, and delete these files when you're done.

Set up the Global Options

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/DoHTuPZd9K/Word%20Search%20TS2%20-%20Main%20Options%20Merge.png (Word Search TS2 - Main Options Merge (1).png)

First of all, you'll have to click the "Use Time Saver" checkbox at the top of the page to activate the Time Saver. The text for the "Create" button at the bottom will change into "Create (TS)".

Word List Use Options

The "Word List Use" options will override the similar options for the Word Search Puzzle Settings tab.

When you create several puzzles (for example, when you set quantity to 10), you can specify that words will only be used once (1). This means that you get a set of puzzles that don't use the same words. However, processing may stop when all words have been used.
Minimum Words for Final Puzzle will make sure there are enough words in the last puzzle, or it will stop generating puzzles. For example, if you have a list of 100 words, and the first two puzzles together use 85 words, you will not get a third puzzle, because there are only 15 words left for the puzzle.
"Stop when all words have been used" - In the previous example, you can order Time Saver to stop, so you get only 2 puzzles, or you can uncheck this options. In that case it will reset the word list and start over, with all words available for the next puzzle.
"Merge All Word Lists" (2) - If you specify more than 1 word list on the "Word Lists" tab, you may want to merge them into one large word list for all your puzzle. This allows you, for example, to use a Christmas themed word list, and a general word list together, so each puzzle will have some themed words and some words from the general list.

Layout Options

Word List Font Size
- With the default 'Variable Font Size' you may get a different font size for the different word lists, depending on the length of the words and the number of words. It's a matter of style choice whether you like this.
- You can also set it to "One Size Fits All". That will analyze all the word lists to find the largest font size that allows all the word lists to be printed in the available space.
- With "Fixed Font Size" you can explicitly specify the font size. With this option it makes sense to generate a test version of your book and check this manually: If you set the Font Size too large, some words may not be printed due to the available space the word lists.
Alignment - you can set the alignment of the puzzles in the available space. For example if you have one puzzle per page, with a trim size of 8.5" and 0.5" margins, that would leave 7.5" for the puzzle. Usually the height will then only be 4 or 5" (since the title and word list require some space as well), a square puzzle would be printed at a 5x5" size. You can set whether it should be aligned left, center or right. Additionally, you can 'force' Puzzle Maker Pro to align the word lists with the puzzle, to make the page look more compact.
In some cases, for example religious puzzle books, you may want to add a "Filtered Words" List. This is a list of words that should not appear in the puzzle by accident. (Please note: this will NOT filter words from the regular words list. If you use the word "homeowner" in a word list, and the word "meow" is in your filtered word list, the word "homeowner" can still appear in the puzzle!

Separate Word Lists

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/btqPiaMLWf/Word%20Search%20TS2%20-%20Main%20Options%20No%20Merge.png (Word Search TS2 - Main Options No Merge)

You can also choose to keep all word lists separate. In that case you can even use the word list file name as a title for the puzzle.

For example, if you have a word list "dinosaurs.txt", it can use the word "dinosaurs" as a title. When it results in several puzzles (e.g. quantity is set to 2 or higher), the puzzles will be numbered dinosaurs 1 and dinosaurs 2.

You can set up your own title format:

"Puzzle" is printed as is. You can type a different word here, or leave it out. For example for other languages you can change this.
"#" is the puzzle number. All puzzles in your book are numbered, unless you click "Don't Number the Puzzles".
%TITLE% is a placeholder that will be replaced with the name of the word file. The way this is set up in the screenshot could result in a puzzle title like "Puzzle 113 dinosaurs".

Select the Word Lists

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/KGUmdNLMBr/Word%20Search%20TS2%20-%20Word%20Lists.png (Word Search TS2 - Word Lists)

On the next tab you can select your word lists. Each file should be a plain text file with ONLY the words you want to use, each word on a separate line. Each line will be considered a separate word for the puzzles.

An example:

Configure the Puzzles

To specify which puzzles you want to generate and print in your puzzle book, go to the "Batch Creation" tab. Please don't let the numbers and arrows in the screenshot below overwhelm you.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Sy9kpXa2K9/Word%20Search%20TS2%20-%20Batch%20Creation.png (Word Search TS2 - Batch Creation)

What you see here is a table that contains a row for each puzzle configuration that you want to create. Regular puzzles with just the number of rows and columns, Preset puzzles from your own Word Search presets, and Mask puzzles, from your own saved masks.

At the top left, you can set the Default Quantity (1) for each row you add. By default it's set to 1. You can also edit the configuration for each row later on, just by clicking on the cell you want to change.

You can move rows up and down by selecting a single row and clicking the "Row Up" or "Row Down" buttons.

You can delete rows from the table by selecting one or more rows and clicking the "Delete Selected" button, or clicking the "Delete All" button. Deleting rows from this table will NOT delete presets or saved masks.

Adding Regular Word Search Puzzles (2)

The easiest way to add puzzles, which was called 'Fast' in the older Time Saver, is by setting the number of rows and columns. In box (2) you can see that both the Rows and Columns are set to 20. When you click the button "Add", it will add a row to the table:

Type: R (Regular), this identifies the type of puzzle for that row
(File) Name "Rectangle". This has no further meaning for Regular puzzles
Word List "Default". See "Word List Setup for Specific Puzzles" below for details.
Rows / Cols: The number of rows and columns for the word search puzzle
Quantity: The number of puzzles to generate
Number of Words: The number of words for the puzzle. A value of 0 (zero) means unlimited, as many as can be fit in
Diag: Allow Diagonals for the puzzle
Rev: Allow Reversed (Backwards printed) words for the puzzle
BG: Not relevant for Regular puzzles

Adding Word Search Puzzle Presets (3)

To use your existing Word Search Puzzle Presets to the list, click "Add Presets". This will open a window where you can select all the presets you want to add. The information in the table that's specific for Preset rows:

Type: "P" for Preset
(File) Name: The name of the preset
Word List: See "Word List Setup for Specific Puzzles" below for details.

Adding Word Search Saved Masks (4)

To use your existing Saved Masks to create puzzles, click "Add Masks". This will open a window where you can select all the masks you want to add. These are mask that are saved from the Mask Editor that's shown when you click "set Mask" in the Puzzle Settings tab for Word Search puzzles. The information in the table that's specific for Mask rows:

Type: "M" for Mask
(File) Name: The name of the saved masks file
BG: Print the mask silhouette as a background for the puzzle. You can switch this on and off for each row of type Mask. Additionally, since you probably want to have a consistent approach to printing mask, you can set the default value for this option in box (4): Print Mask as Background

Word list Setup for Specific Puzzles

The "Word List" column in the table gets the value "Default" for each new row. There are some other options.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/KqsfjZax9w/Word%20Search%20TS2%20-%20Word%20List%20in%20Row.png (Word Search TS2 - Word List in Row)

To change the Word List value for any of the rows in the table, click the down arrow (the 'v' next to Default) to get a list of options.

Default: This will use the default word list setup as defined on the "Main" tab. For each row the word lists will be reinitialized
- Merge All Word Lists: For each row in this table, whether the quantity is 1 or more, the 'merged' word list is initialized and used. That means that the same word can be used for puzzles from several rows. (The option "Use Words Only Once" applies only to the quantity of puzzles for a single row)
- Separate Puzzles Per Word List: For each row in the table, the next word list will be used. For example, the first row with "Default" will use word list 1, the second will use word list 2, etc. When there are no more word lists, it will start back at word list 1.
Word List From Preset: This will work only for rows with the "Preset" type! It will use the word list that was saved with the puzzle preset. This can be a pasted list of words, or a word list file. (If you use this setting for the other rows in the table, it will revert to "Default" when processing the table
A specific Word List file: You can also select any of the word list files that you added to the "Word Lists" tab. You'll need to set up all the word lists you want to use on the "Word Lists" tab, because Puzzle Maker Pro won't know in which folders you store all your word lists. When you select a specific file, such as "Car Brands.txt" in the screenshot, only that file will be used for the puzzle.

Tips and Tricks

The previous version of the Time Saver would 'multiply' the number of word lists with the quantities set in the table. This (new) version will generate exactly the quantities that are set in the table, unless your word lists do not contain enough words.
Setting up Masks or Word Search Presets is a time investment that will pay off. You can choose to either set up a Word Search Preset with a Mask and a Word List, or to just create the Mask and Word List and combine them in the table in the Time Saver. The result will be identical
If you have a Preset with a mask, and you change the number of rows and columns in the table, the mask will not be used. Example: If you have a mask of a cat that has 23 rows and 17 columns, and you change the numbers to 25 rows and 20 columns, the mask will not fit with those dimensions and will not be used
You'll need to add ALL the word lists you want to use, on the "Word Lists" tab. These will be added automatically to the drop down menu for the Word List column
You can add a list of Presets and then add a list of Masks, and use the Row Up / Row Down button to mix them up, if needed. You can also maximize the Puzzle Maker Pro window on your computer to see more of the table.

How to set up the page layout for your puzzle pages

For most puzzles the general layouts will be used. For Word Search there are special layout settings, which are discussed below.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ZDnAQQ5qAf/PMP%20-%20General%20-%20Page%20Layout.png (Puzzle Maker Pro Page Layouts for Puzzle Pages)

Collate setting: You can choose to print each solution directly with the puzzle (option A), or to print all the puzzles first and the solutions after. For collation option A, the number of puzzles on a page needs to be identical to the number of solutions on a page;
Puzzles Layout: You can select the layout you need, ranging from 1 puzzle on a page, up to 12 puzzles on a page. (The exact number of layouts may be different from the screenshot, since we add additional options on demand)
Solutions Layout: This works the same as the Puzzles layout, and sets how the solutions will be printed on output pages. For both the Puzzle and the Solution layout, you can click the little circle next to the number, or click the miniature layout symbol, to select a layout style.

How to set up the page layout for your Word Search puzzle pages

Word Search puzzles consist of a puzzle and a word list, requiring a different layout than, for example, mazes or sudokus.

You can choose from several page layouts for your Word Search puzzle pages:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/znLP52ae8X/PMP%20-%20Word%20Search%20-%20Page%20Layout.png (Puzzle Maker Pro Page Layouts for Word Search Puzzle Pages)

Choosing a layout style works just like the general layouts. As you can see in the miniatures, you can choose several placements for the puzzle and the word list
You can set the ratio between puzzle and word list. This can be adjusted manually to create a better visual result. By default, the puzzle gets 75% (3/4) of the available space, the word list gets 25% (1/4). For long word lists you can either change the number of columns, or this space ratio;
To get a little bit of variety, you can choose to mirror the pages. Each left page will get the selected layout, the right page will get a mirrored layout;
Word Columns: The number of columns to print the word list in. Together with the other options, you can use this to create well-designed puzzle pages.

Question 10

How do I use the Colors options for Puzzle Maker Pro - Geometric Mazes?

Accepted Answer

This overview explains the different Colors options for Puzzle Maker Pro - Geometric Mazes.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/61ZncrdL5X/30%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Overview.png (30 Mazes 2D - Overview.png)

There are two different sets of options on the Colors tab:

Colors for the canvas, floors, walls and solution
Settings for the Start and End points.

Color Settings

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Yrs6RV7i10/31%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Transparent%20Canvas.png (31 Mazes 2D - Transparent Canvas.png)

Canvas

The canvas is the background of the image, on which the maze will be drawn. For square or rectangular mazes this won't be visible. For other shape types, and with (future) add-ons like the Masks and the Crossings, it will have a major impact on your maze.

To create a Transparent canvas, as shown in the screenshot, you will need to select Transparent PNG is the file type (Output Settings --> Puzzle Files --> Puzzle Output Format). Otherwise the transparent background will be shown as black.

Floors

The floors, the contents of each cell in the maze, can be any color, or you can make them transparent. In which case the canvas color will be shown instead.

There is no limit to color combinations you can use. An example is the screenshot below, using black for the floors and white for the walls:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/0fOczbSr6x/32%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Reverse%20Colors.png (32 Mazes 2D - Reverse Colors.png)

Walls and Solution Path

The colors for the Walls and the Solution Path can also be set to any color. Depending on the colors you use, you may need to adjust the Wall Thickness or Solution Line Thickness on the Style tab.

Start / End Point Settings

In Puzzle Maker Pro - Geometric Mazes you can fully customize the Start and End point indicators. By default these will be printed as Text ("S" for Start, "E" for End) in black, using the Arial Font style. You can change the font by clicking the font preview panel (which shows "Arial" in the screenshot below, or by clicking the small looking glass on top of the panel).

Outside Passage Open

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/TYNEdjuza9/33%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Start%20End%20Points.png (33 Mazes 2D - Start End Points.png)

You can set the "Outside Passage Open" to enable make it possible to actually enter and leave the maze.

Using Images

You can also use images instead of text, to indicate the Start and End points for the maze.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/vcbdxwYKcP/34%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Start%20End%20Images.png (34 Mazes 2D - Start End Images.png)

First click the option "Images". This will display the two white panels where you can select the images you want to use. You can either click each panel and select an image (on your computer), or drag and drop an image onto the panel. (You can also drag and drop two images at once, dropping them on the left panel).

You can use images for any shape type, here's an example of a hexagons maze with the same images:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/nJc1FBSaeB/35%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Hex%20Start%20End%20Images.png (35 Mazes 2D - Hex Start End Images.png)

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