Question 1

How to add background images to my puzzles in Puzzle Maker Pro?

Accepted Answer

This tutorial describes how to add background images to your puzzles in Puzzle Maker Pro. This feature is only available when you have the Time Saver Add-on for the puzzle type you're creating.

Choosing Background Images

You can find the Background Images setup on the "Output Settings" tab, then look for the "Background Images" tab.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/hoFkzwiNiV/Background%20Images%20Overview.png (Background Images Overview)

Click "Select Files" to select one or more files on your computer. Click "Clear List" to start over. A list of selected images be shown at the right
If the image is too large or too small for your puzzle size, you can choose to Zoom the image to a fitting size
If the image does not have the same proportions (relative width and height) as the puzzle size, you can change the alignment settings as well
Set the transparency for the image

The result can look like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/97i6pargNi/Background%20Image%20Zoom%20Gray.png (Background Image Zoom Gray)

Puzzle Settings

Depending on the puzzle type, you may need to change the color settings. For example, with Mazes, if you have set a fill color (or floor color) for the cells or squares, these will print over the background image. Set these fill colors to Transparent to show the background images.

Zoom and Alignment

If the image is larger or has different proportions than your puzzle type, you may need to check the Zoom option.

For example, if the result looks like this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/OJl9T5mNTo/Background%20Image%20No%20Zoom%20Black.png (Background Image No Zoom Black)

For abstract images it may be fine to show only a part of the image though (that's why the Zoom is an option)

If the image has different proportions than the puzzle, for example the puzzle is 1000x1000 pixels and the image is 1500x500, you can use the alignment options to choose where the image will be printed.

Transparency

With the transparency option, you can use colorful or black images and make them look a bit softer. For example, an image like this would ruin the puzzle, because you cannot write numbers in the squares that are completely black.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/OfFWGCfPnz/Background%20Image%20Zoom%20Black.png (Background Image Zoom Black)

By making the image more transparent (e.g. 70-80% transparent), it creates the illusion of a shadow, creating a better looking puzzle:

Question 2

How do I solve the Multidokus

Accepted Answer

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

Standard Sudoku

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

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

Different Sizes

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

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

Sudoku X and Hyper Sudoku

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

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

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

Multidokus

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

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

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

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

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

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

So let's see what those look like.

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

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

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

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

Using the Tile Multiplier for mazes 2D Tiles

The Tile Multiplier Add-On can be used to create extra tiles based on the base tiles you use as input. This add-on only works with Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Tiles.

There are two main options:

Complement images if Missing - this is used for square mazes.
Convert Square Images to Isometric format - this is used for isometric mazes.

In addition to that, there's a slider you can use for troubleshooting.

Complement Images if Missing

Tile Multiplier will add tiles for you if you feed it a minimum set of five or six tiles. You don't have to buy Tile Multiplier to use Mazes 2D Tiles, you can also draw each tile yourself, or use options in File Explorer on Windows (or the Mac/Linux equivalent) to copy and rotate the images yourself.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/NZYEskvKhJ/Square%20Tile%20Minimum.jpg (Square Tile Minimum)

Minimum tiles required

The minimum set consists of a tile for each of the options above:

1: dead-end
12: top-right corner
13: Tom-bottom straight line
123: Top-right-bottom split
1234: crossing
0: This tile is optional, but would be used for tiles that have no connection at all. Empty tiles in isometric mazes are an optional setting.

Note: Don't forget to create images for the start (code: s-) and end (code: e-) tiles. THese are not processed by Tile Multiplier.

From the minimum tile set it will create a full set of tiles:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/6c7sgi35s4/Square%20Tiles%20Tile%20Multiplier.jpg (Square Tiles Tile Multiplier)

It will copy and rotate tile 1, to create tiles 2, 3, and 4. It will do the same with the other tiles that it was given.

Convert Square Images to Isometric Format

The Tile Multiplier can create isometric tiles from your square tiles. It can't create new isometric tiles from other isometric tiles.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/INGDEjNHem/tile%20multiplier%20for%20isometric.jpg (tile multiplier for isometric)

Complement images if missing: This will create a full set of square tiles out of the required set of 5 images.
Convert square images to isometric format: this will create isometric tiles for each available square tile (including the ones created with the complement option).
Advanced/scaling: In most cases the conversion will be perfect. In some cases, Tile Multiplier may misinterpret the exact size of the tile due to DPI differences. If this happens you can use the Scaling slider to adjust the tile size. For more info on this, see our separate tutorial: Troubleshooting Mazes 2D Tiles.

An example of the Tile Multiplier to create a full set of isometric tiles from a limited set of square tiles:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/4e6G2BYeBY/tile%20multiplier%20limited%20tile%20set.jpg (tile multiplier limited tile set)

Without the Tile Multiplier, this set of 7 tiles would result in the following maze:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/h8hHMNsNaz/Tile%20multiplier%20missing%20tiles.jpg (Tile multiplier missing tiles)

The Tile Multiplier can fix this, and add the other tiles, to create the following result:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/D9xaTiS1nC/Tile%20multiplier%20fix%20square%20tiles.jpg (Tile multiplier fix square tiles)

Something similar happens if you don't convert your tiles to isometric:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/owXO8fAdXE/isometric%20maze%20using%20square%20tiles.jpg (isometric maze using square tiles)

This maze does not look isometric at all, and the solution path is not connecting to any of the paths. After telling tile multiplier to convert the tiles to isometric, this would be the result:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/GurMzLm7Fw/Tile%20multiplier%20isometric.jpg (Tile multiplier isometric)

This looks a lot better.

Introduction to Letterbox Puzzles

A Letterbox puzzle consists of a grid filled with different letters. By removing all letters that occur twice or more, the resulting letters will form a word - read from top left to bottom right. The puzzle in the screenshot below is an example:

Letterbox Overview

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/wkvZhTJViF/Letterbox%2001%20Overview.png (Letterbox Overview)

Letterbox Overview

Puzzle Maker Pro - Letterbox Overview

Here's the same screenshot, with some numbers to clarify the different options. Additionally, the general Puzzle Maker Pro features such as Preview, Preview Solution, Output Settings, etc. are available.

Letterbox Tutorial Overview

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/bflYkRCNt8/Letterbox%2001B%20Overview.png (Letterbox Tutorial Overview)

Letterbox Tutorial Overview

Select "Letterbox" in the Puzzle Type dropdown menu or in the Word Puzzles menu
Set the number of rows and columns for the grid (see the preview [5]), and the quantity of puzzles you want to generate
Your word list. By default, a short word list is added, but you should always use your own word list (see also the next paragraph)
"Verify" your word list - check that all the words have unique letters
Preview panel for the puzzle or the solution

Using Your Word Lists

Puzzle Maker Pro - Letterbox works with word lists or text files that have a single word or short phrase on each line. If there's also a clue or description after the word (as in: "word:clue"), the clue will not be used.

Each word must consist of unique letters only, since the aim of the puzzle is to cross off all duplicate letters. (Actually, "duplicate" is a valid word).

After you type or copy your word list, or after selecting a word list file, you can click the "Verify" button to verify all the words in the word list. It will give a warning for words that have duplicate letters.

When generating puzzles, words with duplicate letters will be skipped.

Letter Options

Letter Options Overview

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/fu7MzlOw08/Letterbox%2010B%20Letter%20Options.png (Letter Options Overview)

Letter Options Overview

On the "Letters" tab you can find several options to control the letters that are used in your puzzle:

Even though your word list may contain spaces and other characters, like hyphens or commas, you can easily remove these from the words
"Fill Characters": After the word is placed in the grid in random positions, the other squares are filled with 'noise', random characters from the set of "Fill Characters" that you provide. By default it's set to the regular English alphabet. Letters that also occur in the hidden word, will not be used as noise.

You can get creative with the Fill Characters, e.g. use only certain letters, or use digits as noise in the puzzle, like the example below:

Letterbox Using Digits

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/BC3lCZhxe1/Letterbox%2011%20Using%20Digits.png (Letterbox Using Digits)

Letterbox Using Digits

Using Multiple Fonts

There are several options to make the Letterbox puzzle a bit more lively and chaotic, you can find these on the "Fonts" tab:

Letterbox Font Options

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/WCGeNoKOxI/Letterbox%2020B%20Font%20Options.png (Letterbox Font Options)

Letterbox Font Options

Select the main font by clicking the white panel that says "Arial". Here you can set the font, font color, and some other options.
If you want to use more than one font, you can set the number of fonts (up to 3). For each letter in the grid, the algorithm will randomly select one of the fonts:

Letterbox Multiple Fonts Grayscale

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/aSYjEkxKz4/Letterbox%2022%20Multiple%20Fonts%20Grayscale.png (Letterbox Multiple Fonts Grayscale)

Letterbox Multiple Fonts Grayscale

You can choose to add Bold and Italics letters to the puzzle. Random letters will be Bold or Italic, if the selected font supports this.
Add more color variations: Use up to five colors or gray shades in your puzzle (see next paragraph)
Click "Next Preview" to generate a preview with the changed settings. The preview will be shown in the preview panel at the right.

Using Multiple Colors

Letterbox Multiple Fonts Colors

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/BH8NJBwMB6/Letterbox%2024%20Multiple%20Fonts%20Colors.png (Letterbox Multiple Fonts Colors)

Letterbox Multiple Fonts Colors

You can also use multiple colors or multiple gray shades for the letters. In total you can use five different colors:

You can select a color in the font properties window. When you use three different fonts, you can select a different color for each font. These colors will be randomly assigned to each letter. (That means: If you select a red color for "Arial" and a green color for "Times New Roman", you can get four different combinations: Arial/Red, Arial/Green, Times New Roman/Red and Times New Roman/Green)
You can also add two more colors by selecting the "Color Variations" option. You can then use the two color panels to select additional colors
You can mix and match: You can select up to three different fonts and use the same color for each, you can also select "Arial" three times, but select a different color for each font.

Styling

The "Styling" tab offers several options to change the look and feel of your Letterbox puzzle, in addition to the differernt font options.

Letterbox Styling Colors

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/QN5bTfSSjc/Letterbox%2030B%20Styling%20Colors.png (Letterbox Styling Colors)

Letterbox Styling Colors

You can set the Canvas color and the Cell Background color. The "Cell" is the square in which each letter is placed. The Canvas color is only shown when padding is used [3]
You can set the width (weight) of the Cell Border and the Color. In the screenshot we have selected a red line of 20 pixels. (This may look different depending on the image size that you selected on the Output Settings tab)
Padding - You can choose to have each letter in its own square, with a little padding around it. The empty space will have the Canvas color:

Letterbox Styling Padding

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/r1y07BqFHR/Letterbox%2031B%20Styling%20Padding.png (Letterbox Styling Padding)

Letterbox Styling Padding

Solution Styling: You can either use an empty cell instead of the 'noise' characters, or use a symbol of your choosing, for example the "=" symbol:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/TUMiDKBAqV/Letterbox%2032B%20Styling%20Solution.png (Letterbox 32B Styling Solution)

How to use the Time Saver for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

The Time Saver for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D works for:

The Time saver consists of two distinct parts:

Batch creation of mazes
Advanced layouts options with grids up to 10x10 puzzles or solutions

Batch Creation of Mazes

There are several ways you can control the mazes that are generated by the Time Saver

Using Presets
Enter rows in the control grid
Add images for masks using the Quick Mask options

We'll discuss these different options in the paragraphs below.

Batch Creation using Presets

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Bgl3MfS42X/Mazes%202D%20Time%20Saver%20Presets.png (Mazes 2D Time Saver Presets)

To use this option, don't forget to click (check) the options "Use Time Saver" and "Use Time Saver - Preset Puzzles".

Click the tab "Preset Puzzles" on the Time Saver tab. At the left you can see all the presets for Mazes 2D. If they're not visible yet, click "Refresh List".

The presets shown here are presets that you have saved yourself. There are no built-in presets, since it's so very easy to create your own.

You can select one or more presets (using Shift / Ctrl to select multiple presets) and click "Add Selected". The default quantity for each preset is 1, you can change this by clicking on the number you want to change.

Preset puzzles can be combined with the "Fast" mode for the Time Saver.

Batch Creation using the Control Grid

When you use the Control Grid (the "Fast" option), The Time Saver will use most of the settings from the regular "Puzzle Settings". These will be overruled by the specific settings that can be entered in the grid.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/mOYcLeAuzp/Mazes%202D%20Time%20Saver%20Fast.png (Mazes 2D Time Saver Fast)

Select the maze type that you need, the quantity and the grid size (Rows / Columns)
Click "Add Row" to add a row to the Control Grid
Change options as needed in the Control Grid by clicking the number or item you want to change
Click "Create (TS)" to create the puzzles and optionally the Instant Puzzle Book

Batch Creation using Quick Masks in the Control Grid

If you have the Masks Add-On, you can use the Quick Masks option:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/v4rKADjwcp/Mazes%202D%20Time%20Saver%20Quick%20Mask.png (Mazes 2D Time Saver Quick Mask)

Set the maze type and grid size that you need. You should set the Quantity to 1, unless you want several puzzles with identical masks
Click "Add Quick Mask". This will open the file explorer on your computer, allowing you to select one or several images. For each image, a row in the Control Grid will be added
Change options as needed
Click "Create (TS)" to create the puzzles using the Time Saver.

Puzzle Maker Pro - Zig Zag Word Search Overview

Zig Zag Word Search is an alternative Word Search puzzle, quite different from the regular Word Search. It's also known as Jigsaw and Tetris Word Search.

This tutorial applies to three different products:

Zig Zag Word Search, the standard / regular Zig Zag Word Search module
Zig Zag Word Search - Extras Add-On, an add-on module that adds different complexities and options to the regular Zig Zag Word Search
Zig Zag Word Search Random Shapes, this module can be purchased separately, and adds random shapes (random polygons) to make a completely different type of word search

Additionally there are some Add-Ons available for Zig Zag Word Search

Time Saver for Word Search, this is the same purchase as the regular Word Search. If you already own the Standard Word Seach time saver, you won't need to purchase it a second time.
Masks for Zig Zag Word Search, coming soon

This main tutorial uses the regular Zig Zag Word Search for examples. Paragraphs for the Extras Add-On and the Random Shapes will focus on the differences for these modules.

Zig Zag Word Search Explained

Zig Zag Word Search is a puzzle where you have to find words in a grid. Unlike with regular Word Search puzzles, the words are not placed in straight lines, but a zig-zagging line, where the words can have corners. For generating these we have set up some basic rules:

Letters of a word are connected to each other horizontally or vertically
In general, the words should have exactly the number of letters required for the squares in the grid. If you have a 10x10 grid, then all words together should have 100 letters
Words cannot overlap

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/U78JkEdbbn/Zig%20Zag%20Word%20Search%2010x10%20Grid.png (Zig Zag Word Search 10x10 Grid)

In this image you see an example of a solution for a Zig Zag Word Search puzzle. Words are positioned randomly in the grid.

Zig Zag Word Search Overview

To use Zig Zag Word Search, select the puzzle type in the drop down menu.

To see the solution in the preview screen, toggle the "Preview Solution" option at the bottom right of the window:

Note: You'll need words with at least 100 letters to create a 10x10 puzzle. It's better to use a longer list with more words than needed, and create one or more puzzles from that. This way you won't have to worry about counting the letters. (See "Advanced Options" for additional options.

In addition to the Word List, you can also select a Word List file. This has to be in plain text format (.txt). Pay attention to this when you export from MS Word or MS Excel.

Advanced Options

The Advanced tab has some options to control the word list use, the spelling of the words, and an option for filling the remaining squares with random letters, so the amount of letters doesn't have to be exactly the right amount.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ofFn83RSUK/Zig%20Zag%20Word%20Search%20Advanced%20Options.png (Zig Zag Word Search Advanced Options)

1 Wordlist Control

For most puzzles you can control the amount of puzzles using the "Quantity" setting. For Zig Zag Word Search there are other options as well:

Auto: This will try to create as many puzzles as the Quantity setting indicates. However, if it runs out of words in the list, it will stop.
Repeat: This will use all the words in the list, and then repeat the entire wordlist (again and again) to get to the number of puzzles in the quantity setting. Each puzzle will draw random words from the list, so each puzzle will be different
Reset: This will reset the entire word list after a puzzle is created, so every puzzle can use words from the entire word list.

Note: This may work slightly different if you use the Extras Add-On.

2 Remove Characters

Your wordlist may contain characters that you don't want to see in the puzzle. These may be spaces, dashes, or other characters. You can use both checkboxes to filter these characters. The word list will be created from the original words!

Note: the letter count used for the puzzles is based on the 'clean' words, after the spaces etc have been removed.

3 Random Fills

While the words for a Zig Zag Word Search puzzle should have exactly the right number of letters, there's an option to add noise or fill letters as well. This should make it a bit easier for you to set up word lists (but please be aware that your customers may not expect this).

Style

On the Style tab you can change the font, canvas and cell colors and the line colors and weight. (Canvas color is only used for masks, without masks, the entire canvas will be covered by cell backgrounds).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/AdD6AV04xS/Zig%20Zag%20Word%20Search%20Style.png (Zig Zag Word Search Style)

Click "Next Preview" after changing the settings to see the result.

Extras Add-On

The Extras add-on offers two additional features: Diagonal connections for the regular Zig Zag Word Search, and segmented word lists for all Zig Zag Word Search modules.

Diagonals

Choose "Squares Diagonals" in the Grid Type list, then click "Next Preview" to see an example of a Zig Zag Word Search puzzle with diagonal connections.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/icYNvsua2n/Zig%20Zag%20Word%20Search%20Diagonals.png (Zig Zag Word Search Diagonals)

As you can see, letters can be connected horizontally, vertically and diagonally, and the diagonal connections can cross each other.

Segmented Word Lists

We use the name "Segmented Word Lists" for word lists that are already divided in several lists of words.

You can do this by using a blank line between the words. Additionally, you can use #title:"title" to add a title, for example "#title:Vegetables"

When you load a word list (click the little looking glass button on the Word List tab), you'll get a status notification showing you how many words and letters are part of each section. (This will take into account that spaces and other characters may be removed).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/9FCBZyPQ9y/Zig%20Zag%20Word%20Search%20Word%20Count.png (Zig Zag Word Search Word Count)

When you use the "Auto" setting for word list control (on the Advanced tab), only one puzzle will be created for each 'segment'.

Random Shapes

To use the Random Shapes variation of Zig Zag Word Search, select "Random Shapes" in the Grid Type list, and click preview. This will display a puzzle like the example below:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/m7FqP0n850/0-20221012105539--1-W-P.png (0-20221012105539--1-W-P)

Selecting a Mask

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finetuning your mask

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

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

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

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

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

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

Getting Started with Nonconsecutive Sudoku

This tutorial applies to:

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.

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 add background images to my puzzles in Puzzle Maker Pro?

How do I solve the Multidokus

Using the Tile Multiplier for Mazes 2D Tiles

Getting started with Puzzle Maker Pro - Connect the Dots

Getting Started with Puzzle Maker Pro - Letterbox

How to use the Time Saver for Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

How to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Zig Zag Word Search

How do I create shaped word search puzzles

Getting Started with Nonconsecutive Sudoku

How to use the Time Saver for Word Search (v2023.3.3 and newer)