Question 1

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".

Question 2

How Do I get started with Connect the Dots (Text Version)

Accepted Answer

Puzzle Maker Pro – Connect the Dots is an interactive playground to create Connect the Dots puzzles. There are three different versions: The Lite Edition, the Manual Edition and the SVG Edition.

The Manual Edition has tools and options to add, insert, move and delete dots, change the style of the dots, the style of the lines and the style of the tags (numbers or text), for multiple paths (lines). These paths can be grouped together for easier overview.
The Lite Edition has all the features and options of the Manual Edition, but is limited to only one path.
The SVG Edition adds options to import SVG files and optimize the number of dots resulting from an SVG import.

In this tutorial we’ll focus on the basics – the window layout, and the tools and options to create a very simple Connect the Dots puzzle. This tutorial assumes some knowledge of Puzzle Maker Pro – Settings for output path, file size and format are explained elsewhere.

How to get Started with Puzzle Maker Pro – Connect the Dots

After choosing Connect the Dots in the Puzzle Type menu, you’ll see a window like the one below. (Details may differ slightly, because we’re continuously improving the software)

Creating a Connect the Dots puzzle consists of two steps:

Create the dots and paths for the puzzle
Change the styling and options

Lite Edition

The next image is the default display for the Lite version of Connect the Dots.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/dGEhcGHh9L/PMP%20-%20Connect-the-Dots-101-Start-Here-1.png (PMP - Connect-the-Dots-101-Start-Here-1.png)

The properties for the current path, such as line color and dot type. We’ll explain this after creating our first path.
The preview panel contains brief instructions for Connect the Dots, telling you to Open the Path Editor (3)

Click the “Open Path Editor” button (3) to get started.

Manual Edition and SVG Edition

The Manual Edition and SVG Edition open the window with the Navigation menu visible. When starting a new puzzle, there will only be one single path shown: "New Path".

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/YTBlcfghFd/PMP%20-%20Connect-the-Dots-101-Start-Here-2-1.png (PMP - Connect-the-Dots-101-Start-Here-2-1.png)

Click the “Open Path Editor” button (3) to get started.

How to Use the Path Editor for Connect the Dots

The Path Editor contains tools and options to create the different paths for your puzzle.

Some Connect the Dots puzzles only use one single path, that is: a single chain of dots numbered from 1, where the puzzler has to connect all the dots with consecutive numbers. 1 to 2, 2 to 3, and so on.

More complex Connect the Dots puzzles may have multiple paths. Puzzle Maker Pro – Connect the Dots – Manual Edition and SVG Edition support the use of multiple paths.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/yGMV6mJDvg/PMP%20-%20Connect-the-Dots-101-Path%20Editor.png (PMP - Connect-the-Dots-101-Path Editor.png)

With the Path Editor you can:

Click to add dots (1). Just click on the preview panel, that contains the tutorial text. As soon as you place your first dot, the text will disappear.
Clear all (2): If you make mistakes, or you want to continue with a blank slate, click the “New Image” button
You can select an image on your computer to use as an overlay (3). That way you can add dots along the outline (or outlines) of your image. The filename of your overlay file will be shown as well (5)
With the SVG Edition you can also open the SVG Editor (4). This is a separate window that will display your SVG image and has options to change the number of dots.
At the left you can see the path settings panel (6). You can change all the path settings here, such as the name, colors, dot type, and more.

How to Add Dots to create a puzzle

By left-clicking the mouse on the panel at the right (that initially shows the tutorial text), you can add dots. The software will keep track of the order of the dots, and display lines between the dots (the path).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/xwHaNtzTma/Connect-the-Dots-101-Path-Options.png (Connect-the-Dots-101-Path-Options.png)

In this example we’ve created a simple path with 5 dots in the shape of a house.

After you change the settings for any of the styling options, click “Preview” (bottom left) to update the preview.

The next screenshot shows the same image with totally different styling options:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/a5T7aISQwi/Connect-the-Dots-101-Path-Options-2.png (Connect-the-Dots-101-Path-Options-2.png)

How to Edit the Current Dot position

Puzzle Maker Pro - Connect the Dots is the only puzzle app where you can edit (move or delete) the individual dots in a path.

How to use the Path Data (tab)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/iNC8uP2T6X/Connect-the-Dots-101-Path-Data.png (Connect-the-Dots-101-Path-Data.png)

An additional way to see all the points, is the “Path Data” tab. This will show you co-ordinates for all the dots. The current dot is shown with a blue bar. You can use buttons to “Clear All” dots from the path, or to “Delete” the current dot. Usually you won’t need to use this information. You can also click other points in this list, and you’ll see a different dot getting selected in the image.

The option “Closed Path” will allow you to automatically add a line between the last and first dot in the path. In the puzzle this will result in a combined number for the first dot, shown as “1/73”

How to use the additional path settings

All the path settings are available in all Connect the Dots editions, however some path settings only make sense when you use multiple paths.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/gKq1Sdk0HV/PMP%20-%20Connect%20the%20Dots%20-%20Additional%20Settings.png (PMP - Connect the Dots - Additional Settings.png)

How to use Multiple Paths in Connect the Dots

You can create Connect the Dots puzzles with one or more paths if you have the Manual Edition or the SVG Edition. On the Navigation tab you can see a hierarchically ordered list of all the paths.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ufpMrOGdAp/PMP%20-%20Connect-the-Dots-101-Multiple-Paths.png (PMP - Connect-the-Dots-101-Multiple-Paths.png)

By right-clicking on the navigation panel, you’ll see a popup menu with different options:

Question 3

How to Set Up Your Grid for Easy Puzzle Books (plugin for Powerpoint)

Accepted Answer

This tutorial shows how to set up grids for Easy Puzzle Books.

Overview

With the Grid Editor you can set the number of columns and rows, in the red square in the screenshot below.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ZZnqxTZb4Y/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20020%20Grid%20Editor.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books - 020 Grid Editor.jpg)

Columns sets the number of puzzles next to each other (horizontally). Rows sets the number of puzzles below each other (vertically).

The grid will be determined by the trim size of your book and the type of puzzle: A 8.5"x11" sudoku book, can easily have 2 columns and 3 rows, unless you want to use a large font size. A coloring book usually has only one image on each page (1 column, 1 row).

Outer Margins

You can set top, bottom, left and right margins that will be excluded from the puzzles area. These margins can be, but don't have to be, identical to the page margins you've set elsewhere.

However, if you want to add additional text, embellishments or other content on your page, you can use the Outer Margins to specify where the puzzles should start. For example: If you place a 2" image or text at the top of each page, you can set the top margin to 2" or 2.5".

Inner Margins

Inner Margins, or padding, is the empty space between columns and rows. In most cases you'll want at least 0.1", or better 0.25", to add enough space.

Square Shapes and Alignment

By default, the grid will divide the available space on the page into a grid, based on the columns and rows settings. This will usually create rectangular placeholder shapes. In many cases, such as sudoku, most word search puzzles, etc, puzzles are square, not rectangular. You can use the option "Use Square Shapes" to create square shapes instead of rectangular.

The six buttons below the "Use Square Shapes" option set the alignment for the text and images: Left - Center - Right and Top - Middle - Bottom. This will determine where square shapes will be placed but also where puzzles will be placed inside the shapes, if the format is not identical to the shape.

Note: For "Auto", these settings will be applied in the background, since there will be no visible placeholder shapes. For "Manual", these settings will be applied to the placeholder shapes only. Once you create a book in "Manual" mode, it will only use the placeholder shapes, not the grid settings.

Title Space

For each puzzle there's a "Title" and an "Image" (the image is the actual puzzle or solution).

When you create a grid, for example with 2 columns and 3 rows, there will be 6 areas. Each of these areas will contain a title and a puzzle. By default, the top 20% of the area is reserved for the puzzle. In some cases this will be too much, and you can adjust this to get the perfect layout for your books.

Note: Once you have found a good layout for a certain type of puzzle and a certain trim size, you can save these settings as a Preset, allowing you to reuse the settings each time you create those books.

Examples

In the examples we used a page size of 8.5"x11"

"Auto" 2x3 Grid

In "Auto" mode, the grid you specify will not be created visibly, until you create a book.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/HMcyXSulkB/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20021%20Grid%20Example%201.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books - 021 Grid Example 1.jpg)

In this screenshot you can see we've set the interior margins to 0.25", for a grid of 2 columns and 3 rows. The result is shown below:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Xqgw5GV3OR/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20022%20Grid%20Example%201%20Result.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books - 022 Grid Example 1 Result.jpg)

This page was created using a set of sudoku puzzles. As you can see, the space between the columns is far more than 0.25", because the puzzles are square, and centered in the available space for each grid location.

In this case, the titles may be placed a bit too far from the puzzles (which is a matter of taste and design best practices).

Let's reduce the title space to 10%:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/EOdDPo6Gt2/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20022%20Grid%20Example%201%20Result%202.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books - 022 Grid Example 1 Result 2.jpg)

"Manual" 3x4 Grid

In this second example, we'll use a 3x4 grid, and set the title space to 15%.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/qM3kgAfcYA/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20024%20Grid%20Example%202.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books - 024 Grid Example 2.jpg)

"Use Square Shapes" is not selected for the first results, and look at the screenshot below:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/bwrhnMGsTC/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20025%20Grid%20Example%202%20Result%201.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books - 025 Grid Example 2 Result 1.jpg)

The shapes are rectangular, and there's 0.25" space between the shapes.

The next example has "Use Square Shapes" switched on, and you'll quickly see the difference.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/XCdevgkb67/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20026%20Grid%20Example%202%20Result%202.jpg (Easy Puzzle Books - 026 Grid Example 2 Result 2.jpg)

Note: In the "Manual" mode, each of these blue shapes will be replaced by a puzzle image. If the puzzle does not have the same format (square or rectangular with the same ratio), it will reduce the size of the puzzle image to make it fit inside the blue placeholder.

Note 2: The placeholders in these images are blue because that's the default setting for Powerpoint on this computer. You may have other settings. The color is not important, because the shape will be replaced by a puzzle later on.

Question 4

How to Use LCB Book Creator (Powerpoint product)

Accepted Answer

This tutorial describes how to Use LCB Book Creator (Powerpoint product). It applies to:

For the Reseller / White Label product, the screenshots may look slightly different because of product customisation. for the Source Code product, this tutorial shows how the scripts and macros work after delivery.

First Things First - Handling Security Issues

If you get security warning from Powerpoint when you start the product, you have to tell both Windows and Powerpoint that you accept the file and the macros. We have a separate tutorial that shows you in detail how to do this: Enable Powerpoint Macros

Using LCB Book Creator

You can find LCB Book Creator on the Add-ins ribbon:

LCB Book Creator Finding the Add-In

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/2t13ML5EZa/LCB%20Book%20Creator%20Finding%20the%20Add-In.png (LCB Book Creator Finding the Add-In)

LCB Book Creator Finding the Add-In

Click the "LCB Book Creator" text or icon to start the LCB Book Creator:

LCB Book Creator Main Window

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Bnja5XbYzz/LCB%20Book%20Creator%20Window.png (LCB Book Creator Main Window)

LCB Book Creator Main Window

There are 5 different (small) steps:

Select the CSV File, the data file for your Low Content Book or Images,
Select the Powerpoint Template file
Verify Placeholders - Check that all placeholders in the Powerpoint file do have data in the CSV file
Set the Powerpoint Output file
Generate Slides.

Optionally you can create example files, this will save a sample CSV file and a sample Powerpoint file to your computer. (You can select the sample files for step 1 and 2, to do a first test-run with LCB Book Creator).

CSV Files

CSV means "Comma Separated Variable length". In other words: the different values, texts, on each line are separated by commas. Besides that, it's just a plain text file, that you can type in Notepad, or save in Excel (use csv as the output format).

For LCB Book Creator, the first line needs to have the 'Placeholder' names, that will be present in the Powerpoint file.

After the first line with the placeholders, you can add lines with data. The lines will be processed one at a time.

Powerpoint Templates

Powerpoint Templates for LCB Book Creator are regular Powerpoint files. You can use placeholders (like "%TITLE%") that will be replaced with text from the CSV file.

The image below is from the sample Powerpoint Template file.

PPT Sample File

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/XE7n05BEIF/PPT%20Sample%20File.png (PPT Sample File)

PPT Sample File

The sample file is plain, and it is not recommended to use it 'as is'. It is intended to show you how the placeholders work. You can design the Powerpoint file any way you like, and you can even use multiple slides for each row of data in the CSV file.

Whever the text for a placeholder is an existing file on your computer (e.g. "C:/Images/Books.jpg"), LCB Book Creator will replace the placeholder with the image. Otherwise, it will only replace the placeholder text with the next text.

Output Settings

To generate a Powerpoint file, you'll always need to specify where the new file must be saved (step 4).

Additionally, you can automatically generate image files in PNG, JPG and PDF format. These will be saved in a subfolder. The value in the first column of your CSV file will be used as the filename.

Generate Powerpoint Slides

When you click Generate, a Powerpoint file will be created and saved to your computer, with the name and location that you selected in step 4. This may take a couple of seconds, depending on the complexity of your template, the number of placeholders and the size of the CSV file.

Question 5

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

Accepted Answer

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!

Use Default Page Setup Settings

By default, this module will use the Trim Size and Margin settings that you can configure at the "Output Settings / Page Format" tab.

If you use a Trim Size of 8 x 10" and 0.5" Margins on each side, there will be a 'body' area left that is 7 x 9". This will be the size for the Puzzle Pieces:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/UbDEDEA56U/Jigsaw%20018%20-%20Page%20Setup%20Default.png (Jigsaw 018 - Page Setup Default.png)

If you change the Page Format and Preview / Create again, you'll get a differently sized image. If you use Time Saver, it will use the current settings when you run the Time Saver (not the settings when the puzzle preset was saved).

However, sometimes you just want the image, and not an entire puzzle book. In that case you can uncheck "Use Default Page Setup Settings" and choose the exact image size that you need (width and height in pixels). The next screenshot shows this:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/XbNdH6ZCgf/Jigsaw%20019%20-%20Page%20Setup%20Custom.png (Jigsaw 019 - Page Setup Custom.png)

Choosing Different Page Layouts

Puzzle Maker Pro - JigSaw supports three page layouts. These are selected in the "Puzzle Settings" tab, not in the global "Page Layout" tab.

Single Page
Double Page
Pieces Only

These different options have different impact on your book layout, and serve different purposes.

1 Single Page Layout

This style is used for most of the examples and tutorials. It will print the puzzle pieces and the puzzle grid on a single page.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ju1lwUSyqJ/Jigsaw%20020%20-%20Layout%20Single%20Page.png (Jigsaw 020 - Layout Single Page.png)

This format is intended for jigsaw puzzles you can copy/draw, instead of the cut out jigsaw puzzles. If you do want the ability to cut out the pieces, choose to "Add Blank Page after each puzzle", a checkbox that is below the page layouts. This will make sure the back of the page is blank. Additionally this will force the page to be printed on the right page of a spread, which may introduce another blank page before the current page.

2 Double Page Layout

The double page layout is also intended for copy / draw puzzles. In the preview you see the pieces page:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/mDi9LsLDpH/Jigsaw%20021%20-%20Layout%20Double%20Page.png (Jigsaw 021 - Layout Double Page.png)

if you check "Preview Solution", it will instead show the layout and size of the puzzle grid (the solution is identical to the puzzle, except for the printed puzzle pieces):

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Ght8pFkkvu/Jigsaw%20022%20-%20Layout%20Double%20Page%20Puzzle%20Pieces.png (Jigsaw 022 - Layout Double Page Puzzle Pieces.png)

The Double Page layout will force a new spread in your book. The pieces will be printed on the left page of the spread, the puzzle grid will be printed on the right page.

The option to add a blank page will have no effect for this format.

3 Pieces Only Layout

The Pieces Only Layout is for cut out puzzles, the puzzle grid will not be included in the puzzle book. (The layout is identical to the first screenshot show for the Double Page Layout.

Just like the Single Page Layout, "Add Blank Page" will force the pieces to be printed on the right page of a spread, and it will keep the back of the page blank. For this setting, this is optimal, so you don't accidentally cut up other puzzles on the back of the page.

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 8

How to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

Accepted Answer

Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D Overview

Mazes 2D is the 2022 update of our popular Mazes software (formerly Standard Mazes 2D/ Standard and Shaped Mazes 2D).

This option in Puzzle Maker Pro is the entry point for several current and new puzzle modules:

Standard Mazes 2D / Standard and Shaped Mazes 2D (if you have this module, the Mazes 2D Squares option will be available to you)
Mazes 2D Oblique - a Tangle / Doodle / Yayoi Kusama-style maze
Mazes 2D Other Shapes - Easy Octagons and Small Circles

Additionally there are some Add-Ons available for these mazes

Time Saver for Mazes 2D
Masks for Mazes 2D Squares (works for Oblique and Other Shapes as well)

The examples in this tutorial use the Mazes 2D Squares. It should be easy to use these options for the other shapes. For specifics, there are additional tutorials for each maze type.

Getting Started with Mazes 2D

Mazes 2D Squares Main Overview

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

Mazes 2D Squares Main Overview

Select Mazes 2D in the dropdown menu at the top. This will open the puzzle options for Mazes 2D
In the Puzzle Control section you can select the puzzle type, in this case Squares is selected. Here you can also set the number of puzzles (Quantity) and the puzzle size (rows and columns)
There are several tabs for the different maze and customization options. By default the Main tab is selected
On the Main tab you can control the maze generation options, such as the maze / solution complexity and the solution path (where the Start and End points will be chosen)
After changing the settings for the maze, click Next Preview to see a newly generated maze with the changed settings. (This is not done automatically, otherwise you may have to wait after each change)
The preview panel
By default the Solution is shown, use this switch to display the puzzle (without the solution path)

Info Tab

Solution Complexity

You can use the big red slider "Solution Complexity" to control how the maze is generated. There are several built-in algorithms that result in differently shaped mazes. These algorithms set some limits, within these limits the maze generation process is completely random.

To get an idea of the differences, here you see two extreme examples. It's best (and very easy) to experiment with this setting yourself.

Mazes 2D Squares - Complexity 0

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/UsISAYEcCc/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Complexity%200.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Complexity 0)

Mazes 2D Squares - Complexity 0

Mazes 2D Squares - Complexity 100

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/fCcKZpppAP/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Complexity%20100.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Complexity 100)

Mazes 2D Squares - Complexity 100

Solution Path

There are several options for the solution path (which is part of the maze generation process:

Default - Top Left to Bottom Right, this may be slightly different for certain maze types
Random - This will set a random starting point on one of the maze edges, and select an end point at an opposite edge
Longest Path - This will choose the longest possible path in a maze. Usually the Start and End points are not on the edges of the maze
Manual - you can manually select the Start and End points. To do this, right-click the preview panel on the maze cell (square/other shape) where you want the Start or End point, and select the appropriate option in the pop-up menu)

Mazes 2D Squares - Path Random

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

Mazes 2D Squares - Path Random

Mazes 2D Squares - Longest Path

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/b4rBaUYtAq/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Longest%20Path.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Longest Path)

Mazes 2D Squares - Longest Path

Mazes 2D Squares - Manual Start

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/k1md7DgoHv/Mazes%202D%20Squares%20-%20Manual%20Start.png (Mazes 2D Squares - Manual Start)

Mazes 2D Squares - Manual Start

What are Cut and Color puzzles?

Cut and Color puzzles are a simple type of jigsaw puzzles that you can add to an activity book. Square or rectangular puzzle pieces can be cut out and placed on a grid to recover the original image.

These puzzle pieces can be colored before or after cutting them and positioning them. Or optionally the pieces can be glued on the grid, before coloring.

In a way, Cut and Color can be seen as a lightweight version of our JigSaw module, but it has some additional features as well.

Cut and Color overview

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/DVUXwD0fSb/Cut%20and%20Color%20Overview.png (Cut and Color Overview)

As you can see in this screenshot, you get a 'puzzle image' with the empty grid and scrambled puzzle pieces to cut out, and a 'solution image' that shows the correct placement of the puzzle pieces in the grid.

You can use your own images (this is preferable), and for testing the different settings, you can also use the preset images that are shown in the screenshot.

Selecting Images

The Images tab has a "Total Image Count" setting, this setting controls the number of images that are shown and that can be selected. To use even more than the maximum number that's available here, you can select unlimited images and entire image folders with the Time Saver add-on (along with more randomisation options).

To use your own images, you can either click the white image panels (that currently show the alpaca, the butterfly, etc) to select your images one by one, or you can use drag and drop to select many images at once. Just select the images in File Explorer, and drop them onto one of the image panels.

You can choose to use only a few images from the list (using the Quantity setting), or use the entire list. Additionally, you can randomise the order in which the puzzles are created, if you want to create multiple different puzzle books or printables.

Cut and Color Output

With our Cut and Color module you get several output options:

The regular Puzzle and Solution output, as shown in the screenshot in the Cut and Color overview. These consist of Puzzle Output - regular output with an empty grid and a scrambled / shuffled grid with puzzle pieces (in the screenshot below this is the image at the left, and Solution output - the original image, drawn in a grid. The puzzle and solution output is sized according to the settings on the "Output Settings" tab in Puzzle Maker Pro.

Additionally, you can also export the image parts: Scrambled Pieces, Empty Grid and Solution Grid. These will be saved as separate images in the Export folder. Just click the "Export Parts" option.

Cut and Color Layout

There are several options to customise the puzzle layout to your liking.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/95L2sCvV2n/Cut%20and%20Color%20Hor.png (Cut and Color Hor)

You can choose to print only the scrambled image, or print both an empty grid (to place the pieces) and the scrambled image.
You can position the scrambled image (the shuffled puzzle pieces) on any side of the empty grid, and set the padding between both images
You can set the alignment for each of the parst in its designated area.

Furthermore, there are some options of the generic Puzzle Maker Pro Output Settings that can be very useful for Cut and Color pages

Output Settings

In Puzzle Maker Pro you have separate output settings for the actual puzzles and for the Instant Puzzle Books. (Our name for puzzle book output in PDF or Powerpoint format).

If you have the Time Saver add-on, you can print several puzzles on a page. Since the Cut and Color puzzles are printed in a highly rectangular shape, it makes sense to set a page layout of 2 rows and 1 column or 1 row with 2 columns, to create rectangular areas.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/hIzwhGdE8N/Puzzle%20Maker%20Pro%20v202410%20-%20Page%20Layout%20Rectangular.png (Puzzle Maker Pro v202410 - Page Layout Rectangular)

Without the Time Saver, you don't have this option, but using the trim size, and especially the margins, you can also control how and where the puzzle will be printed.

The magic happens when you use Dynamic Sizing. You can find this setting on the "Output Settings" tab in the "Puzzle Size" area:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/QDzNfAc1Nx/Puzzle%20Maker%20Pro%20v202410%20-%20Dynamic%20Sizing.png (Puzzle Maker Pro v202410 - Dynamic Sizing)

Instead of using a fixed size of say 1000 or 2500 pixels for each puzzle, it will use the area that's available for each puzzle in the page layout. In most screenshots in this tutorial we've used this option to get puzzle images that really fit the pages to which they are printed.

Cut and Color Image Output

Like most modules in Puzzle Maker Pro, you can also create social media images with a single mouse-click. You can set up your custom style and watermark just once, and then apply this style to images you create to promote your puzzle printables or books on social media.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/aJIpNHizAy/Cut%20and%20Color%20-%20Image%20Settings.png (Cut and Color - Image Settings)

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

How Do I get started with Connect the Dots (Text Version)

How to Set Up Your Grid for Easy Puzzle Books (plugin for Powerpoint)

How to Use LCB Book Creator (Powerpoint product)

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

How Can I Change the Page Layout for Puzzle Maker Pro - Jigsaw?

How to use the Output Settings in Puzzle Maker Pro

How to use Puzzle Maker Pro - Mazes 2D

How to create Cut and Color puzzles?

Getting Started with Puzzle Maker Pro - Letterbox