Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

This tutorial shows how to use the How do I use the Style options for Puzzle Maker Pro - Geometric Mazes.
![20 Mazes 2D - Style.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/BRrfm2NtMl/20%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Style.png)

There are three major ways to change the style of the maze:

1. Changing the passages (or 'doors') between the different maze cells
2. Changing the walls between the maze cells
3. Changing the solution path

These Style settings will work closely together with the Colors settings.

## Passage Settings
By default the passages are fully open. However, you can change that. Use the slider to set the passage to a percentage of the cell size. (A percentage instead of a fixed number of pixels will preserve settings when you use a different image size or resolution).

![21 Mazes 2D - Passage Width.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/kI3Ss9XXLE/21%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Passage%20Width.png)

By setting the Passage Width to approx 50% you get a different type of maze, it will seem to be more complex, even though it has the same number of cells as the first screenshot on this page.

Using very small values for Passage Width may interfere with the Wall Thickness and Colors settings - in some cases the passage will be drawn as closed because the walls are too thick. Always check the results of your settings visually before creating a large number of mazes.

### Randomize Passage Position
![22 Mazes 2D - Randomize Passage Position.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/B9kHdIV5Ca/22%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Randomize%20Passage%20Position.png)
As you can see in the screenshot, randomizing the passage position will move it slightly to the left or right, creating a more complex maze. This option will have no effect when the passages are fully open.

### Randomize Passage Width and Position
Randomizing the Passage Width will randomly add or subtract up to 50% of the Passage Width, creating a more chaotic maze.
![23 Mazes 2D - Randomize Passage Width and Position.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/gIo9ImI8LV/23%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Randomize%20Passage%20Width%20and%20Position.png)
In the screenshot we've randomized both the Width and the Position, you can also randomize either of them separately.
## Wall Settings
The Wall Thickness has a huge impact on the look and feel of a maze, even without changing the colors.
![24 Mazes 2D - Wall Thickness.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/0wAIJpwJCd/24%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Wall%20Thickness.png)
Just like the Passage Width, the Wall Thickness is also set as a percentage of the cell size.

### Randomize Wall Thickness
You can randomize the Wall Thickness, this add or subtract up to 50% of the Wall Thickness. This will make it look quite chaotic. 
![25 Mazes 2D - Random Wall Thickness.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/CWMYcjulwL/25%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Random%20Wall%20Thickness.png)
The randomization will be done on a cell by cell basis. This means that all walls of a cell will have the same weight (thickness), unless a neighboring cell has even thicker walls. You can see in the screenshot that this results in an organic look and feel of the maze.

If you use a low value for the Wall Thickness, combined with randomization, the result may look a bit like a hand-drawn maze.

## Solution Line Settings
The Solution Line is the line through the maze that connects the Start and End points. 
![26 Mazes 2D - Solution Line.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/P43YQOdQ6J/26%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Solution%20Line.png)
First of all, you can change the width (weight, thickness), again as a percentage of the average cell size.
### Curved Solution Path
If you don't like the more angular style of the default solution line, you can change it to Curved:
![27 Mazes - Solution Line Curved.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/xCmQ9kZMIl/27%20Mazes%20-%20Solution%20Line%20Curved.png)
Curved solution paths look more smooth and natural, the way someone would manually draw the path in a maze.
### Dashed Solution Path
Finally you can change the continuous line into a dashed (dotted) path:
![28 Mazes 2D - Solution Line Curved Dotted.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/xifqUhEviK/28%20Mazes%202D%20-%20Solution%20Line%20Curved%20Dotted.png)
This will make it look more like footsteps or breadcrumbs in your maze.
## Warning
Especially at more extreme settings (small passage width, large wall thickness, large solution line thickness, and randomization) you'll have to really visually check if the mazes look good, using the colors you selected. There are many customization options allowing you to create beautiful mazes, but they will also allow you to create mazes that are less esthetically pleasing.

Question 2

How to create a 'Wind' style pattern with POD Graphics Maker

Accepted Answer

This Youtube tutorial shows how to create Wind style patterns with POD Graphics Maker. Pattern 00-4 - Wind is part of POD Graphics Maker Starter Edition and XL Edition.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

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

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

#Overview

The Journal Filler Plugin for Powerpoint will save you time with two different options:
- Quickly fill a shape with lines, squares or dots (see: [Lines, squares or dots](https://help.bookpublishertools.com/faqs/journal-filler-lines))
- Add new shapes to set up a layout quickly (this tutorial)

To use the Journal Filler Plugin, click on the "Add-ins" option in the Powerpoint menu. This will open the Add-in ribbon, that includes the "BookPublisherTools" options. In the "More Options" menu you can find "Journal Filler". This will open a new side panel in Powerpoint.
![Add-in menu.jpg](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/c2xd7twyDJ/Add-in%20menu.jpg)

There are two ways to add new shapes on a slide (or on several slides)
- Add shapes on a blank slide - this will create new shapes with black/white colors only
- Set up a shape on your page, and use that as a template for new shapes.

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

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

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

At the right you see the Journal Filler plugin, where the "Shapes" tab is selected. Here you can:
- Set outer margins, that you don't want covered with shapes. You can set this to 0 (zero), to 0.5" for KDP margins, or to larger sizes to create a specific layout. For example to keep the top half of the page empty.
- Set Interior Margins, the margins between your shapes. You can specify the horizontal distance between columns, and the vertical distance between rows
- Set the number of rows and columns.

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

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

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

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

#Add shapes from a 'template' shape
Sometimes you don't want to fill the entire slide with new shapes (rectangles), but you may just want to add some rows or columns at the bottom of the slide, or on a different location.

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

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

## Step 1 - Set up the shape format, position and size
First you add a shape to your slide. For journals and planners you'll probably use squares, but you can use stars, arrows, etc as well.

You can change the colors, font style and font color as you wish. In the screenshot below we just used a white background with black borders:
![Filler-Squares.jpg](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/chogcVIhdF/Filler-Squares.jpg)

To be honest, these four squares have been created from a larger square.
## Step 2 - Set up the number of shapes you want
Journal Filler will create the specified number of shapes in the place of the selected shape. If you set the number of rows and columns both to 2, you will end up with 4 shapes, each approximately 50% of the height and width of the original shape. (It will apply the Interior Margins you set).

## Step 3 - Add the new shapes
Now you can select the shapes you want to use as templates (1 or more) and click "Add" to add the new shapes.
![Filler-Smaller-Squares.jpg](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/BuZqZa6IpQ/Filler-Smaller-Squares.jpg)
In this screenshot you can see the result after:
- Selecting the top left and bottom right squares, and selecting 1 column and 2 rows, then clicking 'Add'
- Selecting the top right and bottom left squares, and selecting 2 columns and 1 rows, then clicking 'Add'

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

## Step 4 - Customize and embellish
After you've created this basic layout, you can manually change, resize and edit the shapes any way you want. These are 'just' Powerpoint shapes.

Question 4

How to use multiple Word Lists in Puzzle Maker Pro - Word Search

Accepted Answer

Puzzle Maker Pro – Word Search has been optimized to quickly create word search puzzles from large word lists. For example, you can select a list of 1000 or more words to create puzzles. However, there are situations where you’d to use multiple word lists. Either to combine them automatically in one large list, or to create one or more puzzles for each list. Puzzle Maker Pro – Time Saver for Word Search can do this for you. ## Step 1: How to set the Main options Make sure you have selected “Word Search” in the Puzzle Type menu (1). It doesn’t matter which edition you’re using. Go to the Time Saver tab page (2), this will show you the Time Saver for Word Search options (3). Time Saver for Word Search - Main tab overview

Time Saver for Word Search - Main tab overview

The red box (4) indicates the word list options. You can also set all the other options as you wish, these are not part of this tutorial. * Merge All Word Lists – Combine all word lists into one large list. Each puzzle will consist of randomly selected words from this list * Separate Puzzles Per Word List – Keep the word lists separate. Each puzzle will use words from a single word list. You can use the file name as title for the puzzle, for example if the file is “Roses.txt”, the puzzle title can be “Puzzle 13 Roses” ## Step 2: How to select the Word Lists Now select the tab “Word Lists” to select all the word lists you want to use. Time Saver for Word Search - selecting word lists

Time Saver for Word Search - selecting word lists

This is fairly straightforward. You can select multiple word lists at once, and select word lists from different folders on your computer. When you have selected all the lists you want to use, go to the “Batch Creation” tab. ## Step 3: How to create multiple Word Search puzzles with one mouse-click There are two options to create multiple Word Search puzzles at once, when you are using the Time Saver: * “Fast” – This is the ‘old’ Time Saver for Word Search, it can be used for square and rectangular puzzles. It’s called Fast because you don’t have to create presets first, but… it does not work for shaped puzzles. * “Presets” – The ‘new’ Time Saver for Word Search. ### "Fast" - Create rectangular word search puzzles with different dimensions PMP - Word Search - Word Lists - Fast.png

PMP - Word Search - Word Lists - Fast.png

For each row in this table you can set the number of rows and columns, the number of puzzles to be created and some other options. For each row in this table it will use all the word lists specified in step 2. (Read step 4 for examples) ### "Presets" - Create Word Search puzzles from your presets PMP - Word Search - Word Lists - Presets.png

PMP - Word Search - Word Lists - Presets.png

When you use presets, you can select as many presets as you like for your current project. You can set the quantity (number of puzzles) for each preset, however you should keep in mind that it will process all word lists for each puzzle (see also Step 4). Once you’ve set the Batch Creation options you need, don’t forget to check the “Use Time Saver to generate Puzzles” at the top left of the window, and click Create to generate the puzzles. ## Step 4: How many different puzzles can you expect? The Time Saver for Word Search can create a lot of puzzles for you: It will use each preset (or each line in the “Fast” table), then take each word list in turn (unless you combine them), and create the “Quantity” number of puzzles for that combination. An example: let’s say you use 10 different word lists, you use 5 presets, and you set the quantity for each preset to 5. That will create 10x5x5=250 puzzles (instead of 5×5, what some people expect). In most cases you’ll want only 1 puzzle for each preset or use a single preset to create many puzzles. However, it’s up to you to decide and be creative.

Question 5

How can I use a date in the Free Style grid of Ultimate Planner Maker?

Accepted Answer

This video tutorial shows how to use date fields in the cells in the Free Style Grid of Ultimate Planner Maker

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

The styling options for Jigsaw are:

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

## Font Styling
You can choose any (TrueType) font on your computer for the printed coordinates. Just click the white area that has the font name (by default "Arial", in this screenshot "Artless") and the Font Setup window will be shown, where you can configure and preview the font settings.
![Jigsaw 015 - Font Styling.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/1PQPuu1YAz/Jigsaw%20015%20-%20Font%20Styling.png)

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

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

## Help Lines
In addition to the puzzle piece border lines, you can also add Help Lines. These will help children (or adults) to draw parts of the puzzle piece in the right location. This can be especially helpful if you have puzzle pieces with lots of detail. The next screenshot shows an example. The purple color for the Help Lines was chosen to contrast with the bright colors.
![Jigsaw 017 - Help Lines.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/XFp9E9y0aY/Jigsaw%20017%20-%20Help%20Lines.png)

Question 7

How do I use the Time Saver for JigSaw?

Accepted Answer

## Basics
To use the Time Saver for JigSaw, you need to select the "Time Saver" tab, and then check the box "Use Time Saver to generate Puzzles" at the top.

![Jigsaw 040 - Time Saver Overview.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/nQFCAF35W4/Jigsaw%20040%20-%20Time%20Saver%20Overview.png)
There are two ways to use this Time Saver, which can be combined:
* Using Images (the "Fast" mode)
* Using (JigSaw) Presets

In addition to the "Use Time Saver" option, you'll need to check the options you want to use, e.g. the "Use Time Saver - Fast" option in the screenshot.
## Using Images
In the Fast Mode you can just select a number of images and adjust some of the settings for each image. (All the other settings will be copied from the 'Puzzle Settings' tab.
![Jigsaw 041 - Time Saver Fast Mode.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/XL3HqEShIN/Jigsaw%20041%20-%20Time%20Saver%20Fast%20Mode.png)

### Add Images
At the bottom of the window ([1] in the screenshot), you can see a button "Add Images". This will allow you to select a number of images on your computer, that will be used for puzzles. These images will be added to the table.

Using the "Delete Rows" button you can remove rows that you have selected (by clicking on them), "Delete All" will remove all the rows from this table.

### Set default values
You can set a couple of default values ([2] in the screenshot) for each set of images you import, such as the puzzle type, the number of rows and columns, "Perfect", and the connector type. This will allow you to very quickly create a list of puzzles to create.
### Editing the table
For each image you can edit the settings in the table.

Once you're done, click "Create" to create your puzzles and/or puzzle book.

Note: "Next Preview" and "Save Preview" have no use for the Time Saver.
## Using Presets
The other option for the Time Saver is using Presets. These are presets you have created for JigSaw.
![Jigsaw 042 - Puzzle Presets.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/EDacC7DyTl/Jigsaw%20042%20-%20Puzzle%20Presets.png)
In the Time Saver you can see all the presets you have created, and select the ones you want to use to create puzzles (for your puzzle book). Everytime you use a preset, it will create a new randomized puzzle, based on the preset settings.
![Jigsaw 043 - Time Saver with Presets.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Zm6scty1QK/Jigsaw%20043%20-%20Time%20Saver%20with%20Presets.png)

Question 8

How can I create Triangle JigSaw Puzzles?

Accepted Answer

Puzzle Maker Pro - JigSaw Triangles supports most of the features of JigSaw Squares, but of course some things are different because of the triangle shape.

## Triangle Shapes
Unlike Squares, Triangle shapes can never perfectly fill a square or rectangular image. As you can see in this screenshot, there will always be some partial (half) triangles at the left and right edges.

![Jigsaw 024 - Blank Triangles Puzzle.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/zDuptu3kaS/Jigsaw%20024%20-%20Blank%20Triangles%20Puzzle.png)

## Connector Types

Triangles work best with Triangle or JigSaw connector types (or no connectors at all). With Square connectors you have to test and configure the length settings carefully, to make sure the connectors do not overlap.
![Jigsaw 039 - Triangles with Square Connectors.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/7OhLaL94uU/Jigsaw%20039%20-%20Triangles%20with%20Square%20Connectors.png)

## Perfect Triangles
Most screenshots for JigSaw Triangles use the "Perfect Triangles" option, since this usually looks good. This will create equilateral triangles. If you switch it off, you'll get isosceles triangles.
![Jigsaw 038 - Non-perfect Triangles.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/AmrroinCDV/Jigsaw%20038%20-%20Non-perfect%20Triangles.png)

## Pyramid Only
A special type of Triangles puzzle is the big triangle (called 'Pyramid' in this module).

![Jigsaw 033 - Triangles Pyramid Only.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/SUuD6VNKZh/Jigsaw%20033%20-%20Triangles%20Pyramid%20Only.png)

As you can see in the screenshot, this will remove quite a few of the triangles (almost 50%), leaving a nice big pyramid in place. However, this will also leave a large part of your original image out of the puzzle.

![Jigsaw 037 - Triangle Pyramid Image Cut Off.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/OmW95kW73D/Jigsaw%20037%20-%20Triangle%20Pyramid%20Image%20Cut%20Off.png)

## Triangles Coordinates
Using Coordinates for Triangles puzzles is almost as easy as for Squares puzzles.
![Jigsaw 032 - Triangle Coordinates.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/iNgphDtBtf/Jigsaw%20032%20-%20Triangle%20Coordinates.png)
The Rows will be numbered A, B, C, ...

Columns will be numbered 1, 2, 3, ... where 1 is the first column of half triangles.

When you use the pyramid option, many of the coordinates (positions) will not be used:
![Jigsaw 034 - Triangles Pyramid Puzzle Page.png](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/DFhREZkYSZ/Jigsaw%20034%20-%20Triangles%20Pyramid%20Puzzle%20Page.png)

Question 9

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.

![Easy Puzzle Books - 020 Grid Editor.jpg](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/ZZnqxTZb4Y/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20020%20Grid%20Editor.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.
![Easy Puzzle Books - 021 Grid Example 1.jpg](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/HMcyXSulkB/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20021%20Grid%20Example%201.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:
![Easy Puzzle Books - 022 Grid Example 1 Result.jpg](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/Xqgw5GV3OR/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20022%20Grid%20Example%201%20Result.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%:
![Easy Puzzle Books - 022 Grid Example 1 Result 2.jpg](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)
## "Manual" 3x4 Grid
In this second example, we'll use a 3x4 grid, and set the title space to 15%. 
![Easy Puzzle Books - 024 Grid Example 2.jpg](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/qM3kgAfcYA/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20024%20Grid%20Example%202.jpg)
"Use Square Shapes" is not selected for the first results, and look at the screenshot below:

![Easy Puzzle Books - 025 Grid Example 2 Result 1.jpg](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)
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.

![Easy Puzzle Books - 026 Grid Example 2 Result 2.jpg](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)

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 10

How to Set Up Puzzles and Solutions for Easy Puzzle Books (plugin for Powerpoint)

Accepted Answer

This tutorial shows how to set up your puzzles and solutions to create a puzzle book with Easy Puzzle Books. # Puzzles and Solutions ![Easy Puzzle Books - 004 Select Puzzles - Blank.jpg](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/HQSKL5ABpv/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20004%20Select%20Puzzles%20-%20Blank.jpg) The screenshot shows the empty Puzzle Files window. This is what it will usually look like when you start, unless you have used a preset already. You can click "Add Puzzles" to add puzzles, and "Add Solutions" to add solutions. Pretty easy, isn't it? The puzzles and solutions will be displayed in the list. Especially for the first few puzzle books, it makes sense to verify that the proper puzzles and solutions are matched. ![Easy Puzzle Books - 005 Select Puzzles - Details.jpg](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/TozOU08WIX/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20005%20Select%20Puzzles%20-%20Details.jpg) In this screenshot you can see that a number of puzzles and solutions have been selected. Each line contains < P>: showing the puzzle file name, and < S>: showing the solution file name. When you click on each line, a message box will show you the full path for the puzzle and solution. Note: When you use presets, you'll get a warning "File Not Found", if your list of puzzle files contains files that cannot be found. For example when you've deleted the files or moved them to a different location. For Automatic book creation, you can skip the next two paragraphs. # Titles Select the "Titles" tab to see more information: ![Easy Puzzle Books - 006 Select Puzzles - Title Auto.jpg](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/nA1gAdP70G/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20006%20Select%20Puzzles%20-%20Title%20Auto.jpg) You can edit the Puzzle Title, Solution Title and Number Symbol here. For Automatic book creation, these settings will be identical to the settings in Step 4. For Manual book creation, this is where you should edit the settings. These settings are part of the preset for the puzzles (if you choose to save a preset). In the screenshot, the lower part of the window is greyed out. This is what it looks like when you open this window from the "Auto" tab. # Placeholders for Manual Grid Creation Please read the [Manual Puzzle Books tutorial](https://help.bookpublishertools.com/faqs/easy-puzzle-books-manual-book-creation) first, otherwise these settings will not make sense. ![Easy Puzzle Books - 007 Select Puzzles - Titles Manual.jpg](https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/wuGqS3zSeN/resources/uTw4dNJq3i/Easy%20Puzzle%20Books%20-%20007%20Select%20Puzzles%20-%20Titles%20Manual.jpg) For Manual Puzzle Books creation, you'll first create one or more Powerpoint slides with placeholders for the puzzles, puzzle titles, solutions and solution titles. This will allow you to create a nice layout, changing positions, sizes, fonts, colors, etc. In the grid, you'll see (or use) names like {Puzzle Title 1}, {Solution 3}, and so on. These codes - "Placeholders" - are needed to tell the plugin which titles and puzzles belong together. Once the copy and replace process begins, it will replace {Puzzle Title 1} with "Puzzle ##", and replace "##" with the current puzzle number. For Easy Puzzle Books, it's not really important what these names are, as long as they not identical, and there's a number included. Therefore it's best not to change the settings. For Easy Puzzle Books Pro (ETA TBD), these placeholders should be unique, to separate the different puzzle sets in your puzzle book.

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