- Registered owners of Crossword Express can publish their own Crossword, Anagram and MorphWord Puzzles
interactively on the Internet using the Crossword Express Java Applet. With the release of Version 7.7 of the Crossword
Express program, this has become a very simple process which makes use of an Export as Applet function within the
program.
- The steps involved in preparing a puzzle for publication on the Internet are as follows:-
- Make sure that the copy of Crossword Express you are using is at version 7.7 or later. If this doesn't
apply in your case then please complete a free upgrade of your installation by visiting:-
- Start the Crossword Express program, then do one of the following, depending on what type of puzzle you
wish to implement as an applet:-
- Crossword Puzzle — Select Miscellaneous Functions from the Control Panel screen.
- Anagram Puzzle Type 1. — Select Other Puzzles / Anagram Puzzles Type 1 from the program's main menu bar.
- Anagram Puzzle Type 2. — Select Other Puzzles / Anagram Puzzles Type 2 from the program's main menu bar.
- MorphWord Puzzle — Select Other Puzzles / MorphWord Puzzles from the program's main menu bar.
- Use the Select Dictionary button to select the dictionary which you know was used to construct the puzzle which
you want to implement as an applet.
- Use either the Select Puzzle button or the Old button to select the puzzle you require.
- Click the Export as Applet button to complete the process.
- When you have completed these steps, you will find that inside your Crossword Express folder, there is a
sub-folder called java, and inside this folder there is a total of three files as follows:-
- A single .cwe file. This is the file which contains the actual puzzle which you have selected
for interactive publication.
- The file cweaplet.class This is the Java program file which creates the interactive environment
in which the puzzle will operate.
- The file puzzle.html This is the file which starts the interactive process. Double clicking on
the icon of this file will start your web browser with your puzzle displayed and ready for interactive operation in a test
environment.
- All that is now required to publish the puzzle on the Internet is to upload the three files onto your web server, and to provide
a link from one of your existsing web pages to the puzzle.html file.If the exported puzzle performs correctly when
operated locally on your hard drive, but fails to do so after loading onto your web server, it will probably be caused by one
of the factors discussed in Frequently asked Questions.
- You should find the puzzle perfectly acceptable exactly as it is exported by Crossword Express. You can
however make changes to the appearance and behaviour of the applet using a system of param statements located within
the puzzle.html file. There is a very comprehensive selection of params the use of which is explained in the
following. Simply click on any param name in the following index for a complete description of that param and how to use it.
<applet code="cweaplet.class" width=700 height=385>
The width and height values may be changed if you want a bigger or smaller puzzle in your web page. Depending
on the values you select, you may need to rearrange the locations of the components of the Applet, using
the various loc parameters.
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<h1>WARNING!</h1>
You must use a Java enabled browser to solve these puzzles.
<hr>
These three lines provide a brief announcement for the benefit of people who are using a browser which is
not able to process Applets. Feel free to change the wording of this message but please do not remove it.
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<param name="french" value="true">
The simple process of including the french parameter and setting its value to true will result in the puzzle being
presented in the French style. The individual cells of the puzzle are not numbered, but the columns and rows of the
puzzle are identified by numbers which are displayed above and to the left of the puzzle. All of the clues which apply to the
words in a particular column or row are collected together and displayed simultaneously with double colon separaters between the
individual clues. The puzzle file used for a French puzzle requires no special treatment, except that you should NOT use any
tunnel in its construction.
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<param name="dutch" value="true">
Including the dutch parameter and setting its value to true will result in the puzzle being presented in the Dutch
style. The clues are presented in exactly the same way as for the French style puzzle, but the column and row identification
numbers are placed inside the first cell of each column or row. Every cell of the puzzle must contain a letter, so when you make
a puzzle to be displayed in the Dutch style, the only pattern cells you are permitted to use are the three varieties of
bar cells. Note however that when the puzzle is presented in the Dutch style, these pattern cells are not displayed, thus
adding an extra level of difficulty for the solver.
A further variation on this style is the Grille Blanche puzzle. This is the French phrase meaning "white grid", and comes
about because any normal black pattern cells in the puzzle are not displayed. The solver must enter these pattern cells while
solvong the puzzle, and this is done by pressing the # key.
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<param name="cluesep" value="::">
When the applet is displaying French, Dutch or Grille Blanche puzzles, there is the possibility that two or more clues
may need to be displayed simultaneously for a row or a column. A separater is required between the clues, and this is specified by
the value of the cluesep parameter. The applet will automatically inset a space before and after whatever characters you include
in this separater.
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<param name="encoding" value="Cp037">
The characters used by this Java applet are stored according to the standard international character set called Unicode. When
characters are being read from the .cwe puzzle file, they must be translated into Unicode from whatever encoding was in use when
the puzzle was constructed. If you are confident that the only people who will be solving your puzzles will be using a computer
whose default language is the same as your own, then you can safely omit this parameter. Otherwise, you can select the value
for this parameter from the following list:-
Cp037 USA, Canada, Netherlands, Portugal, Brazil, Australia
Cp285 IBM United Kingdom, Ireland
Cp1250 Windows Eastern European
Cp1251 Windows Cyrillic
Cp1252 Windows Latin-1
Cp1253 Windows Greek
Cp1254 Windows Turkish
Cp1255 Windows Hebrew
Cp1256 Windows Arabic
This is only a partial list, and many more codes are available. If you believe you need something which is not on this list, please
contact support@crauswords.com with details of your requirements.
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<param name="include" value="false">
Any, or most of the params contained within the <applet> tag may be placed instead into a file called cweaplet.ini which is
uploaded into the server folder that also contains the cweaplet.class file. This parameter tells the applet whether or not it
should attempt to load the cweaplet.ini file. Normally, you can choose not to use the include parameter at all, because
the Applet will attempt to read cweaplet.ini by default. However, some web servers generate an error message if an attempt is
made to read a file which doesn't exist, so if you are not using the cweaplet.ini file, it is a good idea to use this parameter,
and to set its value to false. Naturally, the include parameter must be placed in the <applet> tag rather than in the
cweaplet.ini file.
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<param name="bgcolor" value="E9EDDE">
The "bgcolor" parameter may be set to any color which contrasts nicely with the background color of
your web page. You can even use the same color as your web page if you like, in which case the elements of
the puzzle display will appear to be floating in your web page content. If you make full use of the
loc parameters you can arrange for the entire Applet to be covered with the
components of the puzzle, so that the background color won't even be seen at all.
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<param name="buttoncolor" value="00C0C0">
You are able to control the color of the buttons by setting the value of the "buttoncolor" parameter.
The buttons will be drawn in a 3D style but you may need to experiment with this, as the 3D effect is more
pronounced on some colors than on others.
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<param name="buttontext" value="000000">
You can control the color of the text displayed on the buttons by means of the "buttontext"
parameter.
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<param name="titlepanel" value="D0E0C0">
<param name="titletext" value="C04000">
Use these parameters to control the color of the panel on which the puzzle title is displayed, and the color of the text.
<param name="titlefont" value="Monospaced">
The "titlefont" parameter allows you to specify the font which will be used to display the puzzle title in the
title panel. There are three choices available to you, viz. "Serif", "SansSerif" and "Monospaced". (Note that
the upper case letters in this parameter are required).
<param name="titlefontsize" value="40">
Use this parameter to specify the size of the font to be used for the puzzle title. If the puzzle title will not fit into
the space you have allowed for it, a smaller font will be substituted.
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<param name="cluelabel" value="FFC000">
<param name="cluepanel" value="E9EDDE">
<param name="cluetext" value="000000">
Include these three lines if you want to control the color of the ACROSS and DOWN labels of the
clue panels, the color of the clue panels, or the color of the clue text.
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<param name="graphicpanel" value="E9EDDE">
Use this parameter to control the color of the panel on which graphic banner is displayed.
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<param name="puzzlepanel" value="E9EDDE">
Using this parameter you can control the color of the panel on which the actual puzzle is drawn.
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<param name="infocolor" value="E9EDDE">
<param name="infotext1" value="C00000">
<param name="infotext2" value="0000C0">
The infocolor parameter controls the background color of the Help window, and the windows which appear
when a complete solution has been entered for the puzzle.
The infotext1 and infotext2 parameters control the colors of the opening lines of the Help and Puzzle
Complete windows.
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<param name="focusword" value="FFFFA0">
<param name="focuscell" value="FF0000">
<param name="focusletter" value="FFFF00">
The background color of the focus word and the focus cell, and the color of the text in the focus cell
can be controlled by these three parameters.
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<param name="errcell" value="C0C0C0">
<param name="errletter" value="FF0000">
When the Show Errors button is clicked all cells in the puzzle which have the incorrect letter
inserted will be highlighted. The two parameters above allow you to control the foreground and background
colors of the error highlight.
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<param name="tmcolor" value="C0C0C0">
<param name="tmtext" value="00A000">
<param name="tmlabel" value="FFC000">
<param name="tmlabeltext" value="A00000">
Use these parameters to control the color of the panel on which the elapsed time is displayed, the color
of the text of that display, the color of the label panel associated with it, and the color of the text
on the label panel.
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<param name="patcell" value="808080">
<param name="actcell" value="C0C0C0">
<param name="gridline" value="0000FF">
<param name="use3D" value="true">
Use these color definitions to control the color of the pattern cells, the active cells and the grid lines which define the cells.
Use the use3D parameter to have the puzzles cells drawn in a striking three dimensional mode. If you use the 3D effect, you should
be aware of the following:-
- The gridline color is not required, and if included will not be used.
- The 3D effect is more pronounced on some colors than others, so you may want to do some experimenting here.
- Use of the 3D effect is not compatible with the Bar and Tunnel cells.
- The 3D effect is compatible with the shadowbox option, and some very striking effects can be achieved by mixing these options.
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<param name="drawborder" value="true">
<param name="bordercolor" value="00FF00">
Include these two lines if you would like a 2 pixel wide border to be drawn around the outside of the
applet. The color of the border is given by the parameter "bordercolor". If you make good use of the
loc parameters which control the size and locations of Applet components, you will
probably want to cover the entire area of tha Applet with the components, and there will be no need to use
this option.
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<param name="font" value="Serif">
<param name="style" value="plain">
The "font" parameter allows you to specify the font which will be used when solving the puzzle. There
are three choices available to you, viz. "Serif", "SansSerif" and "Monospaced". (Note that the
upper case letters in this parameter are required). You can also control the style of the font by setting
the "style" parameter to one of the four values "plain", "bold", "italic" or "bolditalic".
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<param name="buttonfontsz" value="35">
<param name="cluefontsz" value="35">
<param name="msgfontsz" value="35">
The size of the fonts used in displaying the text used in the applet can be controlled by means of these
thre parameters. To derive the number to use for "value", imagine the applet being sliced into 1,000
horizontal strips. The number you use represents the number of horizontal strips spanned by a character
of the font. If you omit these parameters, the applet will select a default size for the font which will
be satisfactory in the majority of cases.
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<param name="idfontsz" value="35">
This parameter controls the size of the font used in displaying the cell ID numbers. The number you enter here is interpreted as a
percentage of the height of a single cell. Suitable vales will be in the range of 35 to 50%. If you omit this parameter, the applet
will select a default size of 50%.
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<param name="peek" value="Peek 1 letter">
<param name="peekidle" value="peekidle.gif">
<param name="peekover" value="peekover.gif">
<param name="peekdown" value="peekdown.gif">
The peek parameter is used to set the text attached to the Peek button, and the location of this button is set by the
peekloc parameter.
As an alternative to having the applet draw the button you can prepare a set of three graphic files
(.gif or .jpg) which the applet will use to represent the button when it is in each of the states, idle, mouse-over and
down. The peekidle, peekover and peekdown parameters are used to inform the applet of the names of
these files.
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<param name="errors" value="Show Errors">
<param name="errorsidle" value="errorsidle.gif">
<param name="errorsover" value="errorsover.gif">
<param name="errorsdown" value="errorsdown.gif">
The errors parameter is used to set the text attached to the Show Errors button, and the location of this button is
set by the errorloc parameter.
As an alternative to having the applet draw the button you can prepare a set of three graphic files
(.gif or .jpg) which the applet will use to represent the button when it is in each of the states, idle, mouse-over and
down. The errorsidle, errorsover and errorsdown parameters are used to inform the applet of the names of
these files.
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<param name="help" value="Help">
<param name="helpidle" value="helpidle.gif">
<param name="helpover" value="helpover.gif">
<param name="helpdown" value="helpdown.gif">
The help parameter is used to set the text attached to the Help button, and the location of this button is set by the
helploc parameter.
As an alternative to having the applet draw the button you can prepare a set of three graphic files
(.gif or .jpg) which the applet will use to represent the button when it is in each of the states, idle, mouse-over and
down. The helpidle, helpover and helpdown parameters are used to inform the applet of the names of
these files.
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<param name="helpok" value="OK">
<param name="helpokidle" value="helpokidle.gif">
<param name="helpokover" value="helpokover.gif">
<param name="helpokdown" value="helpokdown.gif">
The helpok parameter is used to set the text attached to the OK button, and the location of this button is set by the
helpokloc parameter.
As an alternative to having the applet draw the button you can prepare a set of three graphic files
(.gif or .jpg) which the applet will use to represent the button when it is in each of the states, idle, mouse-over and
down. The helpokidle, helpokover and helpokdown parameters are used to inform the applet of the names of
these files.
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<param name="submit" value="Submit">
<param name="submitidle" value="submitidle.gif">
<param name="submitover" value="submitover.gif">
<param name="submitdown" value="submitdown.gif">
The submit parameter is used to set the text attached to the submit button, and the location of this button is set by
the submitloc parameter.
As an alternative to having the applet draw the button you can prepare a set of three graphic files
(.gif or .jpg) which the applet will use to represent the button when it is in each of the states, idle, mouse-over and
down. The submitidle, submitover and submitdown parameters are used to inform the applet of the names of
these files.
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<param name="notes" value="Notes">
<param name="notesidle" value="notesidle.gif">
<param name="notesover" value="notesover.gif">
<param name="notesdown" value="notesdown.gif">
The notes parameter is used to set the text attached to the Notes button, and the location of this button is set by the
notesloc parameter.
As an alternative to having the applet draw the button you can prepare a set of three graphic files
(.gif or .jpg) which the applet will use to represent the button when it is in each of the states, idle, mouse-over and
down. The notesidle, notesover and notesdown parameters are used to inform the applet of the names of
these files.
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<param name="save" value="Save">
<param name="saveidle" value="saveidle.gif">
<param name="saveover" value="saveover.gif">
<param name="savedown" value="savedown.gif">
<param name="saveurl" value="http://www.crauswords.com/cgi-bin/cwe.cgi">
<param name="savesound" value="magic.au">
<param name="savemsg" value="Puzzle Saved.">
Want to allow your visitors to save the work they have done so far, so that they can return later and continue from where
they left off? To set up this feature it is necessary to take the following three steps:-
- Use of the "saveloc" parameter to specify that a save button is to be included.
The solver will click this button to save the solution so far in a cookie. This information will be placed back into the
puzzle the next time the solver accesses it.
- Use the "save" parameter to specify the text to be placed into the save button. As an alternative
to having the applet draw the button you can prepare a set of three graphic files (.gif or .jpg) which the applet will use
to represent the button when it is in each of the states, idle, mouse-over and down. The saveidle, saveover and
savedown parameters are used to inform the applet of the names of these files.
- A copy of the cgi script (cwe.cgi) which is responsible for saving the partial solution
is included in the download .zip file. This file needs to be uploaded to your web server along with the applet and puzzle files.
The saveurl parameter is then used to inform the applet just where the cgi script is located. Before taking any action
in this direction you will generally need to talk to your ISP to ensure that you are authorised to run cgi scripts on your
account.
There are also two optional steps you may choose to take:-
- The "savesound" parameter allows you to nominate a .au sound file which will be played
when the save button is clicked, thereby informing the solver that the save request has been processed.
- You can also provide an advisory message to the solver that the puzzle has been saved by including the
savemsg parameter.
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<param name="morepuzzles" value="More Puzzles">
<param name="morepuzurl" value="http://www.anyoldpage.com">
One of the features you may choose to use is the "morepuzzles" function. It provides your applet
with an additional button which, when clicked, causes the browser to link to a new page in a new window.
You provide the address of this page using the "morepuzurl" parameter. Use this feature in any way
which you find to be useful. If you don't want this button, you can use the moreloc
parameter to ensure that it does not appear. As an alternative to having the applet draw the button you can prepare a set
of three graphic files (.gif or .jpg) which the applet will use to represent the button when it is in each of the states,
idle, mouse-over and down. The morepuzzlesidle, morepuzzlesover and morepuzzlesdown parameters are used to
inform the applet of the names of these files.
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<param name="across" value="ACROSS">
<param name="down" value="DOWN">
These parameters set the labels associated with the clues. This assists with the task of adapting the
Applet for use with almost any language required. If you omit these two parameters, but still use the acrossloc and
downloc parameters to specify the locations of the clue panels, then the clue panels will still be drawn, but without
the labels.
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<param name="acrosslist" value="ACROSS Clues">
<param name="downlist" value="DOWN Clues">
These parameters set the labels associated with the clues when they are presented to the solver in the form of a scrollable
list. These lists are automatically updated when the solver moves the solve cursor within the puzzle. Conversely, when
the solver selects a clue within the scrollable list, the solve cursor is moved within the puzzle to reflect the change.
The scrollable lists operate quite independently of the standard single clue display, which means that the two display modes
may be used separately, or in cooperation.
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<param name="time" value="Time">
This is the parameter which contains the text which is displayed adjacent to the elapsed time display
on the Applet.
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<param name="nopeek" value="Sorry...Peeking at the solution is not allowed on this puzzle.">
If you create your puzzles with the Peek feature disabled, this fact will be recognized by the
Applet, and the message which you supply with the "nopeek" parameter will be displayed to the solver
if they should attempt to use the Peek button. Naturally you would use this option on any puzzle which was
to be part of a competition. Alternatively, you can use the peekloc parameter to ensure
that the Peek button doesn't appear at all.
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<param name="noerror" value="Sorry...The display of errors has been disabled on this puzzle.">
If you create your puzzles with the Show Error feature disabled, this fact will be recognized by
the Applet which will prevent the display of errors. The message which you supply with the "noerror"
parameter will be displayed to any solver who tries to use the "Show Errors" function. Naturally
you would use this option on any puzzle which was to be part of a competition. Alternatively, you can use
the errorloc parameter to ensure that the Show Errors button doesn't appear at
all.
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<param name="hint" value="<Click here for a hint>">
You can now create scavenger hunt puzzles by adding the URL of a web
page to the end of one or more of the clues in the puzzle. The idea is that
the web page involved will contain the answer to the question in the clue.
The text which you supply in the "hint" parameter will be appended
to the end of the clue to notify the solver that a URL link is available.
A single click on the clue will transfer the solver to the relevant page
displayed in a new window. When the solver has finished with this page the
new window should be dismissed to allow solving of the puzzle to continue.
If you use this option, some simple instructions to the solver should be
included in the Puzzle Notes at the time the puzzle is created.
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<param name="sound" value="<Click here for a sound effect>">
You can now associate a .au sound file with any or all of the clues within a puzzle. Having selected (or created) the sound file,
all you need to do is add the name of that file to the end of the appropriate clue, and separated from it by a single space.
This can easily be done using the Manual Construction screen. When a clue which contains a sound file is
dispalyed by the applet, a short message is displayed along with the clue to let the solver know that a sound effect is
available. The text of this message is introduced by means of the "sound" parameter.
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<param name="keysound" value="typekey.au">
If you include this parameter, the sound associated with the .au file will be played each time a character is typed into
the puzzle.
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<param name="nonotes" value="No notes have been defined for this puzzle.">
Use this parameter to supply the text which will be displayed to the solver if the NOTES button is
clicked, but the current puzzle does not contain any puzzle notes.
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<param name="mybanner" value="mybanner.gif">
<param name="bgpic" value="mybg.jpg">
The "mybanner" parameter provides you with an opportunity to customise the Applet by including your
own banner in the display. Set value equal to the name of your .gif or .jpg file. The .gif or .jpg
file containing your banner must be loaded onto your web server in the same directory as your .class file.
You can also place a graphic image in the background behind the actual puzzle by making use of the
"bgpic" parameter. This will really only be of use when you are publishing a Classroom style
puzzle, and have turned the shadowbox option on.
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<param name="average" value="true">
If the mybanner graphic (and any other graphics you may elect to use in the applet) does not exactly fit
into their target spaces, a simple scaling process is automatically used to make it fit. This may result
in a jagged appearance for objects within the image. Using an "average" parameter set to true will force an
averaging process to be used during scaling, and the jagged effects will be removed. Be aware that this
will substantially slow down the operation of the applet each time a graphic is displayed for the first
time. It is a much better idea to create your graphic images to fit exactly into the available spaces.
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<param name="cellid" value="false">
Cell ID numbers are included in the puzzle display as the default condition. You can turn off this
behaviour by including a "cellid" parameter, and setting the value to "false".
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<param name="shadowbox" value="true">
Normally the Applet presents puzzles in the traditional way with the pattern cells rendered in black.
Setting the shadowbox parameter to true results in the pattern cells not being drawn at all, while the
active cells appear to cast a shadow, which provides a pleasant 3D effect.
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<param name="casesensitive" value="true">
Under default conditions, the applet will convert input characters to upper case. If you would like
to over-ride this behaviour and always have the character displayed exactly as input by the user, you can
do so by setting the value equal to "true".
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<param name="title1" value="A puzzle with hot-links and graphic clues">
<param name="puzzle1" value="demo.cwe">
<param name="urlright1" value="http://www.submitright.com">
<param name="urlwrong1" value="http://www.submitwrong.com">
<param name="id1" value="standard_00123">
<param name="picture1" value="background.jpg">
For each puzzle which you want the applet to handle, you should include up to six param statements, depending on what
special features your intend to use. The numeral added to each set of param statements must start at one and increase
by one (no gaps please) for each new puzzle. You can include as few as one puzzle, or as many as you like. The functions of
these parametersare as follows:-
- The values associated with the titlen params are the names of the puzzles as they appear in the drop down list
above the puzzle and in the puzzle title banner.
- The values associated with the puzzlen params are the actual names of the puzzle files.
- If you are running an online puzzle solving competition, you can use the urlrightn params to specify the URL to
which correct solutions will be submitted.
- Similarly, incorrect solutions will be submitted to the URL specified by the urlwrongn params. If you don't specify
a urlwrong param, all solutions will be submitted to the URL specified by the urlrightn param.
- The idn params specify an optional puzzle ID code which will be made available to the web page at the submit URL
for puzzle identification purposes.
- The values associated with the picturen params are the names of .jpg or .gif files which are to be used as graphic
backgrounds behind the puzzles. You can omit the picturen params if you wish, in which case
the graphic background will be as specified by the bgpic param if it exists.
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<param name="helpheader" value="How to use this program.">
<param name="help1" value="Any characters you type will be placed into">
<param name="help2" value="the puzzle at the red 'focus' cell. The focus">
<param name="help3" value="cell will then move on to the next letter in">
<param name="help4" value="the word indicated by the yellow highlight.">
<param name="help5" value="-">
<param name="help6" value="The focus can be shifted by pointing and">
<param name="help7" value="clicking with the mouse, or by means of the">
<param name="help8" value="arrow keys. Clicking the focus cell will">
<param name="help9" value="change the highlighted word between">
<param name="help10" value="ACROSS and DOWN without changing the">
<param name="help11" value="position of the focus.">
<param name="help12" value="-">
<param name="help13" value="If the webmaster has provided multiple">
<param name="help14" value="puzzles on this page, you will be able to">
<param name="help15" value="select between them using the selection box">
<param name="help16" value="immediately above the puzzle.">
This set of parameters allows the Help information to be translated into any
language you wish. Please observe the following rules when making changes here:
1. You need not use all 16 lines of Help, but numbering MUST start from 1 and continue upward without any
omissions.
2. Limit the length of each line of text to fit in the space available on the Applet.
3. Any line which contains only a single printable character (other than a space) will print as a blank
line. Use this fact to break your Help text into paragraphs.
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A note on Crossword Puzzle solving competitions.
Setting up an on-line crossword puzzle solving competition is a simple process involving these three steps:
- Any puzzle can be marked for inclusion in a contest by appending the URL of a
Submit web page to the end of the Notes for that puzzle. The URL must be separated from the
Notes by a single space, and must be of the form http://www.submitURL.com The simplest
method of including this URL is to use the Save As function of the
Manual Construction screen of the Crossword Express program.
If you add two different URLs to the end of the puzzle Notes, then correct solutions will be submitted to the first of
these URLs, while incorrect solutions will be submitted to the second one. Exactly one space should be used to separate the
two URLs.
- Include the following line in your list of parameters:
<param name="submitmode" value="code">
Three different values can be applied to this parameter, and these will lead to three different modes of
operation when a solver has completed a puzzle solution as follows:-
- "simple"
In this case, you should also include the following set of six parameters:-
<param name="contest1" value="Your solution code is ">
<param name="contest2" value="Here you can insert up to five lines of">
<param name="contest3" value="instructions to successful solvers.">
<param name="contest4" value="You should tell them to make a note of">
<param name="contest5" value="the solution code so that they can type">
<param name="contest6" value="it into the submit page which you provide.">
The text which you provide here will be presented to any solver who has entered a complete (though not
necessarily correct) solution to a contest puzzle. It will appear in the area normally occupied by the
optional graphic banner, so you should make sure that you do provide for a banner in these cases. A number
having a maximum of six digits will be
appended to the first line before it is displayed, and the value of this number will indicate whether or
not the puzzle has been solved correctly. You can find out what this number will be for a correct solution
by selecting the puzzle into the Miscellaneous Functions screen of the Crossword Express Compiler
program. From version 5.0 onwards, this value will be displayed as the Validation Code. The solver
will also be presented with a submit button which, when clicked, will lead them to the submit page which
is displayed in a new browser window.
- "code"
You will need to write a different set of "contest1" to "contest6" params to act as
instructions to the solver. In this case the submit button and the instructions are displayed, but the
solution code is not appended to the first line of the instructions. Instead, a string of the form:-
?code=solution code&time=solution time
is appended to the URL which you provide, and is transmitted to your submit page as part of the HTML
header. The solution time is simply a decimal number indicating the time taken by the solver to complete
the solution. Note that transmitting data in this way requires a single ? character between the address
part of the URL, and the appended data, and this ? character is automatically provided by the applet.
A submit button will be presented to the solver in the usual way, and clicking this button will display
the submit page in a new browser window.
- "solution"
Once again, you will need to write a different set of "contest1" to "contest6" params to
act as instructions to the solver. The solution code plays no part in this submit mode at all. Instead, a string of the form:-
?solution=solution string&time=solution time
is appended to the URL which you provide, and is transmitted to your submit page as part of the HTML
header. The solution string consists of exactly one character for each cell of the puzzle, presented in
row order. The character will simply be the character entered into that cell by the solver, or if the
cell does not contain a letter (pattern cell) then a single * character will be used as a place holder.
Note that transmitting data in this way requires a single ? character between the address part of the
URL, and the appended data, and this ? character is automatically provided by the applet. A submit button
will be presented to the solver in the usual way, and clicking this button will display the submit page
in a new browser window.
- It is your responsibility to create the page which handles the submit operation. In
the "simple" case, it could be as simple as a single mailto HTML tag which the solver uses to compose
an email containing the relevant information. If you use the "code" or "solution" mode, you will need to
use some scripting to extract the solution code or the puzzle solution from the HTML
header, and you will probably want to set up a form to receive the solvers name and address details.
- If you want the last word in simplicity in setting up your online contest, you can arrange for an email
to be sent to you when the solver has entered a complete (though not necessarily correct) solution, and this email will
contain a complete image of the solvers attempt, along with the time taken to complete the puzzle. The steps involved here
are as follows:-
- Set the submitmode parameter to solution. The simple and code values have
no role when using email submissions, and must not be used.
- Add the URL to the end of the Puzzle Notes as described above. The URL to be used must be of the form
mailto:youraddress@yourdomain.com?subject=Crossword competition entry
The sections shown in red can be varied to suit your own requirements. If you wish, you can enter two mailto: items
separated by a single space. If you do this, then correct entries will be forwarded to the email address included in the first
mailto: while incorrect entries will be forwarded to the email address in the second mailto:.
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How to embed a hidden message into a puzzle.
With the release of version 6.4 of Crossword Express it became possible to apply user selectable colours to individual
cells within the puzzle. (See the Add Colour option on the Miscellaneous Functions screen of the program).
If you use version 3.4 (or better) of the Applet, these colours will also be displayed when the puzzle is being solved
interactively.
Using the enhanced Preset function which also became available with version 6.4 of Crossword Express
(see the Help on the Make Standard Puzzles screen for details on how to use this function) you can enforce that certain
individual cells of the puzzle will contain certain preset letters. If you apply a distinctive colour to just these cells,
the message will become apparent to the solver when a correct solution has been entered into the interactive puzzle.
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<param name="correct1" value="CONGRATULATIONS!">
<param name="correct2" value="Your solution is correct.">
<param name="correct3" value="Why not select another puzzle">
<param name="correct4" value="from the choice box above?">
This is where you can control the text which is presented to a successful
solver of a puzzle which is not part of a contest. Once again, please follow
the same rules which applied in the case of Help.
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<param name="rewardgraphic" value="reward.jpg">
<param name="rewardsound" value="reward.au">
<param name="rewardmsg" value="Well done!">
As an alternative to displaying a simple text message to a successful solver, you can instead use the rewardgraphic
parameter to specify the name of a .jpg graphic file which will be displayed to the solver. Optional additions to this display
are the inclusion of a .au sound file using the rewardsound parameter and a brief text message using the
rewardmsg parameter.
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A note on setting Applet component locations.
The size and location of all of the major components of the Applet may be controlled by
the webmaster using the parameters referred to in this section. The value which sets the size and location
of a given component consists of a string of exactly twelve digits which is to be viewed as four three
digit numbers joined together. These four numbers represent the "top", "left", "bottom" and
"right" coordinates of the component. To derive the values of these numbers, imagine the area of
the Applet being divided into 1,000 vertical columns (numbered 000 to 999) and 1,000 horizontal rows (also
numbered 000 to 999). The components of the Applet are superimposed on this coordinate system and the
required numbers can easily be calculated.
<param name="titleloc" value="000 000 088 999">
<param name="peekloc" value="088 000 148 167">
<param name="errorloc" value="088 167 148 333">
<param name="moreloc" value="088 333 148 500">
<param name="saveloc" value="148 000 208 167">
<param name="helploc" value="148 275 208 358">
<param name="notesloc" value="148 167 208 275">
<param name="helpokloc" value="850 708 905 810">
<param name="submitloc" value="850 708 905 810">
<param name="timelabloc" value="148 358 208 425">
<param name="timedisploc" value="148 425 208 500">
<param name="graphloc" value="208 000 447 500">
<param name="acrossloc" value="447 000 723 500">
<param name="downloc" value="723 000 999 500">
<param name="acrosslistloc" value="148 000 494 500">
<param name="downlistloc" value="574 000 919 500">
<param name="choiceloc" value="088 500 175 999">
<param name="puzzleloc" value="175 500 999 999">
You may wish to omit some of these components. This can
be achieved by setting the value to "000 000 000 000".
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</applet>
This line terminates the applet HTML tag.
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- Any or all of the clues in a puzzle may have a graphic image associated with them.
To use this feature, create a small .gif file containing the graphic image, and upload it to your
web server along with the rest of your files. To get these .gif files displayed in your puzzle,
use the Manual Construction feature of the Crossword Express compiler to attach the name of the .gif file
to the very end of the relevant clue. Note that you must include a single space between the end of the
clue and the beginning of the name of the .gif file. If you wish, the verbal part of a clue may be omitted
altogether, giving you a purely graphic puzzle. In such cases, the graphic image will be made to occupy as
much as possible of the clue panel while still maintaining the correct aspect ratio. If you would like the
entire clue panel to be occupied, you should make your graphic image with an aspect ratio which matches
that of the clue panel.
- Any puzzle which is to be used in a contest situation should be created with the
Scramble option turned on. This can be done before the puzzle is created by turning on the
Scramble checkbox which is part of the Puzzle Description dialog box. Alternatively, you
can scramble an existing puzzle by using the Save As button which can be found on the
Manual Construction screen of the Crossword Express compiler program.
- Good luck with your interactive Crossword puzzles. If you would like to enhance your
web site even further, why not investigate the other great Crossword Express applets. They will all become
available to you at no extra charge when you register the Pro version of Crossword Express. Find out
all you need to know about Registering Crossword Express and about
the great benefits you will receive when you do.
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