CROSSWORD EXPRESS
 Copyright © 1995-2007 AUS-PC-SOFT
Publish your own interactive GRANDTOUR puzzles on the Internet.
  • Registered owners of Crossword Express can publish their own GrandTour Puzzles interactively on the Internet using the Crossword Express GrandRour 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, and select Other Puzzles/GrandTour from the program's 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 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 grandtour.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.

INDEX OF GRANDTOUR APPLET PARAMETERS.
/applet
applet
average
bgcolor
bordercolor
buttoncolor
buttonfontsz
buttontext
choiceloc
code
 correctn
drawborder
errorcolor
font
fullline
graphicpanel
graphloc
guideline
height
help
 helpidle
helpover
helpdown
helpheader
helploc
helpn
helpok
helpokidle
helpokover
helpokdown
 helpokloc
include
infocolor
infotext1
infotext2
msgfontsz
mybanner
puzzleloc
puzzlen
puzzlepanel
 rewardgraphic
rewardmsg
rewardsound
style
titlefont
titlefontsize
titleloc
titlen
titlepanel
titletext
 time
timedisploc
timelabloc
tmcolor
tmlabel
tmlabeltext
tmtext
warning
width

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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="include"       value="false">
 Any, or most of the params contained within the <applet> tag may be placed instead into a file called grandtour.ini which is uploaded into the server folder that also contains the grandtour.class file. This parameter tells the applet whether or not it should attempt to load the grandtour.ini file. Normally, you can choose not to use the include parameter at all, because the Applet will attempt to read grandtour.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 grandtour.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 grandtour.ini file.
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<param name="guideline"     value="808080">
<param name="fullline"      value="000080">
<param name="errorcolor"    value="FF0000">
 These three parameters set the colors used to display various elements of the GrandTour puzzle. The guideline parameter sets the color of the narrow line segments which show where a line may be inserted or removed, while the fullline parameter sets the color of a line segment which hase been changed by the solver to a full line. When the Show Errors button is pressed, all line segments which are currently in error are displayed in the color set by the errorcolor parameter.
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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="graphicpanel"  value="E9EDDE">
 Use this parameter to control the color of the panel on which the 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="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="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="msgfontsz"     value="35">
 The size of the fonts used in displaying the text used in the applet can be controlled by means of these two 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="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="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="mybanner"     value="mybanner.gif">
 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.
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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="title1"        value="A small Grandtour puzzle">
<param name="puzzle1"       value="grandtour1.gtr">
 For each puzzle which you want the applet to handle, you should include two param statements. The numeral added to title, and puzzle 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 values associated with the title params are the names of the puzzles as they appear in the drop down list above the puzzle and in the puzzle title banner, and the values associated with the puzzle params are the actual names of the puzzle files.
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<param name="helpheader"    value="How to use this program.">
<param name="help1"         value="To complete the Grand Tour of this puzzle, you must join">
<param name="help2"         value="some of the dots together both horizontally and vertically">
<param name="help3"         value="to form one complete loop which does not cross over itself.">
<param name="help4"         value="If a cell contains a number, then that number of sides of">
<param name="help5"         value="the cell must be included within the loop.">
<param name="help6"         value="-">
<param name="help7"         value="The grey guide lines between the dots can be converted">
<param name="help8"         value="to a full line by pointing to an area near the middle of the">
<param name="help9"         value="line, and clicking the mouse. A second click will remove">
<param name="help10"        value="all trace of the line, and a third click will restore the grey">
<param name="help11"        value="guide line.">
<param name="help12"        value="-">
<param name="help13"        value="Use logical reasoning to determine which of the guide">
<param name="help14"        value="lines can be converted to full lines, and which ones can">
<param name="help15"        value="be removed. Each time you add or remove a line, it will">
<param name="help16"        value="open up new possibilities for you to exploit.">
<param name="help17"        value="-">
<param name="help18"        value="The puzzle has a unique solution, and no guessing is">
<param name="help19"        value="required to complete the solution.">
 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. Use as many lines of Help as you need, 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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<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. 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="helploc"       value="148 275 208 358">
<param name="helpokloc"     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="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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  • Good luck with your interactive GrandTour 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.
How to Register Crossword Express.
Register on-Line using PayPal.
Return to the Crossword Express Home Page.