Publish your own WordSearch puzzles on the WWW.

CROSSWORD EXPRESS
Copyright © 1995-2007 AUS-PC-SOFT

Publish your own interactive WORDSEARCH puzzles on the Internet.

Registered owners of Crossword Express can publish their own WordSearch Puzzles interactively on the Internet using the Crossword Express WordSearch 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:-
  - www.crauswords.com/windows.html for Windows users.
  - www.crauswords.com/applemac.html for Macintosh users.
- Start the Crossword Express program, and select Other Puzzles/WordSearch 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.
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 .wfe file. This is the file which contains the actual puzzle which you have selected for interactive publication.
- The file wordsrch.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 WORDSEARCH APPLET PARAMETERS.
/applet applet average bgcolor buttoncolor buttonfontsz buttontext choiceloc code contestn correctn encoding font	graphicpanel graphloc height help helpidle helpover helpdown helpheader helploc helpn helpok helpokidle helpokover	helpokdown helpokloc include infocolor infotext1 infotext2 mins msgfontsz mybanner nopeek peek puzbg puzletter	puzzleloc puzzlen puzzlepanel secretmessage secs selletter shape solve style submit submitidle submitover submitdown	submitloc time timedisploc timelabloc titlefont titlefontsize titleloc titlen titlepanel titletext tmcolor tmlabel tmlabeltext	tmtext unusedword usedword warning width wordfont wordloc wordstyle wordpanel

<applet code="wordsrch.class"   width=600   height=400>

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="encoding"      value="Cp1252">

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 file containing your list of words, they must be translated into Unicode from whatever encoding was in use when the list 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 wordsrch.ini which is uploaded into the server folder that also contains the wordsrch.class file. This parameter tells the applet whether or not it should attempt to load the wordsrch.ini file. Normally, you can choose not to use the include parameter at all, because the Applet will attempt to read wordsrch.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 wordsrch.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 wordsrch.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="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="average"       value="true">

If the mybanner graphic does not exactly fit into their target space, 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="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="wordpanel"     value="E9EDDE">

Using this parameter you can set the color of the panel in which the list of words is displayed.

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<param name="usedword"      value="A0A0A0">
<param name="unusedword"    value="000000">

When the Applet is first displayed, the words in the list will be rendered in the color specified by unusedword. As each word is inserted into the puzzle, its color is changed to that indicated by usedword.

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<param name="puzbg"         value="C0D0C0">
<param name="puzletter"     value="0000A0">
<param name="selletter"     value="E00000">
<param name="solve"         value="FFFF00">
<param name="peek"          value="00FFFF">

The process of solving the puzzle is guided by a system of color coding using the following parameters:-

puzbg...Use this parameter to set the background color upon which the letters of the puzzle are superimposed.
puzletter...This one controls the color of the puzzle letters when first displayed, and before any attempt at a solution has been made.
selletter...This controls the color of the puzzle letters which have been selected during a "dragging" operation by the mouse.
solve...Words which have been correctly solved are "struck through" using a color controlled by this parameter.
peek...Words which have been peeked at are "struck through" using a color controlled by this parameter.

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<param name="shape"         value="1">

When a word which has been solved or peeked at is "struck through" in the puzzle, its first letter is highlighted by neans of a coloured background. The shape of this background is controlled by setting the value of the "shape" parameter as follows:-
0 The shape will be a square.
1 The shape will be a square with rounded corners.
2 The shape will be a circle.

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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 to display the letters in the matrix of 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". The applet will choose an appropriate size for the letters in this case.

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<param name="wordfont"      value="Serif">
<param name="wordstyle"     value="plain">

The "wordfont" parameter allows you to specify the font which will be used to display the list of words which are to be found in 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 "wordstyle" 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="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="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 file. The .gif 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="nopeek"        value="true">

Under default conditions, the solver can peek at the location of one word at a time by pointing to that word and clicking the left mouse button. Setting the nopeek parameter to true will disable this option.

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<param name="title1"        value="My wordsearch puzzle.">
<param name="puzzle1"       value="puzzle.wfe">

For each puzzle which you want the applet to handle, you should include a set of 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.
The values associated with the "puzzle" params are the actual names of the .wfe puzzle files as generated by the Crossword Express program. The puzzle files may be given any name you choose.

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<param name="helpheader"    value="How to use this program.">
<param name="help1"         value="The aim of this puzzle is to find the listed words in">
<param name="help2"         value="the jumble of letters. The words may be spelled">
<param name="help3"         value="backwards or forward, up or down or they may be diagonal.">
<param name="help4"         value="-">
<param name="help5"         value="Point to the first letter of a word, hold down the mouse">
<param name="help6"         value="button, drag to the end of the word, and release the button.">
<param name="help7"         value="-">
<param name="help8"         value="Pointing to a word in the list and clicking will show you">
<param name="help9"         value="where that word is. A system of color coding shows you the">
<param name="help10"        value="words you have found, and the ones you have 'peeked' at.">
<param name="help11"        value="-">
<param name="help12"        value="When you finish, you will see a score card, which gives you">
<param name="help13"        value="a count of words you found and words you peeked at, as well">
<param name="help14"        value="as the total time you took to solve the puzzle.">
<param name="help15"        value="-">
<param name="help16"        value="Different word lists are available from the choice box.">

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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<param name="correct1"      value="CONGRATULATIONS!">
<param name="correct2"      value="You have found the correct solution.">
<param name="correct3"      value="The number of words you found was....">
<param name="correct4"      value="The number of words you peeked at was....">
<param name="correct5"      value="The time taken was....">
<param name="mins"          value="Minutes">
<param name="secs"          value="Seconds">

This is where you can control the text which is presented to a successful solver of a puzzle. This is provided mainly for language customization. Please follow the same rules which applied in the case of the Help text parameters.

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<param name="secretmessage" value="true">

If you have included a secret message in your WordSearch puzzle, then you need to notify the applet of this fact by setting the secretmessage parameter to a value of true. Then when the puzzle has been completely solved, the text of the secret message will be displayed to the solver along with the usual solution statistics.

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A note on WordSearch Puzzle solving competitions.

Setting up an on-line WordSearch puzzle solving competition is a simple process involving these four 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.mydomain.com/submit.html This adjustment to the puzzle notes must be done using the New button before the puzzle is made, since Crossword Express does not yet provide a function for editing an existing puzzle.
Include the following set of six parameters in the <applet> tag:-
```
  <param name="contest1"        value="Congratulations on solving the puzzle.">
  <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 what actions they">
  <param name="contest5"        value="will be expected to perform after they">
  <param name="contest6"        value="click the submit button.">
```
The text which you provide here will be presented to any solver who has entered a complete (and therefore necessarily correct) solution to a contest puzzle. It will appear in the area normally occupied by the puzzle which is temporarily over-written. 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.
Configure the Submit button. Use the submitloc parameter to specify the size and location of the button, and the submit parameter to specify the label printed inside the button.
It is your responsibility to create the page which handles the submit operation. When the Submit button is clicked, the browser will open a new window, and link to your submit URL with the string ?message=SecretMessage&time=solution time appended to it. If you have not included a Secret Message, then only the time portion will be appended. You will need to use some scripting to extract the Secret Message and the Solution Time from the HTML header, and you will need 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 solution, and this email will contain the text of the hidden message (if one exists) plus the time taken to complete the puzzle. The steps involved are the same as described above, except that the URL attached to the end of the puzzle notes 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.

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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="000 000 090 999">
<param name="helploc"       value="090 200 160 300">
<param name="helpokloc"     value="815 650 880 750">
<param name="submitloc"     value="815 630 880 770">
<param name="timelabloc"    value="090 300 160 400">
<param name="timedisploc"   value="160 300 240 400">
<param name="choiceloc"     value="160 000 240 300">
<param name="puzzleloc"     value="090 400 999 999">
<param name="wordloc"       value="425 000 999 400">
<param name="graphloc"      value="240 000 425 400">

You may wish to omit some of these components. This can be achieved by setting the value to "000 000 000 000". Return to Index

</applet>

This line terminates the applet HTML tag.

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Good luck with your interactive WordSearch 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.