Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS User's Manual
Stand Alone, Inc.
Table of Contents
1 Welcome and Registration
1.1 About Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS
1.2 System Requirements
1.3 Registering Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS
1.4 Contacting Stand Alone Inc.
1.4.1 Email
1.4.2 Fax
1.4.3 Regular Mail
1.4.4 World Wide Web
1.5 Making Suggestions, Requesting Features and Reporting Bugs
2 Installing Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS
3 Using Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS
3.1 Basics
3.2 Icons
3.2.1 Check Button
3.2.2 Hint Button
3.2.3 Puzzle Information Button
3.2.4 Open Puzzle Button
3.2.5 All Clues Button
3.2.6 Keyboard Button
3.2.7 Toggle Clue Direction Button
3 Using Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS
4.1 Using the Pen
4.2 Using Keystrokes
4.3 All Clues Screen
4.4 Hard Buttons
5 Menus
5.1 Puzzle Menu
5.2 View Menu
5.3 Options Menu
5.4 Selecting and Changing Puzzles
6 Getting New Puzzles
6.1 Downloading Using the Conduit
6.2 Downloading Using the Puzzle Pack Application
6.3 Using a Memory Card or Memory Stick
8 Troubleshooting
7 Version History
1 Welcome and
Registration
1.1 About Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS
Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS lets you solve crossword puzzles on your Palm OS device.
1.2 System Requirements
Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS is designed to work on both the Palm Professional and Personal units, as well as the Palm III, V, VII, m500 series, and Tungsten series, Sony Clie Series, TRGPro, Symbol Units, Handspring devices, as well as any device using Palm OS 3.0 or later. Throughout this manual, Palm OS device is used to refer to any of these units.
1.3 Registering Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS
Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS is shareware, and costs $19.95.
The Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS Demo will work for a 30 day trial period.
At the end of the 30 days, it will stop working. After it expires, you will be
unable to play your puzzles, but any you have already started will be saved.
You can register with us by several different methods. Before it expires, it is
fully functional, with no hidden features.
You will need to include the following information, no matter how you choose to
register. Most importantly, you need to include your name EXACTLY as it is
entered in your Palm organizer, including spaces. We use this to generate your
password, so it must be precise. You will need to specify which programs you
wish to register, and include payment for each of them. We accept Visa,
MasterCard, and American Express. If you are using normal mail, you can send us
a check as well. Make sure to include your card number, the expiration date,
and what type of card you are using. You also need to give us a way to get in
touch with you, preferably via email.
Alternatively, you can send us a check to the Address below.
You can also email us. Just email us the relevant information, and we'll send you a code. It is also possible to purchase Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS through PalmGear HQ at www.pilotgear.com, and Handango, at www.handandgo.com.
Once you register, you will receive a registration code from us. To install the code, first tap on the Menu silkscreen button. Then, select Options, and tap Enter Registration Code. Finally, enter your password on the space provided.
1.4 Contacting Stand Alone Inc.
There are several ways to get in touch with us here at Stand Alone, Inc. Email is the preferred form of communication, but whatever works for you is fine. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or compliments, please don't hesitate to contact us through any of the methods listed below.
1.4.1 Email
info@standalone.com
1.4.2 Fax
(773) 477-2579
1.4.3 Regular Mail
Stand Alone
707 W. Junior Terrace, 2N
Chicago IL, 60613
USA
1.4.4 World Wide Web
http://www.standalone.com
1.5 Making Suggestions, Requesting Features, and Reporting Bugs
If you find a bug in our software, it would be helpful if you reported the bug to us. To report a bug, please Email us with Bug Report Request in the subject line. In the email, include the following information:
oWhat type of Palm OS device you are using (i.e. Sony Clie NX70V)
oThe software name and version number (i.e. Crosswords v2.8)
oThe error message
oA brief description of how we can recreate the error
oYour name and Email Address so we can contact you when the bug is fixed
As soon as we receive your Email, the programmer will examine the problem, and fix it.. Because our programmers are busy creating software, it can take a while for them to reply, but they will release a new version of the software that fixes the bug as soon as they can.
Note: All screenshots for Crossword Puzzles for the Palm OS are taken from the Palm IIIc device. Crossword Puzzles for the Palm OS appears in grayscale on non-color devices, and in high resolution on HiRes capable devices.
2 Installing Crossword
Puzzles for Palm OS
After running the installer, you'll have a PRC file installed on your Palm, a
conduit in your Palm folder (C:\Palm or C:\Sony Handheld, usually), and an
application in your Program Files called Puzzle Pack.
On a Macintosh, place the Crosswords Conduit into your Conduit folder, and install the PRC file on your handheld.
If, after installation, your Crosswords Conduit is not syncing, make sure to exit and then restart your HotSync manager. In addition, you must be online to get new puzzles.
3 Using Crossword Puzzles
for Palm OS
When you open Crossword Puzzles, you will see the main screen. This screen is
where you work on the puzzles, and it also gives you access to the special
features of Crossword Puzzles.
3.1 Basics
The current crossword puzzle is displayed on the main screen. Tap on a square
of the puzzle to get a popup window with the clue for that line.
When you tap on a square, either a row or column of squares will become selected. The selected row will show whether displayed clue is a Down or Across clue. To toggle between the Down clue and Across clue for a square, tap the arrow icon at the bottom of the puzzle.
3.2 Icons
At the bottom of the puzzle are a series of icons. These icons access special
features of Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS. These are described below as they
appear on the main screen from left to right.
3.2.1 Check Button 
Tapping this icon will highlight any incorrect letters in the puzzle. Tap and
hold to show the incorrect letters, release to return to the normal view. This
only works for puzzles that have decoded answer keys. Some newspapers publish
the current puzzle with a scrambled key, and yesterday's with a decoded key.
3.2.2 Hint Button 
This will popup a menu allowing you to reveal the solution to the current
square, word, or the entire puzzle. Select your choice, then tap again to
return to the puzzle view. As with the Check button, this does not work with
all puzzles.
3.2.3 Puzzle Information Button 
Tapping this button will show you the author and copyright information for the
puzzle.
3.2.4 Open Puzzle Button 
Tapping the this opens the Installed Puzzles window, allowing you to switch to
a different puzzle.
3.2.5 All Clues Button 
Tapping this opens the All Clues screen.
3.2.6 Keyboard Button 
Tapping this opens the mini keyboard.
3.2.7 Toggle Clue Direction Button 
Tapping this toggles the current clue between Across and Down.
4.1 Using the Pen
You can tap on a particular square to edit it. Tap and drag the pen to change the orientation of the clue you'd like to edit (drag up or down to edit vertical clues, left or right to edit horizontal clues.
To quickly toggle the orientation of the current clue, tap the hilited square.
4.2 Using Keystrokes
You can quickly get around by puzzle using only Graffiti keystrokes.
|
Left/Right arrow |
If editing an Across clue, these will move back and forth in the clue. If editing a Down clue, they'll move to the previous and next clue horizontally. |
|
Up/Down arrow |
As above, but for Across clues they'll move between the previous and next clues vertically, and within a Down clue, they'll move back and forth within the clue. |
|
Period, Slash ('.', '/', '\') |
This will toggle the orientation of the current clue. On devices with Graffiti 2.0, the period (.) will generate an ‘X’. This is due to the way that Graffiti 2.0 handles keystrokes. |
|
Space |
This will move right or down in the current clue |
|
Dash '-' |
This will move left or up in the current clue |
|
Backspace |
This will clear the current letter. If the current letter is blank, it will back up one. |
4.3 All Clues Screen
You can bring up a list of all the clues in the current puzzle by selecting "All Clues" from the View menu, or tapping the All Clues button.
Red clues indicate those that have been completely filled in (color handhelds only). You can toggle display of these entirely by checking or unchecking then"Display Complete" checkbox.
Tapping a clue will take you to that position in the puzzle for editing.
4.4 Hard Buttons
Tapping the hard scroll buttons (below the screen) will move you to the next or previous clue.
5 Menus
There are three menus in Crosswords, which can be found by tapping the Menu
silk-screen button, or the menu button (
).
5.1 Puzzle Menu
The Puzzle Menu gives you more options for your puzzles.
- Beam Puzzle
You can beam a particular puzzle to another device with Crossword Puzzles
installed.
- Clear Puzzle
This will Reset the puzzle so that none of the answers are filled in.
- Delete Puzzle
This will remove the puzzle from your Palm OS device.
5.2 View Menu
The view menu allows you to change the size of the puzzle on-screen, and view all the clues.
- Small, Medium and Large
Select one of these options to change the size of the solution and puzzle on
the screen. The puzzle will never be smaller than full screen.
- Size to Fit
This will select the largest size of the puzzle that will fit entirely
on-screen, and still be legible.
- Toggle Clue
Toggles the orientation of the current clue, between Across and Down.
- Keyboard
This will open the mini-keyboard.
- All Clues
Select this option to display a list of all the clues for the puzzle. You can
use the arrows at the bottom of the list of clues to scroll through them.
5.3 Options Menu
The Options Menus lets you download new puzzles, switch puzzles and register Crossword Puzzles for Palm OS.
- Download Puzzles
Selecting this option lets you download new puzzles to your Palm OS device if
you have the conduit installed. The process of downloading puzzles is explained
in Chapter 5.
- Select Puzzle
Selecting this option allows you to change to a different puzzle, or delete
existing puzzles.
- Preferences
You can configure Crossword Puzzles preferences using this menu option.
- Toggle Auto-Skip
This toggles the Auto-Skip setting. If you're entering a clue and have already entered part of it, Auto-Skip will cause filled letters to be skipped.
- Enter Registration Code
Select this option to enter your registration code. To get a registration code,
you'll need to purchase Crossword Puzzles.
- About Crosswods
Select this see information about your version of Crosswords.
5.4 Selecting and Changing Puzzles
You can change to a different puzzle at any time, using the Options menu. Choose "Select Puzzle..." from the Options menu, and the Puzzle List will open:
Here you can select a new puzzle to play, or move puzzles to and from an
inserted memory card or stick. Puzzles on the memory card or stick are
indicated with a small card icon (
).
IMPORTANT: if you move a puzzle to a memory card or stick, you'll lose any progress made in the Puzzle.
6 Getting New Puzzles
New puzzles for Crossword Puzzles for the Palm OS can be downloaded in two
ways. The first way is through the Crossword Puzzle conduit, and the second is
by using the Puzzle Pack application.
6.1 Downloading Using the Conduit
To download new puzzles directly to your Palm OS device, use the Crossword
Puzzle Conduit, and the Download Puzzles screen found under the Options menu.
Tapping the New button will let you enter in a new URL to download from:
After entering the URLs you'd like to download from, you need to set up the conduit on your desktop computer.
Step 1: Install the Crossword Puzzle Conduit on your desktop computer.
Macintosh: After making sure that your Hotsync software is not running, place the Crossword Puzzle Conduit in the Conduit folder found with the Palm desktop software, and then restart your HotSync application.
Windows: Run the Installer you downloaded.
Step 2: Open the Hotsync program, and select "Custom..." from the Hotsync menu. Double click the Crossword Puzzle Conduit in the list, and set it to Download New Puzzles.
Step 3: On you Palm OS device, open Crossword Puzzles for the Palm OS. Select Download New Puzzles from the Options menu. On the Download New Options screen is a window listing all of the web sites where new puzzles will be downloaded. The two sites included with Crossword Puzzles for the Palm OS add new puzzles daily. If you wish to modify a website, tap it and modify the text on the lines below the main window. Here you can also check the box next to Discard URL to have Crossword Puzzles for the Palm OS delete the web address automatically after downloading the puzzle. To delete a website, select it and tap the Delete button. To add a website, tap the New button and enter your information. Note that the puzzle URL must end in .puz for it to be considered valid. If you put in an invalid URL, your HotSync may not finish correctly, so be sure of your URL locations.
Step 4: Perform a Hotsync. Any puzzles available at the specified URLs will automatically be downloaded to your Palm OS device.
A special note to Palm VII users: Crosswords for the Palm OS makes it possible to download puzzles without having to perform a Hotsync on the Palm VII. To Perform a wireless download, go to the Download New Puzzles screen. Then, select a URL and tap the Get button. Puzzles available at the URL are then downloaded to your Palm OS device.
6.2 Downloading Using the Puzzle Pack Application
Step 1: Install the Puzzle Pack Application on your system (this is done using the Setup application that came with Crosswords. If you do not have this, download a copy from our web site at).
Step 2: Connect to a web site containing crossword puzzles using your web browser. You can use the URLs included in the Download New Puzzles screen, or ones found on www.litsoft.com. Download puzzles as you normally would using your web browser.The web site www.litsoft.com is a good resource for further web sites with crossword puzzles.
Step 3: Launch the Puzzle Pack
Application. Add your downloaded puzzles to the Puzzle Pack screen by one of
two methods. You can either drag the puzzle icons to the screen, or tap the Add
Puzzles button and select them from the list which appears.
Windows Puzzle Pack
Mac OS Puzzle Pack
Step 4: Once all of the puzzles you wish to add to your Palm OS device have been added to the Puzzle Pack screen, tap the Pack button. All the puzzles are then turned into a file ending in .pdb. Install this file on your Palm OS device following the normal procedure, using Palm Desktop, Palm Buddy, or Backup Buddy. The new puzzles will then available for use with Crossword Puzzles for the Palm OS.
If you have problems, make sure that the "Puzzle Pack.dat" file is in the same directory as the Puzzle Pack application. All puzzles must be in AcrossLite format (*.puz files).
6.3 Using a Memory Card or Memory Stick
You can also store puzzles on a memory card or memory stick. To do this, you must have a compatible Palm OS device (such as the m500/m505 and Tungsten series from Palm, or a Sony Clie or HandEra 330).
Install the puzzle files you'd like to play in the "/Crosswords" directory or the "/Palm/Programs/xWRD/" directory on the memory card or memory stick. Place the card/stick in the device, and select on of the puzzles from the Puzzle Selection screen.
You can install puzzles onto a memory card using HotSync; open your Install Tool, and drag the puzzles you want to install into it (or select them using the "Add" button). The next time you HotSync, these will be transferred to your Card
Problem: There are no puzzles showing up on my palm,
although I've installed them using the Install Tool.
Solution: If you're using the Install Tool, puzzles can only
be installed onto a memory card or stick, not to internal memory.You can
install puzzles onto internal memory if you first convert them into PDB format,
using PuzzlePack.
Problem: I perform a HotSync operation, but it freezes up
while trying to download Crossword Puzzles.
Solution: Make sure you're not trying to sync from behind a
firewall. The crosswords conduit does not work from behind a firewall.
Problem: No Crosswords Conduit is visible in HotSync ->
Customize...
Solution: Be sure to exit and restart your HotSync manager
after installing Crossword Puzzles.
3.08 12/22/03
Fixed graphics problem on older Clies and Tapwave devices.
3.07 11/1/03
Added support for Treo 600.
3.05 10/14/03
Fixed downloading problem on Palm VII/i705.
3.04 10/03/03
Added Tungsten T3 support.
3.03 9/29/03
Improved Graffiti 2.0 support, added UX-50 support
3.01 09/03/03
Minor bug fixes.
3.0 09/03/03
Implemented Mac OS X conduit.
Improved Graphics
Support for more on-device downloading
Full screen on new devices (iQue 3600)
2.81 1/29/03
Fixed display problems on older devices.
2.8 1/6/2002
Added background and current-letter bar color support
Fixed bug where .PUZ files were sometimes not seen on an expansion card.
Improved 5-way support on Tungsten-T
Added online help
2.7 11/20/02
Added support for Hi Res on Tungsten/NX Clies
2.5 5/9/02
Feature: Added support for Clie NR-series devices
Feature: Added support for Cryptic crosswords (UK-style)
2.2 2/11/02
Feature: Added support for installation to memory card via HotSync
Feature: Added ability to change square color
Feature: Added options for Pen Tracking behavior
UI: Changed layout of All Clues screen; much cleaner now.
UI: Added "Enable Auto Skip" checkbox to Preferences
UI: Tapping a black square now hides the current clue
UI: Dragging the Clue Display is much quicker
Bug: "Delete", "Play", and "Move" buttons now
hide properly in Puzzle List
2.1 1/17/02
Feature: Added Virtual File System support (memory cards)
UI: Tweaked clue display
UI: Added scroll arrow capability in Puzzle list
UI: Added more Clie-specific graphics
UI: Changed the way navigation is done.
2.02 1/14/02
Bug: Pen tracking problem on Clie units
Bug: In All Clues section, some clues were incorrectly hidden
Feature: In All Clues section, completed clues are displayed in red on color
units
Feature: Space now moves cursor down/right
UI: Clue display on Clie units is a little prettier
2.01 1/12/02
Bug: Keyboard on Clie units was not appearing
Feature: Added Toggle Direction button
Feature: Added option for Letter 'bars'
Feature: Added option to only show undone clues
2.0 1/9/02
First release of 2.0 version