About Puzzle Files As of version 1.00

 

 

Puzzles

 

Puzzles In Xsudo, individual puzzles are located in puzzle files. Each puzzle in a puzzle file contains the current state of the puzzle (grid) including candidates, highlights, marks and a logical solution for the grid, if any. In this way, different steps for solving a puzzle can be retained in a single file. All puzzle files have a .sud extension.

 

Accessing Puzzles  Puzzles can be accessed in one of two ways. 1) By selecting a puzzle in top-row, center dropdown puzzle list or, 2) by opening the Puzzle File Explorer (PFE) found in main XSUDO menu. The default puzzle file xsudon.sud will always be selected on startup. This file makes a useful scratch pad file and cannot be deleted.

 

Default Puzzle in Puzzle File. Each puzzle file has a default puzzle position. The default puzzle file position is automatically set to the last opened puzzle.

 

Puzzle Display Window Puzzles for the current puzzle file are displayed in the top center dropdown puzzle file list. Clicking the file icon to the right will load the puzzle that is currently visible. Each puzzle has a 92-character "Notes" area that can be edited when saving/resaving the puzzle. This notes area is displayed in the puzzle file list.

 

Puzzle Highlight If the puzzle shown in the puzzle display window is not currently in the editor, it will have an orange background. It can be loaded with the load icon to the right or through the Load/Save menu.

 

Puzzle File Explorer The Puzzle File Explorer (PFE) can be used to change the currently opened puzzle fie and the explore directories, puzzle files, and the puzzles inside. All puzzle file operations can be done from the Explorer. (See the PFE help menu.)

 

Saving Puzzles. Puzzles are always saved along with the complete editor environment including the currently displayed logic path. Other logic paths in the editor are not saved but remain in the editor until a new puzzle is loaded.

 

Resaving Puzzles. Resaving puzzles updates the currently active puzzle in the file.

 

Puzzles and the Load/Save menu. Loading and saving of puzzles from the current puzzle file can also be done from the [Load/Save] menu, with the following functions:

 

Saving Puzzles at a position. The [Save As New Puzzle] command saves a puzzle at the end of the current puzzle file. [Save Before Current] and [Save After Current] commands save the puzzle before or after the puzzle currently shown in the puzzle window. The currently displayed puzzle need not be in the editor, in which case it is highlighted orange. This allows a puzzle to be saved anywhere in the puzzle file.

 

Saving With Info The [Resave and Edit Info] command allows 92 character info string to be added or edited as the puzzle is saved.

 

Saving With URL The [Resave with URL] command allows the 100 character URL string to be added or edited as the puzzle is saved.

 

Loading Puzzles Puzzles can be loaded with or without settings from the Load/Save menu using the [Load Puzzle and Settings] (default) or the [Load Puzzle, no Settings] command.

 

Deleting Puzzles Puzzles in the file can be deleted by using [Delete Puzzle from File] or by pressing Alt-D on the keyboard. Delete always removes the puzzle currently displayed in the puzzle window. The currently displayed puzzle need not be in the editor, in which case it is highlighted orange. This allows a puzzle to be deleted from anywhere in the puzzle file.

 

If the deleted puzzle is also the currently loaded puzzle (white background), the puzzle and other information are retained in the editor and can be saved elsewhere.