xWordBuddy 1.3
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copyright 1997 Tactile Systems, Inc.
written by Michael Krzyzek and Rob Bruce

Version Info
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1.3		Fixed a problem with currentSquare not getting initialized (-48200 error), fixed NetHopper3.0 bug.

1.2		Fixed -48009 bug. LoHow Chinese Kit Compatible.

1.1 	Too many improvements to list them all, heck probably forgot some of them...
		More Keyboard support!
		Encrypted puzzle support improvements
		Easier converted (USA Today, Washington Post, London Times) puzzle installs
		Better Stats
		Better Browser Plug-in maintenance
		Decreased Memory requirements by 15-20k (wow!)
		
b. 17 - Added keyboard support.

b. 16 - Answer and clue fonts can now be changed.

b. 15 - Now able to Beam multiple Puzzles.

b. 14 - Added support for  Newtscape and NetHopper.
		-- Note: Only works with NetHopper 3.2 and above

b. 13 - Fixed the fix for b11.

b. 12 - Made a pref so the current answer in the grid is outlined. Added a button to open WordSleuth if you have it installed.

b. 11 - Fixed a bug when tapping on square that did not have a clue in the current orientation

b. 10 -	Added a new default puzzle and a pref for changing the clue font size.

b. 9 - 	Adds Total Puzzle Checking. Once all of the puzzle is filled, if you check the puzzle, it will x the incorrect boxes temporarily.
		If you're using the comb filter's arrows, scrolling past the end of the across list will move to the top of the down list and vis-a-versa.
		Possible rounding error corrected

		FYI		
		Identified that our program can't correctly unlock scrambled puzzles. Might wait that extra day. We're exploring this issue.
		Support for NewtsCape is on the way.

b. 8 -	Added a better error message for bad puzzles. Use the autotyper if you're experiencing this problem on your Macintosh.

About
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xWordBuddy Crossword Player for Newton 2.x systems only; 120 and better. We wrote it at the suggestion of Will Nelson, whom we met on the Newton IRC channel... irc.escapenet.org - #newton. Will, thanks for the good idea!

It reads .puz files saved in the Across Puzzle (tm.) format.
At the LitSoft Crossword Gallery...
http://www.litsoft.com/across/gallery.htm

You can find additional web sites at the end of this document.

LitSoft also have translators which will allow you to convert other formats, like USAToday's to this format.

Because of copyright concerns, we're including a lousy crossword puzzle we wrote with the help of a Java application in about 30 minutes. 
In addition there are two puzzles from Terry Cleveland and one from Caspian. Thanks Terry and Caspian!

http://www.puzzledepot.com/Java/czplayer.shtml


Help
----
The first time you run xWordBuddy, it will install the four starter puzzles. Apologies again for the 'Newton Trivia' puzzle. I stink at writing crosswords, and that the Java app couldn't work miracles with the junk I gave it. 


Playing
-------
Click on the word 'Newton Trivia' to launch the puzzle. You can write directly into the squares and handwriting recognition will attempt to figure out what you wrote and drop it in the correct box. It pays attention to where you put your pen down to start with, so if stuff doesn't go where you want, pay attention to where you start writing. When writing vertically we've found it helps to pause slightly between letters.

Tapping on a cell will scroll the question list below to the appropriate question for that cell. It won't change from Down to Across or back with a single tap. If you want it to... double tap, or draw a line starting at the begining of the question you're interested in trying to answer and extend it three squares. It will scroll to that question and change to the right orientation. 

Tapping on an item in the list below will move the scrollers if necessary to put the boxes for that question on screen. If will also strobe the correct squares.

Scrubbing over an incorrect letter will erase a mistake. However you can just write over top of it with what you wanted instead.

Holding down in a square will give you an option to clear it. It will also allow you to cheat and uncover the correct letter. (The hilite gesture) Note, it also keeps a count of how many times you cheat. Shame on you!

Tapping on the Title of the puzzle shows you the entire title, if it's really long, as well as showing you the author and copyright information.

Tapping on the radio buttons and scrollers do what you'd expect, I hope.

Tapping on the check C will check to see how you are doing on completing the puzzle.

Tapping on the comb button opens a comb editor at the bottom of the screen. The arrows to either side of the comb will move to the next or previous question. They will also allow you to scroll the comb if it is wider than the screen. If the comb misrecognizes your letter, single tapping the incorrect letter will bring up a list of alternates choices.

Undo, well it undoes the last thing you wrote.

Keyboard support...
	Hold down the option keys to see a number of the short cuts... 
	
	Ones which aren't shown:

Delete deletes and moves the cursor backwards.
Space deletes and moves forward.
Shift key toggles the across and down.
Return moves to next question.
Tab moves to next question.
Arrow keys move the cursor. 
Apple & Arrows scrolls around the grid if it's larger than your screen.
Control and L&R arrows move inside a question, and will wrap if you go off the edge.
Control and U&D arrows go to next and prev questions.
Option and arrows does the same thing.
Apple Shift up goes to the top of the clue list.
Apple Shift down goes to the bottom of the clue list.
Typing a number will go to that clue number. It will switch directions if necessary to find the number. It will beep if the number is out of bounds. eg 99.


In the i button
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About
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Tells you important information about who wrote it, as well as who, and what helped. If you find a bug we've not heard of before, we'll add your name here!

Prefs
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Allows you to adjust the board size and the number of clues you get to see at the bottom of the view.

Help
----
If you're reading this file then you don't need this really.

Stats
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Keeps track of how many games you played, and won.

Register
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This is the screen you go to when you're ready to purchase this exciting product from us. It will encourage us to continue to work on it. (see the feature list below) And keep the app from expiring.

Importing More Games
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Use NetHopper 3.2 or NewtsCape 1.4 or better to go to the web sites. Click on a puzzle.

or

You can import more puzzles by downloading them from the web and then running the TSServer application to install them. Here is a step by step list of instructions....
1) Get on the web
2) Go to a site which has the files.. try http://www.litsoft.com/across/gallery.htm
3) Download the file as source, not text to your computer.
4) Put the file in the Puzzles folder in the folder with TSServer.
5) Make sure you have TSServer.pkg on your Newton.
6) Make sure you have xWordBuddy on your Newton.
7) Launch xWordBuddy.
8) From the Action button (the envelope) select 'Import'
9) Select your type of computer from the radio button
10) Put down the newton, look at your computer.
11) Launch TSServer on your PC or Mac. (TSSERV.EXE on the PC)
12) If TSServer starts waiting automatically for you, select end from the file menu
13) Adjust the comms settings in the prefs menu item to what you use for NCU. (In Edit Menu on mac, Help on PC)
14) Select Start from the file menu to get it going again.
15) Pick up your Newton and hit "Connect via ..." 
16) The newton should connect to the PC and receive all of the .puz files which are in the folder. If one doesn't show up Open it with a Hex Editor, if it doesn't start with a something like '??ACROSS&DOWN????...'(Where the ??'s don't matter) It's not the right format. 

NOTE: you can also delete puzzles using the envelope, if you check them off first.

NOTE: PC users choose "End" from the file menu before you close TSSERV.EXE.

Cost
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xWordBuddy costs $25 US. It will run for 7 days and then expire, unless it's paid for.
You can register your copy by calling Tactile Systems at 303-841-1114. Or you can go to <http://rainbow.rmi.net/~rbruce/tactile/orders.html>. Note that this is not a secure server.


How you can help
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1) If you find a ftp site or web page full of puzzles which we don't have listed in our list. We'd appreciate you telling us so we can share it with the rest of the users.
2) If the newton consistently recognizes your t's as +'s then email us. The character recognizer is a bit lame that way sometimes, we've mapped the ones which happened to us, but figure other people might have different quirks. Other examples of screwup's we've found are C = (, 0 = zero, b = 6, i = 1.
3) Register the application, it will keep us working on it, to make it better for everyone.


Web sites you should visit for Puzzles (.puz)
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http://www.athenet.net/~terryc/
http://www.litsoft.com/across/gallery.htm
http://www.nytimes.com only $9.95 for the entire year! (free on AOL according to Dave Berver! Thanks Dave)
http://www.cs.curtin.edu.au/~squizz/cryptics.html
http://iquest.com/~pinnacle/caspian/caspian.shtml

mail us if you find some more info@tactile.com
