XWord for Across Lite Users
XWord is intended to be as familiar as possible for users transitioning from Across Lite. Besides supporting more formats (and more crosswordy-gimmicks), there are a few differences between XWord and Across lite (based on Across Lite 2.0.5).
Long clues
- Long clues in Across Lite are truncated or displayed in a very small font size.
- Long clues in XWord are wrapped so that they display in a normal font size. In case a clue is especially long, a tool tip is shown when the user hovers the mouse over the main clue prompt.
Scrambled puzzles
- If a puzzle is scrambled, XWord alerts you when the puzzle is solved correctly; Across Lite does not.
Layout
- Across Lite provides 9 layouts with some limited customizability. Across Lite gives users the option of customizing the toolbar.
- XWord allows you to position GUI components anywhere. While this
makes any layout possible, it can sometimes be difficult to get
components to go where you want them to.
To mitigate some of the potential frustration with manually arranging panes, XWord ships with a a set of default layouts that approximately mimic the familiar Across Lite layouts.
Diagramless puzzles
- Across Lite gives you an option to print diagramless puzzles or to display the black squares for interactive solving.
- XWord allows interactive solving of diagramless puzzles.
Check and reveal
- Across Lite allows you to check or reveal the current letter, word, or entire grid.
- XWord also allows you to check or reveal a section of the grid.
Grid navigation
- In Across Lite, when the focused clue is Down,
SHIFT+DOWNmoves the cursor to the next Down clue.
Essentially this behavior is the same asTAB.
When you clicks on a clue in Across Lite, focus shifts to the clue list. - In XWord, when the focused clue is Down,
SHIFT+DOWNmoves the cursor to the Down clue below the current one. This behavior is similar to pressingSHIFT+ACROSSwhen the focused clue is Across.
When you clicks on a clue in XWord, focus remains on the grid.
Pencil
- XWord does not allow users to pencil-in answers.
Webdings symbols
- XWord will display webdings symbols, but does not allow the user to input webdings symbols.
Notepad
- XWord does not allow the user to type in the notepad. Additionally, the notepad can contain an unlimited number of characters and XHTML formatting.
"Corrupt" puzzles
- XWord will attempt to load all .puz files. If the puzzle is internally consistent (the clues match up with the grid) XWord will load the puzzle without complaint.