What's New

- In cases where the backdrop picture is not found, Crossword Forge will now prompt the user with the previous backdrop picture's name. This should make finding the file easier.
- Right clicking on the backdrop preview pane allows you to show the backdrop picture file in the Finder. This is great if you want to package the file for sending it with the puzzle.
- Various Minor Improvements

App Description

Buy version 6 here today at 40% off the regular price (normally $49.95). You can upgrade to version 7 on our website for only $15. This great deal is only until version 7 hits the app store.

Crossword Forge is an easy to use newspaper and classroom style crossword and word search puzzle maker. It quickly generates puzzles from your words for the web, print, and PDF.

Builds high quality crossword and word search puzzles
• Interactive web puzzles*
• Print and PDF puzzles
• Picture backdrops
• Bonus clues
• Word banks (optional scrambling & supports fill-ins)
• Puzzle titles
• Customizable across and down text
• Custom grid shapes
• Supports puzzle grids of any size
• Unlimited clue and answer length - Print out can span multiple pages (if desired)

Streamlined puzzle editing
• Data entry keystrokes optimized for rapid workflow
• Import data from tab or comma delimited text files
• Unlimited undo and redo
• Multi-lingual spell checker

Advanced puzzle engine
• Can produce the densest possible puzzles from your words. We routinely test the engine by feeding it the words from newspaper crossword puzzles (just the words, we give it no hints on the grid) and it discovers the exact same grid layout as the original hand edited puzzles.**
• Includes a puzzle mask editor to tune the puzzle engine output
• Includes a word suggester to help find the perfect next word to add to the puzzle
• Support for restricted word lists in word search mode (i.e. helps eliminate accidental "naughty words" in your word search puzzles)

Foreign Language Support
• Full unicode support
• Support for characters with accents, umlauts and other diacritical marks
• Support for right to left scripts like Arabic and Hebrew
• Supports scripts and alphabets with combining ligatures
• Built-in presets for: English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Arabic, Afrikaans and more.
• Spell checker supports: English, French, Spanish, German, Danish, Dutch Portuguese, Swedish, Russian and Polish.

* Web export uses Flash - and is not iPhone/iPad compatible.
** It is sometimes necessary to tweak the advanced puzzle engine settings.

Praise for Crossword Forge:

"We use crossword puzzles in the Head First series as exercises to help reinforce the concepts learned in each chapter. Without Crossword Forge we'd have to create them all by hand. There are usually 10-12 crosswords in each Head First book, so this program saves us countless hours of work. Not only that, but it's fun to use, and works really well. Thank you!"
Elisabeth Freeman -- Co-director and co-author of O'Reilly Books' Head First Series.

"I've used Crossword Forge for many years now, found it an excellent product when I first bought it, and have never had to change that opinion. When I've needed support, I've had it promptly, and with personal attention. It has been my pleasure to recommend Crossword Forge to my teacher friends throughout the years, and I sincerely hope that you have profited as a result. I truly wish that all software companies were as easy to deal with as you are--and had products of similar worth! ... Unlike less sophisticated products, Crossword Forge enabled me to create puzzles that were entertaining and instructive, all at once--and at a level that young adults did not feel patronized them."
Robin Carson -- Crossword Forge User (Instructor of Latin and English Literature)

"I love your software because i am a French teacher and I can use it in class. Bravo for one of the best softwares I have seen in a long time!"
Francine Shirvani -- Crossword Forge User

"What a great product, thank you very much."
Graham Brunskill -- Crossword Forge User

App Changes

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