[Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

I am pleased to announce the "official" release of xword for the Nokia Internet Tablet.

http://xword.garage.maemo.org/xword-shot1.png

Go to the Official Home Page

The program was unofficially released in another thread, but I was waiting until I got everything settled at the maemo garage page before I made an official announcement.

Please see the home page for more information and to download the .deb.

UPDATE (Apr 30, 2008): Brad has made some nice improvements and updated the program to v1.0.6. (May require Red Pill Mode to upgrade the .deb.)

UPDATE (May 21, 2008): In addition to a few new features, xword 1.0.7-1 is now available from the maemo extras repository. You may need to enable Red Pill mode to upgrade from a previous version.

UPDATE (June 2, 2008): New version 1.0.8. Added some new functionality and reorganized the menus. Good news for rotated screen users!

UPDATE (July 19, 2008): New version 1.0.9-1. Minor functionality additions. Also now available for diablo (as well as the older OSes).

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Wow. Such a massive and brilliant difference from that svn build before you modded it :)

Thanks

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Very Cool, Thanks. Hopefully I'll have time to install & test it out tonight.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Alright! I figured out the basics for using osso, so the next version (in subversion now) has integration with the file manager, as well as a bit friendlier popups.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

is it really as slow as the homepage makes it sound?

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

For me, it doesn't seem that slow. I run it on a 770 and it's comparable to everything else I run on there. The feedback isn't instant, but its usually much less than a second before the letter you type shows up.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

you won't be setting any "solving time" records, due to the input lag... but it's not unbearable.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

great terrence!! but, i'm getting an error that the .deb 1.05 is an 'incompatible application' and cannot be installed

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

i agree...speed is fine. could depend on other factors on each individual system?

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Sounds like you will have to do the manual installation steps as listed on the xword homepage. Make sure that the "maemo extras" repository is not disabled in Application Manager. Let the Application Manager refresh, then quit Application Manager. DOWNLOAD the xword-1.0.5.all.deb to the user's home directory. Then run the following commands in xterm:
Then you will be able to see if there is something preventing the installation.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

thanks but all that is already installed, updated, etc... If it was not then the 1.0.4 version would not already run. ANd if there was that significant a change then this sure would need to be more then a minor version increment.

Will look at this in a few weeks...what ya have done so far is just GREAT but would like to add the new improvements from 1.0.5...

EDIT:

Here is the exact text that appears under the "Problems" tab when trying to install the .deb from the project page.

Unable to install xword.
Incompatible application package.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Try installing it in red pill mode. That worked for me...

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

It sounds like you are trying to do a one-click install by clicking the .deb in the browser and selecting "Open" to have the Application Manager install it. The Application Manager's error reporting is fairly useless when there are problems. So, one course of action is to "Save" the .deb, open an xterm, and install the .deb manually.
Or you could install in Red Pill mode as suggested in the previous post.

The .deb packaging system is still somewhat of a mystery to me (as demonstrated by my reliance on PyPackager). :o

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

There's a new release up now, xword 1.0.6. (direct link)

I've fixed two of the main bugs and added some new functionality:

* Added osso support
It will now launch xword if necessary and load the selected puzzle if you click on a .puz link in your browser, or double-tap one in the file manager. This also makes the feedback notifications a little friendlier.

* Basic file magic checking
If you try to load a file that isn't a valid .puz file by accident, it shouldn't freeze or crash xword anymore.

* Support cryptic-type puzzles
May need more testing, but they seem okay to me so far

* Added notebook support
There's now a "notepad..." item in the "Puzzle" menu, where you can read notes embedded in the puzzle, or make your own notes which will be saved for you along with your responses.

Finally, it now builds like a regular .deb instead of using pypackager.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Might be a MicroB bug rather than yours, but something you might look at:

The New York Sun daily puzzle is downloaded from a www2 domain file, which becomes gibberish when opened by the NIT. The workaround is to get the .zip version from Will's Calendar (link on cruciverb.com) and unzip the file when it arrrives on your tablet. This should be much easier now that xword can be opened from within File Manager.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

This appears to be an issue with the way the www2.nysun.com httpd server is configured. (Probably an incorrectly configured mime type on their server.) I get the same issue when clicking on that link with Firefox on my WinXP system. Your best bet is to click-hold the link and then select "Save target as..." to download the puzzle to your tablet. You can then open it with the File Manager.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Yeah, that's definitely what it is. It would be nice if there was a more general fix for this on the NIT

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

UPDATE! New version 1.0.7-1

Changes:

• xword now available from maemo extras
• Added a "File->Open Recent" menu to track the last 5 files opened
• Reformatted the onscreen keyboard to better fill the available vertical space
• Other minor code tweaks (e.g. "Clear Puzzle" now asks for confirmation)

Since this latest update is available from maemo extras, it should be easier for people to install.

HOWEVER, if you are upgrading from a previous version, you will have problems since the older package was from a "different source". There are two ways to deal with this:

1. Enable Red Pill mode before updating via Application Manager.
2. Uninstall the older version via a terminal before (re)installing via Application Manager:
   
   Code:

   ---

   sudo gainroot
apt-get remove xword

   ---

   (Note that your xword settings and saved puzzles will not be deleted.)

At this point, I think the code is mostly complete and stable. As always, I'll be monitoring the forum for bug reports/comments/suggestions.

Enjoy!

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

terrence,

Just wanted to thank you for picking up the ball and making this happen. One of the ways I pass the time is with xword puzzles. I am no expert and love the challenge they represent.

You did a wonderful job. Now if there is ever a chance to add a "revel letter" as opposed to show the whole word (I never use that but do use the check word now and then)...that can often help when one is stuck beyond belief... ;)

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

That is certainly feasible. I could make the "Puzzle" menu better correspond with Across Lite's "Solution" menu. (Although I'll have to see about Across Lite's "Reveal Complete Solution" since we currently don't have an equivalent function in xword.) I'll look into it for the next release.

I think you'll have to select "Reveal Letter" from the "Puzzle" menu since I personally use "Check word" and "Solve word" rather frequently. ;)

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

sounds fine to me...I use the reveal letter more and reveal word only when the better half is stuck and thinks I am smarter then I am...hehehehe....

of course a setting to swap solve/reveal word for reveal letter would not be a bad thing either.... :p

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Alright! Adding the "reveal letter" was fairly straightforward. In fact, I went a bit crazy and added "Check" / "Solve" / "Clear" for each of "Letter" / "Word" / "Puzzle". ("Clear" lets you totally cheat by getting rid of cheat marks. I know it's not in Across Lite, but I thought it was a neat feature.)

Additionally I have some good news for those of you that use the Xrandr (Screen Rotate) extension. I figured out how to position the onscreen keyboard Left/Right/Top/Bottom. That goes for the "Checks Buttons" as well, which are now independent of the keyboard. So you can now see both at the same time!

I'm heading out of town for Memorial Day weekend so I won't have a chance to release v.1.0.8 until mid-next-week. Future updates will be available through the maemo extras repository, but I'll certainly post an announcement here. (If you can't wait that long, you can always use the instructions on the xword homepage for getting the latest version from the garage.)

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

UPDATE! New version 1.0.8

Changes:

• Reformatted the 'Puzzle' menu. Now contains 'Check/Solve/Clear' for each of 'Letter/Word/Puzzle'.
• Split the 'Toolbar Layout' preference menu into 'Solution Buttons' and 'Onscreen Keyboard' menus, both of which can be turned off or shown on any side of the screen. Both have a (synchronized) timer button.
• The onscreen keyboard's Check/Solve Word buttons now support "tap-and-hold" to pop-up (Check/Solve) Letter/Word/Puzzle.

This new update should be available in the maemo extras repository soon, so check Application Manager for updates. Alternatively, you can download it from the garage. We made lots of little code changes in this release, so please post any bugs to this thread.

Here's a screen shot of the new 'Solution Buttons' and 'Onscreen Keyboard' when using a rotated screen. Notice the qwerty layout when the keyboard is placed top/bottom.

http://xword.garage.maemo.org/xword-shot7.png

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Thanks for the continual updates, I'm definitely getting a lot of mileage out of xword.

I did try to update to the latest version--application installed successfully, but it isn't loading for me. I deleted it and reinstalled, but still no luck.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

It might be an issue with the configuration file. Try the troubleshooting section on the xword homepage to see if that fixes it.

If that doesn't fix it, please post your NIT model number and OS version.

Also, try starting the program from an xterm as "/usr/bin/xword" (without the quotes) to see if any error messages get printed.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Thanks for your help,

It looks like so far:
- I can get it to load when the configuration file is cleared out
- It won't let me load a puzzle from the program menu
- It will let me load a puzzle from file manager
- If I close out of the program, the program will not load if I try to run it again

I'm on a n800 on OS2008. Here is the error log from the last time I tried to run it in xterm (I attempted this after closing out of xword and not being let back in):

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/xword", line 2474, in <module>
w = PuzzleWindow(p)
File "/usr/bin/xword", line 1417, in __init__
self.do_open_file(self.last_file)
File "/usr/bin/xword", line 1477, in do_open_file
self.notify("Opened puzzle '" + self.puzzle.title + "'")
File "/usr/bin/xword", line 1552, in notify
hildon.hildon_banner_show_information(self.win, None, msg)
TypeError: hildon_banner_show_information() argument 2 must be string, not None

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Aha! That answers the question. You have an older version of one of the python modules. I searched for "hildon_banner_show_information" and found that this bug was fixed a couple of months ago.

Go into Application Manager and select the menu "Tools->Refresh application list". Let it refresh. Then click the "Check for updates" button and select any updates you see there. (You should see a couple of python related updates.)

This problem is new because Brad (the lead developer) used hildon_banner_show_information since it gets around the issue of the information banner not showing correctly when you open a .puz file from the File Manager.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Thanks, updating Python did the trick.

Xword is looking really polished now--with some of the smaller changes with the recent couple of updates, it's starting to approximate the feel/ease of use of Across Lite Mobile. In fact I use xword on the tablet more than Across Lite on the smartphone these days--the larger screen on the tablet is a big plus...

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Someone sent me a bug report about using xword with the LCARS theme. Apparently, the theme sets the background of buttons to the color black, but the on-screen keyboard letters in xword are also black. This makes the keyboard completely useless. I tried to find a programmatic way of fixing this. Basically I added a hack to set the background of the keyboard to white, but it's not an ideal solution and is frowned upon by GTK programming standards.

Fortunately, I found a supported way around the problem. GTK allows you to set a theme on a per application basis. If you have Personal Menu installed, you can set a command to launch xword with a default theme (with white buttons). In Personal Menu, create a new command entitled "Xword" and enter the following in the "Command to execute" field:
When you launch xword with this 'shortcut', buttons will be displayed with the default theme 'echo'. (You could also replace 'echo' above with one of the other built-in themes, like 'felicia' or 'glasser'.)

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Great app. Thanks for your work on this. Between Xword and EightyOne, I have my gaming fix.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Update: New version 1.0.9-1

Changes:

• Save/restore the "fullscreen" state.
• Added File->Close and File->Delete, so user can delete the .puz file from disk, typically after the puzzle has been solved.
• Load custom GTK theme to make the onscreen keyboard background white (fix for LCARS theme problem) and to shrink the button font so buttons can fit in rotated fullscreen view.

The update is available in the maemo extras repository for gregale, bora, chinook, and diablo.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Thanks for doing this - it's fabulous. I suffered from severe NYT crossword withdrawal on my last long trip - but never again!

One problem, though. I installed 1.0.8 without a hitch. But after updating to 1.0.9-1, the keyboard on my N810 no longer works in xword. The on-screen keyboard works fine. I downloaded the 1.0.8 deb from the garage and installed it over 1.0.9-1, and that works again.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

You are absolutely correct. I just tested with my bluetooth keyboard on my N800 and I had the same issue. Fortunately, it is a one line fix, and v.1.0.9-2 should be available in the extras repository in a few hours.

My apologies for the problem.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Thanks. Another question - when a file has been opened with Open Recent, Save As wants to save it as "File". How about a "Save" option, so we don't have to remember what the filename is? And is there a way to find out what it is, once it's opened?

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

I'm seriously loving this program. The only feature I'd really like to see is loading directly from a net location... Is this viable?

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

It should work, if the website hosting the file is setting the proper URI for the file. I can click on "Today's Puzzle" on the NYT site, and it loads up in xword without issue...

More suggestions
 

Now I see that it saves as you go. So I guess that means the current file is the first entry in the Open Recent list.

The only way I've found to erase a letter is backspace. It would be nice if the space bar worked too.

And the Check and Solve functions are giving me gibberish. This happened with a puzzle I saved the day it was published last week, and also on today's Times puzzle. It works OK on yesterday's puzzle. So perhaps (1) the Check and Solve functions should be grayed out if they are not available, and (2) maybe an unlock or reload function can be provided for a puzzle whose solution becomes available after it's been downloaded.

Aren't users a pain in the neck? (I'm really enjoying the program though.)

Re: More suggestions
 

Correct.

And just to be clear, partially solved puzzles are not saved to the original files. The original .puz file never gets modified. Instead, a partially solved puzzle is saved to a special binary file in the "/home/user/.crossword_puzzles" directory. Basically, just your answers are saved.

That's a good idea. I'll see about adding that feature for the next release.

As stated on the bugs section of the project page, xword can't deal with "locked" puzzles. I don't know the encryption method for those puzzles and thus I can't write a decoding routine. Sorry.

Re: [Announce] xword - Across Lite compatible crossword program
 

Perhaps he wanted xword to be able to open a URL directly. I recall that BeCrossword on the Palm had a few sites built in so you could download today's puzzle directly in the program.

But I don't want to duplicate that functionality in xword since that would mean keeping a list of puzzle sites updated. Since you can download a .puz file with the web browser and have it open in xword, all you need is to bookmark those sites that provide .puz files. There really aren't that many out there.

Re: More suggestions
 

That's pretty slick. And I see that opened .puz files are automatically saved under their original names, so the user (once he understands that) doesn't need to worry about saving anything.

But the puzzle can effectively be unlocked. That is very smooth.

The documentation says "When an unlocked version of the puzzle comes out, you can continue your partially filled-in puzzle ...". It might be clearer to say "When an unlocked version of the puzzle comes out, you can open that unlocked version in xword. Your filled-in answers will be there just as before, but now you can use the "check/solve" functions."

I would suggest that if the puzzle is locked, you gray out the Check and Solve menu items rather than producing gibberish. (Especially since the XXX's from doing a Check on a locked puzzle are not removed when the Check is done again on the unlocked version.)