There's nothing like good documentation for a software product,
and this is nothing like good documentation.  Having said that,
I'll go on to prove it with the following notes about CRSWRD.COM:

  Brief Instructions:

  The first thing you'll want to do is set up the program.  Choose F9
for SET UP, and then 0 to turn off the opening screens.  Next, choose
1 to print to an IBM Graphics Printer compatible printer, or 2 to
set the program up for a Diablo compatible printer.  The Diablo printout
isn't very pretty, but it is the best we could do for a quick puzzle
printout on a daisy wheel printer.  For most IBM Graphics compatible
printers, choose 1 for small print.  Large print works well only on
a select number of compatibles.
  Now you're ready to get started on your first puzzle.
  The Function keys and their corresponding functions are listed at the
bottom of the screen, but there are a few shortcuts, too.  You can just
type a letter, and CRSWRD will automatically know you are entering
a new word.
  CRSWRD will try to find locations for newly entered words.  Each time
you enter a word, it will place it in the first available slot.  You can
accept the current location, or tell CRSWRD to look for a new location
by pressing the TAB key.  If CRSWRD runs out of available spots, then
you can either start looking all over again, tell CRSWRD to try again
later, or you can discard the word altogether.  If you tell the program
to try again later, it will try to fit the word in every time you alter
the puzzle by adding a new word.  You can accumulate a "waiting list"
of words up to 100 deep.
  You can edit the puzzle letter by letter by pressing the edit key (F3).
This allows you to customize the puzzle down to the letter.  You can
set the edit mode to edit across or edit down.  You will note that this
affects the way you type, backspace, or delete letters.  You can also
MOVE the puzzle around on the screen to make room for new words in new
places.
  Once you have a puzzle with all the words entered, then you enter clues.
Enter the clues one by one as you are prompted.  Then, all you have to
do is print the puzzle.  You are given the choice of printing the puzzle
right where the print head is located, or ejecting the page.


Bugs:

  First of all,  Previous version of CRSWRD have had problems printing
on many IBM Graphics Printer compatible printers.  There were a few
reasons for this:  CRSWRD was developed using a JUKI 5510 printer,
which, though it emulates the IBM Graphics printer, it adds its own
carriage returns after each line of graphics is sent.  Since the EPSON
and many IBM Graphics printer compatibles do not, they printed very
interesting patterns but, unfortunately, these patterns didn't very
much resemble crossword puzzles.

  Version 1.5 fixed the carriage return bugs, but a few other annoying
bugs remained.  CRSWRD 1.5 prints graphics puzzles in quadruple density
graphics, so that only recent printers with this capability would
print the puzzle properly.  I have revised CRSWRD to print in double
density graphics which should work with most compatible printers.

  One last revision has been made that should prevent some other
problems that persisted even with version 1.5.  Version 1.5 and
its predecessors told the printer to print in near letter quality
when printing the clues.  That has been eliminated for the mean time,
because the instruction sent to the printer to set and reset near
letter quality causes some systems to "hang" interminably if the
printer is not capable of near letter quality.

  The result is version 1.52: this version should work with most
IBM Graphics Printers and compatibles.  Choose "Setup" from the
main menu, and select IBM Graphics printer.  Almost all compatible
printers should print a nice looking puzzle using "Small print," but
a few printers will print a useable puzzle using "Large print" also.

  CRSWRD started out as a way to learn Turbo Pascal, but the response
to the program has been overwhelming.  Consequently, I am currently
working on an expanded version of CRSWRD that will allow you to
adapt the printed puzzle somewhat to your own special printer.  It will
also have some *real* documentation, and even some help screens.
Also in the works is the ability to enter much longer clues, and print
the ACROSS and DOWN out on top of each other instead of side by side,
so that the longer clues will print nicely.  The above features will
be included in version 2.0, which will (hopefully) be completed sometime
before June 1987.  Register with Counterpoint as a CRSWRD user, and
we'll send you a notice when the version 2.0 is ready.  If you send
your $15, CRSWRD Version 2.0 will be sent to you without charge.

  In the meantime, enjoy CRSWRD 1.52, and let me know if you like it
or if you find any other bugs.  We'll swat 'em as we catch 'em.

- Nicholas Petreley
  Counterpoint
  1475 Pennington Rd
  Trenton, NJ  08618