DICTIONARY MAINTENANCE

Magnum Opus can support a virtually unlimited number of both Standard and Theme dictionaries. As the name implies, the contents of a Theme dictionary follow a particular theme such as Music, Sports, Science, Films etc. They will normally have a limited number of words (a few hundred at most), and their names must begin with the $ character.

When you enter the Dictionary Maintenance screen, the name of the current dictionary will be included in the title bar of the screen. The body of the screen contains a set of statistics describing the current dictionary.

Menu Functions
  • File Menu
    • Select a Dictionary
      Begin a Dictionary Maintenance session by selecting the dictionary which you intend to maintain. This is done using the Select a Dictionary option.

    • Quit Dictionary Maintenance
      When you have finished your Maintenance activities, this option will return you to the Magnum Opus opening screen.

  • Edit Menu
    This menu contains the two Editing functions involved with Dictionary Maintenance:-
    • Edit Dictionary
      This option gives you access to the Dictionary Edit screen for the currently selected dictionary. To make proper use of the facilities provided by the Edit screen, you will certainly need to study the Help which it provides.

    • Edit Properties
      Magnum Opus currently supports properties involving Word Length specification, and Word Case and Auxiliary Keyboard control. Change these properties if required using this option.

  • Tasks Menu
    This menu leads you to a set of useful Dictionary based functions:-
    • Create a Standard Dictionary
      This option will take you to a dialog which invites you to enter a name for your new Standard Dictionary. If you enter the name of an existing dictionary, you will receive a warning to this effect. Otherwise you will be automatically transferred to a dictionary edit screen where you can begin adding content to your new dictionary.

    • Create a Theme Dictionary
      This is similar to the Create a Standard Dictionary function, except that a Theme dictionary will be created. The names of such dictionaries always commence with a $ character. If you forget to enter this character, the program will do it for you.

    • Import and Merge a WordList
      A WordList file is a Unicode text file in which each line of text consists of one dictionary word, followed by one or more Space or Tab characters, followed by the clue. Such a file can be edited using a suitable text editor or word processor. If you do this, be VERY sure that when you save your editing, you do so in the Unicode text mode.

      A WordList file can be Imported into a newly created (empty) dictionary, or it can be Merged with an existing dictionary. The WordList file need not be in alphabetical order, as this action will be taken care of by the program.

    • Import a MAGNUM OPUS Dictionary
      The Import a MAGNUM OPUS Dictionary option opens a File Chooser Dialog which allows you to select the xword.dic file that you want to import from a Magnum Opus dictionary. The contents of the imported dictionary will be inserted into your current Magnum Opus dictionary which should be a newly created and empty dictionary. If it is an existing dictionary, it will be overwritten by the imported words and clues. This function will only import those words which are already provided with clues.

    • Import a CWE dictionary
      The Import a CWE Dictionary button is for the benefit of people who have invested a lot of time constructing dictionaries for the old Crossword Express program. Naturally, these dictionaries cannot be used directly by Magnum Opus since it requires Unicode content. Selecting this option opens a File Chooser Dialog which allows you to select the xword.dic file that you want to import from your Crossword Express system. The contents of the imported dictionary will be inserted into your current Magnum Opus dictionary. Normally, this will be a newly created and empty dictionary, but if it is an existing dictionary, the imported contents will be merged with the existing contents. This works well for dictionaries which use only the standard 26 letters of the Roman alphabet. If the dictionary to be imported includes some accented characters (such as may be found in French or Spanish), then you should use the Dictionary Export function of Crossword Express to create a WordList file which you can import into Magnum Opus using the Import and merge a WordList function described above.

    • Export as WordList
      The entire contents of a dictionary can be exported to a WordList file located anywhere you choose on your hard drive.

    • Unlock Words
      If you make regular use of the Lockout Words function which is available on the Standard Crossword Construction screen, you will ultimately reach the point where Magnum Opus will not have enough words available to it to reliably construct a puzzle. When you get to this point, you can place all of the locked out words back into service using the Unlock Words function.

    • Delete this Dictionary
      Any dictionary which is no longer required may be eliminated using the Delete this Dictionary option. This operation will remove both the dictionary and any puzzles which you may have constructed using it. This is a radical step to take, and naturally, a warning message is provided to give you a chance to change your mind.