WELCOME TO MAGNUM OPUS

Magnum Opus is the successor to the earlier programs The Daily Crossword (1992-1994) and Crossword Express (1994-2009). The name change is appropriate since it now does so much more than just make crossword puzzles. It includes facilities for making SUDOKU, FUTOSHIKI and KENDOKU puzzles as well as many others. The program is written in the popular Java language, and consequently it will operate on both Windows and Macintosh computers (not to mention Linux and Solaris operating systems). Many of the features of the earlier programs have been updated and included in Magnum Opus and a number of new features have been added. Development of the program is ongoing, so those features which currently display a message "This function is not yet implemented" will be included in future releases.

The Menu Screen of Magnum Opus makes the following functional groups available to you:-

  • Build Standard Crossword. You can elect to let Magnum Opus build the entire puzzle for you, you can build it all yourself, or you can enter a few words and let the program complete the task. There is also a Theme puzzle option in which you can nominate up to four theme dictionaries which will be searched in priority order as the program selects each word that it inserts into the puzzle.

  • Build Freeform Crosswords. Teachers will find this option useful for enhancing student interest in classroom activities. Build a small theme dictionary having as few as 10 words (and clues), or as many as several hundred, and Magnum Opus will build a simple Freeform puzzle using just those words. The dictionary is saved for future use, so you will never need to retype those same words and clues again. You can also use a word filter to select a subset of the words in a standard dictionary to make the puzzle. For example it is a simple matter to select only words which end with the letters 'ED'. Puzzles don't have to be rectangular in shape. You can create your own templates to build puzzles having any shape you wish.

  •  Dictionary Maintenance. 

  •  Grid Maintenance. 

  • The Solve Crosswords group box contains two controls which give you access to five different mechanisms for interactively solving crosswords on your computer:-
    • A Combo Box allows you to select which of the five solve mechanisms you wish to use. These mechanisms are:-
      •  Crossword Puzzles 
      • Fillin Puzzles.
      • Codeword Puzzles.
      • Pick 'n' Choose Puzzles.
      • Bits 'n' Pieces Puzzles.

      If any of these puzzles are unfamiliar to you, a description will be available by clicking the Help button when you enter the Solve screen.

    • Clicking the Solve Crossword button will take you to the Solve screen for the Solve mechanism which you selected in the previous step.
  • The Other Puzzles group box contains a set of three controls which give you access to a number of other word and number puzzles:-
  • The Word Tools button will take you to a sub-menu where you can access the following useful tools::-
  • Magnum Opus uses a considerable number of options by which the user can make changes to the appearance and behaviour of the program. The Default Options button will set all of these options to the initial default values.