
PictureLogic 5.0 is a puzzle program for the Palm Computing platform.  A puzzle solver, a tutorial, and puzzle creation and editing features are included.
(These puzzles are also known as paint by number puzzles, nonograms, or picross puzzles.)

PalmPilot Personal or Pro System 2.0 or greater is required.  Also works on the Palm III.

The following information is also at my Web site: http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfkdw/pictlogi.html

Get your registered version ($12) from Pilotgear at http://www2.viaweb.com/pilotgearsw/keithwolcott.html
Pilotgear will immediately give you the download link for the registered version.

The unregistered version can only use the original puzzle collection and cannot import puzzles from MemoPad.

If you are reading this with Notepad, select "WordWrap" from the Edit menu.
A Japanese translation, ReadMe-j.txt, of this ReadMe (although not quite as up-to-date) is included in the zip file.

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Installation:

There is no need to delete previous versions of PictureLogic.
Finish up any puzzles that you are currently working on before installing this version since it will erase your current puzzle and any saved work in progress.

Install PictLogi.prc, PLTutorial.pdb, PLSolver.prc (PLSolver is also a new version) and at least the puzzle collection, (PL)Collection1.pdb.

If you do not wish to use PLSolver to solve puzzles or to test your logic on rows and columns, there is no need to install PLSolver.prc.
 
Warning: If you have added your own puzzles to a puzzle collection, do not reinstall that puzzle collection. If you do, you will loose the puzzles which you created.

The unregistered version of PictureLogic can only use the puzzle collection, Collection1.

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Register:

Get your registered version ($12) from Pilotgear at http://www2.viaweb.com/pilotgearsw/keithwolcott.html
Pilotgear will immediately give you the registered version.

Or Phone: (800) 741-9070
Fax: (817) 640-6614
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Or mail a check (US $12) directly to 
Keith Wolcott
1041 Westgate Dr.
Charleston, IL 61920
(include your email address) 

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New in PictureLogic 5.0:

--Scrollbars have replaced graffiti scrolling.  Scrollbars make the interface much more natural and add the addition control of using the scroll car to drag the puzzle.   The existence of the scrollbars also makes it very clear when a puzzle may be scrolled.  In preferences, if you check "intelligent scrolling", the scroll arrows scroll to the next major puzzle division (exactly as graffiti scrolling in the previous version).  If "intelligent scrolling" is unchecked, the scroll arrows scroll one square at a time.  I prefer "intelligent scrolling" since you don't get caught with only some of the numbers showing which can lead to confusion.

--A puzzle tutor which describes the rules of play and includes 21 one-row puzzles with hints, can be used to develop and hone your PictureLogic puzzling skills.  The puzzle tutor is optional since it is installed as a separate pdb file (4 kB).  The first time you run PictureLogic, you will be asked if you want to start the puzzle tutor.  You may also use the puzzle tutor by selecting the new menu item on the help menu.

--"Random", is now also a menu choice.  This seems to be a popular feature.  With this on the menu, and with the automatic puzzle checkoff feature, you can work a whole collection of puzzles (or indeed all collections) without seeing the puzzle names.

--The menus have been reorganized.  A fourth menu for the Solver has been added.  New/Resize, Shift Picture, and Save New Puzzle, are all puzzle editing features and have been put in a group on the second menu.  Two shortcuts have been changed.  Hint is now H (rather than T), and Show is now W (rather than H).

--Since we now have quite a few puzzle collections (over 30), and all must have names different than all other files installed on your Palm, all puzzle collections are now prefixed with (PL).  The first time you run PictureLogic, it will rename all puzzle collections to start with (PL).  The only place that you will notice this change is on your desktop machine (when you install a collection or if you look in your backup folder).  On your Palm, there is no apparent change.  This change is backward compatible: if later on you have a puzzle collection that has the old format, it will install with no problems but will be prefixed with (PL).

--The first puzzle collection, PictDB has been renamed Collection1 (This is now consistent with the other puzzle releases, Collection2 through Collection5).  If you have PictDB.pdb installed, it will automatically be renamed Collection1, the first time you run PictureLogic.

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How to play:

Use the numbers to create a picture.
The numbers on each row tell you the length of the blocks which are filled in, but not how many spaces are between them.  For example, 2  4, beside a row means that starting at the left there are possibly some spaces, then 2 consecutive squares filled in, then at least one space and then 4 consecutive squares filled in. The columns work the same way. The goal is to fill in the picture to match the numbers.  
Use logic to solve these puzzles rather than guessing.  For example, if there is a 7 in a row of 10, the center 4 squares must be filled in.
Select Puzzle Tutor, from the PictureLogic menu and/or see the web site for more information.

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PictureLogic Features:

--Scrollbars with board sizes of up to 25 by 25.  The numbers for the puzzle appear on all sides of the puzzle.  Menu option View allows viewing the entire picture at once.
          
--Over 300 puzzles are available at the Shared Puzzle Collection page at my web site.
          
--Create your own puzzles by drawing a picture and then saving it in your own category.  Editing features, New/Resize and Shift Picture are included.
          
--Create your own puzzle collections. Full database handling capability.  View the list of puzzles in a collection, start a new puzzle collection, rename a collection, or delete a collection.  Puzzle collections are backed up when you hotsync, so that we can share puzzle collections.
          
--Input the numbers for a puzzle into MemoPad and then open it with PictureLogic. This feature gives us access to many puzzles from other sources.
          
--Hint, Check solution (It flashes the square of the first mistake it finds.) and show solution.
          
--Drag the stylus to draw.
          
--Tap on a square to cycle between a filled in square, a dot (when you deduce the square is not filled in), and clear.
                                    
--Four pen types. (The current pen is shown in the upper left of the screen.  The Up/down hardware buttons cycle through the pen types.) You can use the additional pens to experiment with possible solutions.  The extra pens really help on tough puzzles such as "Eagle".  I like to use the black pen for cells that I know are filled in and the gray pen for guesses.  I use the X pen to mark the beginning of a new attempt so that I don't forget where I started.
          
--Mark off numbers.  When the position of the cells for a number are determined, you may tap on the number to invert it (white to black).  Tap again to return to normal.  Clearing a pen type also clears any numbers that were marked off while the pen was active.  Clear All, clears all marked off numbers.
          
--Clear current pen type by tapping C.
          
--Clear All.
          
--Clear all dots.  When you finish a puzzle you can view the picture without dots.
          
--Redraw the puzzle with the current pen.  When you find that a guess with a second pen is correct you can redraw the picture with one pen.

--Save work in progress by choosing "Save Work in Progress" from the menu.  Use "Open Work in Progress" to recover your previous position.
          
--Next and Random allow you to work a puzzle without seeing the name of the puzzle.  Random can choose from among all puzzle collections, from the current category of a puzzle collection and from among checked or unchecked puzzles.
          
--Preferences screen gives the choice of:
    1) Restriction of each pen so that it cannot change the markings of any of the other pens.  (With this option on, you won't accidentally change other pen markings.) 
    2) Allow marking off numbers. 
    3) Intelligent scrolling option.
    4) Allow the program to automatically check off a puzzle when you "Check Solution" and it is correct.
          
--Menu option "Digitizer" makes it easy to reset the digitizer.

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PLSolver 1.02 features: 

This program is useful for creating new puzzles and for testing your logical skills.
(PLSolver.prc is included in the PictureLogic zip file)

--PLSolver (PictureLogic Solver) is provided as a separate program so that you don't necessarily have to install it.  Its size is about 19 kB. 

--PictureLogic has menu options, Solve a row, Solve a column, and Solve, which are used to start PLSolver.  To use these menu options you must have PLSolver.prc installed.  

--The Solve menu option will solve any puzzle but may take some time.  Most puzzles solve in a few seconds and appear on the screen as they are solved.  The hardest puzzles are in the Fujiwara collection.  Number 12 is the hardest one of these and PLSolver takes a little over 5 minutes to both find a solution and check that it is the only solution.  Any cell that the PLSolver deduces for sure is drawn with the black pen and any trial and error guess is drawn with the gray pen.  Thus, as PLSolver works, you can see what is deduced, and which trial and error cases are being attempted. 

--The Solve a row feature is useful for getting better at solving the puzzles.  When you have deduced as much as you can on a row, choose Solve a row, and see if it deduces anything further.  If not, you are doing great.  If it does, think about how you could have deduced the extra information.  Remark: Solve a row and Solve a column always use the black pen, so if you use one of the other pens it is easy to see any changes. 

--It is now much easier to create your own puzzles because you can quickly test them with PLSolver.  It will tell you if there is more than one solution or if the solution is unique.  It will also indicate if solving requires a deeper analysis than just looking at rows and columns individually.  If a puzzle can be solved by just looking at rows and columns individually, PLSolver indicates how many times all rows and columns are solved until finished.  The larger this number is, the more difficult the puzzle tends to be. 

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How to create your own puzzles:

It is fun to work your own creations. Try it.
Create your own puzzle by drawing a picture on the board (choose New/Resize, if you wish to have a different size picture) and then save it.  Your puzzle may have more than one solution or may be very hard to solve.  You can alter it by opening it, showing solution, and then saving again.  With a little practice you can draw a picture with about the right amount of filled squares to get a single solution. Work your puzzle by logically deducing the filled squares to see if it has a just one solution.

Now, use PLSolver to test if your puzzle has more than one solution.

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How to create puzzle collections:

Now we can easily share the puzzles which we create.  Here's how it works.  There is a menu choice called "Puzzle Collections".  You can view the puzzle collection list, switch from one collection to another, start a new collection, rename a collection, and delete a collection.  When you save a puzzle that you create, save it in your own collection.  When you hotsync, your collection will be backed up in your backup directory (For example, mine is at C\:Palm\WolcottK\Backup) with the name that you gave it.  Send this file to someone else and they can play your puzzles. Please send me any puzzles which you create, and I will put them on the shared collection page (with appropriate credit) so that others can enjoy them.

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How to input the numbers for a puzzle into MemoPad:

Now you can input the numbers for a puzzle into MemoPad and then open it in PictureLogic by selecting a new menu option "MemoPad Puzzles".  Here's how to do it.  Input puzzle files of the following form.

(PL)Example Puzzle
5,7

4,1
4
4
4
4,1


1,1,1
1,1,1
1,1,1
5
1,1

1,1
2,2


The first line is the title.  The first 4 characters must be "(PL)".  The remaining part of the title can have any length and consist of any characters and/or numbers.

The 5,7 above are the number of rows of data and the number of columns of data. (This puzzle is 5 high by 7 wide.)

The row data is then listed with each row on a different line (Starting at the top row from left to right). Then the column data is listed with each column on a different line (Starting at the leftmost column read from top to bottom).

Instead of commas separating the numbers you may separate them with any ascii character that you wish (just not 0-9).  I like to use blanks when entering on the Pilot since it is just one stroke rather than two for a comma.

Extra lines, characters(not 0-9), or blanks may be inserted any place that you wish.  As in the example, I like to put two lines between the row data and the column data, and put an extra line for every five lines of data to make it easier to read.

Cut and paste the above example to MemoPad on your desktop, hotsync to get it on your Pilot, and select MemoPad puzzles to play it.

Remark: Show Solution and Hint are not available for MemoPad puzzles since no solution is saved.  Work the puzzle (or use PLSolver to solve it) and save it in a puzzle collection in order to get these features.

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Legal Stuff:

This software and the puzzle collections are copyrighted (1998) by Keith D. Wolcott. Furthermore, I make no warranty with respect to the quality of this software, nor do I warrant that its operation will be error-free. The author claims no liability for data loss or any other problems caused directly or indirectly by use of this application.

Keith Wolcott
1041 Westgate Dr.
Charleston, IL 61920
email: cfkdw@eiu.edu
web site: http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfkdw/pictlogi.html

Thank you.