What's New -  September 2004

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September 29,2004:  Month-ends provide motivation to get "just one more" program posted.  During the hurricane weather this past week I worked on a Print Preview capability to add to last week's Crossword generator.   The preview part along with a demo program was posted today over in Delphi-Techniques section. of DFF.  It previews and prints text and StringGrids, the two types of output needed to print puzzles.  It can also save previewed  images in a file for later re-printing.  Now, if we just get a rainy day this week, I'll have time to add the preview capability to Crossword Generator.    Otherwise it's back to gathering the winter's supply of firewood.   

September 21, 2004: 

Here's an improved version of our Crossword Generator program.  A kindred spirit programmer, Charles Doumar, added a WordSearch puzzle generator which prompted me to make the Crossword puzzles into actual solvable puzzles (numbered the words and added a clues capability).   Either puzzle type may now be printed for use in classrooms,  for example.  Clues are  contained in the user specified word list files. I have included a few sample topical word files as starters (Birds illustrated here).  Check it out!  If you develop any wordlists and want to share, send them on and I'll add them to the distribution.  

September 8, 2004:  

The Scrolling LEDs program now has the ability  to embed current date/time and a countdown timer in the scrolling text message.   Prompted by a fellow teaching English in China who sounds like he is counting the days (and hours and minutes) until his  "tour of duty" is up.