New Constructor Site - Crosserville.com

[jesseg]

I've put together a web app for constructing crosswords. It does all the basics: auto fill, puz file import, multiple export options, integrated clue database, and more. It's free and doesn't require an account to use. If anyone is interested in giving it a whirl, you can find it at https://www.crosserville.com. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

And if you feel like it's missing a feature or two, shoot me a message I'll see if I can add it.

[mmcbs]

Nice design!

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Allow selection with the cursor of multiple squares to either designate as blocks or to delete letters. This greatly speeds up grid design and tearing out sections that need to be redone.

2. When you use the "find slot options" list, you should be able to select a word and have it appear in that slot in the grid. I'm seeing the "accept slot candidate" on the grid menu, but don't see how that works. When I select that option nothing happens (same with the shortcut shift+enter. When I click the word in the candidates list it just goes over the word info page.

3. On the puzzle stats, show distribution of the words by length

This is the best online construction app I've seen so far.

[jesseg]

Thanks for the good suggestions. #1 will be a real challenge, but I like the idea.

There actually is a way to select a word from the slot option list. Single click will look it up in the clue DB and double click will add it the grid.

Now that you mention it, that "accept slot candidate" is likely to confuse users. When there is just a single option for a particular slot, the app shows that in gray and if you Shift-Enter, it'll "accept" it into the grid.

[mmcbs]

OK, on the double-click! Guess that might be a good thing to add to the box.

Are you familiar with the Facebook Group "Cruciverb" (not related to this web site)? It you join that group and plug this, you'll get a lot more views than on this forum. Lots of professional constructors in that group (in addition to newbies and wannabes).

[jesseg]

There's a reason why UI designers say you shouldn't have both a single-click and double-click action on one element; It tends to be confusing to users. I was greedy and wanted to find a way to squeeze both of these functionalities into that box. But yes, I should find a way to document that.

I have recently joined that Facebook Group and I do plan to post something there at some point. But I'm purposely trying to do a slow roll-out on this as it allows me to implement the great suggestions I'm getting from early users.