Diagnil FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the name Diagnil come from?
How hard is it to install?
What is Diagnil's basic concept of operation?
Is it really any better than using pencil and paper?
What sources of diagramless puzzles are available?

1. Where does the name Diagnil come from?

The name Diagnil was created from the "diag" fragment of the word "diagram" and the word "nil." It was an attempt to evoke the concept of diagramless while introducing a completely new name for a new software tool. It was not meant to be an alternative spelling for "diagonal."

2. How hard is it to install?

Installation is easy for Windows family systems if the binary installer is used. The Windows installer merely needs to be launched to establish the full working environment using standard Windows conventions.

Installation is also easy for the Tiger version (10.4) of Mac OS X. A disk image of a ready-to-run application bundle is available for download.

Under Linux, Unix and other Mac platforms, a bit more work is required, but it's straightforward for those who are comfortable using the command line. Future versions will likely include improvements that streamline the installation process.

3. What is Diagnil's basic concept of operation?

Diagnil allows you to enter words and either place them on the grid immediately or save them for later placement. As you work through the puzzle and learn more about how the words fit together, i.e., as you discover the diagram's shape, you can paste previously entered words onto the grid where you think they belong. If some of your placements need to be corrected, you can make adjustments easily by dragging words to different locations.

You can also move large regions of words to put sections together once you have figured out the large-scale structure of the puzzle. In addition, there are a few "mini-grids" available that serve as scratchpads, allowing you to work on small word clusters and later transfer them to the main grid. Diagnil offers various aids and conveniences such as picking up word fragments from crossing letters already found on the grid.

In general, the features have been designed to reduce the mundane chores needed to build a puzzle solution and allow you to concentrate on the intellectual challenge of solving diagramless puzzles.

4. Is it really any better than using pencil and paper?

For most people, I think the answer is yes. For really talented solvers, Diagnil probably won't offer much benefit. For the rest of us, though, it can make a noticeable difference.

I personally find most software tools for working ordinary crosswords to be more trouble than they're worth. I prefer doing those puzzles with pen and paper. Inexperienced solvers might benefit from such software, but most regular crossword solvers don't need help with editing. They can fill in the squares quickly and seldom make mistakes.

Diagramless puzzles are a different story. There is enough uncertainty in the task that it's necessary to make choices speculatively during the early phases. As the structure of the puzzle becomes more apparent, those early choices will need to be adjusted. This is where a tool like Diagnil makes a difference. It allows users to edit their work efficiently and painlessly, much as a word processor allows users to edit their documents more easily than if they had been working with pen and paper or working at a typewriter.

Your mileage may vary, of course. Nevertheless, I think that for most crossword enthusiasts who are good with conventional crosswords but never found diagramless puzzles attractive, Diagnil would make diagramless solving enjoyable.

5. What sources of diagramless puzzles are available?

Currently, sources of diagramless puzzles are limited primarily to the print media. Many newspapers publish a weekly diagramless puzzle, usually in their Sunday editions. Crossword magazines often publish around half a dozen diagramless puzzles along with their more numerous offerings of conventional puzzles. Occasionally books containing compilations of diagramless puzzles will be published, although these are fairly infrequent.

Unfortunately, there haven't yet emerged any significant on-line sources of diagramless puzzles. Some can be found at various Web sites, but overall these are scattered and often associated with tutorial introductions. A few Web pages with collections of links to crossword-related sites might be helpful:

If interest in diagramless puzzles should grow, perhaps additional sources of puzzles will make their way to the public.


Administrator: Ben Di Vito		Last Updated: 23 February 2007