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Format and print puzzles from other sources
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nataraj



Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 1048
Location: near Vienna, Austria

PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:18 am    Post subject: Format and print puzzles from other sources Reply with quote

edited Dec 23, 2017 to give link to thread for - again - a new version:

Helmut's Sudoku Formatter retired-how to post your puzzles ?

---------------
edited June 5, 2013 to give link to thread for the new version:

Formatting tool has new name and new location

---------------

original message text was deleted long time ago ...


Last edited by nataraj on Sat Dec 23, 2017 9:36 pm; edited 5 times in total
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Marty R.



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 5770
Location: Rochester, NY, USA

PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 5:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nataraj,

Nobody ever accused me of being computer-competent, but I don't know what we're trying to accomplish and I understand very little of the post after "open a .txt document." Question
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nataraj



Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 1048
Location: near Vienna, Austria

PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK, OK. That was too complicated. I'll try again.

Purpose:

- Import puzzles from other sources into draw/play and print them
- Format puzzles from other sources for easy posting on this forum

How to:

This is a simple HTML page that will accept puzzles from many sources: click here

No decent documentation

It may take a few minutes to find out some of the features for yourself

Warning

There might be bugs in the software. Feel free to ignore them or report them here. No warranty.


Last edited by nataraj on Tue Nov 25, 2008 4:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
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storm_norm



Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1741

PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
There might be bugs in the software. Feel free to ignore them or report them here. No warranty.


the first time I clicked on the link the page loeaded fine but I got a pop up ad. then I clicked close (which was in german). I didn't get it a second time.
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nataraj



Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 1048
Location: near Vienna, Austria

PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NYAQ - not yet asked questions

Can I print my puzzle?

Yes you can. When you click "Format", the dailysudoku.com page appears and you can print from there like you would print the daily sudoku

Can I enter sudokus by hand

Yes, very easily. Just type into the area provided (the one that says "paste sudoku here").
No need to worry about special formats. Put as many cells on a line as you like. Use as many lines as you like. Add comments, use spaces or any funny characters.

Myself I usually enter 3 lines of 27 digits each. Like this (today's vh):

000300500503819006000006000
050604072060090080230107050
000900000100763905006001000

Takes about 40 seconds.

Can I include pencil marks?

Yes you can. You can even inlude markup, like in this example (originally posted by keith in the "VH(+/++): Set A Puzzle 25" thread:
Code:

+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
| 3479  12479 8     | 6     139   1279  | 179   5     34    |
| 3479  6     24a   | 12b   5     179   | 179   8     34    |
| 5     1379 37-9   |-138   4     1789  | 179   2     6     |
+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
| 1    -389   39e   | 5     6     389   | 4     7     2     |
| 6     23f   5     | 4     7     23    | 8     9     1     |
| 4789  4789  24g   |-128   19    189   | 6     3     5     |
+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
|3-79   5     79d   | 17c   13    4     | 2     6     8     |
| 2     37    1     | 37    8     6     | 5     4     9     |
| 48    48    6     | 9     2     5     | 3     1     7     |
+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+


Can I use this tool to post puzzles on the forum?

Yes, you can. And, as a bonus, others will be able to click on "play online" and go directly to the draw/play page of dailysudoku.com.

Below the area where you enter (or paste) the puzzle, there is another area where the puzzle is displayed in different formats:

- a string of 81 digits
- a grid without pencil marks, including the opening and closing "[code]" tags
- properly formed "[url]" tags for copying and pasting directly into the forum. One is with and the other without pencil marks.

Take your pick.

Can I use this tool to solve a puzzle?

Yes and no. No in the sense that this is not a solver program.
Yes in the sense that you can either print the puzzle and solve it at the coffee (or tea) table or import it into draw/play and solve online in a familiar environment.


Last edited by nataraj on Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:30 pm; edited 2 times in total
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nataraj



Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 1048
Location: near Vienna, Austria

PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

storm_norm wrote:
the first time I clicked on the link the page loeaded fine but I got a pop up ad. then I clicked close (which was in german). I didn't get it a second time.


It is a free webspace site. They say they send ads every few hours or so.
Did you manage to load the sudoku formatter page?
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storm_norm



Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1741

PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

for me, everything worked flawlessly.
and I noticed that you don't need to erase "paste sudoku here, then click 'format.'"
the formatter reads everything behind it.

nataraj, great job!
another pillar in your sudoku mansion.
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nataraj



Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 1048
Location: near Vienna, Austria

PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, Norm!
And I'm still trying to figure out a way to import your grids with the ".-----" corners. So many grids are posted with "." as a placeholder for empty cells that I don't want to ignore those period characters. But then the program says "82 cells" or something like that. Hm. I'll wait for a flash of enlightenment Smile
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Marty R.



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 5770
Location: Rochester, NY, USA

PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 10:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK, the second try was easier for me to understand. This looks like it could be handy when one wants to print out a puzzle posted in the forum using the Draw/Play format.

However, for posting a starting grid from a newspaper or other source, I fail to see how typing 81 characters is faster or more efficient than typing only the starting clues directly into the Draw/Play blank grid.

Is there a way for this to be used for other puzzles on the Internet? I tried copying and pasting a Menneske puzzle but nothing happened when I clicked "Format." That's presumably because there is no string?

I have no idea how you get this stuff into a Draw/Play grid but it's very impressive.
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nataraj



Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 1048
Location: near Vienna, Austria

PostPosted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 10:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Marty,
I start to see your point in using draw/play for entering puzzles.

Up to now, I used the mouse to click and enter one clue at a time. That is too slow and too error prone, because it forces me to constantly xx between page and computer screen. Now that you mentioned it again I tried using the arrow keys and it felt much better. Didn't know that ...

But do try the 81 character method. It has a good rhythm: zero,zero,one five,zero,zero eight,two,zero ....

As for Menneske they don't provide an "export" feature (like the "ASCII" button here). It is possible to select the characters in the grid and copy them, but I've not figured out when they use spaces and when it's tab characters or line feeds.

BrainBashers will export just fine, SudoCue provides the 81 digit string, Vanhegan no idea yet... I'm hoping for clues from those who post these puzzles from time to time. So far, I've mostly used the "type in 81 digits" method Smile
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Marty R.



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 5770
Location: Rochester, NY, USA

PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Up to now, I used the mouse to click and enter one clue at a time. That is too slow and too error prone, because it forces me to constantly xx between page and computer screen. Now that you mentioned it again I tried using the arrow keys and it felt much better. Didn't know that ...

I can't stand moving back and forth between pages, However, when I post puzzles it's almost always from a printed page and I think direct entry to Draw/Play is very easy. I might prefer the 81-character string to moving between pages.

On another subject, when your HTML page puts a puzzle into Draw/Play, does it affect the previous puzzle that one has saved?
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nataraj



Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 1048
Location: near Vienna, Austria

PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 7:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Marty R. wrote:
On another subject, when your HTML page puts a puzzle into Draw/Play, does it affect the previous puzzle that one has saved?


I don't know, I've never saved a puzzle.

What I can say is that the program does exactly what the "play online" links do: compose the complete link (http://...p=0:3:0:546: .... string and "click" on it. The draw/play page opens in a new window. How that page works internally and how the save/load mechanism is implemented, I don't have the foggiest ...

Some more on the "Is there a way for this to be used for other puzzles on the Internet?" question: I've done a very quick scan of a few more sites:

Sudoku Players Forum: it seems most puzzles posted there can be read OK

"Other Puzzles" on this site here: again, most puzzles should import OK, I've even figured out how to import Norm's pencilmarked grids (the ones with the ".----------" first line): don't copy the first line. Smile Duh.

Good news - I've found a way to import puzzles from Menneske and sudoku.com.au (they seem to use similar software):

The trick is to mark the grid (with the mouse) like this:


Copy and paste into the formatter. The clues are separated by tabs and with a little trial and error (call it heuristics if you prefer a fancy word) I've managed to import everything ok. Just make sure that the first and last cell are highlighted, too..., and don't play with additional spaces and tabs Smile
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nataraj



Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 1048
Location: near Vienna, Austria

PostPosted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

New release - more input from internet sudoku pages

Thanks for your suggestions, folks!

I've put a new release of the formatter online.

It will now accept input directly from Menneske, Mepham's Sudoku of the Day, Decabit, sudoku.com.au. See previous post how to mark, copy and paste.

No idea yet how to import from Vanhegan's site. Sad
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nataraj



Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 1048
Location: near Vienna, Austria

PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 4:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Free webhosting being, well, free (and sometimes unreliable) I've opened a backup site. Two possibilities:

- http://nataraj.eluhost.de/fmtsudoku.htm (currently giving lots of errors) and
- http://nataraj.0catch.com/fmtsudoku.htm (more pop-up ads)
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nataraj



Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 1048
Location: near Vienna, Austria

PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 7:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Changed the code slightly so that it is now possible to format a sudoku from another source (e.g. for posting on this forum) without immediately opening the draw/play dialogue.
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Marty R.



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 5770
Location: Rochester, NY, USA

PostPosted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 5:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nataraj wrote:
Free webhosting being, well, free (and sometimes unreliable) I've opened a backup site. Two possibilities:

- http://nataraj.eluhost.de/fmtsudoku.htm (currently giving lots of errors) and
- http://nataraj.0catch.com/fmtsudoku.htm (more pop-up ads)


Thanks for that second one. I'm using it often what with the first one failing frequently to connect.
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Marty R.



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 5770
Location: Rochester, NY, USA

PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 4:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have noticed in the last few days that on the original format tool, there is an ad overlaying the format box and it seems to stay, unlike other ads in various places which run for a few seconds, then disappear. I don't know what it says, having forgotten whatever German I learned all too many years ago.
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keith



Joined: 19 Sep 2005
Posts: 3355
Location: near Detroit, Michigan, USA

PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nataraj,

Did you ever solve the VanHegan puzzle format? I can see what it is, but it is not 9 rows of 9 digits each.

Anyone,

Can you export a text version of a VanHegan puzzle to another solver?

Keith
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storm_norm



Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1741

PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

the easiest way I know how to export the Vangegan puzzles is via Sudocue

http://www.sudocue.net/download.php

sudocue finds the current daily puzzles posted on vangegan's site

and you can access them from sudocue's "file" menu
- OPEN WWW
-playr.co.uk
- then pick your difficulty level.



once the puzzle is uploaded into sudocue, you can then copy the text grid either as the filled cells, or as an entire pencil mark grid.
this can be found in the "edit" menu.
this will put a text copy of the grid on your clipboard, for you to paste later.




Code:
. . .|1 . 5|. 3 .
1 . .|3 6 .|9 . .
. 9 3|. . 7|5 . .
-----+-----+-----
9 . 7|. . .|. 4 6
. 3 .|. . .|. 5 .
5 1 .|. . .|3 . 9
-----+-----+-----
. . 6|9 . .|4 2 .
. . 9|. 5 6|. . 3
. 5 .|4 . 2|. . .


hopefully that was helpful.
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wapati



Joined: 10 Jun 2008
Posts: 472
Location: Brampton, Ontario, Canada.

PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 11:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

keith wrote:


Anyone,

Can you export a text version of a VanHegan puzzle to another solver?

Keith

If you email yourself the text only version and copy/paste that into notepad and then replace all the triple space character sets with space period space that can be copy/pasted into many solvers, sodukocue for one.

Here is what I got after the replace.
Code:

+---+---+---++---+---+---++---+---+---+
| 9 | 2 | . || . | . | . || . | 5 | 3 |
+---+---+---++---+---+---++---+---+---+
| 3 | 7 | . || . | 5 | . || . | 9 | 6 |
+---+---+---++---+---+---++---+---+---+
| . | 1 | . || 6 | 9 | 3 || . | 8 | . |
+===+===+===++===+===+===++===+===+===+
| . | . | 3 || 5 | 8 | 7 || 2 | . | . |
+---+---+---++---+---+---++---+---+---+
| . | . | . || . | . | . || . | . | . |
+---+---+---++---+---+---++---+---+---+
| . | . | 9 || 1 | 4 | 6 || 3 | . | . |
+===+===+===++===+===+===++===+===+===+
| . | 3 | . || 9 | 2 | 8 || . | 4 | . |
+---+---+---++---+---+---++---+---+---+
| 6 | 9 | . || . | 1 | . || . | 3 | 5 |
+---+---+---++---+---+---++---+---+---+
| 8 | 4 | . || . | . | . || . | 2 | 7 |
+---+---+---++---+---+---++---+---+---+
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