SudokuSolver Forum

Here's an interesting set of 200 puzzles, everything from standard 9x9 to this gattai-39 monster (click on the image below to see the full-size image):





The English is pretty broken (the other available language is Japanese), but you can download the Java applet and HTML code, as well as all the puzzles (called "questions" on the site). The handy thing is that all of the puzzles are in .CSV (comma-delimited) format, which means they can be directly imported into Excel. With a little bit of cleanup, lines, and color, you have a very nice puzzle ready for copy-pasting to your favorite imaging software. You can also "rip" the codestrings for importing into your favorite sudoku software. Or, you can do the puzzles directly in the Java applet provided.

One of th easiest options is to use MS Paint. The following is a 50% reduction (stretch) of your original posting.
Done with Image > Stretch/Skew and Stretched 50% both Horizontally and Vertically.

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I would love to try the 39 grid puzzle. But not without Richard's program. His only goes up to 21 or something like that.

I used to do Samurais on 5 separate pices of paper. That was hard enough to keep track. But this monster?

Maybe if everyone begs and grovels, Richard will add it someday to his collection of overlap puzzle suppoort.

How did you produce your posted image of the gattai-39 monster?

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Oh, I know I can make the image itself smaller. I didn't want to have to change the original image size, just the display of it, but the img code doesn't appear to accept display size modifiers. If I can figure out how to link a thumbnail to the original image in SkyDrive, then I can go that route instead.


If you go to the site and click on "Download all questions", you will get a zip file containing all of the HTML files (for displaying the puzzles, minus the Java applet) and all of the puzzle data in comma-delimited (.CSV) format. The .CSV file can be imported directly into Excel. Then I did a search-and-replace to get rid of all of the extraneous characters (0, [, ]) that the Java applet uses to format the puzzle. After that, I just added all of the grid lines of the puzzle, a bit of color to delineate the open (non-puzzle) interior spaces, and copy-pasted it to my imaging program (PMView Pro). The gattai-39 is puzzle #200 in the set.


That's the way I do all of my multi-grid puzzles, too. (I didn't know SudokuSolver would do anything larger than a samurai). The largest I've tried to solve so far is a Clueless (from Ruud). You think a gattai-39 is bad; can you imagine one of Ruud's DOAGs (gattai-144)?!?!? At the rate I work puzzles, I think that would take me at least a year!

That you can do as follows:

1) When in the Skydrive enxio27 folder:



2) Click ONCE on the gattai-39 file. You will then get the following "thumbnail" picture:
Then do a right-click on the "thumbnail" image and use the URL found under properties. If you click again on the "thumbnail" you will get the BIG full size image, whose URL you can obtain through a right-click and then properties.



The results is:




You can use smaller squares in Excel. Try Column Width = 1.29 AND Row Height = 10.5. This produces 10.5 point squares. For the digits I use Bold Verdana 8. Take a look at the file "ForumImage_SMALL.xls" HERE

Another option is to have your imaging program stretch the image as with Paint.

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There. I fixed it!


I know, but I use those large squares and large fonts on purpose. It's easier to print a large image smaller than to make a small image larger, and that way people who have trouble seeing don't have to choose between a small, clear image and a large but fuzzy one.

I think that was to overdo it in the opposite direction, i.e. too small. Personally I find the Skydrive "thumbnail" size more pleasant.

Manually resizing any number of adjacent rows and columns in Excel is very fast, i.e. a couple of seconds. Zooming is of course even faster.

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True, IF you have the Excel file. But if all you have is the image, then you're stuck.

My logic was flawed. As I should know from personal experience, to get an image of such large puzzles, you have to stitch several screen shots together, which is tedious and time consuming. Hence if you want two different sizes, you have to do the screen shooting operation twice.
But if the second image is (very) small, you might be able to do it with one screen shot, especially if you have a large screen, for instance a 30" screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels.

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