Qxw Download

Release 20200708

The most recent version of Qxw is release 20200708.

What’s new?

The principal new features in this release compared to release 20140331 are as follows:

Extensive support for non-Roman scripts and special symbols, including in answer treatments and plug-ins
Multiplex lights
Crossword Compiler XML export; experimental .SYM, .SYT import
Decks (non-interactive access to the filler)
On-line look-up of words from the feasible list
Ban words from the fill
Dictionary statistics and analysis
Improved grid editing, including insertion and deletion of rows and columns
Edit light contents in one step
Klein bottle and projective plane grid topologies
Circles in the background of cells
Sequential numbering of cells in a free light
Bug fixes and minor cosmetic changes

Many thanks are once again due to Peter Flippant for porting Qxw to Windows, and to the beta testers, in particular Nick Warne, for their assistance.

Manual

Making crosswords with Qxw (PDF, about 1.3 Mbyte). A version of this manual is included in the Windows download.

Download Qxw-20200708 for Linux: Debian and derived distributions

If you are using a Debian or derived distribution such as Ubuntu or Mint on a 64-bit x86 machine (‘amd64’ architecture, suitable for both Intel and AMD processors despite the name), you can install this package: qxw_20200708-1_amd64.deb (about 260 kbyte). This package is tested under Xubuntu 18.04. If you are using a 32-bit x86 machine (‘i386’ architecture, again for both Intel and AMD processors), you should use qxw_20200708-1_i386.deb (about 255 kbyte). This package is not tested.

Many systems are set up so that simply clicking on one of these links will take you through the installation process. If that doesn’t work, download the appropriate file and run the commands:

sudo apt-get install gdebi
sudo gdebi qxw_20200708-1_amd64.deb

replacing ‘amd64’ with ‘i386’ if necessary.

Download Qxw-20200708 for Linux: Slackware

Nick Warne has kindly prepared a SlackBuild of this release for Slackware 14.2. It can be found at http://slackbuilds.org/repository/14.2/games/qxw/.

Download Qxw-20200708 for Linux: other options

Alternatively, you can download a 64-bit x86 binary (about 320 kbyte) or a 32-bit x86 binary (about 320 kbyte). These archives each contain an ELF executable plus some examples.

Further installation options are available for some earlier releases of Qxw: see below.

Download Qxw-20200708 for Windows

If you are using Windows 7 or later double-clicking on the following link should take you through the installation of Qxw: QxwSetup-20200708.exe (about 20 Mbyte). You may have to answer some ‘Are you sure?’ questions, which are a security feature of the most recent versions of Windows. After installation you should see a desktop icon that launches the program and one that opens the manual. The program also associates itself with files whose names end in ‘.qxw’, the conventional extension for its saved crosswords.

For Windows-specific questions (for example, relating to installation problems), please write to qxw hyphen windows at quinapalus dot com .

Source code

The source code for this release (which ordinary users will not normally need) is available.

Additional source code for the Windows version:

qxw-20200708-w32.tar.gz

You may also want...

The 18+ UKACD dictionary file (gzip’ped, about 800 kbyte). This is a version of UKACD18 with the bowdlerisations from UKACD17 undone and some errors corrected. This dictionary is included in the Windows download. The original versions of UKACD17 and UKACD18 are also available. Licensing information.

If the UKACD is not a suitable dictionary for your application, you may wish to consult the FAQ for information about sources of alternatives.

The Qxw downloads include the source code for a couple of example plug-ins. Nick Warne has written some more, available here on Google Drive.

Qxw is free software

Qxw is free software. That doesn’t just mean that you don’t have to pay for it; it also means that you have the freedom to share, study and modify it. More precisely, both Linux and Windows versions of Qxw are licensed under version 2 of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation.

Please let me know if you would like to be informed when new versions of Qxw are released. E-mail reports of bugs and other suggestions are welcome.

mail at quinapalus dot com

Older releases

Release 20190909

Release 20190909 has the same features as release 20200708 plus a couple of extra bugs, and so users are encouraged to switch to release 20200708.

Files

Release 20170922

Release 20190722 has the same features as release 20190909 plus a couple of extra bugs, and so users are encouraged to switch to release 20190909.

Files

Release 20140331

The principal features in this release compared to release 20130906 are as follows:

Facility to allow filler to choose which lights are affected by answer treatment
Arbitrary permutations of letters arising from answer treatments
Jumbled lights
Free light path import and export
Patterns to restrict cell contents
Experimental facility to read TSD format dictionaries
Option to include numbers in exported solution grids
Entry letter/digit histogram with live update
Colours for cell numbers and marks
Simple support for codewords
Simple templates for blocked grids
Various user interface improvements, including new keyboard shortcuts to simplify use on some laptops

Manual: Making crosswords with Qxw (PDF, about 1.3 Mbyte). A version of this manual is included in the Windows download.

Debian packages: qxw_20140331-1_amd64.deb (about 150 kbyte); qxw_20140331-1_i386.deb (about 130 kbyte).

Linux binaries: 64-bit x86 binary (about 150 kbyte); 32-bit x86 binary (about 150 kbyte).

Nick Warne’s SlackBuild of this release for Slackware 14.1: http://slackbuilds.org/repository/14.1/games/qxw/.

Windows installer for Windows XP (Service Pack 2) or later: QxwSetup-20140331.exe (about 5.8 Mbyte). Many thanks are once again due to Peter Flippant for this port.

Source code:

Additional source code for the Windows version: