For information please visit http://www.sudokuworkplace.com
Sudoku Workplace - new version 2.12
( iconNew_16x16 Great new feature - Includes smaller dimensions for kids and beginners)
This is an excellent tool to generate, play with, and solve Sudoku puzzles on your computer. Will generate an infinite number of genuine Sudokus of different dimensions and difficulties, or solve ones entered from the newspaper. There are a huge number of features - please read on for all the details.
What is Sudoku
By now you will almost certainly have heard of Sudoku, and probably have seen it or even play it in the newspapers. The word Sudoku means "single number" in Japanese and is a puzzle whose objective is to place numbers in a grid so that each number appears only once in each row, column and subgrid. Every genuine Sudoku puzzle can be solved by logic alone (not trial and error), and has only one solution. No mathematics are involved.
As enthusiasts we are very excited to see this interesting game becoming so very popular across Europe.
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Following our tradition of introducing interesting Oriental-inspired items at affordable prices, Asia Wharf is pleased to be able to offer you an excellent tool to generate, play with and solve Sudoku puzzles on your computer. We believe it is the best looking, easiest to use, and most fully functioned of the various Sudoku solvers that you will find. The variety of grids sizes, difficulties and tailoring of techniques available make this tool of interest to children through to experts. We continue to gain awards, some of which are shown below.

if you are interested in a Sudoku tool, you will do no better than this one. You can even download a trial version here if you want to try before you buy.
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Technical details
if you find you have a technical problem preventing you from installing or running the software we will refund with no questions asked.

Features at a glance - Version 2.12 - rc4 November 2005

Clear attractive layout.
Can generate an infinite number of 3x3 , iconNew_16x16 4x4, 2x2, 2x3 , 3x4 puzzles of varying difficulty. Different formats added regularily.
Generates genuine sudokus with a unique answer. Uses logic (not guessing) to solve.
Can find solutions to Sudokus that have multiple answers on request
Can load and save or print puzzles at any stage of completion.
You can enter the 'given' numbers and they stay differentiated from those you enter as part of your solution
Will display 'pencil marks', using simple or iconNew_16x16 complex elimination
You can use letters of other symbols instead of numbers if you want
Undo, Redo, clear and reset buttons for backing out errors
You can enter your own pencil marks, use the computer's or a mixture of both.
iconNew_16x16 Statistics showing eliminations by various techniques and option to switch them on and off.
Multiple languages - English, French and German - (Please contact me if you are interested in helping me translate into any other languages).
iconNew_16x16 2x2 grids are ideal for learning and children , and a lot of fun too.
Optimized algorithm gives much faster puzzle generation

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Instructions

The following description will introduce you to this great software, what it can do and what it looks like.

Sudoku Workplace provides a great environment in which to generate, enter and solve Sudokus, with many features that may help you learn the techniques involved at the same time. The screen on the right is the play area, and following on is a description of the function of each of the items on the screen. swp211ss

Sudoku Workplace can generate an unlimited number of new puzzles that you can print or solve on line. It guarantees to produce puzzles that have a unique solution, as all genuine Sodukus should have.
2-Generate

Press Generate to make a new puzzle. You can vary the Difficulty by moving the slider, and you can even change the characters to Use in the puzzle if you are feeling adventurous

Instead of generating new puzzles, you may prefer to enter a one, perhaps from a newspaper or a book.

Press Enter Given numbers to start to enter the initial numbers of the puzzle into the grid. You can get back to the set of numbers entered this way (or indeed to a generated puzzle) at any time by pressing Reset, whereas Clear will completely clear the grid.

You can use the Arrow keys to move around the play area. Pressing any of the keys you are using for the puzzle (usually 1-9), will change the contents of that cell to that key. You can use the space key to clear a cell of its current contents.

Whether you have entered an initial puzzle or generated one, this is where you can start to enter your solution by typing numbers into the grid. Note that the button is red. Sudoku Workplace will often highlight the button it thinks you should be pressing. For example this button would light up after you had generated a new puzzle.

Press Enter Solution to start to enter the solution. You can get clear anything entered this way at any time by pressing Reset, as described in the previous section. You will be able to differentiate between these and the Given numbers because they will be a different colour and font. If you enter any numbers that are impossible in that position, they will be highlighted as you enter them, along with the other numbers with which they are conflicting.

Ticking Show Pencil Marks will show the 'candidates' or 'possibilties' in empty squares to help you see what would be valid numbers to enter in that square. These show the internal thinking of Sudoku Workplace. This is very useful if you want to try to understand the techniqueof how to solve Sudokus, as well as being useful if you just want to cheat.

Ticking Simple elimination only will cause Sudoku Workplace to use less aggressive techniques while deducing the candidates. This is a useful option if you are a beginner and are trying to understand how to identify candidates.

Tick Manual pencil Marks  if you want to control the elimination of candidates yourself. This means that Sudoku Workplace ion will not attempt to eliminate possibilities and will leave it all to you. When you first click this, it will ask you if you want to completely clear the already generated possibilities, or start from the current point. Double clicking on any cell will give you the ability to edit the possibilities if this box is ticked.

This is how a cell looks once you have double clicked on it to edit the pencil marks.

You can ask Sudoku Workplace to solve the puzzle for you. Some puzzles published in newspapers are not genuine Sudokus and require you to use some trial and error. The brute force option will solve these too.
5-Solve

Press Solve to and Sudoku Workplace will find a solution to the puzzle, taking account of any numbers you have entered. If you have made some errors, the problem may be unsolvable, and you will see a message saying this.  If it is not a genuine Soduko, then there may be multiple solutions. If you get a message about this, you can ask Sudoku Workplace to find one of the solutions by trial and error, by ticking  Use Brute Force.

The numbers that have been added by Sudoku Workplace will be in a different colour and font to both the initial numbers, and those you have entered as part of your solution.

You may change your mind about numbers you have entered and need to backtrack. Sudoku Workplace keeps a track of all the numbers you enter and allows you to undo them, or redo them. If you are stuck, then hint will uncover a number from the solution for you if there are any squares with only one possibility.
6-OOps

Press Undo and Sudoku Workplace will remove the entry you have just made and recalculate everything back to that point. It keep track of all entries so you can keep undoing as many entered numbers as you like. Press Redo and the number you have just 'undone' will be entered again.

Press Hint and Sudoku Workplace will fill in a random cell if there are any which have only a single possible solution. The status of the tick box  Simple elimination only, will show pencil marks derived from the most basic elimination techniques. Unticking this and playing with the which elimination techniques you want Sudoku workplace to use can be very useful for learning.

Look out for messages on the status bar at the bottom of the play area for information, instructions or other messages.
8-sbar

For example, this message would be displayed after a Sudoku has been found.

Sudoku Workplace will allow you to save your existing game or load an old one so you can work on multiple puzzles simultaneously, or take a break from one. You can also Print the puzzle in it's current form to take with you on the train.
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Press Save or Load and Sudoku Workplace will enter a dialogue to save or load a puzzle. If you have 'Manual pencil marks' ticked, it will also save all your pencil mark workings. Print will print the current puzzle, and Exit is for when you are done.

You can of course exchange 'saved' files with other users of Sudoku Workplace

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Note there are many dimensions of puzzles that can be generated or solved, with 3x3 being the standard Sudoku puzzle. The 2x2 are great for beginners or children.

Here is a fragment of the play area, showing the 'pencil marks' in the scribble area in a small grey font, and initial numbers, which have either been entered or generated in a black font.
9-scribble
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Ticking Show scribble area  causes the possibilities to be shown for as yet unsolved cells.

If you choose the 'show pencil mark eliminations', You will be able to see how many were eliminated by various advanced techniques. You can even choose not to apply any of these techniques. Switching them on and off ito see what happens to the pencil marks is a valuable technique in learning how to identify them.

This fragment shows a puzzle that has been generated by Sudoku Workplace , (the black font) an attempt has been made to solve it manually (the blue font), and it has been finished off by Sudoku Workplace (the green font),

11-solved

Press Generate Puzzle, then Enter Solution and manually enter some cells, then press Solve. Note that cells filled in by Hint will also be in green font.

Numbers in black were the original entry, and those in blue handwritten font have been added while trying to solve the puzzle. Pencil marks are again shown in light grey.
10-entersolution

Ticking Show Pencil Marks  causes the possibilities to be shown for as yet unsolved cells.

You can also note that Sudoku Workplace is now multilingual. You can choose whihc language you prefer the buttons and hints to be displayed in.

Sudoku Workplace provides a great environment in which to generate, enter and solve Sudokus, with many features that may help you learn the techniques involved at the same time. The screen on the right is the play area, and following on is a description of the function of each of the items on the screen.
Sudoku Workplace can generate an unlimited number of new puzzles that you can print or solve on line. It guarantees to produce puzzles that have a unique solution, as all genuine Sodukus should have.	Press Generate to make a new puzzle. You can vary the Difficulty by moving the slider, and you can even change the characters to Use in the puzzle if you are feeling adventurous
Instead of generating new puzzles, you may prefer to enter a one, perhaps from a newspaper or a book.	Press Enter Given numbers to start to enter the initial numbers of the puzzle into the grid. You can get back to the set of numbers entered this way (or indeed to a generated puzzle) at any time by pressing Reset, whereas Clear will completely clear the grid. You can use the Arrow keys to move around the play area. Pressing any of the keys you are using for the puzzle (usually 1-9), will change the contents of that cell to that key. You can use the space key to clear a cell of its current contents.
Whether you have entered an initial puzzle or generated one, this is where you can start to enter your solution by typing numbers into the grid. Note that the button is red. Sudoku Workplace will often highlight the button it thinks you should be pressing. For example this button would light up after you had generated a new puzzle.	Press Enter Solution to start to enter the solution. You can get clear anything entered this way at any time by pressing Reset, as described in the previous section. You will be able to differentiate between these and the Given numbers because they will be a different colour and font. If you enter any numbers that are impossible in that position, they will be highlighted as you enter them, along with the other numbers with which they are conflicting. Ticking Show Pencil Marks will show the 'candidates' or 'possibilties' in empty squares to help you see what would be valid numbers to enter in that square. These show the internal thinking of Sudoku Workplace. This is very useful if you want to try to understand the techniqueof how to solve Sudokus, as well as being useful if you just want to cheat. Ticking Simple elimination only will cause Sudoku Workplace to use less aggressive techniques while deducing the candidates. This is a useful option if you are a beginner and are trying to understand how to identify candidates. Tick Manual pencil Marks if you want to control the elimination of candidates yourself. This means that Sudoku Workplace ion will not attempt to eliminate possibilities and will leave it all to you. When you first click this, it will ask you if you want to completely clear the already generated possibilities, or start from the current point. Double clicking on any cell will give you the ability to edit the possibilities if this box is ticked. This is how a cell looks once you have double clicked on it to edit the pencil marks.
You can ask Sudoku Workplace to solve the puzzle for you. Some puzzles published in newspapers are not genuine Sudokus and require you to use some trial and error. The brute force option will solve these too.	Press Solve to and Sudoku Workplace will find a solution to the puzzle, taking account of any numbers you have entered. If you have made some errors, the problem may be unsolvable, and you will see a message saying this. If it is not a genuine Soduko, then there may be multiple solutions. If you get a message about this, you can ask Sudoku Workplace to find one of the solutions by trial and error, by ticking Use Brute Force. The numbers that have been added by Sudoku Workplace will be in a different colour and font to both the initial numbers, and those you have entered as part of your solution.
You may change your mind about numbers you have entered and need to backtrack. Sudoku Workplace keeps a track of all the numbers you enter and allows you to undo them, or redo them. If you are stuck, then hint will uncover a number from the solution for you if there are any squares with only one possibility.	Press Undo and Sudoku Workplace will remove the entry you have just made and recalculate everything back to that point. It keep track of all entries so you can keep undoing as many entered numbers as you like. Press Redo and the number you have just 'undone' will be entered again. Press Hint and Sudoku Workplace will fill in a random cell if there are any which have only a single possible solution. The status of the tick box Simple elimination only, will show pencil marks derived from the most basic elimination techniques. Unticking this and playing with the which elimination techniques you want Sudoku workplace to use can be very useful for learning.
Look out for messages on the status bar at the bottom of the play area for information, instructions or other messages.	For example, this message would be displayed after a Sudoku has been found.
Sudoku Workplace will allow you to save your existing game or load an old one so you can work on multiple puzzles simultaneously, or take a break from one. You can also Print the puzzle in it's current form to take with you on the train.	Press Save or Load and Sudoku Workplace will enter a dialogue to save or load a puzzle. If you have 'Manual pencil marks' ticked, it will also save all your pencil mark workings. Print will print the current puzzle, and Exit is for when you are done. You can of course exchange 'saved' files with other users of Sudoku Workplace Note there are many dimensions of puzzles that can be generated or solved, with 3x3 being the standard Sudoku puzzle. The 2x2 are great for beginners or children.
Here is a fragment of the play area, showing the 'pencil marks' in the scribble area in a small grey font, and initial numbers, which have either been entered or generated in a black font.		Ticking Show scribble area causes the possibilities to be shown for as yet unsolved cells. If you choose the 'show pencil mark eliminations', You will be able to see how many were eliminated by various advanced techniques. You can even choose not to apply any of these techniques. Switching them on and off ito see what happens to the pencil marks is a valuable technique in learning how to identify them.
This fragment shows a puzzle that has been generated by Sudoku Workplace , (the black font) an attempt has been made to solve it manually (the blue font), and it has been finished off by Sudoku Workplace (the green font),		Press Generate Puzzle, then Enter Solution and manually enter some cells, then press Solve. Note that cells filled in by Hint will also be in green font.
Numbers in black were the original entry, and those in blue handwritten font have been added while trying to solve the puzzle. Pencil marks are again shown in light grey.		Ticking Show Pencil Marks causes the possibilities to be shown for as yet unsolved cells. You can also note that Sudoku Workplace is now multilingual. You can choose whihc language you prefer the buttons and hints to be displayed in.