Summary: Start a puzzle book from the number of pages you want instead of a number of puzzles. In Tools → New Book from Page Plan… set the page count, give each puzzle type a page range, and Puzzle Maker Pro works out how many puzzles fit, generates them and opens the finished book in Puzzle Book Studio.
Overview
You already know the book: 40 pages, 8.5 × 11, a section of word searches, then sudoku to the end. Working out how many puzzles that takes is the slow part. Four puzzles to a page, solutions at the back, a title page in front — and every change sends you back to the calculator.
The page plan turns it around. You set the pages, and Puzzle Maker Pro sets the puzzle counts. It lays out the book as it plans, so solution pages, the title page and the contents page are all counted for you.
A 40-page plan: Word Search on 2 × 2 grids for 10 pages, Sudoku on 2 × 2 grids for the rest, solutions at the back. Solutions use the same 2 × 2 grid, so every puzzle page has one solution page. The plan fits 40 word searches and 36 sudoku puzzles. That makes 39 pages, so the book gets one blank page at the end to reach 40.
Required Modules
Puzzle Maker Pro with:
- At least one puzzle module with Time Saver (every Productivity edition includes it). The page plan lists the puzzle types you own with Time Saver, the same list as Generate puzzles… in Puzzle Book Studio.
- To mix several puzzle types in one plan: Time Saver on the puzzle module selected in the main window, or Puzzle Book Studio Productivity. Without either, the plan holds one range and Add stays greyed out.
To plan several ranges later, add Time Saver to your module or move up to Puzzle Book Studio Productivity. See Puzzle Maker Pro Editions Explained.
The Target page count setting is part of the book settings, so you can use it on any book.
Preparation
- Select one of your puzzle modules in the main window. The menu item opens Puzzle Book Studio at the end, so it follows the selected module’s Studio access.
- Start with an empty project. The page plan builds a new book, so it starts only when no book is loaded and the project folder holds no files. The safest way is to type a new project name in the main window. Clear Project Now also works, but it deletes the current project’s files, so use it only on a project you no longer need.
- Set up the book first. Set the trim size and margins, which decide how much fits on a page, and switch on the title page, contents and page numbers you want, which add pages. The estimate counts all of it.
- Have a preset ready for each puzzle type (difficulty, grid size, words). You can also adjust the settings inside the plan.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Open the Page Plan
In the main window, open Tools → New Book from Page Plan…. The New book from page plan window opens with one range already in the list: your first puzzle type in alphabetical order, its first preset, your book’s grid and 5 puzzle pages.
If a message asks for an empty project instead, go back to Preparation above.
New book from page plan window with two ranges in the list, the Selected range group filled in, and the estimate line under it.
Set the Book Pages and Where Solutions Go
At the top of the window:
- Book pages — the page count you want, for example 40. An even number suits a printed book, because every printed sheet has two sides.
- Solutions — After each puzzle page, or At the back of the book. This becomes the book’s solution placement.
Under 24 pages, the window reminds you that 24 pages is the KDP paperback minimum. Plan at least 24 pages for a KDP paperback; a shorter book suits a PDF download or a worksheet pack.
Fill In a Page Range
Select a range in the list. The Selected range group below shows its settings:
- Puzzle type — the puzzle module that fills this range.
- Preset — the module’s saved settings. Pick another preset, or click Edit settings… to open the module’s own settings window. Changes you make there apply to this range.
- Rows × cols — how many puzzles go on one page, from 1 × 1 up to 9 × 9. The range’s solution pages use the same grid.
- Puzzle pages — how many pages of puzzles this range takes. Solution pages come on top of these.
The list shows each range in one line, for example 1. Word Search 2×2 10 pages.
Add More Ranges and Set Their Order
Click Add for the next range, and fill it in the same way. Up and Down move the selected range. The order of the list is the order of the puzzle sections in the book. Remove deletes the selected range from the plan.
Fill the Rest of the Book
On the last range, tick Fill the rest of the book. That range gets every page the other ranges leave, up to your page count, so the book lands as close to the target as the grid allows, usually exact or one page short.
Without a fill range, each range fills up to the pages you gave it. Any pages the ranges leave become blank pages at the end, so use Fill the rest of the book to keep that gap small.
Read the Estimate
Under the ranges, the estimate updates as you type:
Estimate: 1 other + 19 puzzle + 19 solution pages = 39 of 40 (+1 blank)
Puzzles: Word Search 40, Sudoku 36
Other pages are the title page, contents, how-to-play and text pages, plus any blank backs your layout adds.
The red lines under the estimate tell you what to change:
- A range that does not fit — the ranges before it have used its pages. Give it more puzzle pages, or take pages from an earlier range.
- A book that goes over the target — take pages from a range, or tick Fill the rest of the book on the last range.
- A setting the plan needs, such as a missing puzzle type. Generate stays greyed out until you fix it.
Click Generate
Click Generate. For each range, Puzzle Maker Pro generates one puzzle to measure it, works out the exact number that fits, then generates that many. The status line shows which range it is working on. A large book takes a while; the window stays open until it is done. When it finishes, the new book opens in Puzzle Book Studio.
The puzzle count can differ slightly from the estimate, because Generate measures real puzzles of each type. When the estimate shows no over-target line, the book stays at your page count. Check the final page count in Puzzle Book Studio before you make the cover.
Each puzzle type in the plan must make the number of puzzles it is asked for. A puzzle type that makes one puzzle per block of pasted text, such as Group Sort, sets its own count: Generate stops and names it. Use another type for that range, and add Group Sort to the book in Puzzle Book Studio with Add Collection → Generate puzzles….
Keep the Book at Its Page Count
The plan saves its page count as the book’s Target page count. Open Book Settings (in the Puzzle Book Studio toolbar, or Tools → Project Settings → Book Settings in the main window). The Page count group sits below Content Collation for Instant Puzzle Books.
- A book shorter than the target gets blank pages at the end to reach it. They have no page number and no book-theme art. Keep that run short: a reader notices a string of empty pages at the end of a book.
- A book longer than the target gets a warning in the Studio’s warnings list, on the last page.
- Set the target to 0 to turn it off.
It keeps working while you edit in the Studio. Remove a few puzzles and the blank pages grow to keep the count. Add too many and the warning tells you. The target is saved with the book’s .pmpbook project and in book setting presets.
Outcome
A complete puzzle book at the page count you chose: each puzzle type in its own section, the right number of puzzles on each page, and solutions where you wanted them. Add titles and a theme in Puzzle Book Studio, render the interior PDF, and make your cover for the same page count.
FAQ
What page count should I choose for a KDP paperback?
At least 24 pages, the KDP paperback minimum, and an even number, because every printed sheet has two sides. Pick the count first; the page plan fits the puzzles to it.
Do solution pages count toward my page count?
Yes. The page count is the whole book: title page, contents, puzzle pages, solution pages and any blank pages at the end. The Puzzle pages of a range counts only its puzzle pages.
Why is there a blank page at the end of my book?
The puzzles fill whole pages, so the book can come out a page or more short of the target. Blank pages at the end make up the difference. Tick Fill the rest of the book on the last range to keep the gap small, or set Target page count to 0 in Book Settings to remove the padding.
Can I change the book after it is generated?
Yes. It is an ordinary Puzzle Book Studio book. Edit puzzles, add content pages, change the theme. The target page count keeps the book at its length, or warns you when it grows past it.
Which puzzle types can I use in a page plan?
Every puzzle module you own with Time Saver. Puzzle types that make one puzzle per block of pasted text, such as Group Sort, are added in Puzzle Book Studio instead.
Can I use the page count on a book I did not start from a plan?
Yes. Set Target page count in Book Settings for any book, and the padding and warning work the same way.