Very long cues in Exolve

[Per Starbäck]

(I was about to make a feature request in github, but then I got the impression there is a preference to have them here.)

Maybe there could me more support for very long clues. Here are feature requests regarding that.

I have made an annual literary crossword (in Swedish) for Christmas now for some years, and it has several very long clues (containing literary quotes). The main way I have shared these crosswords is as pdfs on paper or digitally, but I have also used Exolve to make it possible to solve them online. To make them fit on one page I have then shortened the clues for the Exolve versions, so solvers have been advised to look at the pdf for the actual full clues. As an example the one I made for Christmas 2024 is at https://starback.se/kors/jul2024/ . Shortened clues are shown in red. (Follow the "PDF" link at the top to see the full two-page version.)

But this Christmas I didn't bother to make these shortened clues, and then it looks like https://starback.se/kors/jul2025/ . I think scrolling multi-line clues above the grid works a lot better now than it did when I first tried this, which is one reason why I let it be this way this time, but still it is a bit unwieldy, and when you click on a crossword light the corresponding clue is often not visible.

Also today I added hints to 'jul2025', and then I think it's really a disadvantage that the 💡 isn't seen until you scroll the clue to the bottom. A solver may give up on that clue without realizing there is a hint available.

So here are my feature requests for handling very long clues better:

(1) I suggest the 💡 is shown top right (fixed) in the text above the grid instead so that it is always shown. When you press it it should scroll down to where the now shown hint is.

(2) I suggest clues can have an optional short version that is normally shown in the text if it exists. Then whenever that clue is highlighted the full version should be shown instead.

(comment on 2) It may look tempting to have a special marker in the clue text which indicates where it should be cut off for such a short version, but I think someone who wants to use this feature should put in the whole short version 'manually'. For me it wouldn't have worked to just cut off the text, because I needed to make sure quotes are terminated, and sometimes I put ellipses in, etc.

[Viresh Ratnakar]

Hello! Sorry, I just looked at this by chance today (about 15 days after you posted!). I do try to go through this group regularly, but sometimes I forget, and probably creating a bug (https://github.com/viresh-ratnakar/exolve/issues/new/choose) is a faster way to reach me for Exolve bugs/feature-requests.

I'll create a bug for this, will think about it, and will then follow up here, soon.

Viresh

[Per Starbäck]

No problem! I was not in a hurry, and would eventually get around to filing at github. I did now.

[Viresh Ratnakar]

Thanks! I've taken care of the light-bulb-visibility issue (https://github.com/viresh-ratnakar/exolve/commit/957f62a49a0b46d25bf551487f72765664c73b38). Had some spare time in transit at Heathrow, did it from there :-). Will get to the other one soon (but probably once I reach home).

Viresh