Short Answer: Across Lite for iPad has a free and a paid version. The free version does not include rebus solves or timing. The paid version includes both. As of this writing, the paid version was $4.99 and is available only as an in-app upgrade over the free version. In other words, to get it, install the free version on your iPad, then choose the upgrade option within the app to pay for and get the additional features.
Long Answer:
I'm a crossword fan/nut/snob/enthusiast. Either on my own or with my wife I do an average of three or so crossword puzzles a week. To demonstrate my snobiness, I'll be sure to mention to you that the puzzles are almost always from the New York Times, and are almost always Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday puzzles. [Harumph].
Until recently I've always done them on paper, for the past several years printed from nytimes.com (annual subscription required). The Across-Lite software that I use to print from a computer also allows solving (filling in) the crossword on the computer; but I rarely did this. It just was more comfortable to sit back in a chair or in bed when doing the crossword.
My iPad changed all that. The tablet form factor lets me do an electronic version of the crossword in my preferred reclined positions. There are a couple of iPad apps that let you do the puzzles, but Across Lite was free and I'd been using the desktop version for years, so I'm using that and have been happy with it.
Still, I got very frustrated this morning when I was solving a puzzle that included a rebus. For those of you that aren't crossword geeks, a rebus is a single square in the puzzle whose answer is not just a letter. Typically, it is a word or phrase, or sometimes a symbol.
The desktop version of Across Lite includes a way to solve puzzles with a rebus, but I couldn't find it anywhere in the iPad version. So I googled "across lite ipad rebus" and similar terms. Nowhere could I find a mention of whether or not Across Lite would allow you solve rebus squares. I checked the LitSoft (makers of Across Lite) website, FAQ and help sections: still no mention either way. In a flash of brilliance that didn't immediately pay off, I even searched for "premium" versions of the Across Lite in the app store on the iPad. I saw no mention of a paid / premium app.
The answer turned out to be an in-app upgrade. Hidden within the app was an upgrade option. For $4.99 I could upgrade the software and the little dialog box told me it would enable rebus solving. I paid for the upgrade and it unlocked my "rebus" button (and a few other convenience functions) and I was able to finish the puzzle. Yay.
I don't mind that they charge for the feature, I just wish I'd not wasted 30 minutes searching for it, with no mention of how to get it (I still haven't found any mention - besides what I'm writing now - of this upgrade online). I knew that the program must have it somewhere, but nearly gave up! So I thought I'd post this so that the next person searching for "how do I enter a rebus into across lite" will get a result that may actually help them. Happy solving.
1 comment:
Mission accomplished: while solving a puzzle in Across Lite on my iPad in which I needed to enter a rebus, but not finding the function in the app, I searched for "across lite iPad rebus", and up came your blog entry. It was no mean feat to find the Across Lite upgrade option either, it being buried in the bookshelf menu. Thanks for your post.
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