Add Clue Square Arrows

The Add clue square arrows dialog (Grid > Add clue square arrows…) allows you to quickly auto-assign clue-square arrows where placement is unambiguous. This feature is particularly useful when working with clues in squares puzzles where you need to establish connections between clue squares and their corresponding word slots.

Scope

The scope of the operation depends on your current selection:

Selected clue squares: If any clue squares are selected, actions affect only the selected clue squares.
Whole grid: If no clue squares are selected, actions apply to all clue squares in the grid.

Add directions

You can choose which directions to add arrows for:

Right: Add arrows pointing to the right from clue squares.
Down: Add arrows pointing downward from clue squares.
Left: Add arrows pointing to the left from clue squares.
Up: Add arrows pointing upward from clue squares.

Select any combination of these directions based on your puzzle layout and requirements.

Add all arrows where only possibility

When this option is enabled, the program will automatically add arrows in any direction (including corner arrows) when there's only one way to indicate a word slot from a clue square. This is useful for automatically resolving unambiguous arrow placements without manual intervention.

Hidden arrows

The Arrows hidden (only used to link clues, not shown in final puzzle) option marks newly added arrows as hidden. Hidden arrows serve an important purpose:

They are used internally to link clues to their corresponding word slots
They are visible in edit views where applicable
They are not shown in the final puzzle output
They allow the Clue Generator to work with clues in squares puzzles

This is particularly useful when you need the functional connection between clues and words but don't want the visual clutter of arrows in your published puzzle.

Delete existing arrows

Before adding new arrows, you can choose to remove existing ones:

Delete existing arrows: Removes all existing arrows (including diagonals) in the scope before adding new ones
Delete existing hidden arrows: Removes only hidden-flagged arrows in the scope before adding new ones

These options help you clean up your arrow assignments before applying new ones, ensuring a consistent and organized layout.

Delete hidden arrows

A separate menu item Delete all > Hidden arrows is available on the Grid menu when your grid contains hidden arrows. This command:

Only appears when the grid contains hidden arrows
Removes all hidden arrows from the grid
Respects the same scope rules: affects only selected clue squares if any are selected, otherwise affects the whole grid