Arensus Crossword Puzzle Editor

This application is supposed to help you create crossword puzzles, but its overly complex interface requires some time to master. Arensus Crossword Puzzle Editor's busy interface is packed with design tools to build your crosswords. Sample puzzles and wizards help ease the learning curve, but the unintuitive interface adds an unnecessary level of complexity. Answers and clues draw from a database, and a sample is included, but you'll still need to spend some time adding your own entries.

You can manually build puzzles, or create them automatically. The program offers a satisfying number of export formats, including GIF, PNG, PDF, and HTML, but the trial version places a watermark on your creations. You also can publish your crosswords online as Java applets.

Although we were able to save puzzles, an error occurred each time during the process. Arensus Crossword Puzzle Editor runs in Java and slowed test machines down to a slow crawl. While diehard puzzle fans looking for a way to publish online might be willing to spend the necessary time to figure this app out, most will want an easier way to build their crossword puzzles.