Toggle settings
Sym mirrors block placement while you're shaping the grid. (Long press to reveal drop down without toggling setting on-off)
180 mirrors each block in rotational symmetry, 180° through the center.
Vert mirrors vertically left-right.
Horiz mirrors horizontally top-bottom.
Diag TL mirrors across the corner-to-corner line through the top-left corner.
Diag TR mirrors across the corner-to-corner line through the top-right corner.
Auto automatically fills the grid with word suggestions. Preview refreshes when you tap Refresh, or press Shift. Green corner tabs appear for letters that remain unchanged regardless of word chosen. (Long press to reveal drop down without toggling setting on-off)
Core restricts Autofill, Refresh, and the preview to the ~25,000 most frequent everyday words. If none fit a slot, the preview turns red instead of falling back to something obscure.
Common (the default) widens that to the ~85,000-word common pool, with the same red-preview fallback.
All words removes the common-word filter entirely. Everyday words are still tried first, but any real word can be used as a fallback rather than leaving the grid incomplete.
Grid buttons
Save (top-left, next to the back arrow) saves your puzzle to your account, if you're signed in — you'll be asked to sign in if you aren't. Available afterward in your CREATE tab under "Your saved puzzles," and under your SOLVE tab once completed.
Publish (up-arrow) lets you add a title and byline, then download or copy the finished puzzle.
Play (play button) lets you test the puzzle as it stands right now.
Refresh (circular arrows) tries different word suggestions for the blank letters, keeping everything you've already typed or accepted.
Fill (grid checkmark) accepts the selected word's current suggestion, locking it into the grid (or, if that word is already locked in, sends it back to a suggestion). Long-press (instead of tapping it) to accept every remaining suggestion in the entire grid at once (requires a second confirmation tap on the icon with a “?” to confirm).
Clear (eraser) deletes every letter in the grid, with a second confirmation (?) click.
Grid editing shortcuts
Long press a cell accepts a word suggestion for selected entry, or undoes confirmation of a selection back to suggestions. Works like tapping Fill.
Period ( . ) on a physical keyboard toggles a block at the selected cell.
Shift works like tapping Refresh. Pressing on a physical keyboard tries a different suggestion.
Return works like tapping Fill. Pressing on a physical keyboard accepts (or un-accepts) the selected word.
Tab / Shift+Tab on a physical keyboard jumps the selection to the next/previous entry (all Across, then all Down).
Shift+Delete on a physical keyboard works like Clear: clears every letter in the grid (same as pressing Clear grid twice, aka no extra confirmation needed).
Clue-writing
The clue box under the grid brings up the clue-writing modal, where you can add an entry, hints, alternate clues, and clue writers.
Answer length in the clue box (shown in parentheses) is tappable. This is the only area in the clue box that does not bring up the clue-writing modal. Use this to override the automatic letter count with your own enumeration (e.g., 2,3 for a two-word answer of a five letter entry). Shows the same way to solvers and in downloaded puzzles.
Clue box is automatically entered upon entering the clue-writing modal. Use this text box to write your clue. 100 characters is the limit for a clue. The counter above the box turns red at the limit. Lock (bottom-right of the box) turns the box gray and deactivates typing to make hint selection easier (section below). Unlock to keep typing. Of note, selecting text to mark up works in both locked/unlocked states.
Definition / Indicator / Fodder assigns a hint to the text you selected and brings up an optional text box for detailed explanations. Tap an already-marked span to remove its mark (and hint assignment). Extra features in the explanation pop-up: tap the marked-span to copy that selection into the explanation textbox, or tap the pop-up header to completely auto-write a basic explanation text.
Set by provides credit to the clue-writer. This is optional when collaborating with multiple writers. Leaving blank will default to the puzzle's overall setter name.
Other versions lets you write alternate phrasings of the same clue (solvers can view these as extra hints). Use the plus button to add a new clue, or the duplicate button to start from the last version (text, marks, explanation copy forward). Use the arrows to reorder them, the ✕ to delete, and the star to make the default clue (this will be clue used in the crossword).
Other clues, listed below the “Set by” field, use this to jump to the clue-writing modal for any other entry (including ones you haven't written a clue for yet).
Publish
GM puzzle code copies a scrambled code to your clipboard (doesn't need to be finished). This is a code that grid-machine can read, but won't make much sense anywhere else.
Shareable link copies that same code wrapped in a link — opening it drops a solver straight into solving, no pasting required.
Download as a .txt file saves the scrambled puzzle code as a txt file. Paste it into "Load previous" in the CREATE page to keep editing, or have a friend solve by pasting it into "Solve a puzzle" on the SOLVE page.
Download as a .puz file saves as a standard puz file for cross-platform editing and playing. Note: puz files do not save extra features grid-machine provides.
Play
Play lets you test-solve the puzzle as it stands right now, using the same solving view a solver would see.
If the grid isn't complete yet, you'll be asked to confirm before test-solving. Any blank squares just show up empty.