Sudoku Dragon

Sudoku Help - Keyboard

Here's a page from the extensive help system for Sudoku Dragon. It is available as a help screen when running the program. To get the full picture Download our Sudoku Dragon and see the screen in its context.

We now offer an alternative product only available for download from Microsoft Store. This shares many features but not all of them. For documentation of the SudokuDragon for Store version see its separate help section.

Our menu and toolbar page lists all the Sudoku playing commands that are available from the program menu and toolbar. All the most frequently available actions are also available at the touch of a button - from the keyboard.

Selecting a square

To select the Sudoku grid press TAB until one of the cells shows a flashing underline. You can also select a square by clicking the mouse on a square.

Moving around the grid

The arrow keys (up, down, left and right) move by one Sudoku square in the corresponding direction. These only operate when a grid square is already selected. The page keys (Page up, Page down) move by one region up or down. If you use the control CTRL key at the same time it will move horizontally by a region rather than vertically. Home takes you to the top left square while End takes you to the bottom right.

Setting the contents of a square

To set the value for a Sudoku square you must first select the square and then just use the appropriate key '1' to '9'. If you have Number lock (Num Lock) enabled you can assign a value with the number pad keys. You can also use the mouse wheel as an alternative way of allocating a value to a square.

Clearing the contents of a square

Use the Delete, Backspace or Space key to set the currently selected square as unallocated again. This also clears any tentative possibilities you may have set.

Setting Tentative Possibilities and Impossibilities

For more difficult puzzles, many Sudoku puzzlers will want to mark possibilities on squares. You can do this simply and easily by selecting an unallocated square and then pressing down control SHIFT key at the same time select the appropriate key '1' to '9' for the possibility you want to set. The possibilities are shown as small numbers (or letters) at the bottom of the square. To set a impossibility use the CTRL key at the same time and the number will be shown with reversed colors. To clear all the possibilities for a square press Delete or Space. You can set all possibilities to be the same as the automatic possibilities by pressing F8 or Edit | Set Auto Possibilities. The setting of possibilities is remembered so the program can selectively Undo and Redo them if you find you need to change your mind later.

*NOTE* You can select several squares at once by uing CTRL+mouse click or CTRL+mouse drag and can then set contents/tentative possibilities for all of them in one go.

Analyzing Possibilities

The possibility bar lets you quickly see what is possible to assign and where. You can use it by clicking on the symbols in the toolbar or by using ALT key with a number '1' to '9' to select a possibility option. If the possibility is already chosen this will clear the possibility display. To switch on (or off) all possibilities use the F4 function key.

Keyboard Commands

Here are all the available keyboard commands :

KeyCommand
F1Display help information for current screen
F3Hide the side panel
F4Show/hide automatic possibilities for all the values 1..9
F5Show details for currently selected square
F6Switch automatic display of possibilities on or off
F7Clear all your marked possibilities in current square
F8Set your marked possibilities to match automatic possibilities for the current square
F9Give a hint to help solve the puzzle
F10Show the current status of the game
F11Show possibility analysis for the current square
F12Automatically allocate an 'easy' to solve square
CTRL+ZUndo the previous action (square allocation, possibility setting or colour marking)
ALT+BackAlso undoes the previous square allocation
CTRL+SHIFT+ARedo the previously undone action
CTRL+YAlso redoes the previously undone action
CTRL+SHIFT+NGenerate a new puzzle
CTRL+SHIFT+OOpen an existing puzzle file
CTRL+SHIFT+PPrint the current puzzle
CTRL+SHIFT+SSave the current puzzle
SHIFT+1..9Set or clear possibility for 1..9 (if using numbers)
SHIFT+A..TSet or clear possibility for A..T (if using letters)
CTRL+1..9Set or clear impossibility for 1..9 (if using numbers)
CTRL+A..TSet or clear impossibility for A..T (if using letters)
ALT+1..9Show/hide possibilities for 1..9 (if using numbers)
CTRL+ALT+1..9Add/remove display of a particular possibility for 1..9 (if using numbers)
ALT+SHIFT+A..TShow/hide possibilities for A..T (if using letters)
CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+A..TAdd/remove display of a particular possibility for A..T (if using letters)
SHIFT+F1Set current square background to marker color 1
SHIFT+F2Set current square background to marker color 2
SHIFT+F3Set current square background to marker color 3
SHIFT+F4Set current square background to marker color 4
SHIFT+F5Set current square background to marker color 5
SHIFT+F6Set current square background to marker color 6
SHIFT+F7Clear square background marker color
TABToggle input focus to grid or the side panel (ignored if side panel not displayed)
CTRL+TABMove to next page of display panel, activate display panel if not currently displayed
1..9Change allocation of selected square (if using numbers)
A..TChange allocation of selected square (if using letters)
Q,W,E,R,T,YAlternative for setting the color of the currently selected square(s).
=While the key is pressed highlight all the squares in the same groups that the selected square is in.
Left arrow (and number pad if not number locked)Move selection left one square or to last square if in first square of row
Right arrowMove selection right one square or to first square if in last square of row
Up arrowMove selection up one square or to last square if in first square of column
Down arrowMove selection down one square or to last square if in first square of column
Page upMove selection up by one region or to last region if in first region of column
Page downMove selection down by one region or to first region if in last region of column
CTRL+Page upMove selection left by one region or to last region if in first region of column
CTRL+Page downMove selection right by one region or to first region if in last region of row
HomeMove selection to top leftmost square
EndMove selection to bottom rightmost square
PauseTemporarily pause the game timer

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