How to fill out @xyzashu's crossword with MS Paint

One of the most puzzling, and most well-constructed, contests that I have participated in on Steemit has to be @xyzashu's “CARE TO READ” CROSSWORD PUZZLE, the Sixth of which starts tomorrow and had it's article list released today.

I was sure I had won last week's competition, I came home in the evening and spent several hours doing the puzzle and then submitting it. Turns out there are other, faster cruciverbalists on Steem!. Either way, I had a blast, and @xyzashu has a very generous system of honoring many correct entries!

So when I found out that @xyzashu was looking for a guide on how to submit entries in 'crossword puzzle' format, and not just a list of words, I decided to step up.

Here we go!

Step 1: Download Image

I use right-click and 'Save image as...' as you can see marked in the image above. Always save it where you can find it, I keep a special folder for all my blog writings here on Steemit.

After downloading it - Go find it!

Step 2: Right Click – Open with Paint

I use a program called MS Paint, it is listed as Paint and is installed automatically on every Windows system. I want to learn GIMP and have heard that Paint may be discontinued on new versions of windows in the near future, but I love it and have done some great image editing work in Paint over the years. It is simple yet robust!

Step 3: Set at just the right size with Ctrl + scroll

_{Too big}

Here I have zoomed in with my scroll wheel up to 600%, which is way too big.

_{Too small}

This is 12.5%, which is way too small. Be reasonable people, I use 200% on my smaller laptop screen when I am working on the puzzle.

Step 4: Use a text box for each letter

First click the text box button, labeled 'A' as indicated above.

Then click near the upper left hand side of the letter box. There is a little trial and error here, as the letters always seem to place a bit down and to the right of where you click.

Either way, worry not, the text box is movable by scrolling over its dashed borders with your mouse. Click and drag on the border to move it right where you want, once you click away it will become permanent. Size 14 or 16 font is just right for this size crossword puzzle.

Steps 5+: Solve the Puzzle

You can see here from my original submission,the 'T' in TenX was my first letter, and it looks weird because I originally tried to do it with the pencil. That was way too hard, so I thought about the text box.

Step ?: Profit!

All correct entries have a chance to win! Many winners! Give it a try - the full puzzle releases Sunday, 22nd October 2017 at about 4:30 PM (UTC)

@xyzashu