Copyright: Copyright ® 1993 by Steven Marshall


Help Contents
Kloks Contents

Introduction

Procedures

Solving the Puzzle

Using the Autosolver

Starting a New Puzzle

Presetting the Puzzle

Saving the Puzzle

Restoring an Old Puzzle

Exiting

Commands

Puzzle Menu

View Menu

Glossary

Defined Terms

Keyboard Topics

Puzzle Control Keys

Accelerator Keys

Numeric Keypad

Windows Keys

Disclaimer of Warranty


The Contents contains a list of all Help topics available. For information on how to use Help, press F1 or choose Using Help from the Help menu.


Disclaimer of Warranty

Users of Kloks must accept this disclaimer of warranty:

Kloks is supplied as is.  Homespun Software disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose.  Homespun Software assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of Kloks.


Introduction

Kloks was inspired by a similar puzzle designed by Erno Rubik.  The immediate goal is to get all the kloks reading 12 o'clock.  This version adds a timer and a moves counter to add a little more challenge to those who discover the solution to the puzzle.  The goal then would be to minimize those two numbers.

Included is an Autosolver just to show that it can be solved as well as being fun to watch once or twice.  Register your copy and the Single Step mode will be provided (Big deal, I know, but I have to provide some incentive to register, right?  ).

A few hints are scattered throughout this Help facility, activated by clicking on this symbol

Contents


Hint: Clicking on this symbol [image] will bring forth some small tidbit of information to assist you in using this program.


Procedures

Solving the Puzzle

Using the Autosolver

Presetting the Puzzle

Starting a New Puzzle

Saving the Puzzle

Restoring an Old Puzzle

Exiting


Commands

Puzzle Menu

New

Autosolve...

Preset...

Save

Restore

Exit !

View Menu

Both Hands

Upper Hand

Lower Hand


Exiting

To exit the puzzle select Exit ! from the Puzzle Menu.


Presetting

To set all the hands to a particular state before trying to solve it, select Preset... from the Puzzle Menu.  This makes all the kloks accessible to the mouse; clicking on a klok will move the visible hand(s) to that position.  In the Both Hands view, both hands will move to the mouse position when clicked, in the Upper Hand view, just the upper hand will move, and likewise in the Lower Hand view; changing views can be accomplished by any of the usual means (menu, right-button popup menu, accelerator keys) as well as by clicking on one of the three little kloks in the dialog box.

When all the hands have been preset, click on Ok in the dialog box to return to the normal mode.  Click on Abort to return the puzzle to its original state and return to the normal mode.  Click on Help to access this topic.


Saving

To save the current state of the puzzle select Save from the Puzzle Menu.


Restoring

To restore a previously saved puzzle select Restore from the Puzzle Menu.


Using the Autosolver

To have the puzzle solve itself select Autosolve... from the Puzzle Menu.  A dialog box will appear to start, stop, step and cancel the solver.

Four buttons control the solver:

Go	starts the solver

Stop	stops the solver

Cancel	dismisses the dialog box.

Help	calls this topic.


Select About... from the Help menu or read the Introduction for more information about this mode.


Starting a New Puzzle

To abandon the current puzzle and start a new one select New from the Puzzle Menu.


The puzzle is solved when all the hands are pointing to 12 o'clock.


The 12 o'clock position is indicated by the larger hour marker at the top of each klok


Solving the Puzzle

The puzzle is solved when all the hands are pointing to 12 o'clock.

Only the hands of the four corner kloks can be manipulated directly.  The other hands are controlled depending upon the state of the four pushrods surrounding the center klok.

The pushrods link together one layer of hands [image] of the four kloks surrounding it.  The small jewel in the center of the pushrod will be the color of the hands that are currently linked together.  When the pushrod is out, the upper hands are linked, when the pushrod is in, the lower hands are linked.  When the corner klok is moved an amount all the hands linked to it will also move by that amount.

When the puzzle is solved a box will appear either congratulating you for solving it or stating that the Autosolver was used to solve it; the latter will occur if the Autosolver's Go button is activated, even if it is stopped before the puzzle is solved.  Elapsed time since the last New command along with the number of moves used to solve the puzzle will be listed.

For more information, see also:

Manipulating the Kloks

Manipulating the Pushrods

Using the Autosolver


Moving the hands of a corner klok to a new position is counted as a single move, regardless of how many hands actually move and how far they move.  Changing the state of a pushrod does not count as a move.


Hints

Click on a dot to reveal a hint:


Hint: It may be easier to work on just one set of hands at a time.  Make use of the View menu


Hint: The Autosolver does not solve the puzzle in the minimum number of moves.  You can do much better than it.


Hint: Using the SPACEBAR to increment the hands is very costly in terms of the moves count.


Hint: Save the current position before running the autosolver, then restore it and try to solve it in fewer moves.


The pushrods look like this [image] when pushed in.


The pushrods look like this [image] when pushed out.


View Menu

The View menu includes commands that enable you to choose which of the two layers of hands to hide or reveal.  This menu will also be called up by a click of the right mouse button on any of the kloks or pushrods.  Click the right mouse button on the "grooves" separating the kloks to pop up the Puzzle Menu.

For more information, select a View menu command name or icon.

Both Hands

Upper Hand

Lower Hand


Puzzle Menu

The Puzzle menu includes commands that enable you to start a new puzzle, start the autosolver, save the current state, restore a saved state and exit from the puzzle.  Clicking the right mouse button on or near the grooves between the kloks will pop up this menu without the Autosolve... command, but including the Help command.  Click the right mouse button on the kloks or pushrods to pop up the View Menu.

For more information, select a Puzzle menu command name:

New

Autosolve...

Preset...

Save

Restore

Exit !


View Both Hands Command

This command will display both the upper and lower hands of the kloks as in this icon.

See also:

View Menu

Upper Hand

Lower Hand


View Upper Hand Command

This command will cause the large dark blue lower hand to be hidden as it is here.  Using this command will emulate solving the physical puzzle where the hands are on opposite sides of the object.

See also:

View Menu

Both Hands

Lower Hand


View Lower Hand Command

This command will cause the thin light blue upper hand to be hidden, as it is here.  Using this command will emulate solving the physical puzzle where the hands are on opposite sides of the object.

See also:

View Menu

Both Hands

Upper Hand


Puzzle Exit Command
Puzzle Exit ! Command

This command will immediately exit the puzzle.

See also:

Puzzle Menu


Puzzle New Command

This command will start a new puzzle by putting all the hands into a random state.  A dialog box will appear asking you to confirm your decision if the puzzle is not in the solved state.

See also:

Puzzle Menu


Puzzle Save Command

This command will save the current state of the puzzle.  Only one puzzle can be saved at a time, saving overwrites any previously saved position.  If there is a previously saved puzzle, a dialog box will appear asking you to confirm this operation.

See also:

Puzzle Menu

Restore


Puzzle Restore Command

This command will restore a saved position to the screen.  A dialog box will appear asking you to confirm your decision to lose the current state of the puzzle.  This command is disabled until the puzzle has been saved.

See also:

Puzzle Menu

Save


File Autosolver Command
Puzzle Autosolve Command

This command will activate the Autosolver control panel.

See also

Using the Autosolver


File Preset Command
Puzzle Preset Command

This command will activate the Preset mode control panel.

See also

Presetting the Puzzle


Manipulating the Kloks

The Kloks can be manipulated with either the mouse or the keyboard.

Mouse operation:

 Position the pointer over the face of a klok.  Single click will move the hands to the hour nearest the pointer.  Clicking on the marker of the desired hour is also allowed.  If the mouse button is held down, the face of the klok will appear to push in and the hour marker nearest the pointer will also appear to indent.  Move the pointer around within the face of the klok to select the desired hour.  Dragging the pointer off the klok face before releasing the mouse button will abort the move operation.

Keyboard operation:

 Focus the desired klok using the TAB or Shift-TAB key.  The DIRECTION keys will move the hour selection around the klok (indicated by the indented hour marker).  Hitting ENTER will move the hand to the selected hour.  Alternatively, SPACEBAR [image] will simply increment the hand to the next hour in a clockwise direction.  Holding the <Shift> key will cause the SPACEBAR to decrement the hand to the next hour in a counter-clockwise direction.  Using the SPACEBAR is most useful for getting a feel for how the pushrods connect the inner kloks together.

For more about using the keyboard, see also:

Puzzle Control Keys


The "face" of the klok is the area within the circle


The Klok is focused when the hour marks appear bumped out and colored the same as the upper hand.


Manipulating the Pushrods

 The Pushrods can be manipulated with either the mouse or the keyboard.

Mouse operation:

 Position the pointer over the face of a pushrod.  Single click will toggle the pushrod to its other position.  If the mouse button is held down, the pushrod will appear to toggle to its other state but does not actually change until the mouse button is released.  Dragging the pointer off the pushrod before releasing the mouse button will return it to its original state.

Keyboard operation:

 Focus the desired pushrod using the TAB or Shift-TAB key.  The state of the pushrod can then be toggled with the DIRECTION, ENTER or SPACEBAR keys.

For more about using the keyboard, see also:

Puzzle Control Keys


The face of the pushrods appear textured [image] [image] when focused.


Manipulating the Pushrods

 The Pushrods can be manipulated with either the mouse or the keyboard.

Mouse operation:

 Position the pointer over the face of a pushrod.  Single click will toggle the pushrod to its other position. If the mouse button is held down, the pushrod will appear to toggle to its other state but does not actually change until the mouse button is released.  Dragging the pointer off the pushrod before releasing the mouse button will return it to its original state.

Keyboard operation:

 Focus the desired pushrod using the TAB or Shift-TAB key.  The state of the pushrod can then be toggled with the DIRECTION, ENTER or SPACEBAR keys.

For more about using the keyboard, see also:

Puzzle Control Keys


Windows Keys

Choose from the following list to review the keys used in Windows:

Dialog Box Keys

Help Keys

Menu Keys

System Keys

Window Keys


Puzzle Control Keys

The following keys can be used whenever the main puzzle window is the current active window.

Key(s)	Function

TAB	Moves the focus from klok to klok then to pushrod to pushrod.

SHIFT+TAB	Like TAB but in reverse order.

DIRECTION key	Selects the destination for the focused klok's hands.

or

Toggles the focused pushrod.

ENTER	Moves the focused klok's hands to the selected destination.

or

Toggles the focused pushrod.

SPACEBAR	Increments the focused klok, moving the hands in a clockwise direction.

or

Toggles the focused pushrod.

SHIFT+SPACEBAR	Decrements the focused klok, moving the hands in a counterclockwise direction.

or

Toggles the focused pushrod.


Accelerator Keys

The following keys provide quick access to the various menu commands and can be used whenever the main puzzle window is the current active window.

Key(s)	Function

CNTRL+N	Start a new puzzle.

CNTRL+A	Activate the Autosolver dialog

CNTRL+P	Preset the puzzle.

CNTRL+S	Save the puzzle.

CNTRL+R	Restore a saved puzzle.

CNTRL+X	Immediately exit the puzzle.

F9	View both hands.

F10	View only the upper hands (hide the lower hands).

F11	View only the lower hands (hide the upper hands).


Numeric Keypad

The puzzle can also be completely controlled from the numeric keypad; the four corners of the keypad (1,3,7,9) control the respective corners of the puzzle.  Alone, they control the pushrods, with the CTRL key they increment the kloks, with the ALT key they decrement the kloks. The middle row (4,5,6) control the displaying of the hands.

Key(s)	Function

KEYPAD5	View both hands.

KEYPAD4	View only the upper hands (hide the lower hands).

KEYPAD6	View only the lower hands (hide the upper hands).

KEYPAD1	Toggles the lower left pushrod.

KEYPAD3	Toggles the lower right pushrod.

KEYPAD7	Toggles the upper left pushrod.

KEYPAD9	Toggles the upper right pushrod.

CTRL+KP1	Increments the lower left klok clockwise.

CTRL+KP3	Increments the lower right klok clockwise.

CTRL+KP7	Increments the upper left klok clockwise.

CTRL+KP9	Increments the upper right klok clockwise.

ALT+KP1	Decrements the lower left klok counter-clockwise.

ALT+KP3	Decrements the lower right klok counter-clockwise.

ALT+KP7	Decrements the upper left klok counter-clockwise.

ALT+KP9	Decrements the upper right klok counter-clockwise.


Dialog Box Keys

The following keys can be used in the AUTOSOLVER dialog box.

Key(s)	Function

TAB	Moves from field to field (left to right and top to bottom).

SHIFT+TAB	Moves from field to field in reverse order.

ALT+letter	Moves to the option or group whose underlined letter matches the one you type.

DIRECTION key	Moves from option to option within a group of options.

ENTER	Executes a command button.

SPACEBAR	Selects or clears a check box.

ESC	Closes a dialog box without completing the command. (Same as Cancel)


Help Keys

Key(s)	Function

F1	Gets Help and displays the Help Index for the application. If the Help window is already open, pressing F1 displays the "Using Windows Help" topics.

In some Windows applications, pressing F1 displays a Help topic on the selected command, dialog box option, or system message.

SHIFT+F1	Changes the pointer to [image] so you can get Help on a specific command, screen region, or key. You can then choose a command, click the screen region, or press a key or key combination you want to know more about.

(This feature is not available in all Windows applications.)


Menu Keys

The following keys can be used in any window that has a menu bar.

Key(s)	Function

ALT	Selects the first menu on the menu bar.

Letter key	Chooses the menu, or menu item, whose underlined letter matches the one you type.

ALT+letter key	Pulls down the menu whose underlined letter matches the one you type.

LEFT or RIGHT ARROW	Moves among menus.

UP or DOWN ARROW	Moves among menu items.

ENTER	Chooses the selected menu item.


System Keys

The following keys can be used from any window, regardless of the application you are using.

Key(s)	Function

CTRL+ESC	Switches to the Task List.

ALT+ESC	Switches to the next application window or minimized icon, including full-screen programs.

ALT+TAB	Switches to the next application window, restoring applications that are running as icons.

PRTSC	Copies the entire screen to the Clipboard.

ALT+PRTSC	Copies only the active window to the Clipboard.

CTRL+F4	Closes the active window.

F1	Gets Help and displays the Help Index for the application. (See Help Keys)


Window Keys

The following keys can be used from any window, regardless of the application you are using.

Key(s)	Function

ALT+SPACEBAR	Opens the Control menu for an application window.

ALT+Hyphen	Opens the Control menu for a document window.

ALT+F4	Closes a window.

ALT+ESC	Switches to the next application window or minimized icon, including full-screen programs.

ALT+TAB	Switches to the next application window, restoring applications that are running as icons.

ALT+ENTER	Switches a non-Windows application between running in a window and running full screen.

DIRECTION key	Moves a window when you have chosen Move from the Control menu.

Or, changes the size of a window when you have chosen Size from the Control menu.


Glossary

12 o'clock.

contents

face, klok

focus, klok

focus, pushrod

moves

pushrod is in

pushrod is out

single step

solved

Please send any suggestions for this topic to:

Homespun Software

162 Whitney St.

Northborough, MA. 01532