Open an existing crossword file by selecting Open... from the File menu. Enter the name of the file to open, or select the folder and file from the list boxes and press Open.
To open a file with a different set of settings you can open a puzzle using the settings from one of the available crossword template.
You can open files in various crossword formats, including all versions of Crossword Compiler.
Files that you have edited recently can be reopened by clicking on their file names at the bottom of the File menu.
Plain text import is also supported. In the File, Open window select the Plain Text option in the drop-down list of files types. The format of the text file is fairly flexible. The program can open files in the plain text format exported by Crossword Compiler, the plain text Across format, and various other plain text formats. It expects grid data first, followed by clues. The clue numbers are ignored, clue linking is not supported, English language is assumed and no error-checking is performed. So you should check the opened puzzle carefully to make sure everything is as you expect!
If you wish to open a puzzle just to print it out for solving purposes you can hold down the Shift key when you open a puzzle. This shows the crossword in puzzle view so that you cannot accidentally see any of the solution words.
You can also hold down the Ctrl key when opening a puzzle in order to test-solve the puzzle on screen. This replaces the letters in the grid with question marks, so you can view the clues without seeing the solution.